What devices use PCI?

[FlyingRooster]

im pretty new to pc wanting to switch from console to pc. One thing that confuses me is PCI. i know PCI x16 is for video cards but what are the other slots like x1, x4, x8, used for and what is PCI IDE and Raid? im very confused.
Thanks in advance

 

[HEXiT]

pci-e x16 is for video cards as is x8 and x4

pci x1 x4 are for peripherals like sound/ wireless/ raid/ sata cards/ and anything else that has a pci plug although you can use an old pci gfx card in them 2
they come in 2 sizes. full pci and mini a mini card will work in a full size pci slot but a full size pci wont work in a mini slot. (confuded? i was)

pci raid and ide are expansion cards that you can plug into the pci slot to add extra hdds onto.

ide for older hdds and dvd drives. other peripherals can use em but not many most are storage of some sort.

raid is for setting up a raid array that increases disk performance or gives redundancy or some measure of both.

look up more details on wiki. most of the pc stuff on there is accurate.

 

[popatim]

there is quite a difference between pci and pci-e buses. Please read the wiki articles if you're interested.