Explaining PCIe Slots

[@Shebrew144]

I was beginning to think I would never understand PCI and PCIe slots. Turns out I just needed it explained how you did. You are an amazing teacher. Thank you!!! 😊

[@ExplainingComputers]

:)

[@alittleolder]

Being in the field for 25 years now I find these videos so refreshing and interesting. Sometimes simplify things i a way I couldn't when talking to a client. I do enjoy your channel a great deal.

[@alittleolder]

Hans Campbell If we go by first computer it's the 128D, I was a bit late to the game

[@davidhite1868]

My first computer was an IBM 1401. 1964.

[@alittleolder]

David Hite That reminds me, I started on a Z1. We did have an IBS AS/400 as a modern Server in Computer School..

[@checktheevidence]

My first computer was a notched stick! :)

[@alittleolder]

Ever heard of a St-one at st-one .. lol that actually makes it sound like it's something.. but it was fun to see how far people go back.. I don't know if many people (let's not say from the younger generation but in general) can build a computer but don't really know why and how it works.

[@briandillon9503]

AT last. Someone who knows what he's talking about and can explain it clearly and simply without wearing a baseball cap the wrong way around. Well done.

[@ExplainingComputers]

:)

[@ninja.saywhat]

:)

[@deadchannel5933]

>:))))

[@BlastinRope]

The people who were young when it was cool to wear your hat backwards are nearly old enough to retire. Youre ancient history at this point.

[@davidcooley275]

@@BlastinRope Never been cool to wear a hat backward...just makes you look lazy and ignorant.

[@peroperic1080]

Very professional work, man! It is not easy to find a video on KZbin where the author both knows his stuff and is able to teach the stuff so that the laymen can understand.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thanks. :)

[@theadmin1982]

Ah... been in IT for over 20 years and a Network Engineer as well and I totally enjoyed this video in 2021.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thanks. :)

[@markharrisllb]

I can't begin to imagine the level of preparation that goes into your videos. Graphics, examples, research and scripts. It’s all excellent, thank you. This is a comment from the future of this video where PCIe 6 is on the horizon.

[@Zelectrocutica]

This channel is gold mine.

[@antenna_prolly]

Gold mine? Why not bitcoin mine?

[@denniscuesta7009]

Bitcoin mine? Why not bottle cap mine?

[@BobISuppose]

@@denniscuesta7009 I still have the wallet and there is no network to sync to and no one on it. How do we start up the bottle cap ecosystem again? Did the project get abandoned?

[@BobISuppose]

@@denniscuesta7009 Its been years since I downloaded the wallet for bottle caps. Never really any network to connect to. I thought it was one of the coins that were not genuine...

[@thequietkiwi]

Those old mobos are a goldmine :P

[@smada36]

It always amazes me. We talk about old standards and obsolescence, and then the date they were first introduced as being something like 1996. Twenty years is no time at all for a standard to come and then be superceded a few times over. It really puts it into perspective of just how young and fast pace computer technology really is.

[@RelakS__]

Same as for video formats. We say, that VHS, DVD, BD, these are changing so fast, that you should buy our movies again and again. But when the VHS started? 1976. DVD? 1995, 19 years later. Blu-Ray? 2006, 11 years later. UHD-BD? 2016, 10 years later. So, ok VHS were with us for a long time, but from current time it is like they introduced it around the DVD's date. Also, I am sure, that the UHD-BD is so bad format (thanks, studios), that BD will be with us for a while, as you also can buy lots of DVDs. And I didn't bother to look for the Video CD, LaserDisc, HD-DVD, etc, we had during these times (watch Techmoan's channel for strange formats)

[@TheRealFobican]

Yes indeed, ddr3 already feels a little old now when ddr4 has been the successor during these four years only to be replaced by a new standard. Wonder if DDR6 will appear in half the time it will take DDR5 to become the new thing over DDR4?

[@Oleg-oe1rc]

@@stevebergman6431 Thats more an issue with modern software and games than it is CPU platue. Most modern games only use a few cores, or maybe 4 tops, but if a game was able to utilize all your cores in an effectives way, having 8, 10, 18 or more cores would be a night and day difference from a 4 core running at double the speed. That said, now that we are finally going beyond just the 4 core/8 thread thereshold in the consumer market, you can expect to see a lot more games and software utlilize most, if not all, of your cores, and to start running significantly better in high core count cpus.

[@dowskivisionmagicaloracle8593]

Am I the only one who noticed that in the last example the video card was larger than the whole motherboard it was inserted into?

[@LoveScreamTrue]

@@dowskivisionmagicaloracle8593 No, you're not. We are at least two who have noticed.

[@GeezerDust]

Clearest demo I've seen in a long time. Those 80's - 90's computer builds would give you a headache. We didn't have many people like yourself to explain things.

[@prateekmudgil]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/l6vPoahmr7qDgNUsi=ygiWa7Rwp0ZTeItc

[@garydunken7934]

PCIe very well explained. I felt nostalgic when I saw those late 80's and 90's ISA and AGP type slots. Thanks for the video.

[@schneiderphotoMD]

G Dunken I don’t know....I did let out a small internal scream of horror at the memories of trying to “cable manage” and triple checking cards and slots from the old days. It is nostalgic, but I’m glad things are much more efficient for building these days.

[@kmath50]

Same here. We also cannot forget MCA and EISA. They came out in the late 1980's.

[@unbroken5011]

Can i put pcie 2.0 x16 card in pcie x16 slot ?

[@vexator19]

@@unbroken5011 Just watch the video.

[@needforspeedgaming7148]

@@unbroken5011 uhm why not?

[@HeavenlyWarrior]

I do not understand how this channel doesn't have at least 1M subscribers with such rich content, explained so well. Probably most people are interested in futile stuff that doesn't really matter...

[@woodant1981]

In my opinion PCI-e is definitely my favourite thing that’s happened to the silicon based computer. For such a long time I’ve enjoyed super expandable and adaptable GPU connectivity, storage, networking and all kinds of other stuff. Thanks for (as always) this clear, slow, video for an ultimate understanding!

[@joonasfi]

One of the moments that reminded me that I'm truly a nerd was when you said "I need to tell you about how PCIe handles data" ( 3:20 ), and I got genuinely excited to learn this knowledge :D

[@ExplainingComputers]

Excitement at tech knowledge is always good! :)

[@philipcooper8297]

One bit to add, PCIe lanes are the most expensive part of your motherboard, these are physical connections between the PCIe slot and the CPU and/or chipset. That is why there are several chipset versions on the market and the ''main'' PCIe x16 slot is where it is (close to the CPU). Also, PCIe lanes (CPU to slot) are divided into chunks of 4. If you have a lower tier chipset, a B150 for instance with 8 PCIe lanes (connections between the CPU and the PCIe slots) and you fit a graphics card into the first PCIe x16 slot, all the 8 lanes are being used by that card. However, if you then fit another device into your other PCIe x16 (x4) slot, it will divide the lanes between those two devices into 4 and 4, effectively reducing the speed of the first PCie x16 slot by half. This is very important for when you decided to put a NVME PCIe card into your second PCIe x16 slot of your PC (or any other such device). The other PCIe x1 and PCI slots, and other devices such as USB and SATA controllers, Ethernet controller and so on, are being fed from the chipset and do not ''rob'' you of the very fast PCIe lanes.

[@MasticinaAkicta]

Definitely, that is also a huge difference between a consumer board and a server board. More lanes! Equal when it comes to expensive server cpu's. They tend to offer support for more PCI-E lanes, required to run a lot of data hungry cards.

[@xDownSetx]

Thankfully the renewed competition between AMD and Intel has allowed consumers to gain access to a high number of PCIe lanes without the price premium of server grade hardware.

[@philipcooper8297]

That is not the right thinking though. Most of the PC users (who care anyway) are gamers, and for that a server grade HW is a waste of money. Paying for what they are not going to use. Even with SLI configuration all you need is 8 lanes per gfx card. Having 16 lanes per card won't boost the performance (PCIe 3.0) as current consumer grade HW won't even fully utilise the PCIe x8 (3.0). Mind you, we are a few months from PCIe 4.0 (5.0, some say we're going to skip 4.0), which will be even faster, than what we use today, which would mean less lanes will do the same job. We have seen this before. PCie x16 (2.0) = PCIe x8 (3.0) and it scales all down to the PCIe x1. So, we won't have more lanes in the future, we're going to have the same amount or even less, but way faster. It's the physical work to put the lanes on the board and the CPU, that costs the money, not the technology.

[@PixlRainbow]

@@philipcooper8297 the thing is, it has more lanes and still has a better price to performance ratio than an equivalent Intel consumer CPU

[@ask4kobebeef]

Gamers care a lot about pcie lanes because NVME ssds need lots of it for the bandwdith. More pcie lanes = more nvme ssds = more games you can have installed. More pcie lanes = less sharing of speed between the nvme ssds = lower loading times = getting back into the match faster.

[@bobfriendship8893]

Perfectly & clearly demonstrated After 40 years with PC's I'm learning, here, all the time. Thank you.

[@maximumessential6021]

1:23 AM and I'm learning about PCIe 16x, not bad...

[@joshuamercer854]

Same I'm up at 1 am studying for Comptia

[@indianbri]

Amir Ayromloo black magic

[@water_containern9930]

Bro its 1:35 for me lol

[@user-tf3gk5ub4k]

What a coincidence.. mine was 1.24am.

[@Puzzoozoo]

The early hours is geek time.

[@DrNPCabd]

I would recommend your videos for school computing classes, very clear and elaborated. Thanks Sir, I enjoyed every second (the car lanes example was cute!!!).

[@WmTyndale]

The lanes were crowded but CLEAR!

[@veracad]

Thanks! I’m a girl studying for my CompTIA a+ test and your video helped me a lot to understand what it is. I appreciate the effort you put into making this video and showing all the motherboards! It made a big difference for me ❤

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thanks for your support, and good luck with your studies.

[@veracad]

@@ExplainingComputersthank you 🙌

[@FatJoey-k9m]

I love this guys accent- and the way he explains the concepts are very simple, logical, and easy to understand. We need more people like him to teach computers to folks not as skilled in the area. This guy speaks two languages- that of engineering and that of communication- and he is able to blend both together for both crowds to understand. Universities are always looking to recruit people like him because there are to many engineers but without the communication skills needed to teach this. I'm guilty of this myself- I speak only engineering. I wish I had this guys ability to explain things so well. Good job!!

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thanks for this. I spent 25 years as a university lecturer, and have done some freelance teaching since leaving in late 2015. :)

[@MiniatureMasterClass]

But The Verge told me to put my graphics card in the PCIe slot that looks the best.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Indeed they did! :)

[@user-ge4re8up6v]

Dont mind that video, the guy didnt understand anything about pc's he was just making up things as he goes. Try Googling a proper guide or something that way you could probably build your pc.

[@ExplainingComputers]

@@user-ge4re8up6v I've spent nearly 30 years lecturing and publishing books and videos about computing, so respectfully suggest that you are wrong about my knowledge base. The vast majority of the comments here also suggest that this video contains good information and has been helpful to a lot of viewers. :)

[@user-ge4re8up6v]

@@ExplainingComputers yeh sorry for the misunderstanding but, am talking about the guy from the verge video he was making up things as he goes if you watched that video you'd understand. Ps i really enjoyed this video Much love @k

[@GamingForTheRecentlyDeceased]

Lol

[@mal-g]

You are actually the best! I've searched for hours now about PCIe slots and what they are used for and I didn't get any clear explanation until I stumbled upon this video! I showed it to my dad and he loved the video. Both of us have liked the video and are now subscribed! I have also recommended this video to anyone that is starting out in pc building and they have also found it helpful! I hope your channel grows infinitely and you can continue helping other people :) tysm!

[@thomasottvideos]

Hey, Chris.... This was another *excellent video,* which included a delightful journey down memory lane (at least it did for me). I'm now 18 years into retirement from a career in technology that began with using a Texas Instruments TI-994A in 1981, and an Osborne 1 "portable" computer running CP/M in 1982. Although building custom PCs and servers wasn't the primary focus of my career, by my retirement in 2000, I had built just under 100 custom systems for specific-needs clientele. So, it was nice to revisit some of the hardware basics of yesteryear. Thanks again, Chris, for the informative "deja vu all over again" video. Your videos, as always, reflect the highest level of professionalism and knowledge. Kind regards, T. Phoenix, AZ USA

[@ltdees2362]

I haven't built a desk-top since about 04...when I purchased my first laptop. I didn't realize how behind times I had let myself get...lol...I was making a parts list and suddenly came to the conclusion, they wouldn't work...help...😛 I knew peripherals and their associated ports were different but never took the time to understand why. I was embarrassed to be so far behind the tech curve. I'm an old-school builder who let laptops take over my life, I allowed my brain to get lazy❕ You sir are an exceptional instructor and I have learned my lesson...indeed...I'm 70 young and getting back to what I loved doing...building ridiculous bad-ass machines 😎 Your video is very concise and comprehensive. I'm up to speed (pun) now and my list will actually work...I thank you and look forward to more of your instruction 😊

[@anikamaba6928]

honestly thank you iam glad people like you exist in this world

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thanks. :)

[@ivurivurivur]

thanks for explaining (and very accurately, indeed!) what PCIe slots are, to a student who is studying medical sciences. the crafts of IT and medical sciences couldn't be farther apart, but thanks to you, I understood what the slots are for, how they're backwards and forwards inter-compatible, and even learned a thing or two about lanes! thanks, good luck, and love from India! :)

[@brujo_millonario]

They're not so far apart these days; when you think about learning medicine in general (anatomy, physiology, etc.), communicating with the patient and the computers used in radiology to obtain and see the data of different studies; tomography, MRI, etc.

[@RoboNuggie]

A fantastic video, you deserve your own TV show, as they used to do in the 80's and 90's....where they actually 'explained' computing...I think people have forgotten again....you need to relearn them Chris!

[@HellsingGhrey-ht2wg]

It's 1:52 AM and I'm watching a video about PCI slots, attempting to understand where mine is, so I can see what device is plugged into it. I've been at several important meetings today and have at some point fallen asleep during all of them. While watching this video, not once did I fall asleep and I watched it through to the end. All that being said, your video's are informative and excellent. I do so hope to learn from you in person one day. Cheers, mate!

[@DoTJohnW]

I've been here tearing my hair out over the fact that there are only a few motherboards within a reasonable cost available to me, and all but one were constantly sold out. The issue I thought I would have would be the graphics card covering the single PCI-E x1 slot where I thought was the ONLY place to put an internal wireless adapter. Knowing that I can simply under use the second PCI-e x16 size slot for it is an absolute lifesaver. Big preesh for this video!

[@ExplainingComputers]

Glad to hear that this has helped you. :)

[@brujo_millonario]

Your issue sounds strange; since most motherboards nowadays come with an internal graphics card, so you don't need to add one, unless you want to free *all* the RAM or you need a dedicated graphics card for gaming, video editing, CAD, etc.

[@DoTJohnW]

@@brujo_millonario Integrated graphics are provided by the processor, and not all processors have integrated graphics. The build I was making (now several years ago?) was for VR games, and my main concern was that the graphics card covered up what I had first assumed would be the only PCI-E slot that my intended WiFi adapter would be using.

[@MabawaVocal]

THE PERFECT TEACHER,PRETTY SIMPLE NOT LOOKING FOR VIEWS BUT STUDENTS LIKE ME

[@eknaap8800]

Why are you YELLING?

[@Kennephone]

Even when I already know everything in the video, the way you present it makes it enjoyable.

[@BharatMohanty]

I was in school when I learn about PCI slots VGA parallel ports serial ports and many more.thank you sir for taking me back to the memories.😇

[@resrussia]

Excellent video! Your video covered the same material I covered when I was teaching at the university. The only thing I would have added to the content is a mention of IBM's Microchannel architecture which had some of the benefits of PCI before PCI was on the market. A series on the evolution of motherboards is an excellent idea. As always, thank you for an excellent video and keep up the awesome work you are doing.

[@jogon1052]

I agree. These explanations regarding how PCs have evolved are fascinating. Thanks Chris.

[@edwardwilliams3743]

Damn Tom, you stole my thunder.

[@FromLake]

a lot of people could learn from this video on how to make explanatory videos., it's so clear and to the point. I needed this info, thanks a million!

[@theanalyticalrevolutionary3415]

Honestly the best Pci vid on youtube, the structure, layout and the order you explained this is tremendous!

[@AndrewGulak]

Another home run Chris! Years ago I used to read Mark Minassis books on computers (mid 90's). At the time I found them very useful. You fill in a lot of blanks for me with the newer technologies. So a 10th grade dropout who builds and maintains systems for many people thanks you from the bottom of his stupid heart ♥!

[@mxie108]

I haven't built a PC for years. Even though this video has been 5 years old, it really helps me to catch up with the brief PC slot history at the beginning. Thank you very much for putting this video together!!

[@TheTravellingDrone]

I’ve been tinkering with computers for almost 30 years now, so this really brought back memories as well as actually putting things in perspective. Well done and love to see more on the evolution of just what has been hiding inside those beige boxes over the years.

[@BboyIllusi0n]

I have a question since you said you've been working on computers for 30 years. I have a laptop with integrated graphics card nvidia 1060 6GB card. I am trying to run a triple monitor setup in extended mode (only have 2 monitors at the moment) but heres my question & what ive run into (question at the end). When I had 1 monitor hooked up with DisplayPort cable to DisplayPort MST hub > laptops mini-displayport, I was getting 144hz 1080p (monitor runs those specs). when I connected my 2nd monitor, I was able to get 1080p on both monitors BUT only 60hz on both monitors. im guessing my GPU isn't strong enough to power both at 144hz 1080p right? heres my Q. Can I hook up 2 external graphics cards to run separate monitors and have my laptop run 1 "main" monitor then span with Physx nvidia panel? im looking at the Msi Geforce gaming 1070ti for GPU's. heres my diagram. left-side monitor: [[GPU {DP cable} > monitor > ; GPU > Thunderbolt 3.0 MST dual hub adapter > Thunderbolt 3.0 port on laptop]] middle monitor: [[monitor DP > DisplayPort MST hub > mini-display port on laptop]] right-side monitor: same setup as left side monitor since I would have a 2 port Thunderbolt adapter connected to laptop. hope this isn't too confusing sorry im a little new to the PC world. I just want 1080p 144hz on all 3 monitors for gaming. thanks!!

[@BlackEpyon]

XxBEFALLENxX Which laptop do you have? My main computer rig has 2 1920x1080 (aka, 1080p) monitors, and 2 1080x1024 monitors (spanning about 6 feet across my desk). The larger your "desktop," as denoted by the total pixel count, whether it be across one giant monitor or multiple smaller ones, the higher the performance cost to run it. A 1080p monitor, at 1920x1080 resolution, has 2,073,600 pixels. A 4K monitor is twice vertical, and twice horizontal of the 1080p monitor, at 3840x2160 resoultion, which amounts to.8,294,400 pixels. To run a 4K monitor at the same framerate you were used to on the 1080p monitor, you literally need 4 times the graphics power as you used for the 1080p monitor. Likewise, if you're gaming laptop has a built-in 1080p display (as does mine), and you are running two external monitors at 1080p, then your effective desktop space is 5760x1080, which means that with two external monitors, the GPU has to work 1/3 harder than if it was just running one external monitor. To cope with these limited resources, it has to give somewhere. The reasonable way to manage this is to reduce the refresh rate so that all 3 monitors can be run simultaneously. Laptops generally aren't well suited for gaming because even those that are specifically designed and marketed for it, despite the horrendous price tags, go obsolete quickly. If it had a 1070 or 1080 chipset, maybe it could do it, but I don't know off hand. Some of these gaming laptops have the GPU on a discrete card, allowing for SOME upgradability, but these will always be proprietary, and cost an arm and a leg. If you're looking for a gaming rig, a desktop is always the better way to go unless you NEED that portability. Now, if I understand correctly, you've turned off the laptop's built-in screen and are running 3 external monitors; one over the mini-DisplayPort, and the other two running off of a Thunderbolt hub? Thunderbolt 3.0 can transfer at up to 40Gbps, but running two monitors from a hub splits that bandwidth between both monitors, so they both only receive data at 20Gbps, which could also be the cause of your performance drop. 2,073,600 pixels at 32-bit color (32 bits/pixel) is 66,355,200 bits, and times 60Hz requires a bandwidth of 3.98 Gbps (3,981,312,000 bits per second) or at 144Hz, 9.55 Gbps. So it SHOULD be able to run both monitors at 144Hz. Perhaps the software detects that there are multiple devices on the bus and scales it down by a pre-set rate? I'm not sure. If the laptop has an HDMI port as well, you might also try running one monitor off of the HDMI, one on the mini-DisplayPort, and one off of Thunderbolt, that way your only bottleneck will be the GPU itself. Otherwise, you might have to get comfortable running your two secondary monitors at 60Hz, and your main monitor at 144Hz if it does that. Typically, the one you want at high speed will be your primary anyways, unless you're spanning the entire game across all three monitors.

[@BboyIllusi0n]

BlackEpyon dang thanks so much for your In-depth response! So I have the Msi gs63vr 7RF I have 16GB CPU RAM and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 GPU with 6GB graphics card. That is my laptop. My monitors are the Msi MAG24C capable of 144hz refresh rate and 1080p. I have only 2 monitors hooked up and I don't have a 3rd monitor yet however I came across this issue(not issue just nuisance I guess lol) ill clarify again so we're on the same page and no misunderstanding occur haha at first I was running 1 monitor @144hz/1080p with PC screen disabled connected via DisplayPort cable to DP MST hub adapter to mini display port on laptop. Bought 2nd monitor and hooked up via DP cable to MST hub (it has 3 DP connections and other end is the mini-DP to PC). So then I encountered this issue. With 2 monitors ON (set to extend mode) and PC screen disabled, I was able to get 1080p but both run 60hz now. My plan is to run 3 monitors at full specs 144hz 5760x1080p extended mode, PC screen disabled for gaming bcuz if I spent the $$ for those monitors then I want to get the full use out of them. Originally I didn't know that it would cause it to drop refresh rate since I was told my laptop can support 3 monitors with the 1060. I'm a noob to the PC world so I thought it was simple plug and play and my GPU can support it. So I understand now that yes it can run 3 monitors however not at what I'm asking for it to do. I started researching and found that yes bandwidth drops because of what you're asking it to do and signal splits like u said. That's understandable to me now lol. I asked a frys electronics tech guy and he said to run 2 monitors off a thunderbolt 3 adapter because that'll get me the 144hz/1080p and 1 monitor off the miniDP because it's limited for its bandwidth BUT he said I'll most likely need a 1080ti desktop GPU for the 2 monitors ,which is what ive been looking into, to run the signal that I want. So now I'm thinking with the idea that I need an external GPU with PCI-E adapter for laptop, power supply for GPU, the enclosure, and then cables to connect. Am I on the right track on what I'm looking to do? I don't want to run 1 at full spec and the other 2 at 60hz and reason I don't want a desktop is cux at the moment I use this laptop for work too and I like the mobility anyways. I understand desktop is best for this but I just don't like to be stuck to one place all the time. I don't mind blowing lots of money on building this cuz it's honestly kinda funtrying to figure it out. I was an auto tech for 6 years so I know ppl who could make me a custom open air frame/enclosure for the GPU (or two 1070ti GPUs if needed; each 1070 runs 1 monitor and laptops 1060 runs last remaining monitor which would be 1; if that's even possible) again thanks for the in depth response. I hope we can figure this out together lol let me know what you think and suggest. There is no budget idc how much it costs.

[@BlackEpyon]

XxBEFALLENxX Fabricating an enclosure for an external video card isn't the issue, as is connecting the thing. Laptops don't have PCIe 16x slots, so the only way to connect one electrically is to use something line this: www.aliexpress.com/item/Mini-PCIe-to-PCI-express-16X-Riser-for-Laptop-External-Graphics-Card-EXP-GDC-BTC-Antminer/32861648447.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.1.4a842006VKhknt&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_4_10065_10068_10130_10547_10059_10884_10548_10887_10696_100031_10084_10083_10103_10618_10139_10307,searchweb201603_60,ppcSwitch_0&algo_expid=958c50c3-6792-4c5e-a9f9-ab7af45b1ae5-0&algo_pvid=958c50c3-6792-4c5e-a9f9-ab7af45b1ae5&priceBeautifyAB=0 You'd still need to purchase an external PC power supply, and this would only work IF your laptop had a free mini PCIe or NGFF slot (depending on the type of adapter you get), for which you might need to remove the Wi-Fi module. I can't tell what your laptop has for internal slots, the specs don't say. Here's the problem though: That slot only has a single lane (PCIe 1x, for running a Wi-Fi card, etc), and the video card needs the full 16 lanes to run at it's full capabilities. You might be able to get the card itself to output at 144Hz, but the signal from the laptop over PCIe 1x will limit the gaming framerate on that card to 1/16th of what it would be in a desktop PC, regardless of what the refresh rate is. These gadgets are designed for bitcoin miners, who use GPUs for their high number of floating point calculations . They're not not designed whatsoever for gaming, so while the adapter is cheap, purchasing a video card would be a colossal waste of money. You won't make much money off crypto-currency mining anyways unless you've got a server farm (the whole "make money at home doing nothing" thing is a marketing wank scam). Try using the HDMI port on your laptop. It's supposed to do 4K at 60Hz, so it should have no trouble doing 1080p at higher refresh rates. You'd have HDMI, mini-DP and Thunderbolt, each going to it's own monitor. That's your best bet at getting this to work as you intend. Otherwise, you're going to have to accept that there ARE limits to what you can do with a laptop, no matter how much you spend on it. "I spent the $$ for those monitors then I want to get the full use out of them." Waste of money unless you're planning on stretching the game over all three monitors, but hey, it's your dime. I only game on my MAIN monitor (at higher refresh rate) and use the others for FIrefox, windows media player, windows explorer, etc which DON'T need such a high refresh rate.

[@jasonbutler2605]

Excellent, very educational, clear and full description of PCIe slots explained in rarely found, exquisitely versed English. I thank you, sir, for all your uploads, which set a very high standard of professional knowledge, serious yet modest presentation style and respect to your viewers' time. I second the view that your channel is nothing short of a goldmine of IT information. Please keep uploading videos.

[@johnsbone]

Someone who knows what he's talking about and can explain it clearly and simply without wearing a baseball cap the wrong way around. Well done. (CTUK! For Ever!)

[@fazleemonty9126]

A glance this channel looks like early 80s BBC documentary, but explaining about 2020s computer technologies. I love the retro look.

[@SergiuszRoszczyk]

Very informative Sunday, as always 👍. It would be a good idea to cover how RAM and RAM modules has changed. From Static RAM on early PCs, ferrite core memory (first kind of DRAM?), change to DRAM in 8-bit era and then SIMM, DIMM, DDR, DDRx, RAMBUS. Maybe event a bit about cache memory in 386, 486 and why cache-less Celerons were so incredibly slow.

[@ExplainingComputers]

For a long time I have been planning a video from RAM, from magnetic core storage on onwards! I really must get to making it.

[@Darek80]

Good idea, my first pc was 4MB ram (386 dx 40MHz). I will be wait for this topic.

[@skakdosmer]

My first computer had 512 KB RAM, which I upgraded to a whopping 4MB which is as much as The Operating System (TOS 1.4) can handle. I don't use it much now, but it still works fine for certain things.

[@SergiuszRoszczyk]

I started with Atari 65XE with 64 kB of RAM. Then moved into PC world with Hyundai Super 16V PC/XT with whooping 640 kB of RAM, 10 MHz 8088 CPU, EGA graphics and single DSDD 360 kB 5,25” floppy drive. No hard drive of course.

[@techtruth9077]

Great idea! My first PC in 1994 was. a 486 DX2 with 4MB ram. It was back in the day when you went to a shop and talked to a salesman about what components you wanted in the machine and they ordered them and built the computer for you.

[@johnr8309]

Very good narrative with great illustrations. The bottom line is you really have to check your motherboard manual.

[@kbsimmer2178]

FINALLY A PLAIN ENGLISH EXPLANATION! I've been searching for a while now and no one else has been able to explain this to me. Thank you!

[@Tenly2009]

This was interesting and useful - however I had hoped you were going to go 1 step further and talk about how the data gets from the slot to the CPU and point out how in some cases the slots use “shared” pathways and sometimes they have variable numbers of lanes. (ie we have an Asus motherboard with a x16 slot - but it’s only a x16 if we leave another spot empty. If we put something in the other spot, the original x16 spot becomes a x8 or x4 slot)

[@vasilis23456]

Most CPUs don't have that kind of bottleneck and I don't believe motherboards do either. Most CPUs have lane limits up in the 20s and the newest ones hit the 40s.

[@Tenly2009]

It would most often be a motherboard limit - not a CPU limit - and it completely depends on how many PCI slots (and what type) the motherboard manufacturer decided to offer. We have a 9700K and an Asus ROG motherboard that has a “conditional” slot.

[@white_mage]

the n° of lanes depends on the chipset it think

[@gaborenyedi637]

This is because you have a cheap motherboard. The problem here that if you populate everything, they run out of lanes (CPU limitation; this is an Intel CPU, isn't it?). The best solution for this is a PCIe switch (much like an ethernet switch); with a switch you can put multiple cards onto the same lane, and they lose performance only when you use the cards at the same time. However, it is cheaper to assign lanes statically at boot time (a few transistors can easily select the right card).

[@andreika6681]

@@vasilis23456 i've h310 mobo, if besides cpu and ram i plug my x16, m2, 3 satas and ram i AM a couple of lanes above the total capacities of all of my periferals combined. sure, it's nothing dramatic, but it's useful to know somtimes when all of the sudden you see your data copy speeds 4 times below drives specs (after i moved to z370 and separated the drives in the best way i always get 70-110MBps read/write speeds on mechanical satas, on h310 i'd hit 10-20MBps bottlenecks quite often...

[@user-DrJoe-Future]

This was an Outstanding video on PCIe slots. Your demonstrations and explanations were excellent and easy to understand (rare in IT world). One of the best IT videos I have watched, and vastly increased my understanding of the subject. Your simple language and explanations in plain English really helped for those who are not IT Geeks.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thanks. :)

[@johnrambo7072]

Those old school motherboards look absolutely disgusting yet beautiful at the same time, it really is amazing to see how the motherboards have changed

[@nullplan01]

"PCI is one of the unsung heroes of PC technology." Understatement of the decade. On the software side, everything after PCI works the same in principle (PCIe introduced the memory mapped configuration mechanism, but it essentially works the same as the port-based one before). And that's because they all allow automated discovery of system resources. Which sounds dry as bones, so here's the upshot: Never worry about ports, memory register bases and DMA channels again. And especially never configure them with a jumper on the new card again.

[@songersoft]

I love you PCI. qq

[@siliconaudio]

Also, PCIe got rid of physical IRQ lines. IRQs are packetised over PCIe

[@d.romero3014]

Oh those gloriuos days whey you have to move jumpers here and there to make an ISA card to work with no conflict... they are gone forever... luckly.

[@Sembazuru]

Did PCIe really introduce the automatic configuration? Amiga computers had their own Zorro slot standard that had autoconfig. And for all I know the Zorro slots may not have been the first. Or is it just more accurate to say that PCIe brought auto configuration to mass market computers?

[@Korn1holio]

@@siliconaudio OMG, I remember setting DMA, IRQ etc stuff just to make my Sound Blaster Pro work...

[@damienbarbe9274]

Hi Chris, Damien from Australia. Beautifully explained as always. You have a very simple way of communicating things that can be quite complex and for someone who has always used computers but never fully understood the intricacies, it is much appreciated. I am now an avid subscriber. Thank you.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thanks for watching! :)

[@YaNeK92]

The fact that the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) was born the same year that I was, makes it that much more special and meaningful and so easy to remember. I knew there was a reason why I felt a strong connection to it through mining 😂 Thank you for a very informative video! Shoutout to all of the 92' babies 😆🤙🏼 All the best from Western Australia 🦘

[@santoshr2984]

Wow .... BEST SPENT 11 minutes .. what an amazing video .. I wish you launch a course for buses, peripherals etc .. and I would pay for such a course .. worth it.

[@mikerukwava9574]

1 data lane = PCIe x1 4 data lanes = PCIe x4 8 data lanes = PCIe x8 16 data lanes = PCIe x16 Then PCIe 1.0 = 1 speed PCIe 2.0 = 2 speed PCIe 3.0 = 3 speed PCIe 4.o = 4 speed PCIe 5.0 = 5 speed You are the best teacher. I like

[@edgarsi]

I love the coverage of information in this particular video! short and clear! best Ive seen so far. Getting ready for my A+

[@cybersoil100]

This is a great video that explains everything, even all the questions I was thinking of as I was watching the video. This video was extremely well-thought-out. I've seen a number of videos from this guy and I have to say he is a fantastic teacher. I have definitely subscribed to this channel.

[@jumbo4billion]

The boredom of insomnia led me to have a look inside my pc last night and realized how little I knew about what I was looking at. This has answer a few of my questions, thanks you're a great teacher.

[@yoonpark8311]

Recently, I started getting interested in computers, especially Mini-ITX. I'm planning to use Mini-ITX put inside of Nintendo Entertainment System shell. Which is making a portable or Desktop PC. I was very struggling to find the information about the PC I need, but thanks to you that I could learn about the parts from a computer or a computer. THANK YOU!

[@daoneTM]

Small tip, if you want to preserve the old boards, please remove the batteries while in storage.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Very good point.

[@andygozzo72]

shouldnt matter if they're coin cell lithium types, they very rarely leak, the same cant be said for those 'barrel' nicad/nimh types.... whip them out on sight, even if it looks ok at the time, it will leak eventually... they seem to nearly always be soldered to the board, bad idea, they should've used sockets/holders..as with coin cells..

[@Ziplock9000]

Indeed. Tons of old Amigas have been destroyed because of old batteries corroding traces on the MB

[@popespalace823]

I just smash the motherboards of my old computers, I don't want anyone stealing my data.

[@MarrisaBliss]

christopher, I cannot say THANK YOU enough times to express how grateful I really am to watch this video!! I've worked minimum wage customer service jobs for the last 7 years and I've decided I want to break into tech so I've started with CompTIA as my foundation and yea, everything in this book absolutely stumps me BUT as I'm learning PCIe I came across your video and it's truly helped me understand PCIe sooooooooo much more!! Now I can re-read this books information on PCIe and understand it easier, because you explain it and help me visually understand it so well. Thank you AGAIN!!

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thanks for this, and good luck with your CompTIA. All of my similar hardware guides are listed and linked on this page: www.explainingcomputers.com/hardware_guides_videos.html

[@MarrisaBliss]

Thanks! and ahhhhhhhhhhh thank you so much for linking that! BOOKMARKED IMMEDIATELY. @@ExplainingComputers

[@jirehla-ab1671]

​@@ExplainingComputerscan a dual nvme expansion card work with x8x4x4 pcie bifurcation? What would / should happen if i set it to x8x4x4?

[@ericartman0]

Looking forward to your motherboard video. I remember the introduction of slots from ISA on, I learned some things today though, thanks.

[@davidhardaker192]

Brilliantly clear & concise explanation of something I didn't fully understand- thanks

[@ThisOLmaan]

well thank you for all ur hard work, know folks sill watch UR 4 year OL videos in 2022 and will continue to be watched in the future.

[@derekp2674]

Chris, thanks for another informative video. In the early 1980s, my first work micro was a Z80 based NorthStar Horizon with a maths co-processor added via its S100 expansion bus. For number crunching, this £3500 computer gave me about 70% of the power of the £30,000+ PDP 11/34 that I had been previously using.

[@ExplainingComputers]

How things have changed!

[@SamuelDavidJames87]

Well I just learnt more about PCIe which has quite possibly has changed the way I build computers from now on. I rarely like or comment on videos, you've done well!

[@keithharrison1453]

Been playing with computers for 45 years, but these videos are reminding me of all the things I have managed to forget. I now realise the old stuff in my brain is still in there, it's just not very well seated and has problems with ancient data transfer speeds!

[@normalhuman5603]

I love these videos. Keep these coming!

[@talshachar3372]

Great tutorial, I like the fact that you go through the history of components an show examples of compatibility to older hardware both ways (new card to old motherboard and old card to new motherboards. The animated illustration with the cars to explain speed is great. Maybe you could give us a tutorial of how to make animations. Keep up the good work.

[@ji7iij]

You must be a natural-born talented instructor, your videos are enjoyable and rewarding to watch! THX!!!

[@ExplainingComputers]

Wow, thank you!

[@retropcscotland4645]

I drooled all over the ISA motherboards in this video. I still have one in current use for retro games. It's an INTEL 440bx board Slot 1 with a pentium 3 500mhz. I believe it has 3 ISA slots which I populate with old ESS ISA sound board. It Also has the AGP 2x slot and 3 PCI slots. For History sake I should aslo mention I have a socket 7 board with the old AMD k6-2 300mhz cpu. Fully working order as well as I maintain my stuff and try to preserve it since this tech is no longer easy to get. The socket 7 board is ONLY PCI and ISA slot's with NO AGP except for the so called built in ATi rage which they claim runs at 2x agp. Mr Barnatt this is a very well presented nostalgia trip for me and I love your videos. Thank you for being you mate.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Great to hear that you still have a board with ISA slots still running. :)

[@retropcscotland4645]

Some things you just never part with. I used to have a very old Pine ISA graphics card as well. I think it had a whopping 512kb of memory on it lol. Alas I lost it in a move which was a shame because it was functional. They do not make the hardware like they used too.

[@johnm2012]

@@retropcscotland4645 I still have my Orchid Fahrenheit 1280 ISA video card.

[@lonniegibson7675]

Right on i had a k62 550mhz gigabyte board with 5 pci, agp2 witn nvidea vanta 16 MB vram, soundblaster live value, my first pc, loved it☺ also w98 se lol correction 3pci and 2isa 20 GB hd in 2001

[@CanuckGod]

Still remember when VESA Local Bus ISA cards were a thing... we've come a long way indeed :)

[@fix3659]

I leaned more today, thank you very much, greetings from VZLA.

[@johnelder150]

Absolutely wonderful! I go back to S100 bus days. ISE, EISA, etc. pluse VME bus. Thank-you for the trip down memory lane. I changed careers and haven't kept up, so your tutorial on PICe was just what I needed. Thank-you again.

[@fredfarnackle5455]

Thanks for the post, I'm right in the middle of trying to sort out what goes where on an old board so it was very timely. Excellent explanation. 👌

[@theofficialrafff]

I really enjoy your content and this video especially. I am a huge visual learner, and concepts like these were really hard for me to understand. Thank you for taking out the motherboards and showing us each and every way to go about these ports. I learned a lot in this short amount of time :)

[@amztechnologies9104]

Sir, I just found your channel by hunting for "technology gurus" but according to my non existent credentials for debunking fake tech channels, you sir are for real. I will continue to enjoy your videos. Thanks!

[@ExplainingComputers]

Great to hear!

[@AmyraCarter]

My current lackluster hardware, that Del Optiplex 330 motherboard has ONE of these PCI-E slots. Just one. There's also two other expansion slots, but I don't know what they are exactly... I love watching videos on old tech. They're fun, fascinating, and the nostalgia trip is a nice bonus. Same with old games, especially the history of games like Tetris and such.

[@BlackEpyon]

Gotta be careful with those brand name desktops. Some of them, such as the HP dc5700 (I've worked with a number of these units) have what looks for all intents and purposes like a 16x slot, but is designed ONLY for a proprietary expansion card. If you try to put a video card in one of these, it'll just give you an error code.

[@darketernal3]

The two white slots are PCI. He talks about them at 1:50 and shows them at 2:02. The 4 he's pointing out are white just like yours; Yes they're bit older interfaces but some cards run fine with them.

[@BlackEpyon]

That's what it looks like, yes. The colour of the slots is completely arbitrary. They come in any colour the manufacturer wants. I've seen black, red, neon green, etc. Sometimes they will be colour coded, sometimes not. Usually, at least the primary slot is a different colour, but not always.

[@juliuscease912]

Thank you for explaining info on PCIe cards! Very useful, it's easier for me to understand things now.

[@Search4TruthReality]

Excellent presentation...answered my questions...thank you. My first PC was a used IBM XT - Learned DOS on it. Today, I'm shopping around for replacement for my ten year old Intel XEON Workstation...for professional video editing. Whilst researching components and systems, I'd come across PCIe terminology I didn't recognize -- lanes. Anyhow, thanks again. Your presentation was superb.

[@ExplainingComputers]

Good luck seeking out your new PC! :)

[@elliptical3]

"... and I hope to see you all .... very soon." Charming signature finish. Hope it never changes.

[@bjrnb9042]

10:15 we should all take a moment to appreciate all the work the PCIe slots do for us

[@disrxt]

I haven't built a rig since 1998 but have recently got the bug to make a water cooled machine. This channel is a great resource for me. Had a lot of unanswered questions about PCIe, this video answered them all!

[@ExplainingComputers]

Good luck with your build!

[@stephensmith3089]

Great overview with excellent examples. Nicely done. Thanks!

[@The_Robert.Fletcher]

Yes please, Chris go back to the early days when the IBM had built-in BASIC. I had an IBM Compatible AT. The problem was the BIOS would not roll the date over. So we burnt the IBM EPROMS using a burner on an Apple 2E. I think there were 7 chips as we had to get the BASIC and if I remember right that was Cassette BASIC which I don't think was ever used. Yes please do some history.

[@LordDragon1965]

It was 5 chips, one was actually the BIOS and the other 4 were BASIC. I worked for an infamous grey marketer and cloner (check out the last few pages of old BYTE and PC Magazine to see their ads) and we used old AT motherboards on occasion as replacement boards.

[@antoniosroumanos4155]

this turned out to be exactly what i needed, thank you soo much... i also have 3 old pc, so your video was of a great help to understand the concept of pci and pcie and their history... im def subscribing as the content of your videos is very straightforward, understandable and have all needed info

[@AndersHass]

Only thing missing is one could use extentors as well to make specific lanes and versions work perfectly fine in theory (like pcie 4.0 x8 lane extended to pcie 3.0 x16 lane or pcie 1.0 x8 lane to pcie 4.0 x1 lane). This is more used in servers where you extend high bandwidth to multiple lower bandwidth, otherwise more extended one to one for reposition a GPU inside of the case.

[@taylorward2617]

So after hours of digging as to why my Acer Aspire axc-704g-uw61 was so bad with games, I find that the PCIe slot is empty. I don't even have a graphics card.

[@calyonous]

I hate that lol i also have an integrated gpu

[@jeffk7324]

Lmao!!! Upgrade man. It’s super cheap nowadays to DIY build. I just completed mine.

[@popopapi]

@@jeffk7324 this comment aged so poorly lol

[@sinuslebastian6366]

Jeff k r/agedlikemilk

[@darxustech2883]

I love the compatability of PCIe so much. I recently built a new computer for the first time in a while. The graphics card was the last thing I bought, because of upcoming graphics card announcements. So I used my eight year old PCIe 2.1 graphics card in my new PCIe 4.0 motherboard for a while, and it worked beautifully. It was particularly useful in proving the rest of my system was rock solid, when my new graphics card turned out to be flaky. (The new replacement has turned out to make the machine very stable again.) And I'm still excited to be done with ISA IRQ conflicts, so I remember when we didn't have anything like this compatibility. Very well done video, looking forward to more.

[@pfefferle74]

1:40 VESA Local Bus was actually very popular. You could get VLB video cards from every major video card manufacturer (unlike EISA cards). It was only comparably short lived, as Intel soon introduced PCI and AGP on their Pentium motherboards.

[@ExplainingComputers]

I accept what you say, but you also make my point. Something that was very popular for a short period did not make a considerable mark on computing history.

[@ManofCulture]

You're better than my current college professor. :D

[@Monticelol]

I wasn't so sure I needed to know about PCIe slots. I was just gonna wing it with building my PC by looking at other builds/guides. I am so glad I found this video. Your instructional and educational video really helped me! Kudos!

[@ExplainingComputers]

Good luck with your PC build.

[@pizzafrenzyman]

I remember when VESA local bus slots were the limit on bandwidth because of physics, and that would be end of slot evolution.

[@firstnamelastname9918]

That's because incompetent hacks and nincompoops love to make assertions out of their, ehem, assertion ports. And physicists in the late 1800s and up into the very early 1900s said that we almost had all of physics sorted out, we just needed to work out a few things around the edges... Then by 1925 or so we had both relativity AND quantum mechanics, which we're FAR from sorting out. Which brings me to the main point of my rant. Now we're having to learn quantum programming -- that is, writing programs for the new quantum computers available today via something like the old main frame "time share" (luckily they also have simulators to practice on). But even with classical computing (which is what we're calling our "old" computers), there's no telling what those smart bastards will come up with next. Fabrication techniques will continue to improve, so the transistors will keep getting smaller and likely more "3d" where they are built upwards more than being flat on a chip and, thus, reducing the trace length and capacitance between transistors, etc...

[@dubrovink66]

Similar to the 'absolute physical' max of 56 kbps for the modem/telephone line......... (submitting this reply with 30 Mbps over that very same telephone line). hahaha.

[@laharl2k]

Ron Freycinet its not actually the very same phone line. Now they are digital and allow for higher frequencies. The reason line phones sounded so dull and xrappy back then os because they were fully analogue, meaning the dullness was because the line was filtering higher frequencies. Now the problem was that it wasnt by design, they had no way to make the lines have higher bandwidth, and thats why modems makes those noices at the beginning, to test the line response to see what frequency range it can use to transmit data to the server. Its like trying to record a bluray to a vhs, the signal may be hd but the tape cant hold so much detail

[@JustMike2791]

@@laharl2k I lived in a rural area up until a couple years ago. It was either dial up or satellite. It sucked. When DSL was finally available, I was barely able to get 1.5 down due the age of the 50 year old copper wire in the ground in my area and they needed to take out 5 loads(sp?) in the line on the way to my house from the DSLAM. I now live where I get true gig speed. It's sooo nice!

[@daiyali8831]

Thank you so much, this video was extremely helpful and easy to understand!

[@khaleelabuasal8138]

I never understood PCs hardware until I found this channel by coincidence, amazing way of explaining materials and very useful information. keep this informative videos coming ^_^

[@thinklap6367]

You can't beat linus over newest hardware but you already beat him with your retro hardware.Welldone.

[@MrPlutoUSA]

+1 for the motherboard video

[@DanElgaard9]

That's how you do an explanation video: No annoying background music, straight to the point, lots of practical examples (instead of just some narcisstic guy talking into a camera)... ...here - have my upvote 👍

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thanks! :)

[@jb888888888]

10:41 Hello from the future, which is now the present. The "present" is now the past.

[@TuttleScott]

I just got a lesson in pcie slots yesterday putting an nvme m.2 card into my older computer. I was only getting half the speed and it turned out I had v2.0 pcie.

[@RhinoXpress]

that's because pcie 2.0 x2 bandwidth is 1gb. you're early m.2 nvme drives could only support up to pcie x2, but even pcie v3 x2 isn't fast enough anymore seeing as modern highend m.2 nvme drives can now exceed pcie v3 x2 bandwidth. this is why modern m.2 nvme drives can now support up to pcie x4 to meet the modern highend m.2 nvme drives standards, but only pcie v3 x4 or above will meet those bandwidth requirements for highend m.2 nvme drives without bottlenecking those drives performance.

[@tryhardairsoft416]

It's so nice to watch and listen what we had then and what will have now. I can't help but imagine what will come next in the future.

[@mima3499]

Interesting video! Maybe a side by side comparison of motherboard 1995 to 2017.

[@PompomYourkey]

This video intro sounds like it is supposed to be in 2007.

[@agentbuzz0]

Pompom Yourkey ikr I clicked it and thought I had the wrong video 😂

[@PompomYourkey]

agentbuzz0 yea ik lol 😆

[@CapDrew]

Pompom Yourkey mad facts

[@Shocker99]

Reminds me of the sort of music in a how it's made episode.

[@lordelliott42]

@Pompom Yourkey That's why I like it. :)

[@itwaspunk3977]

I’ve said this before but you’re such a great teacher not just because you know what you’re talking about and put it across well but because of your choice of what you teach.. thanks 🙏 😐

[@ExplainingComputers]

Thank you.

[@janesvensson2747]

Thank you for showing. That helped a lot.👍🏼😀