Expansion slots and cards !

What is expansion slots !

The expansion slots are limited in their ability by the speed in which data can be moved around on the motherboard. This is why there are different slot types and bus speed.

Computer Expansion Slots :

AGP - Video card.
AMR - Modem, Sound card.
CNR - Modem, Network card, Sound card.
EISA - SCSI, Network card, Video card.
ISA - Network card, Sound card, Video card.
PCI - Network card, SCSI, Sound card, Video card.
VESA - Video card.

What is Expansion Cards !

It's a circuit board that can be inserted in a computer to give extra facilities or memory.

Computer Expansion Cards :

Interface card (ATA, Bluetooth, Firewire, IDE, Parallel, RAID, SCSI, Serial, and USB)
Modem.
MPEG Decoder.
Network card.
Sound card.
Video capture card.
Video card.

Now I will discuss Five commonly used expansion cards in my Computer :

01. RAID controller :

A collection of hard drives connected in a RAID configuration can share or back up data in various ways, giving you options for backing up data or increasing storage over several drives. A RAID controller expansion card gives your computer ports for multiple hard drives through high-speed connections, usually SATA cables.

02. SCSI controller :

Your computer may not have the correct connection ports for connecting devices using the small computer system interface (SCSI), such as hard drives or certain high-speed scanners. An SCSI controller expansion card allows you to add a port for those devices.

03. Video graphics cards :

In order to play advanced PC games, run high-definition movies, or use sophisticated image-editing software on your computer, you’ll most likely need to boost the graphics processing power with a video card. Video cards take over processing 3D graphics and other video tasks, so your computer’s CPU can focus on other functions.

04. USB port card :

Most desktops do have USB ports, but the version of USB they use may be too slow. You may also have more USB devices than you have ports. A multi-port USB expansion card adds high-speed ports to your computer that works faster than simple port-splitters. The latest version of USB is version 3.0, so any USB 3.0 card you install will be backwards compatible with your old USB devices and operate much faster than older ports.

05. TV tuner card :

If you’re setting up a home theater PC, you may want to be able to watch and record live TV broadcasts with a tuner card. Most tuner cards will include a coaxial cable connection to which you can attach an antenna or other video source. Some tuner cards will also be able to make recordings in multiple digital video formats.