Names of Types of Slots in a Motherboard
A motherboard is the central piece of hardware inside your computer case. Its job is to provide physical connections to individual internal components and to get them communicating with one another. It also provides external connectors for devices like your keyboard, mouse and printer. On this board, a wide variety of slots has developed over the years. Your board may not have all the slots mentioned in this list, but these are the most common ones.
CPU Slot
This is the most important one, since the Central Processing Unit is like the brain of your computer. This is a flat, square slot, although some older computers have you insert the CPU like a card. The square, flat versions are generally called "ZIF" sockets, which stands for Zero Insertion Force. Instead of you pushing the device into a slot like a card, there is a lever on the side of the slot. You pull up to open it, and you press the lever down once you've placed the CPU in this slot.
RAM Slots
Your Random Access Memory goes in these slots. RAM is the temporary memory space for rapid storage and retrieval of data. Applications and media may be stored in here, which is why a program that you just closed will open much faster the second time. RAM is shaped into "sticks" of memory, and you will usually have multiple RAM slots to provide expandability.
PCI Slots
These Peripheral Component Interconnect slots were popular for sound cards and network cards, but you'll usually find those functions integrated into the motherboard's circuitry now. These days, PCI slots are popular for adding additional storage connections like SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachments), so that you can attatch more hard drives to your computer. Or you may get a PCI card that adds Wi-Fi networking or external USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports.
PCI Express
This type of slot is used mostly for video cards. When it comes to peripheral cards, PCI Express (or "PCIe") is the fastest way to communicate with the rest of the computer. You will often find PCIe video cards so large that they physically block access to nearby slots. You motherboard can have multiple PCIe slots to link multiple video cards together.
AGP Slot
The Accelerated Graphics Port slot is for the older generation of video cards. While PCI Express accommodates devices other than video cards, AGP does not. If you are in the market for a new motherboard, avoid the AGP variety if you can afford PCIe. It is a substantially slower technology.
Tags: video cards, your computer, have multiple, like card, Names Types, Names Types Slots, Slots Motherboard