what kind of slot do u need to install a pci card

A

afro_ninj4

New Member
sorry for this nooby question but ive been seeing different stuff in different places. If i want to install a new video card do i need a pci slot, a pci express slot, or a pci express x 16 slot. and if a computer has integrated graphics can u still update them?

thanks
 
yes you can put a new card if you have integrated but one will only work (which is the new one)
and about the slot it depends on what kind of video card you will buy
so simply you see what slots are available in you mother board
there are no PCI video cards these days
only AGP and PCI-E
so look inside you motherboard and see what is there and then buy the suitable card for it
 
for the slut thing, you need at least one kind of slot.
Every computers have PC! slots (or should anyway!). 3 of them probalby.
Their is also AGP slots, and like you said, PCI-express.
and yes, you can upgrade, even if you got a intergraded videocard. (you will need to disable it) is your questioned clear?

Chris
 
thank you..just 2 more questions...

is there a difference really b/w a pci-e and a pci-e x 16 slot (is one faster) and do u need an agp slot for an agp card
 
i came across this review at pcmag.com and it sounds like its saying u need a pci-express x16 card to update the card, instead of the regular pci-express

"...That also means it runs quietly and has space for an additional PCI and PCIe x1 card. But there's no PCIe x16 slot for upgrading graphics, there's room for only one additional optical drive, and you'll find only two slots for RAM modules, both of which are occupied."
 
THere are three (at least) types of PCI-E- x1, x4, and x16. When someone says PCI- Express, they usually mean x16, since it is the most common. That board in your last post just hast an x1 slot, which is peculiar, as that is not common. Graphics cards these days use x16, which has a larger bandwidth.
 
i though of one more question....if u have a card made for a regular pci slot, but the only open slot is a pci-e(x1), will it work. and if it did would it be any faster?

and if i had broadband could i just take out the pci card for the modem and put something else in there?
 
Last edited:
afro_ninj4 said:
i though of one more question....if u have a card made for a regular pci slot, but the only open slot is a pci-e(x1), will it work. and if it did would it be any faster?
Click to expand...
No. PCI cards will not work in a PCI-E x16 slot. They only work in there native slots. PCI video cards are not that great for gaming. PCI-E x16 is the best option for using a video card in your computer.
 
all pci-express slots operate at one speed... i believe its somewhere in the range of 2.5ghz was it? anyways, pci-express x1 is a single pci-express lane. pci-express x16 is 16 pci-express lanes. the pci-express x1 would carry a certain amount (say one mb hypothetically) at 2.5ghz at the same speed that the pci-express x16 slot would. however, for larger files (hypothetically 1gb) that would utilize all 16 lanes, the pci-express x16 would have a much higher bandwidth for. some cards don't require a high amount of bandwidth though, which is why they made a pci-express x1 and thats also why they still manufacture pci compatible expansion cards.
 
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