[PLUG] PCI 2.2

Aaron Burt aaron at bavariati.org
Wed Jan 19 23:06:17 UTC 2005


On Wed, Jan 19, 2005 at 01:53:59PM -0800, Roderick A. Anderson wrote:
> This will seem pretty lame I'm sure but I'm having a problem with
> determining , visually , if the slots on a main board are PCI 2.2 or
> earlier ... and if this tells be if they are 5 or 3.3 volt.

Can't say about PCI version, but there is a notching system to ensure
the right cards go in the right slots.  If you look at a card, you'll
see a notch or two cut in the PCI connector.  If you look at a slot,
you'll see a li'l bar across the connector that slides into the notch.

So the bar keeps the card out of the slot, unless it's notched in the
right place.  And it'll be notched in the right place if the card
voltage is the same as the slot voltage.

Some cards are dual-voltage and have two notches.

So if the card fits, the voltage is OK.

Generally, it seems like I only see 3.3V PCI in server-class machines
with 64-bit PCI slots, and most of those are dual-voltage anyway.

Reminds me of the introduction of unleaded-gas cars, which had special
filler-necks that wouldn't take a leaded gas nozzle.



More information about the PLUG mailing list