Old-timer PC HW gurus only

[Dave Sell]

What was the name of the 32-bit daughter card slot that came out before PCI. It looked similar to a PCI slot, but was longer and usually brown.

I used to have a 486 mobo with it and I just can't remember what we used to call it!

We used it for 2 things:

- Old 32-bit I/O cards, or
- Old 32-bit Video cards.

I used them for both and man, did my 486 SCREAM! DOOM never looked so good!

Thanks!

[DaveBo]

Industry Standard Architecture or Adaptor ?

[Dave Sell]

No, ISA is a 16-bit black slot with large pins.

I am talking about something that came after ISA and before PCI.

It was a 32-bit slot that was long and brown with small pins, usually found in 486 mobos

[ducky]

EISA?

[Dave Sell]

EISA... hmmm that might have been it.

[Lightning]

HAHA, it was called VESA-local bus. I think. I am pretty sure, I think

[Ideas Man]

EISA sounds right.

Taken from Webopedia:

Acronym for Extended Industry Standard Architecture, a bus architecture designed for PCs using an Intel 80386, 80486, or Pentium microprocessor. EISA buses are 32 bits wide and support multiprocessing.
The EISA bus was designed by nine IBM competitors (sometimes called the Gang of Nine): AST Research, Compaq Computer, Epson, Hewlett-Packard, NEC, Olivetti, Tandy, WYSE, and Zenith Data Systems. They designed the architecture to compete with IBM's own high-speed bus architecture called the Micro Channel architecture (MCA).

The principal difference between EISA and MCA is that EISA is backward compatible with the ISA bus (also called the AT bus), while MCA is not. This means that computers with an EISA bus can use new EISA expansion cards as well as old AT expansion cards. Computers with an MCA bus can use only MCA expansion cards.

EISA and MCA are not compatible with each other. This means that the type of bus in your computer determines which expansion cards you can install.

Neither EISA nor MCA has been very successful. Instead, a new technology called local bus (PCI) is being used in combination with the old ISA bus.

[Dave Sell]

Originally posted by Lightning
HAHA, it was called VESA-local bus. I think. I am pretty sure, I think

Now I am positive we called it the VESA bus, but after looking at Ideas Man's post, I'm not sure why!

[Ideas Man]

VESA was the slot made for graphics, like AGP is now.

[Dave Sell]

OK I remember we used to call it the VESA Local Bus.

It was used for "new" 32-bit cards like video cards and Disk I/O cards. Seemed like it was only used for the last year 486's were popular until Pentium 1 systems became available.

All the Pentium systems shipped with PCI busses on the motherboards, so the VESA Local Bus fell by the wayside.

I was trying to remember only because I was telling some kid about it and couldnt remember what we used to call it - how embarrassing!

Thanks all!