PCI Extended

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What Does PCI Extended Mean?

Peripheral component interconnect-extended (PCI-X) is a computer architecture standard used for 32-bit PCI bus expansion slots. These slots are used to enhance the existing capabilities of a computer motherboard.

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Like PCI bus, PCI-X uses the same protocol and mechanisms. However, the clock speed of PCI-X is four times faster than PCI bus.

Techopedia Explains PCI Extended

PCI-X is an advanced version of PCI conventional bus. It works like a pipe that data transfer between devices. PCI-X increases the clock speed from 66 MHz to 133 MHz, essentially providing a larger, faster pipe for data to flow through.

The advantages of PCI-X over conventional PCI are:

  • Double the bandwidth of PCI
  • Backward compatibility
  • Much faster rates than PCI

There is some confusion between PCI-X and PCI express. They have very similar names, but there is no similarity between these two with respect to their functionality, shape, speed or characteristics. However, both are used for higher speed data communication inside a computer.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology Specialist
Margaret Rouse
Technology Specialist

Margaret is an award-winning writer and educator known for her ability to explain complex technical topics to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles in the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret’s idea of ​​a fun day is to help IT and business professionals to learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.