The expansion slot is a slot on the main board that is used to fix the expansion card and connect it to the system bus. It is also called expansion slot and expansion slot. Expansion slots are a way to add or enhance computer features and functionality. For example, not satisfied with the performance of the motherboard integrated graphics, you can add a discrete graphics card to enhance display performance; not satisfied with the sound quality of the onboard sound card, you can add a separate sound card to enhance the sound; motherboards that do not support USB2.0 or IEEE1394 can add the appropriate USB2 .0 expansion card or IEEE1394 expansion card for this function, etc.
At present, the main types of expansion slots are ISA, PCI, AGP, CNR, AMR, ACR, PCI Express, and relatively rare WI-FI, VXB, PCMCIA and Mini PCI for notebook computers. Historically, MCA slots, EISA slots, and VESA slots have long since been eliminated. The current mainstream expansion slots are PCI and PCI Express slots.
When purchasing a motherboard product, the number and type of expansion slots are an important indicator of purchasing decisions. Having multiple types and a sufficient number of expansion slots means that there will be enough upgradeability and device scalability in the future. Otherwise, there will be huge obstacles in the future upgrades and device expansion. This is especially important for beginners. For example, if you are not satisfied with the game performance of the integrated motherboard and want to upgrade to a discrete graphics card, you will find that there is no AGP slot on the motherboard; if you want to add a video capture card, you will find that the used PCI slots are already full. However, the number of expansion slots is not as good as possible. Excessive slots will increase the cost of the motherboard and increase the user's purchase cost, and too many slots have no effect on many users. For example, one slot only needs to be implemented. Office computers with text processing and Internet access are equipped with six PCI slots and are equipped with discrete graphics cards. This is a typical waste of resources. This type of computer can fully meet the usage requirements only with the integrated Micro ATX motherboard. Therefore, the purchase of specific products must be based on their own needs to purchase, in line with their own is the best.