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16 декабря, 2022

10 Things That Can Be Plugged in PCIe Slots

PCIe slots can be occupied with numerous kinds of expansion cards/add-in cards. Graphics cards are one of the most common devices that you plug into a PCIe slots. You can also add network cards, SSD expansion cards, sound cards, storage controller cards, RAID controllers, video capture cards, TV tuner cards and Risers cards to the PCIe slots.

As you can see, the PCIe slot is very versatile. It can accommodate a wide range of components so that you may design your system to your liking.

If you are a gamer, then you may want to install a Graphics card. If you are building a NAS setup, you may want to add storage controllers and more SATA ports. If you are missing network capability on your PC, you can add a network adapter and if you are an audiophile, you can add a high end dedicated sound card to the PCIe slot.

The possibilities of what you can add are vast and in this article we will go through various devices to understand what things can be plugged in PCIe slots and what their functions are.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

How is Expansion Done on Motherboards?

There are basically two protocols that you commonly use in order to add components to your motherboard.

  1. SATA
  2. PCIe

SATA is a protocol that is generally used to connect hard disk drives, SATA SSDs and optical drives.

PCIe, on the other hand, is a protocol that is used to connect High Speed Input Out devices (HSIO). These are devices that have a high bandwidth requirement.

SATA protocol at the moment with its version 3.0 caps at about 750 MB/s (6Gbps) bandwidth.

PCIe, on the other hand is multiple folds faster than this. The PCIe x16 slot conforming to PCIe v4.0 has a bandwidth of about 31.5 GB/s. In fact a single lane PCIe x1 v4.0 slot has a bandwidth almost three times as much as a SATA 3 slot i.e 1.969 GB/s or 1969 MB/s on a single PCIe v4.0 lane vs 600MB/s on SATA 3.

Version x1
(GB/s)		 x2
(GB/s) 		x4
(GB/s)		 x8
(GB/s)		 x16
(GB/s)
1. 0 0.250 0.500 1.000 2.000 4.000
2.0 0.500 1.000 2.000 4.000 8.000
3.0 0.985 1.969 3.938 7.877 15.754
4.0 1.969 3.938 7.877 15.754 31.508
5.0 3.938 7.877 15.754 31.508 63.015
6.0 7.877 15.754 31.508 63.015 126.031

The point being made here is that PCIe slots are used to plug in demanding and specialized components.

Also Read: How Much is a Motherboard?

There are Different Sizes of PCIe Slots

PCIe expansion cards have different lane and slot requirements. As such, there are different sizes of PCIe slots.

The most common slots are as follows:

  • x16 – This slot has 16 PCIe lanes – Used for cards that require a high bandwidth like graphics cards; these are the largest slots on the motherboard.
  • x8 – This slot has the same size as an x16 slot but half the PCIe lanes. This is also commonly used for graphics cards or for M.2 NVMe SSD expansion cards.
  • x4 – This slot has four PCIe lanes – This also has the same size as an x16 slot. It is often used for single M.2 NVMe SSD expansion card; it is also used for SATA 3 expansion cards and raid controller, high speed 10G network adapters, 4k video capture cards.
  • x1 – Smallest expansion slot – good for almost any other cards like asound card, average 1G network adapters (i.e wireless cards), FHD video capture cards, USB expansion cards etc

Image: The blue x16 slots are the longest found on commercial motherboards. They are mostly occupied with a graphics card. The smaller X1 cards are for low powered cards like wireless network cards.

It is recommended to brush up your knowledge on PCIe lanes, version and slots in order to have a better understanding of the topic at hand.

Read:

  • How Many PCIe Slots Do I Need?
  • What are PCIe Lanes?

Let’s Look at What Things Can Be Plugged in PCIe Slots

The following are some of the most common devices that you can add to the PCIe slots:

  1. Graphics Cards
  2. Sound Cards
  3. Ethernet Network Cards
  4. Wireless + Bluetooth Network Cards
  5. Video Capture Cards
  6. SATA Expansion and RAID Controller Cards
  7. M.2 NVMe Expansion Cards
  8. TV Tuner Cards
  9. Port Expansion Cards
  10. Riser / Splitters

1. Graphics Cards (GPUs)

Image: Graphics Card Installed on an x16 Slot

One of the most common peripherals installed on a PCIe slot is a DEDICATED graphics card – the processing module that allows all the visuals you see on the screen to be painted. This is a device particularly of interest to gamers and cryptominers.

Many CPUs come with an INTEGRATED graphics card. These are fairly simple and can suffice for average users.

For advanced users like gamers, designers and simulators, beefier DEDICATED graphics cards are needed.

In fact, a graphics cards is one of the most major investments for any enthusiast PC builder.

In the case of a desktop, the only way to add a dedicated graphics card is via PCIe x16 slot. Majority of the graphics card are designed to utilize 16 PCIe lanes and thus they require the full PCIe x16 slot to function at their best capacity.

Note on Integrated (iGPU) vs Dedicated Graphics Card

As mentioned iGPUs are built into the CPUs. These are good enough for an average users. Dedicated graphics cards are standalone devices designed by NVIDIA or AMD that plug into the PCIe slots on your motherboard.

2. Sound Cards

Image: Creative Blaster AE-9 internal sound card. One of the most advanced and expensive internal sound card.

Computers can process sound natively as all motherboards have a built in sound processing chip.

But in the case of creators, gamers, enthusiasts, or professionals who need a higher grade of sound output, investing in a sound card is the next logical step.

These can add better audio ports and quality to your system and even increase audio channel support. Another advantage is the reduction of interference which can distort sound quality or lead to noise.

While a dedicated sound card, as above, is not a match for professional audio systems and interfaces, they can be great for audiophiles and intermediate audio producers.

Sound cards require a PCIe x1 slots.

3. Ethernet Network Cards

While most motherboards come with Ethernet support. On some of the older motherboards, this could be missing. Hence this could warrant an investment on Ethernet network adapters.

Plus, on basic mainstream boards you can only get an average gigabit network speeds. With dedicated PCIe network cards, you can choose to have even a 10G or faster speeds.

The ASUS XG-C100C above is high speed 10G, or 10 Gbps, network card that requires an X4 slot (v3.0). Weaker Gigabit, or 1 Gbps, network cards only require an x1 slot (v3.0).

4. WiFi + Bluetooth Network Cards

In addition to Ethernet network cards, you also get network cards that can add WiFi + Bluetooth functionality to your PC.

A WiFi Network card, even conforming to the newer WiFi 6 protocol, requires only an X1 slot.

Also Read: Do Motherboards Come with WiFi?

5. Video Capture Cards – AKA Game Capture Card

Image: Elgato 4k 60Hz video capture card requires an x4 PCIe slot.

Video Capture cards are used for recording the content on the screen. They can also be used to stream the same content to viewers over the internet.

These can come in handy for online game streamers and entertainers, and are particularly good for those who build a dedicated streaming PC or have a gaming console.

Other than gamers and streamers, these are also used by content creators and vloggers.

Essentially, a video capture card helps in encoding the raw footage into data that a computer can understand. This can then be edited or streamed.

An FHD PCIe video capture cards require an x1 slot. However, 4K video capture cards require more PCIe bandwidth and thus require an x4 slot.

6. SATA Expansion and RAID Controller Cards

Image: While most SATA expansion cards are simple, the 10Gtek SAS 9211-8I is an advanced RAID controller with 8 SATA port capacity. Note that this has SAS connectors. You will need a SAS to 4-SATA ports cable in order to have a maximum of 8 SATA ports available to you.

PCIe slots can also be used to increase the storage capacity of your system. If you have a limited amount of SATA 3 ports on your motherboard for connecting SATA hard drives, you can get a PCIe SATA expansion card.

The size of the SATA expansion card and the type of slot it requires depends on factors like how many SATA slots it has and whether it has a RAID controller or not.

You can find SATA 3 expansion card for x1, x4 and x8 slots.

7. M.2 NVMe Expansion Cards

Image: NVMe expansion card. Offers a single M.2 NVMe slot and occupies x4 PCIe slot.

PCIe NVMe SSD are the fastest hard drives available. An average SATA 3 spinning hard disk drive can reach speeds of only 200 MB/s in very ideal conditions.

A PCIe NVMe SSD can reach speeds of upto 7000/5100 (Read/Write) MB/s such as the Samsung 980 Pro. This is many folds faster than an average hard drive.

Many newer motherboards do come with at least one NVMe M.2 slot. However, if your motherboard lacks the M.2 slot or if you want to add another NVMe SSD to your system, then you can invest in an NVMe SSD expansion cards.

Note that each M.2 NVMe slot requires 4 PCIe lanes. As such, the smallest you can find requires an x4 PCIe slot.

8. TV Tuner Cards

Image: Hauppauge 1196 TV Tuner Card

Up next in the list of what things can be plugged in PCIe slots is a TV Tuner card. Simply put, TV Tuner cards let your PC work like a TV. They allow it to directly receive TV signals, decode it and show you TV channels.

These cards are relatively inexpensive and can come in handy in a variety of situations. Some can be plugged in via USB, but there are many which get connected directly to the motherboard via PCIe ports.

These require a PCIe x1 slot.

9. Port Expansion Cards – Thunderbolt, USB

Image: Gigabyte GC-Titan Ridge 2.0 Thunderbolt 3.0 expansion card.

If you want to have more IO on your PC, a PCIe port expansion card is the way to go.

Whether you want to add more USB Type A ports, the newer Type C port or even a Thunderbolt 3.0 port to your PC. You can do so with port expansion cards.

It should be noted, that you NEED TO HAVE THE RIGHT HEADER TO ADD THE CORRESPONDING PORT EXPANSION CARD. For instance, to add a Thunderbolt 3.0 expansion card like the one shown above, your motherboard needs to have a Thunderbolt 3. 0 header. 

Depending upon the amount and type of port, these cards require x1 or x4 PCIe slot.

10. Riser Cards

Riser cards are essentially PCIe port splitters. Just like port expansion cards, PCIe riser cards add extra ports to your PC. Only that the ports they add are PCIe.

Caution: MORE PCIE SLOTS DOES NOT EQUAL MORE PCIE LANES OR HIGHER  BANDWIDTH. To learn how to add more PCIe slots, follow this article:

  • How to Add More PCIe Slots?

Riser cards are very popular among cryptominers and for creating crypto mining rigs with multiple graphics cards.

Summary of Expansion Cards and Their PCIe Lane Requirements

Card PCIe Lane
Requirement		 Remarks
NVIDIA Graphics Card 16 or 8 16 ideally
8 in case of SLI
AMD Graphics Card 16, 8, or 4 16 ideally
8 or 4 in case of crossfire
Sounds Card 1
Ethernet Network Card 1 or 4 1 in case of 1 Gbps (v3. 0)
4 in case of 10 Gbps (v3.0)
WiFi Network Card 1
Video Capture Card 1 or 4 1 in case of 1080 capture (v3.0)
4 in case of 4k capture (v3.0)
SATA Expansion and
Raid Controller		 1, 4, 8 The lane requirement depends upon number of SATA slots, and whether it has RAID Controller
M.2 NVMe Expansion Card 4
TV Tuner Cards 1
Port Expansion Card 1 or 4 Depending upon the type and number of port. Thunderbolt 3.0 port, for instance, requires 4 PCIe Lanes (v3.0)
Riser/Splitter 1, 4, 8, 16

Cross and Backward Compatibility

The PCIe standard is cross compatible meaning an x4 card can be installed in an x16 slot – but you should refrain from doing this unless absolutely necessary otherwise you will be wasting your precious x16 slot on a smaller card.

The PCIe standard is backward compatible, so an older PCIe card operating on PCIe 2.0 standard will fit in a PCIe 3.0 slot. However, the interface only operates at the maximum speed of the slower of the two.

Final Words

Here I talked in detail about some of the most common devices that can be plugged into a PCIe slot. It is very important that you learn what PCIe slot and lanes are.

You see, each PCIe device requires a certain amount of PCIe lanes but the amount of PCIe lanes you have in your system are limited. In my blog here I have talked in detail about PCIe lanes. So make sure you are well versed with the concept if you plan to build your PC or install a new device.

What is PCIe? A 60 Second Overview



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By Darek Fanton·Categories: Industrial IoT, Tech Explained·Published On: August 20th, 2022·1.7 min read·

Our blog post about PCIe 4.0 has been very popular, likely because this connectivity standard has become the go-to interface for so many of today’s expansion cards and GPUs. That post largely focuses on the differences between generation 3.0 and 4.0. But what is PCIe exactly?

In our Tech Edge video below, we break down the basics of PCIe in just 60 seconds. Check out the video, and be sure to subscribe to the OnLogic YouTube channel for more.

What is PCIe?

PCIe stands for Peripheral Component Interconnect Express. It’s the term for a particular type of connection between a computer’s motherboard (or host) and peripherals (or endpoints) like graphics cards, sound cards, solid state drives, and expansion cards. To connect them, you plug the PCIe card into the PCIe slot on the board.

Types of slots and cards

There are 5 common types of PCIe slots and cards: x1, x2, x4, x8, and x16. The numbers represent the number of lanes on the card or slot. Just like the lanes on a road, these lanes are paths for data to travel on. X1 has just one lane, x4 has 4 lanes, etc. The more lanes, the more data can travel on them, and therefore the higher the potential rate of data transfer.

What are PCIe generations?

Five generations of the PCIe standard have been established. The key difference between them is that the data transfer rate in each individual lane has doubled with each new generation. The newest available generation is 5.0 and it offers up to 32 gigatransfers per second per lane. 

Although the PCI-SIG announced the release of the specification for PCIe 6.0 in January of 2022, it will likely take years for PCIe 6.0 to become available on commercial products.

What other PCIe questions do you have?

Ready to explore more? Check out our variety of expansion cards and add-on modules for flexible I/O including daughterboards, PCI, PCI Express, and PCI Express Mini Cards. If you still have questions, reach out to our team of experts.

This blog was originally posted on April 14th, 2021. It was updated for content on August 20th, 2022.

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About the Author: Darek Fanton

Darek is the Communications Manager at OnLogic. His passion for both journalism and technology has led him from the newsrooms of local papers to the manufacturing floor of IBM. His background in news gathering has him always on the lookout for the latest in emerging tech and the best ways to share that information with readers. In addition to his affinity for words, Darek is a music lover, juggler and huge fan of terrible jokes.

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