Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

Peripheral Component Interconnect
     
         (PCI) A standard for connecting {peripherals} to a
        {personal computer}, designed by {Intel} and released around
        Autumn 1993.  PCI is supported by most major manufacturers
        including {Apple Computer}.  It is technically far superior to
        {VESA}'s {local bus}.  It runs at 20 - 33 MHz and carries 32
        bits at a time over a 124-pin connector or 64 bits over a
        188-pin connector.  An address is sent in one cycle followed
        by one word of data (or several in burst mode).
     
        PCI is used in systems based on {Pentium}, {Pentium Pro}, {AMD
        5x86}, {AMD K5} and {AMD K6} processors, in some {DEC Alpha}
        and {PowerPC} systems, and probably {Cyrix 586} and {Cyrix
        686} systems.  However, it is processor independent and so can
        work with other processor architectures as well.
     
        Technically, PCI is not a bus but a {bridge} or {mezzanine}.
        It includes buffers to decouple the {CPU} from relatively slow
        peripherals and allow them to operate asynchronously.
     
        (1997-12-07)