Circuit board adapted to couple to different types of add-in cards

1. A circuit board, comprising:

at least one slot provided on a surface of said circuit board and to which an add-in card can be mated;

wherein said slot comprises first and second patterns of electrical connections, and said slot comprises a first electrical connection, in said first pattern, adapted to couple to an add-in card of a first type and a second electrical connection, in said second pattern, adapted to couple to an add-in card of a second type, wherein the first and second types are different;

wherein, for each such slot, the second pattern lies within a footprint defined by the first pattern, and

wherein the first pattern of electrical connections is configured to receive a first electrical connector and the second pattern of electrical connections is configured to receive a second electrical connector, and wherein the first and second connectors are different types.

2. The circuit board of claim 1 wherein, for each slot, the first electrical connection is configured to receive a first electrical connector and the second electrical connection is configured to receive a second electrical connector, and wherein the first and second electrical connectors are of different types.

3. The circuit board of claim 1 wherein the first pattern of electrical connections comprises two rows of electrical connections defining a space between said rows, and the second pattern of electrical connections lies in said space.

4. The circuit board of claim 1 wherein the first electrical connection comports with one interface standard and the second electrical connection comports with another interface standard.

5. The circuit board of claim 1 wherein said slot further comprises a third electrical connection adapted to couple to an add-in card of a third type.

6. The circuit board of claim 1 wherein the first electrical connection comprises a conductive pad on said surface and the second electrical connection comprises a through hole formed in said circuit board.

7. A system, comprising:

a circuit board;

control logic residing on said circuit board;

a first pattern of electrical contacts coupled to said control logic to receive a first type of add-in card; and

a second pattern of electrical contacts coupled to said control logic and to receive a second type of add-in card;

wherein the first and second types of add-in cards each have an electrical interface and the electrical interface of the first type of add-in card is incompatible with the electrical interface of the second type of add-in card; and

wherein the first and second patterns of electrical contacts are provided within a single slot of said circuit board; and

wherein the second pattern of contacts defines a footprint that lies within a footprint defined by the first pattern of electrical contacts, and

wherein each pattern of electrical contacts is adapted to include a connector to which the add-in card can be mated, and wherein the connector for the first pattern is different from the connector for the second pattern.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein at least one pattern comprises a plurality of rows of electrical contacts.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein each of the first and second patterns have rows of electrical contacts and wherein rows of the second pattern of the contacts reformed on said circuit board between rows of the first pattern of the contacts.

10. The system of claim 7 further comprising a plurality of slots coupled to said logic, at least one slot comprising the first and second patterns of electrical contacts.

11. The system of claim 7 further comprising at least one additional slot that comprises at least two patterns of electrical contacts, each pattern adapted to receive an add-in card.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein each pattern is adapted to receive an electrical connector to which an add-in card can be mated, the electrical connector of one pattern in a slot being different from the electrical connector of another pattern in the same slot.