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Expansion Slots PDF
Expansion Slots PDF
8-Bit ISA
i. An adapter card with 62 contacts on its bottom edge (31 contacts on each of the both sides of
the card) plugs into a 8-bit ISA slot on the motherboard that has 62 matching contacts.
Electronically, this slot provides 8 data lines and 20 addressing lines, enabling the slot to
handle 1MB of memory.
ii. The original 8-bit version ran at 4.77MHz in the PC and XT motherboards.But,the later
versions of 8-bit ISA ran at 8.33MHz . ISA data transfers require anywhere from two to eight
cycles. Therefore, the theoretical maximum data rate of the 8-bit ISA bus is about 4.17MBps,
as the following formula shows:
8.33MHz bytes (8 bits) [db] 2 cycles per transfer = 4.17MBps
iii. The dimensions of 8-bit ISA adapter cards are as follows:
4.2'' (106.68mm) high
13.13'' (333.5mm) long
0.5'' (12.7mm) wide
iv. The main disadvantage is , it requires many jumpers and DIP switch settings to connect new
device.
16-Bit ISA
i. In 1984 , IBM introduced its AT motherboard with 80286 processor having 16-bit data
bit.Thus , AT motherboards had 16-bit ISA bus ,also refered as AT-bus.
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ii. IBM added extension connector with 36 pins to the existing 8-bit connecter,that made 16-bit
ISA slot compatible with 8-bit ISA slot.
iii. The extra 36 pins along with 62 8-bit ISA pins makes total of 98 contacts in 16-bit ISA bus.
In addition, two of the pins in the 8-bit portion of the connector were changed. These two
minor changes did not alter the function of 8-bit cards.
iv. The 16-bit version used in the AT ran at 6MHz and then 8MHz.Later,for backward
compatibility the whole industry agreed on an 8.33MHz maximum standard speed. ISA data
transfers require anywhere from two to eight cycles. Therefore, the theoretical maximum data
rate of the ISA bus is about 8MBps, as the following formula shows:
8.33MHz 2 bytes (16 bits) [db] 2 cycles per transfer = 8.33MBps
v. The dimensions of a typical AT expansion board are as follows:
4.8'' (121.92mm) high
13.13'' (333.5mm) long
0.5'' (12.7mm) wide
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Extended ISA (EISA) bus
i. The Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) standard was announced in September
1988 by a group of nine computer manufacturers (populary called as Gang of Nine) in
response to the IBMs proprietary Micro Channel Architecture
ii. The EISA standard was developed primarily by Compaq .The EISA bus was essentially a 32-
bit version of ISA. Unlike the MCA bus from IBM, you could still use older 8-bit or 16-bit
ISA cards in 32-bit EISA slots, providing for full backward-compatibility.
iii. As with MCA, EISA also allowed for automatic configuration of EISA cards via software .
It also supports the Bus Mastering Option.
iv. The EISA bus added 90 new connections (55 new signals plus grounds) without increasing
the physical connector size of the 16-bit ISA bus.
v. The physical specifications of an EISA card are as follows:
5'' (127mm) high
13.13'' (333.5mm) long
0.5'' (12.7mm) wide
vi. The EISA bus can handle up to 32 bits of data at an 8.33MHz cycle rate. Most data transfers
require a minimum of two cycles, although faster cycle rates are possible if an adapter card
provides tight timing specifications. The maximum bandwidth on the bus is 33MBps, as the
following formula shows:
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ii. Hence , Intel released the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus specification in June
1992 as version 1.0 and since then has undergone several upgrades. Table below shows the
various releases of PCI:
PCI Specifications
PCI Specification Released Major Change
PCI 1.0 June 1992 Original 32/64-bit specification
PCI 2.0 April 1993 Defined connectors and expansion boards
PCI 2.1 June 1995 66MHz operation, transaction ordering,
latency changes
PCI 2.2 Jan. 1999 Power management, mechanical clarifications
Mini-PCI Nov. 1999 Small form factor boards, addendum to 2.2
PCI 2.3 March 2002 3.3V signaling, low-profile add-in cards
iii. Information typically is transferred across the PCI bus at 33MHz and 32 bits at a time. The
bandwidth is 133MBps, as the following formula shows:
33.33MHz 4 bytes (32 bits) = 133MBps
iv. Another important feature of PCI is the fact that it was the model for the Intel PnP
specification.Therefore, PCI cards do not have jumpers and switches and are instead
configured through software.
v.Aiding performance is the fact that the PCI bus can operate concurrently with the processor
bus ; it does not supplant it. The CPU can be processing data in an external cache while the
PCI bus is busy transferring information between other parts of the systema major design
benefit of the PCI bus.
vi. The extended version of PCI called PCI-X is 64-bit wide bus and operates at 133MHz
providing throughput from 533MBps to 4266MBps depending on the clock. The 3rd
generation development of PCI i.e. PCI-Express provides even more throughput than both PCI
and PCI-Express ranging from 250MBps to 10GBps.
PCI-Express
i. Peripheral Component Interconnect-Express (PCI-Express) is a 3rd generation development of
PCI bus. It is a very fast serial bus design that is backward-compatible with current PCI
parallel bus software drivers and controls. PCI-Express is a differential signaling bus that can
be generated by either the North Bridge or South Bridge.
ii. The speed of PCI-Express is described in terms of lanes. Each bidirectional dual-simplex
lane provides a 2.5 Gbps transfer rate in each direction.Thus, the singal lane PCI-Express slot
(known as x1) runs at 2.5 Gbps in each direction . Some system support PCI-
Express x4 slot, which provides 10 Gbps in each direction. PCI-Express video
cards generally use the x16 slot , which provides 40Gbps in each direction .
iii. PCI-Express uses an IBM-designed 8-bit-to-10-bit encoding scheme, which allows for self-
clocked signals that will easily allow future increases in frequency. This will also help in
increasing the throughout of the bus.
iv. PCI-Express bus will eventually replace the existing PCI buses from motherboards and also
the existing Intel hub architecture, HyperTransport, and similar high-speed interfaces
between motherboard chipset components. Additionally, it will replace video interfaces such
as AGP.
v. The below table explains the different types of PCI-Express bus
PCI-Express Bus Types
PCI Bus Type Bus Bus Data Cycles Bandwidth(MBps)
Width(Bits) Speed(MHz) per Clock
PCI-Express 1 2500 0.8 250
PCI-Express 16 2500 0.8 4000
PCI-Express 32 2500 0.8 8000