Slots - this is what?

Computer components (RAM, sound card, video card, etc.) are connected via special interfaces - slots. These are connectors for the expansion of PC capabilities. They can also be called expansion cards or adapters.

What are the RAM slots?

As you already understood, we are talking about the connectors to which PC memory is connected. Usually there are at least two such slots on the motherboard. This is an obligatory element on any board, without which the system as a whole is not possible.

Depending on the year of manufacture of the motherboard, it can use different connectors, designed for different types of RAM. Considering the fact that hardware is improving every year, motherboard manufacturers have to adapt slots as well. This is a normal practice, so when choosing a RAM, you have to consider the connectors for which it is intended.

The number of slots is also important. In low-cost motherboards there are only 2 connection interfaces, but there are also 4. The more of them, the easier it will be for a user to increase the amount of RAM. But even if you occupy all the modules, you can build up the expansion by replacing slots with a capacity of 4 GB, for example, 8 GB.

Types of slots

The very first interfaces on the motherboard were primitive. They put a RAM of the type 30 pin SIPP. But with each passing year its new standard came out, and the connection interfaces on the board were adjusted for it. So there were connectors:

• 72 pin SIMM;
• 168 pin DIMM;
• 184 pin CRIMM Spacer;
• 64bit RDIMM;
• XDR;
• 184 pin DDR;
• 240 pin DDR2;
• 240 pin DDR3;
• DDR4.

The most modern standard, which is used in motherboards, are connectors for DDR4 memory. So far, there is no DDR5 memory, but its appearance is a matter of time. Then, by the way, new motherboards with connectors for these chips will appear.

What are expansion slots for video cards?

Let's not touch the old interfaces for connecting video cards. Modern graphics chips can be connected through any of the two existing types - AGP and PCI Express. The difference between these interfaces is their bandwidth and power. There are other, less significant differences.

It is believed that there is always better higher throughput. However, in practice, the higher throughput for the performance of the chip itself does not affect very much.

A limited number of motherboards do not have AGP- or PCI Express slots. They are equipped with only PCI-adapters to connect the video card. However, there are very few video cards for them, and they are not suitable for a home computer at all.

But not only video cards and RAM are connected through such connectors. Sound, network cards and even processors in some sense are connected through them.

Memory Slots

Memory slots are interfaces for connecting Compact Flash memory cards, etc. Often in laptops, there are interfaces for connecting Compact Flash cards. Today, this is one of the most common standards, and it is supported by many cameras. Compact Flash memory cards are the cheapest.

Memory Stick is a card slot specially developed by Sony, and today it is the most expensive format of digital media. And this standard is not the only one of its kind. There are varieties: Pro, Duo.

SmartMedia is a memory slot for SmartMedia cards that have a very thin case, although their width and length are slightly larger than the sizes of Memory Stick. Today these cards are used exceptionally rarely and leave the market. Therefore, connectors for them are also rare.

And the xD-Picture slot is a small connector for very small memory cards developed by Olympus, Toshiba and Fujifilm. This standard is very popular today, because it has low power consumption, high writing and reading speed, and reliability and compactness.

Now you know that these are memory card slots - and what they are. The standards mentioned here are improved, obsolete and disappear, and new ones appear instead.

Processor Interfaces

Processors also connect via slots. For Intel and AMD, completely different interfaces are used, intended for processors of one or another company.

So, Intel in 1997 developed Slot 1 for Pentium 2 processors with second-level cache memory and the so-called foolproof, thanks to which the processor could not be connected to the wrong connector. Of course, this interface is old and does not apply today, but since 1998 the company switched to Slot 2 for Pentium 3 processors.

AMD also did not lag far behind, but their slots for processors were different and were called Slot A. Today they are extremely rare and remained only on old computers. At the moment, processors to the motherboard are connected via a socket (socket) - a socket socket. As in the case of slots, certain sockets are suitable for certain processors.

Other slots

If to judge, the case of the laptop generally consists of only one slots. On it you can even find a place to connect the cable, which securely secures the device and does not allow it to be pulled off the counter of the store. Sometimes such cables are used to protect against the fall of the device, although it is very doubtful.

Also in laptops there are slots for connecting modems, SCSI cards, etc. Therefore, it is not necessary to climb inside to find one of them.

In the modern concept, the word "slot" usually means the bar of RAM, not the connector for its connection. Therefore, when they say "memory slot", often mean the bar of RAM. This is also worth considering, because many people can be misunderstood. Although in fact it is a connector, and its purpose can be the connection of any device.