PCIe 7.0 has arrived, and PCIe 8.0 is already “in progress”
PCIe 7.0 has just arrived, and the PC industry is already looking at what’s next
It’s finally arrived! PCI-SIG has officially launched its PCIe 7.0 standard, doubling the bandwidth capabilities of the PCI Express standard to pave the way towards the development of future generations of PC hardware. Now, PCI-SIG has started work on PCIe 8.0, ensuring that the PC industry can continue moving forward.
PCIe 7.0 will deliver a 4x increase in bandwidth compared to PCIe 5.0, which is commonly available on new PCs. This new standard creates a pathway towards faster SSDs, stronger AI accelerators, and superior graphics cards. At CES 2025, we saw Phison push the limits of PCIe 5.0 with their “Ultimate Gen5″ E28 SSD controller, clearly showing the need for faster interconnects.
The PCIe 7.0 standard is due to be released in 2025, creating an upgrade path for users of the PCI Express standard. Below are some of the improvements that PCIe 7.0 will feature.
- Delivering 128 GT/s raw bit rate and up to 512 GB/s bi-directionally via x16 configuration
- Utilizing PAM4 (Pulse Amplitude Modulation with 4 levels) signaling
- Focusing on the channel parameters and reach
- Continuing to deliver low-latency and high-reliability targets
- Improving power efficiency
- Maintaining backwards compatibility with all previous generations of PCIe technology
PCIe technology has served as the high-bandwidth, low-latency IO interconnect of choice for over two decades, and we are pleased to announce the release of the PCIe 7.0 specification, which continues our long-standing tradition of doubling the IO bandwidth every three years,
As artificial intelligence applications continue to scale rapidly, the next generation of PCIe technology meets the bandwidth demands of data-intensive markets deploying AI, including hyperscale data centers, high performance computing (HPC), automotive and military/aerospace.
PCIe’s development is ahead of schedule
PCI-SIG aims to double the bandwidth of its PCIe standard every three years. With PCI Express 7, PCI-SIG will have delivered 512 GB/s of bandwidth three years ahead of schedule. This is good news for users of the PCI Express standard, as this gives them a clear upgrade path. Without this upgrade path, PCI-SIG members would need to consider alternative standards whenever they need more bandwidth. By continuously improving PCIe, PCI-SIG can maintain PCI Express as the gold standard of PC connectivity.
How powerful is PCIe 7.0?
Every iteration of the PCIe standard promises a 2x boost in available bandwidth. PCIe 4.0 is 2x faster than PCIe 3.0, PCIe 5.0 is 2x faster than PCIe 4.0, and PCIe 6.0 is 2x faster than PCIe 5.0. As you can guess, PCI Express version 7.0 will be twice as fast as version 6.0.
With this upcoming version of the PCIe standard, 512 GB/s of bi-directional bandwidth should be available through a standard 16x PCIe configuration. With an 8x boost over version 4.0, this new standard will be able to deliver the same bandwidth as a 16x 4.0 config with a new 2x 7.0 configuration.
This new PCIe standard will enable the creation of M.2 SSDs that can deliver sequential read speeds of 50+GB/s. That’s insane! It will also make high-speed networking more commonplace, with PCI-SIG stating that this new PCIe standard will be beneficial for AI and machine learning, hyperscalers, quantum computing, and other applications.
Do we really need PCIe 8.0?
Today, high-end PCs use PCIe 5.0 connectivity. The PC industry has yet to adopt the PCIe 6.0 standard, making many wonder why PCIe 8.0 is necessary. So why does PCI Express 8 need to exist? The simple answer is that it creates a path forward.
If faster versions of PCIe are available, manufacturers do not need to invest in proprietary interconnect standards to increase their available bandwidth. These moves ensure that PCIe will remain relevant well into the future and that strong backwards compatibility can be maintained. Simply put, it prevents a fragmented PC/computing market. This almost happened ahead of the release of PCIe 4.0
Another aspect of new PCIe standards is that they allow users to do more with less. A single PCIe 7.0 lane can offer users the same bandwidth as sixteen PCIe 3.0 lanes. Beyond that, PCI-SIG’s focus on increasing the standard’s efficiency will impact both high-bandwidth and low-bandwidth devices. Delivering more bandwidth for less power is good for everyone.
PCI-SIG hopes to continue doubling the bandwidth PCI Express offers every three years. PCIe 8.0 is the next target for its hardware roadmap. f PCIe 8.0 follows industry trends, it should offer users 1TB/s of bandwidth over x16 lanes!
PCIe 7.0 is now standardised and available to PCI-SIG members. However, devices that support PCIe 7.0 are years away from being available. The broader PC industry is yet to see the industry adopt PCIe 6.0, though a shift to PCIe 6.0 is coming.
You can join the discussion on PCIe 7.0 on the OC3D Forums.
