Copper contacts on the bottom of a PCI card plug into a PCI slot on a motherboard.
Graphics cards power the video you see on your monitor and may connect to one of several slots on your computer motherboard. The most common expansion card slot on motherboards, the Peripheral Component Interconnect slot, provides an interface for connecting all sorts of add-on devices. You can connect certain video cards to PCI slots, but there are a number of limitations to know about.
Graphics Cards and PCI
Although relatively uncommon in newer systems, there are graphics cards that can connect to Peripheral Component Interconnect slots. These white slots sit in the lower left corner of most motherboards inside the computer. They're useful for connecting a variety of peripherals beyond video cards, including sound cards, modems, network cards and storage adapters.
Advantages
Nearly every consumer desktop computer has at least one PCI slot, so the biggest advantage of using a PCI video card is compatibility. The majority of PCI graphics cards are relatively inexpensive as well. You can install PCI graphics cards if you need extra monitor ports or if you want better video performance than a built-in motherboard graphics chip provides.
Disadvantages
As cheap and universal as they are, PCI graphics cards don't provide the best performance available. The limited bandwidth of the PCI bus isn't suitable for high-end video cards, and as a result only low-end video card models are available in PCI versions. If you need a high-end card for games or other graphics-heavy applications, install a PCI-Express card on newer PCs or an Accelerated Graphics Port card on older computers. Not all computers have PCI-Express or AGP slots, however. This limits some computer owners to PCI graphics cards.
Installation
Installing a PCI video card is relatively straightforward. After opening your computer, all you have to do is remove the protective metal bracket to the left of a PCI slot, insert the graphics card into the PCI slot and screw the bracket to the case. Install the latest drivers from the manufacturer's website for maximum compatibility with games and applications.
Tags: graphics cards, video card, video cards, Component Interconnect, graphics cards, into slot, Peripheral Component