When it comes to the PCIe specification, PCI-SIG is the company behind maintaining and updating the standard, which includes its innovations. Now, it has released the specifications for the next-generation PCIe 7.0. Yes, that’s Gen 7, as even though current graphics cards might have just upgraded to 5.0, that doesn’t mean it will slow down in its releases.

As a comparison, the PCIe Gen 5 standard was released back in 2019, so it’s taken six years to implement into consumer-based cards. With that, it might be a couple of generations before we even get to PCIe 6.0, let alone 7.0.

However, it’s future-proofing and ensuring there is a way forward for these GPUs to improve, especially as it’s most likely AI GPUs that will benefit first. With the amount of data they produce, it’s beneficial for them to achieve even higher throughput, potentially reducing the number of GPUs required, as more data can be transmitted through the PCIe lanes. As Jensen from Nvidia discussed, its new GeForce is all about AI and data, as it expands on the number of units it connects, which could be helped by faster interconnectivity.

Faster and with improved features

As with any new PCIe release, the throughput and speeds have doubled once again, which means that each slot length gets an improvement. That’s not only beneficial for x16 slots for full cards, but also storage, as the likes of NVMe SSDs can reach even higher speeds with the right hardware. Those primarily use x4 slots, and so now they could reach an incredible 60.5GB/s, although it depends on when those and both motherboards adopt the standard.

However, it’s not only the speeds that improve, as the introduction of PCIe 6.0 has also enhanced the line code and security of the series. They now use pulse-amplitude modulation (PAM) and flit networking. The signal modulation allows for messages to be encoded in the amplitude of a pulse, while filters control the flow of this information stream.

So, combined with the massive speed capable of reaching 128 GT/s and an x16 slot throughput of up to 242 GB/s, the standard produces quite an impressive level of connectivity. It may take some time to reach us, as most GPUs these days don’t fully utilize current PCIe capabilities.

About the Author

Sebastian Kozlowski

With a fascination for technology and games, Seb is a tech writer with a focus on hardware, news, and deals. He is also a tester and reviewer for the site. Contact him @ [email protected]