ISA is the precursor to PCI. Standing for "Industry Standard Architecture" It was common from the early 1980s to the mid 1990s. ISA was a typically inelegant solution for the time, and required one to know exactly what one was doing- PnP was rare, even for so called "ISA PnP" peripherals. In the end, the combination of flexibility, ease of use, and greater capability allowed PCI to supersede ISA.
An ISA card is an expansion card that connects to a computer via an ISA expansion slot. They were introduced on the original IBM PC in 1981, and phased out of most desktop systems entirely by 2000.
The ISA slot started as 8-bit, and then evolved to 16-bits.
The original IBM compatible parts used an 8-bit ISA slot. After that, they moved to a 16-bit ISA slot. There were other things like a VESA slot that didn't last for long. Then there were PCI slots (not express), and AGP was a faster video card slot standard. Then PCI-express replaced both PCI and AGP.
The original IBM compatible parts used an 8-bit ISA slot. After that, they moved to a 16-bit ISA slot. There were other things like a VESA slot that didn't last for long. Then there were PCI slots (not express), and AGP was a faster video card slot standard. Then PCI-express replaced both PCI and AGP.
An ISA slot may be used to add a video card, a network card, or an extra serial port. By the end of the twentieth century, ISA ports were beginning to be replaced by faster PCI and AGP slots. Now, most computers only support PCI and AGP expansion cards.
Adapter Slot
expansion slot
MCA
MCA
The now obsolete AGP slot was used solely for video. The current slots used for video, the large x16 PCIe connectors, can also be used for general PCIe expansion cards. Sitting in shelf above my head, I still have some PCI and ISA slot video cards: using a general-purpose expansion slot for video is the standard way, and a dedicated graphics expansion slot was a short-term abberation.
Same as any other slot, to allow the board to work with the card in the slot. Very outdated slot.
To play 3 or 4 players on Hydro Thunder you need a Expansion Pak in your expansion slot.