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PCI-X, or Peripheral Component Interconnect eXtended, is a high-speed computer bus for expansion cards, primarily used in servers and workstations for demanding tasks like networking and storage. It is an enhanced version of the traditional PCI bus, offering higher bandwidth and data transfer rates through higher clock speeds, and is backward-compatible with standard PCI cards. 

Key features of PCI-X 

Increased speed: PCI-X offers significantly higher speeds than traditional PCI. For example, the initial version supported speeds up to 133 MHz, providing a maximum bandwidth of \(1.06\) GB/s per slot. PCI-X 2.0 later introduced speeds of \(266\) MHz and \(533\) MHz.

Backward compatibility: PCI-X slots can accept older PCI cards. However, if a PCI card is installed in a PCI-X slot, the speed of the entire bus will be limited to the slower speed of the PCI card.

Server-focused: This technology was developed by IBM, HP, and Compaq and was mainly found on servers and high-performance workstations due to the high-bandwidth demands of applications like network controllers, storage devices, and video capture cards.

Improved reliability: Later versions of PCI-X, such as PCI-X 2.0, included error-correcting codes (ECC) to improve reliability and data integrity, making it more suitable for critical server applications.

Evolution: While PCI-X provided a significant improvement over PCI, it has largely been succeeded by the even faster and more flexible PCI Express (PCIe) standard, which uses a serial connection instead of the parallel connection used by PCI and PCI-X.