I looked over the user manual for my xps 400 and found I didn't really understand how expandable my system is in regards to PCI slots.

basically, I have:
(1) PCI Express x1
(1) PCI Express x16
(1) PCI Express x4
(3) PCI

Ok..I understand the x16 slot is generally reserved for video card upgrades (I still have the stock ati x300se in there). What I'm sort of confused about is the PCI Express x4 and x1 slots...why not include (3) x16 slots instead? Are they tailored for sound cards, network cards, etc?

I'm guessing the (3) regular PCI slots are for general expansion cards that don't require a ton of bandwith, like an ethernet card?

TIA for any sort of explanation.

Wikipedia: PCI Express

Article discussing using that x4 slot for a video card w. negligible performance loss

As for what kinds of cards are actually being made for x1 and x4 slots, it looks like 4-port gigabit ethernet cards, RAID controllers, and Firewire cards.

sweet, thanks for the info