Re: Differences in PCI boards...
Ron Johnson <ron.l.johnson@cox.net> wrote:
> That card seems to be relatively old. This link should shed some
> light on the matter:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peripheral_Component_Interconnect#Conventional
Many thanks for that link...it was EXACTLY what I needed, and it saved
me from ordering a card that wouldn't have worked on my PC. Here's what
I THINK I've learned:
1) PCI 2.3 doesn't support 5v PCI cards. It suppports 3.3v cards, and
also "universal" cards (which I guess are designed to work with either
voltage).
2) 3.3v cards have a slot near the end of the card which will be nearest
to the opening in the back of the computer.
3) 5v cards have a slot near the other end of the card.
4) Universal cards have both slots.
5) The three types of PCI slots on the motherboard have one or two
"fences" that prevent the wrong card from being inserted (if there is no
slot in the card at that position of the fence).
6) The Rosewill parallel card that I was considering buying says "5 volt
only", and its slot is at the end of the card opposite where the rear of
the computer will be, so it is indeed a 5v card. So that board won't
work on my Dell Inspiron 530, or on any other computer that only has PCI
2.3 slots (earlier versions of PCI could work with 5v cards, or with
either 5v or 3.3v cards).
Mike Fontenot
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