PCI: Peripheral Component Interconnect













The PCI refers to the computer bus for attaching hardware devices in a computer. These devices can take either the form of an integrated circuit fitted onto the motherboard itself, called a planar device in the PCI specification, or an expansion card that fits into a PCI slot. ( A,B : ports and sockets of a motherboard )

Typically, PCI cards used in the expansion slots of a PC include network cards, sound cards, modems, extra ports such as USB or SATA, TV tuner and disk controllers.
The common specifications of PCI ports are:
  • 32 or 64 bit bus-width
  • 33.33 or 66.67 MHz synchronous clock
  • transfer rate of 133 MB/s for 32-bit
  • 32- or 64-bit memory address space (4 GB or 16 EB)
  • 5-volt signaling