Card Slot Identification

Identifying the card slots on a motherboard

There are quite a few different-looking slots on a motherboard that can be used for installing cards, so it can be rather challenging to determine which type you are looking at. Here are some guidelines to help determine the slot type on the motherboard or the card itself.

The most reliable ways are:

• Checking the distance between the outside of the box on the motherboard and the beginning of the pins, or the

 distance between the face plate on the card and the beginning of the pins.
    AGP card will have more than a 2" gap between plate and pins
    PCI card will have slightly more than a 1" gap between plate and pins
    PCI-express video card will have approximately 1 1/4" between plate and pins
    ISA card will have a little more than a 1/2" gap between the plate and pins

• Looking at the pins on the card or the connector openings on the slots themselves.

    AGP card has pins that alternate like bricks and the connectors on the motherboard are very close together
    PCI card has thicker pins that still appear quite small, and the connectors on the motherboard slot are much      
      bigger than the AGP or PCI-e video  
    PCI-e video has very fine pins that look like a picket fence when you hold the card upside down, and the 
      connectors on the card slot are also very fine
    ISA card has very thick pins and their slot has large connectors in which the metal contacts can easily
      be seen