Windows Vista

Windows Vista (IPA: /ˈvɪs.tə/) is a line of graphical operating systems used on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, Tablet PCs, and media centers. Prior to its announcement on July 22, 2005, Windows Vista was known by its codename "Longhorn".[1] Development was completed on November 8, 2006; over the following three months it was released in stages to computer hardware and software manufacturers, business customers, and retail channels. On January 30, 2007, it was released worldwide to the general public,[2] and was made available for purchase and downloading from Microsoft's web site.[3] The release of Windows Vista comes more than five years after the introduction of its predecessor, Windows XP, making it the longest time span between two releases of Microsoft Windows.

Windows Vista contains hundreds of new and reworked features; some of the most significant include an updated graphical user interface and visual style dubbed Windows Aero, improved searching features, new multimedia creation tools such as Windows DVD Maker, and completely redesigned networking, audio, print, and display sub-systems. Vista also aims to increase the level of communication between machines on a home network using peer-to-peer technology, making it easier to share files and digital media between computers and devices. For developers, Vista includes version 3.0 of the .NET Framework, which aims to make it significantly easier for developers to write applications than with the traditional Windows API.

Microsoft's primary stated objective with Windows Vista, however, has been to improve the state of security in the Windows operating system.[4] One common criticism of Windows XP and its predecessors has been their commonly exploited security vulnerabilities and overall susceptibility to malware, viruses and buffer overflows. In light of this, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates announced in early 2002 a company-wide "Trustworthy Computing initiative" which aims to incorporate security work into every aspect of software development at the company. Microsoft stated that it prioritized improving the security of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 above finishing Windows Vista, thus delaying its completion.[5]

Windows Vista is the target of a number of negative assessments by various groups. Criticisms of Windows Vista include protracted development time, more restrictive licensing terms, the inclusion of a number of new Digital Rights Management technologies aimed at restricting the copying of protected digital media, lack of device drivers for some hardware, and the usability of other new features such as User Account Control.

Unix

Unix (officially trademarked as UNIX®, sometimes also written as Unix or Unix® with small caps) is a computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie and Douglas McIlroy. Today's Unix systems are split into various branches, developed over time by AT&T as well as various commercial vendors and non-profit organizations.

As of 2007, the owner of the trademark UNIX® is The Open Group, an industry standards consortium. Only systems fully compliant with and certified to the Single UNIX Specification qualify as "UNIX®" (others are called "Unix system-like" or "Unix-like").

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Unix's influence in academic circles led to large-scale adoption of Unix (particularly of the BSD variant, originating from the University of California, Berkeley) by commercial startups, the most notable of which is Sun Microsystems. Today, in addition to certified Unix systems, Unix-like operating systems such as Linux and BSD are commonly encountered. Sometimes, "traditional Unix" may be used to describe a Unix or an operating system that has the characteristics of either Version 7 Unix or UNIX System V.

Linux

MS-DOS (short for Microsoft Disk Operating System) is an operating system commercialised by Microsoft. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems and was the dominant operating system for the PC compatible platform during the 1980s. It has gradually been replaced on consumer desktop computers by various generations of the Windows operating system.

MS-DOS was originally released in 1981 and had eight major versions released before Microsoft stopped development in 2000. It was the key product in Microsoft's growth from a programming languages company to a diverse software development firm, providing the company with essential revenue and marketing resources. It also provided the platform on which early versions of Windows ran.


Description Bosanski: Tux, maskota Linuxa
Deutsch: Tux, der Linux-Pinguin
English: Tux, the Linux penguin
Հայերեն: Տուքս պինգվինը՝ Լինուքսի հմայիլը
Français : Le manchot Tux, la mascotte de Linux
Português: O Pinguim Tux, mascote do Linux
Polski: Pingwin Tux - maskotka Linuksa
Română: Pinguinul Tux, mascota Linuxului
Source Based on original image by Larry Ewing, created using Sodipodi

Date
Author gg3po (kde-look.org source)

Permission
(Reusing this image) (c) Larry Ewing, Simon Budig und Anja Gerwinsk

Linux (pronunciation: IPA: /ˈlɪnʊks/, lin-uks) is a Unix-like computer operating system. Linux is one of the most prominent examples of free software and open source development; its underlying source code can be freely modified, used, and redistributed by anyone.[1]

The Linux kernel was first released to the public on 17 September 1991, for the Intel x86 PC architecture. The kernel was augmented with system utilities and libraries from the GNU project to create a usable operating system, which later led to an alternate term, GNU/Linux.[2] Linux is now packaged for different uses in Linux distributions, which contain the sometimes modified kernel along with a variety of other software packages tailored to different requirements.

Predominantly known for its use in servers, Linux is supported by corporations such as Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Novell, Oracle Corporation, Red Hat, and Sun Microsystems. It is used as an operating system for a wide variety of computer hardware, including desktop computers, supercomputers,[3] video game systems such as PlayStation 2, 3, several arcade games and embedded devices such as mobile phones and routers.

In 1992, Linus Torvalds explained that he pronounces Linux as /ˈlɪnʊks/,[4] though other variations are common.

MS-DOS

An example of MS-DOS's command-line interface, this one showing that the current directory is the root of drive C.
Company/
developer: Microsoft Corporation
OS family: DOS
Source model: Closed source
Latest stable release: 8.0 / September 14, 2000
Marketing target: ?
Available language(s): C, Pascal, QBasic, etc.
Supported platforms: x86
Kernel type: Monolithic kernel
Default user interface: Command line interface, Text user interface
License: Proprietary
Working state: Discontinued
MS-DOS (short for Microsoft Disk Operating System) is an operating system commercialised by Microsoft. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems and was the dominant operating system for the PC compatible platform during the 1980s. It has gradually been replaced on consumer desktop computers by various generations of the Windows operating system.

MS-DOS was originally released in 1981 and had eight major versions released before Microsoft stopped development in 2000. It was the key product in Microsoft's growth from a programming languages company to a diverse software development firm, providing the company with essential revenue and marketing resources. It also provided the platform on which early versions of Windows ran.

Windows XP

Windows XP is a line of operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on general-purpose computer systems, including home and business desktops, notebook computers, and media centers. The letters "XP" stand for eXPerience.[2] It was codenamed "Whistler", after Whistler, British Columbia, as many Microsoft employees skied at the Whistler-Blackcomb ski resort during its development. Windows XP is the successor to both Windows 2000 Professional and Windows Me, and is the first consumer-oriented operating system produced by Microsoft to be built on the Windows NT kernel and architecture. Windows XP was first released on October 25, 2001, and over 400 million copies were in use in January 2006, according to an estimate in that month by an IDC analyst.[3] It is succeeded by Windows Vista, which was released to volume license customers on November 8, 2006, and worldwide to the general public on January 30, 2007.

The most common editions of the operating system are Windows XP Home Edition, which is targeted at home users, and Windows XP Professional, which has additional features such as support for Windows Server domains and two physical processors, and is targeted at power users and business clients. Windows XP Media Center Edition has additional multimedia features enhancing the ability to record and watch TV shows, view DVD movies, and listen to music. Windows XP Tablet PC Edition is designed to run the ink-aware Tablet PC platform. Two separate 64-bit versions of Windows XP were also released, Windows XP 64-bit Edition for IA-64 (Itanium) processors and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition for x86-64.

Windows XP is known for its improved stability and efficiency over the 9x versions of Microsoft Windows. It presents a significantly redesigned graphical user interface, a change Microsoft promoted as more user-friendly than previous versions of Windows. New software management capabilities were introduced to avoid the "DLL hell" that plagued older consumer-oriented 9x versions of Windows. It is also the first version of Windows to use product activation to combat software piracy, a restriction that did not sit well with some users and privacy advocates. Windows XP has also been criticized by some users for security vulnerabilities, tight integration of applications such as Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player, and for aspects of its default user interface.

Windows XP had been in development since early 1999, when Microsoft started working on Windows Neptune, an operating system intended to be the "Home Edition" equivalent to Windows 2000 Professional. It was eventually merged into the Whistler project, which later became Windows XP.

Mac OS

Mac OS is the trademarked name for a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. (formerly Apple Computer, Inc.) for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface. The original form of what Apple would later name the "Mac OS" was the integral and unnamed system software first introduced in 1984 with the original Macintosh, usually referred to simply as the System software.

Apple deliberately downplayed the existence of the operating system in the early years of the Macintosh to help make the machine appear more user-friendly and to distance it from other operating systems such as MS-DOS, which were portrayed as arcane and technically challenging. Much of this early system software was held in ROM, with updates typically provided free of charge by Apple dealers on floppy disk. As increasing disk storage capacity and performance gradually eliminated the need for fixing much of an advanced GUI operating system in ROM, Apple explored cloning while positioning major operating system upgrades as separate revenue-generating products, first with System 7 and System 7.5, then with Mac OS 7.6 in 1997.

Earlier versions of the Mac OS were compatible only with Motorola 68000-based Macintoshes. As Apple introduced computers with PowerPC hardware, the OS was upgraded to support this architecture as well. Mac OS X, which has superseded the "Classic" Mac OS, is compatible with both PowerPC and Intel processors.

64-bit operating system

Description Logo for the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems. Introduced in late 2006 as a replacement for a prior logo, available here.

Source Microsoft PressPass

Article [[{{{Article}}}]]

Portion used The entire work illustrated is covered by this rationale

Low resolution? Low Resolution of 300*213 pixels

Purpose of use The Microsoft Windows logo - used in the main article and in other articles about the software itself

Replaceable? Not replaceable.

Other information This image is only being used in Wikipedia articles for informational and educational purposes.
The image's inclusion here will not result in financial loss to the creator of the original drawing or Microsoft.
A logo is very safe territory
Wikipedia is a non-profit organisation, downstream providers who are not non-profit will need to consider whether they will take the risk in using this image

[edit] 64-bit operating systems

The current Windows logoWindows NT included support for several different platforms before the x86-based personal computer became dominant in the professional world. Versions of NT from 3.1 to 4.0 supported DEC Alpha and MIPS R4000, which were 64-bit processors, although the operating system treated them as 32-bit processors.

With the introduction of the Intel Itanium architecture, which is referred to as IA-64, Microsoft released new versions of Windows 2000 to support it. Itanium versions of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 were released at the same time as their mainstream x86 (32-bit) counterparts. On April 25, 2005, Microsoft released Windows XP Professional x64 Edition and x64 versions of Windows Server 2003 to support the AMD64/Intel64 (or x64 in Microsoft terminology) architecture. Microsoft dropped support for the Itanium version of Windows XP in 2005. Windows Vista is the first end-user version of Windows that Microsoft has released simultaneously in 32-bit and x64 editions. Windows Vista does not support the Itanium architecture. The modern 64-bit Windows family comprises AMD64/Intel64 versions of Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2003, in both Itanium and x64 editions

Hybrid 16/32-bit operating system

Description Logo for Microsoft Windows, circa 2000. Introduced in late 1999 as part of the Windows 2000 branding.
The Windows logo that was used from 2001 to November 2006.

Source Microsoft documentation on Windows 2000.

Article [[{{{Article}}}]]

Portion used The entire work illustrated is covered by this rationale

Low resolution? Low Resolution of 262*192 pixels

Purpose of use The Windows 2000 logo - used in articles describing Microsoft Windows and its history at around the time of Windows 2000's release

Replaceable? Not replaceable.

Other information This image is only being used in Wikipedia articles for informational and educational purposes.
The image's inclusion here will not result in financial loss to the creator of the original drawing or Microsoft.
A logo is very safe territory
Wikipedia is a non-profit organisation, downstream providers who are not non-profit will need to consider whether they will take the risk in using this image

This family of Windows systems was fashioned and marketed for higher reliability business use, and was unencumbered by any Microsoft DOS patrimony.[citation needed] The first release was Windows NT 3.1 (1993, numbered "3.1" to match the Windows version and to one-up OS/2 2.1[citation needed], IBM's flagship OS co-developed by Microsoft and was Windows NT's main competitor at the time), which was followed by NT 3.5 (1994), NT 3.51 (1995), and NT 4.0 (1996); NT 4.0 was the first in this line to implement the Windows 95 user interface. Microsoft then moved to combine their consumer and business operating systems. Their first attempt, Windows 2000, failed to meet their goals,[citation needed] and was released as a business system. The home consumer edition of Windows 2000, codenamed "Windows Neptune," ceased development and Microsoft released Windows Me in its place.[citation needed] Eventually "Neptune" was merged into their new project, Whistler, which later became Windows XP, which came in both home and professional versions. Then, Windows Server 2003 brought Windows Server up to date with Windows XP. Since then, Windows Vista was released and Windows Server 2008 will bring Windows Server up to date with Windows Vista. Windows CE, Microsoft's offering in the mobile and embedded markets, is also a true 32-bit operating system that offers various services for all sub-operating workstations.

Microsoft_Windows.svg

Description Logo for Microsoft Windows from 1992 to 1999.

Source This vector image was created by converting the Encapsulated PostScript file available at brandsoftheworld.com - to see it there, click here. If it is not free content, remember to only render it at web resolution to comply with our fair-use policy.

Article [[{{{Article}}}]]

Portion used The entire work illustrated is covered by this rationale

Low resolution? SVG

Purpose of use The Classic Microsoft Windows logo - used in the main article and in other articles about the software itself

Replaceable? Not replaceable.

Other information This image is only being used in Wikipedia articles for informational and educational purposes.
The image's inclusion here will not result in financial loss to the creator of the original drawing or Microsoft.
A logo is very safe territory
Wikipedia is a non-profit organisation, downstream providers who are not non-profit will need to consider whether they will take the risk in using this image

Windows/386 introduced a 32-bit protected mode kernel and virtual machine monitor. For the duration of a Windows session, it created one or more virtual 8086 environments and provided device virtualization for the video card, keyboard, mouse, timer and interrupt controller inside each of them. The user-visible consequence was that it became possible to preemptively multitask multiple MS-DOS environments in separate Windows (graphical applications required switching the window to full screen mode). Windows applications were still multi-tasked cooperatively inside one of such real-mode environments.

Windows 3.0 (1990) and Windows 3.1 (1992) improved the design, mostly because of virtual memory and loadable virtual device drivers (VxDs) which allowed them to share arbitrary devices between multitasked DOS windows.[citation needed] Because of this, Windows applications could now run in 16-bit protected mode (when Windows was running in Standard or 386 Enhanced Mode), which gave them access to several megabytes of memory and removed the obligation to participate in the software virtual memory scheme. They still ran inside the same address space, where the segmented memory provided a degree of protection, and multi-tasked cooperatively. For Windows 3.0, Microsoft also rewrote critical operations from C into assembly, making this release faster and less memory-hungry than its predecessors.

Windows

Description Logo for the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems. Introduced in late 2006 as a replacement for a prior logo, available here.

Source Microsoft PressPass

Article [[{{{Article}}}]]

Portion used The entire work illustrated is covered by this rationale

Low resolution? Low Resolution of 288*76 pixels

Purpose of use The Microsoft Windows logo - used in the main article and in other articles about the software itself

Replaceable? Not replaceable.

Other information This image is only being used in Wikipedia articles for informational and educational purposes.
The image's inclusion here will not result in financial loss to the creator of the original drawing or Microsoft.
A logo is very safe territory
Wikipedia is a non-profit organisation, downstream providers who are not non-profit will need to consider whether they will take the risk in using this image

Screenshot of Windows Vista Ultimate, the latest version of Microsoft Windows (Build 6000).
Company/developer: Microsoft Corporation
OS family: MS-DOS/9x-based, Windows CE, Windows NT
Source model: Closed source
Stable release: Windows Vista
NT 6.0 (November 8, 2006) [+/-]
Preview release: Windows Server 2008
Release Candidate 0
NT 6.0.6001.16648 (September 2007) [+/-]

Microsoft Windows is the name of several families of software operating systems by Microsoft. Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows in November 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces (GUIs).[1] Microsoft Windows eventually came to dominate the world's personal computer market, overtaking Mac OS, which had been introduced previously. At the 2004 IDC Directions conference, IDC Vice President Avneesh Saxena stated that Windows had approximately 90% of the client operating system market.[2] The current client version of Windows is Windows Vista. The current server version of Windows is Windows Server 2003. The successor to Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008 is currently being beta tested.

OS/2 WRAP

OS/2 version 3.0, released in 1994, was labelled as "OS/2 Warp" to highlight the new performance benefits, and generally to freshen the product image. "Warp" had originally been the internal IBM name for the release: IBM claimed that it had used Star Trek terms as internal names for past OS/2 releases, and that this one seemed appropriate for external use as well.

At the launch of OS/2 Warp in 1994, Patrick Stewart was to be the Master of Ceremonies; however Kate Mulgrew of the then-upcoming series Star Trek: Voyager was substituted at the last minute.

OS/2 Warp offered a host of benefits over OS/2 2.1, notably broader hardware support, greater multimedia capabilities, Internet-compatible networking, and it included a basic office application suite known as IBM Works. It was released in two versions: the less-expensive "Red Spine" and the more-expensive "Blue Spine" (named for the color of their boxes). "Red Spine" was designed to support Microsoft Windows applications by finding and using Windows already installed on the computer's hard drive. "Blue Spine" included Windows support in its own installation, and so could support Windows applications without a Windows installation. As most computers were sold with Microsoft Windows pre-installed, "Red Spine" was the far more popular product. OS/2 Warp Connect, which had full network support built-in, followed in mid-1995, again in "Red Spine" and "Blue Spine" versions.[5]


Mozilla 1.7.13 for OS/2 Warp 4In 1996, Warp 4 added Java and speech recognition software. IBM also released server editions of Warp 3 and Warp 4 which bundled IBM's LAN Server product directly into the operating system installation. The UK-distributed free demo CD-ROM of OS/2 Warp essentially contained the entire OS and was easily, even accidentally, cracked, meaning that even people who liked it didn't have to buy it. This was seen as a backdoor tactic to increase the number of OS/2 users, in the belief that this would increase sales and demand for third-party applications, and thus strengthen OS/2's desktop numbers.[citation needed] This suggestion was bolstered by the fact that this demo version had replaced another which was not so easily cracked, but which had been released with trial versions of various applications.[citation needed] In 2000 the July edition of Australian Personal Computer magazine bundled software CD-ROMs, included a full version of Warp 4 that required no activation and was essentially a free release.

Warp 4 was the last widely distributed version of OS/2, and IBM soon announced the end of marketing the operating system to individual users.

IBM (OS/2)

Size of this preview: 497 × 599 pixels
Full resolution‎ (600 × 723 pixels, file size: 181 KB, MIME type: image/png)

[edit] Summary
OS/2 version 2 box jacket. The purpose of this image's existence in Wikipedia is to illustrate an article that describes the product. In the version depicted, the product packaging says it:

Requires 4MB RAM
Intel 80386SX or higher CPU
either 1 CD-ROM or (in this box) Diskette media: 25 5.25-inch HD (1.2MB) diskettes
Box says it runs Windows 2.0/386 applications, DOS applications and OS/2 applications.
Can use HPFS- or FAT-formatted hard disks.

IBM grew concerned about the delays in development of OS/2 2.0 and the diversion of IBM funds earmarked for OS/2 development towards Windows[citation needed]. Initially, the companies agreed that IBM would take over maintenance of OS/2 1.0 and development of OS/2 2.0, while Microsoft would continue development of OS/2 3.0. In the end, Microsoft decided to recast NT OS/2 3.0 as Windows NT, leaving all future OS/2 development to IBM. From a business perspective, it was logical to concentrate on a consumer line of operating systems based on DOS and Windows, and to prepare a new high-end system in such a way as to keep good compatibility with existing Windows applications. While waiting for this new high-end system to develop, Microsoft would still receive licensing money from Xenix and OS/2 sales. Windows NT's OS/2 heritage can be seen in its initial support for the HPFS filesystem, text mode OS/2 1.x applications, and OS/2 LAN Manager network support. Some early NT materials even included OS/2 copyright notices embedded in the software.[citation needed]

One example of NT OS/2 1.x support is in the WIN2K resource kit. OS/2 support also includes Presentation Manager support with the addition of the Windows NT Add-On Subsystem for Presentation Manager

OS/2

A typical OS/2 Warp 4 desktop
Company/
developer: Microsoft, IBM
OS family: OS/2
Source model: Closed source
Latest stable release: 4.52 / December 2001
Marketing target: Professionals, servers
Kernel type: Hybrid kernel
License: Proprietary
Working state: Obsolescent


OS/2 is a computer operating system, initially created by Microsoft and IBM, then later developed by IBM exclusively. The name stands for "Operating System/2," because it was introduced as the preferred operating system for IBM's "Personal System/2 (PS/2)" line of second-generation Personal Computers. OS/2 is no longer marketed by IBM, and IBM standard support for OS/2 was discontinued on December 31, 2006.[1] Currently, Serenity Systems sells OS/2 under the brand name eComStation.

OS/2 was intended as a protected mode successor of MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows. Notably, basic system calls were modeled after MS-DOS calls; their names even started with "Dos" and it was possible to create "Family Mode" applications: text mode applications that could work on both systems.[2] Because of this heritage, OS/2 is like Windows in many ways, but it also shares similarities with Unix and Xenix.

OS/2 is also remembered for being the first major operating system to have its own advocacy group. Team OS/2 was a grassroots, ad-hoc organization of volunteers, who promoted and supported the operating system and applications designed for it.

Windows (September 2007)

16-bit operating environments

The box art of Windows 1.0, the first version that Microsoft released to the public.The early versions of Windows were often thought of as just graphical user interfaces, mostly because they ran on top of MS-DOS and used it for file system services.[citation needed] However even the earliest 16-bit Windows versions already assumed many typical operating system functions, notably having their own executable file format and providing their own device drivers (timer, graphics, printer, mouse, keyboard and sound) for applications. Unlike MS-DOS, Windows allowed users to execute multiple graphical applications at the same time, through cooperative multitasking. Finally, Windows implemented an elaborate, segment-based, software virtual memory scheme which allowed it to run applications larger than available memory: code segments and resources were swapped in and thrown away when memory became scarce, and data segments moved in memory when a given application had relinquished processor control, typically waiting for user input.[citation needed] 16-bit Windows versions include Windows 1.0 (1985), Windows 2.0 (1987) and its close relative Windows/286.

Windows OS

List of Windows OS (logos and description)

MS-DOS
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MS-DOS


An example of MS-DOS's command-line interface, this one showing that the current directory is the root of drive C.
Company/
developer: Microsoft Corporation
OS family: DOS
Source model: Closed source
Latest stable release: 8.0 / September 14, 2000
Marketing target: ?
Available language(s): C, Pascal, QBasic, etc.
Supported platforms: x86
Kernel type: Monolithic kernel
Default user interface: Command line interface, Text user interface
License: Proprietary
Working state: Discontinued
MS-DOS (short for Microsoft Disk Operating System) is an operating system commercialised by Microsoft. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems and was the dominant operating system for the PC compatible platform during the 1980s. It has gradually been replaced on consumer desktop computers by various generations of the Windows operating system.

MS-DOS was originally released in 1981 and had eight major versions released before Microsoft stopped development in 2000. It was the key product in Microsoft's growth from a programming languages company to a diverse software development firm, providing the company with essential revenue and marketing resources. It also provided the platform on which early versions of Windows ran.



An example of MS-DOS's command-line interface, this one showing that the current directory is the root of drive C.
Company/
developer: Microsoft Corporation
OS family: DOS
Source model: Closed source
Latest stable release: 8.0 / September 14, 2000
Marketing target: ?
Available language(s): C, Pascal, QBasic, etc.
Supported platforms: x86
Kernel type: Monolithic kernel
Default user interface: Command line interface, Text user interface
License: Proprietary
Working state: Discontinued

Latest Slots

Most PCs from the leading vendors now include at least one PCI Express slot. The most common slot sizes are x1 and x16. The x1 slot is a general-purpose slot that can host devices such as NI PCIe M Series data acquisition and NI PCIe GPIB devices. Currently, server-class machines are required for x4 and x8 slots which are used by devices including the NI PCIe Camera Link image acquisition device. “Server” does not imply high price, though, as tower servers are available for prices comparable to desktop machines. For example, as of May 2005, the Dell SC420 server has one x1 and one x8 PCI Express slot in addition to three PCI slots starting at $299 (USD).


Figure 4. Most motherboards have a combination of PCI and PCI Express slots

It is important when choosing a computer to make sure that the PCI Express connectors are wired to the physical connection size. For instance, some vendors use motherboards with x8 connectors that are wired as x4. Devices in these slots will only operate at x4 data rates. In the case that you are up-plugging a PCI Express device, make sure that the computer you are using supports up-plugging at the maximum data rate supported by your device. The PCI Express specification only requires up-plugging to operate at the x1 data rate. This could result in a x4 device that is plugged into a x8 connector to operate at x1 data rates (250 MB/s).

Latest Motherboard

Gigabyte GA-P35T-DQ6 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard



The GA-P35T-DQ6 is GIGABYTE next generation, high performance platform based on the killer combination of the new Intel P35 chipset plus support for the latest multi-core processors up to FSB 1333MHz, including the upcoming 45nm platform. Delivering higher memory performance with less power consumption, the GIGABYTE GA-P35T-DQ6 supports DDR3 memory, a critical component for running next generation applications such as high-definition video and 3D visualization.

Latest Memory

2GB G.Skill DDR3 PC3-10600 (1333MHz) CL8-8-8...
you are here: G.Skill Computer Memory DDR3 2GB G.Skill DDR3 PC3-10600 (1333MHz) CL8-8-8 HK Series Dual Channel kit

Latest Processor

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 5200+ 2.60GHz Processor


Increase your performance by up to 80% with the AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core processor. Work or play with multiple programs without any stalling or waiting. Dual-core technology is like having two processors, and two working together is better and faster than one working alone.