PCI slots (and other ones- PCI-E, AGP etc) are expansion slots, you plug in the peripherals like sound cards, graphics cards, usb expansion cards, wifi cards and like into them. They fit perpendicular to your motherboard, and the part you plug stuff into fits into the back, outside of your case, just below the I/O section (where you plug your keyboard, ethernet, some usb's into and stuff).

 

 

 

PCI-E is the current release, if you like, the fastest, most up to date one. The one before is PCI, that's still very common on lots of motherboards, and before that it is AGP. You'll be most likely to find a mix of these 3 types on the majority of low to mid end motherboards.

 

 

 

You can easily tell how many and what type of expansion slot you have.

 

 

 

Look at the image below, around the bottom left of the motherboard are several long thin slots, these are pci and pci-e slots.

 

The 3 white ones are PCI, notice the length compared to the other ones and also the separators along the length.

 

The blue and black ones are PCI-E, notice they are longer and have different separators compared to the the PCI slots. Also, most PCI-E slots (that I've seen, anyway) have a little thing at the end that helps secure the card.

 

Inserting the cards is as easy as lining up the bottom slot and pushing it in so it fits, then screwing in the face plate so it sits sturdy in the case.

 

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Yeah, thanks. I need a wifi card. How much should I spend? (i have like 700 kb/s dsl)

I would get a USB wireless adapter instead of a card. Putting another PCI card into a case along with a sound card and video card is going to be a pain. The USB adapters work fine too (Cost about $35-$40 for a good one).

kk, what part has USB ports on it. -.-

kk, what part has USB ports on it. -.-

 

The mobo Im pretty sure and some cases come with a few usb ports.

Might i suggest paying a store to build it for you?

Might i suggest paying a store to build it for you?

 

 

 

NEVA. I'm still looking stuff up, if it looks too daunting I'll do that.

It's not difficult, the only thing that isn't just plug in and go is the application of thermal paste to the cpu, but that isn't exactly rocket science.

 

 

 

You'll need your motherboard's manual, it should be a big fold out piece of paper with an annotated picture of your mobo with all the parts. The trickiest part there is locating and inserting the front case panel wires, they are tiny, and very fiddley. That's pretty much it though.

Yeah, I just hadn't looked into it all. I understand the notation and hte procedure now :)

I'm just looking at it and wondering: would it be at all worth it to build like a $400 comp and then get another one cause i"m looking at it and wndering what kind of performance idfferences you are getting.

That depends. If you're interested in top performance now and possibly low performance later, go with the higher end PC now. If you're looking for decent, consistent performance, get the $400 machine now and get another later. Keep in mind, if you do that, you can reuse some parts. IE, same case, same PSU (provided they don't die). Depending on the size of hard drive you get now, you may be safe using it again in a few years.

 

 

 

A lot of it depends on how long you plan on using the high end machine. At the low end of your spectrum, if you use it for 3 years before buying another high end, get the high end PC. At the high end, if you use it for 7 years before allotting more cash for a new PC, you might be better off with the $400 machine.

Hmmm, I wonder whatk ind of performance difference, cause tbh if it is fine for the next 3 years...