Peripheral Component Interconnect is a common connection interface for connecting computer peripherals to the motherboard. PCI was popular between 1995 and 2005 and was most commonly used to connect sound cards, network cards, and video cards.
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Modern computers mainly use other interface technologies such as USB or PCI Express (PCIe). Some desktop computers may have PCI slots on the motherboard to maintain backward compatibility. However, the devices that were attached as PCI expansion cards are now integrated on motherboards or attached via other connectors such as PCIe.
A PCI device is called a PCI bus. A bus is a term for a path between components of a computer. You may also see this term described as conventional PCI. However, PCI should not be confused with PCI compliance, which stands for payment card industry compliance, or PCI DSS, which stands for payment card industry data security standard.
A PCI bus allows you to change various peripherals that are connected to your computer system. Typically, there are three or four PCI slots on a motherboard. With PCI, you can unplug the component you want to swap and plug the new component into the PCI slot. If you have an open slot, you can add another peripheral, such as a second hard drive.
