MCA
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Micro Channel
Also known as Micro Channel Architecture (MCA), it was an earlier, proprietary 32-bit bus from IBM used in PS/2, RS/6000 and certain ES/9370 models. Micro Channel cards contained a unique ID that eliminated the error-prone task of setting DIP switches on ISA cards, the primary peripheral expansion of the era. MCA supported 15 levels of bus mastering and transferred data from 20 to 80MBytes/sec. In late 1996, IBM discontinued its use in favor of PCI. See PC data buses and PCI. |
| Types of Expansion Cards |
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| In the PC, Micro Channel, along with ISA, EISA, VL-bus and AGP, have disappeared. PCI and PCI Express buses become mainstream. |
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