Not said:
PCI is designed for a variety of cards, the PCI-Express is designed for
Video Adapters.
I don't think I have ever seen any other type of card that will plug into a
PCI-E slot.
But you should have a free PCI slot anyway.
There are other card types available. Koutech introduced a series of bridged
designs, with PCI Express x1 connector on the edge, some time ago. I don't
expect they sold too many, as they average maybe $20 more in price.
Asus has the Xonar sound card, as one of the first PCI Express x1 sound
cards. Creative Labs, faced with this competition, also has a PCI Express
sound card in the works. I have not read of any real world experience with
these products yet, and expect the drivers in any case, will need a good
deal of work.
There are native chips for PCI Express, including SATA chips and Ethernet
chips. But again, with the pricing, a company making a plug-in card may
not sell many. The fact that so much functionality is already available on
the motherboard, makes for slow sales.
When cards like this, do not sell well, the companies stop making them.
So a product I spot today, may no longer be offered for sale a year from
now.
Once motherboards come out, where the PCI slot is gone, the PCI Express
products will start to sell better. Even if the customers pay more
for them in the first few years. Product volume and competition, will
help bring these cards down to the $10 level, as time passes.
Paul
