In the field of networks and computing, each invention aims to solve problems that have arisen previously. The emergence of the PCIe standard is intended to meet the needs of higher bandwidth, greater flexibility and better performance of network devices. After 2001 since its debut, PCIe has gone through a massive evolution. However, it has been greatly deployed in network equipment.
What is a PCI Express card?
The PCIe card is a type of network adapter with a PCIe interface, used in motherboard level connections as an expansion card interface. PCIe-based expansion cards are specifically designed to fit the motherboard slots of devices such as host, server, and network switch. Newer PC motherboards feature PCIe slots for PCIe cards only. The PCI Express card can be installed in the corresponding PCIe slot, the width of which is normally equal to or greater than the card. It is highly recommended to buy High-speed PCIe board if you want maximum efficiency.
How does the PCI Express card work?
Different from the data bus that transmits data from multiple sources, the PCI Express card can support point-to-point connections via switches in order to control data transmission. After the PCIe network card is seated, a logical connection will be established with the slot to communicate with each other.
The connection supports a point-to-point communication channel between two PCIe ports, allowing both sending and receiving normal PCI requests and interrupts. As the following figure presents, the PCIe slot contains one or more lanes. For the x2 link, each lane is made up of two different data transfer pairs, one for transmitting data and the other for receiving data. Therefore, each path has four signal wires or traces.
Why choose the PCI Express card?
Before the introduction of the PCIe card, there were two main network adapters available in the market: PCI card and PCI-X. With a completely different connector and electrical design, the recently released PCI-E card achieves an improvement based on the previous two and becomes the most widely used among them.
First of all, make sure your computer has at least one slot available for the PCI Express card. If you are using a wired network without buying a custom designed system, then you should look for some PCIe cards. However, choosing a suitable PCIe card is not that easy. When selecting a PCIe, pay attention to the following factors:
- PCIe card version and slot width: Make sure the type of the PCI Express is compatible with your current equipment and network environment.
- Standard Protocol: Before purchasing, please confirm if the card supports the standards you need,
- Controller: Intel, Broadcom, and Realtek chips are the trend.
Conclusion
In addition to the three points we mentioned above, there are also other variables that influence your choice such as transmission speed, port number, connector type, operating system, brand, price, etc. High-end software continues to evolve at breakneck speed to meet more demands, driven by continuous advances in PCIe performance. You can buy high speed PCIe board and module online at affordable prices, without hampering the quality, relying on great potential.
