What Do PCIe Slots Look Like?

Most personal computers have at least one PCIe slot for adding expansion cards. A PCIe slot is roughly the size of a playing card (54mm x 74mm), and looks like a long, thin slot with one or more notches along its length.

Not all PCIe slots are the same size; some are longer or shorter than others.

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Expansion cards that fit in a PCIe slot come in different sizes, depending on the number of lanes they have. A lane is a data path that runs between the expansion card and the motherboard.

The more lanes an expansion card has, the more data it can send or receive at one time.

Most expansion cards that fit in a PCIe slot are double-wide, meaning they have two rows of pins. These cards are also called x16 or x8 cards because they have 16 or 8 lanes.

Some expansion cards are single-wide, meaning they have only one row of pins. These cards are also called x1 or x4 cards because they have 1 or 4 lanes.

The number of lanes an expansion card has is usually printed on the card itself, near the PCIe connector. It’s also listed in the card’s specifications.

For example, a “16-lane card” has 16 data paths (lanes) between it and the motherboard. An “8-lane card” has 8 data paths (lanes) between it and the motherboard.

PCIe slots come in different versions, which indicate how fast they are. The version number is usually printed on the motherboard next to the PCIe slot, or in the motherboard’s specifications.

The most common version numbers you’ll see are 1, 2, 3, and 4. Version 4 is the fastest type of PCIe slot, followed by version 3, then version 2, and finally version 1.

You can usually put any type of expansion card in any type of PCIe slot and it will work fine. For example, you can put an 8-lane card in a 16-lane slot or vice versa—the card will still work and transfer data at its maximum speed (8 lanes).

The only time you need to be careful is when you’re putting a faster card into a slower slot—for example, putting a 16-lane 3rd generation card into a 8-lane 2nd generation slot. In this case, the card will still work but it will be limited to the speed of the slower slot (8 lanes).

A PCIe slot looks like a long, thin slot with one or more notches along its length. The number of notches indicates how many lanes the slot has—the more notches, the more lanes.

Most personal computers have at least one PCIe slots for adding expansion cards.