PCIe 7.0 is coming, but not soon, and not for you

PCIe 7.0 is earmarked for data-heavy applications alternatively than user computing hardware.

The PCIe 7.0 specification has present been released, portion galore of america are inactive waiting for PCIe 6.0 to materialize successful user products. The PCI Special Interest Group (PCI-SIG) announced connected Wednesday that PCIe 7.0 is present available to members of its organization, delivering a theoretical maximum bandwidth velocity of 512GB per 2nd successful some directions, crossed a x16 connection.

“PCIe exertion has served arsenic the high-bandwidth, low-latency IO interconnect of prime for implicit 2 decades and we are pleased to denote the merchandise of the PCIe 7.0 specification, which continues our long-standing contented of doubling the IO bandwidth each 3 years,” PCI-SIG President Al Yanes said successful the announcement. “As artificial quality applications proceed to standard rapidly, the adjacent procreation of PCIe exertion meets the bandwidth demands of data-intensive markets deploying AI, including hyperscale information centers, precocious show computing (HPC), automotive, and military/aerospace.”

You whitethorn person noticed that user computing devices weren’t included successful that connection — the specification is targeting data-driven applications similar unreality and quantum computing datacenters for now, and volition instrumentality immoderate clip to adjacent look successful those markets. PCI-SIG says that PCIe 7.0 volition beryllium backward compatible with erstwhile PCI Express versions, but there’s nary notation of plans to bring it to mundane desktop SSDs oregon GPUs immoderate clip soon. That shouldn’t beryllium surprising, fixed the PCIe 5.0 spec that launched successful 2019 lone started trickling into user hardware 2 years ago, and is inactive reasonably uncommon.

Meanwhile, PCI-SIG says that pathfinding for PCIe 8.0 is “already successful progress.” With immoderate luck, PCIe 6.0 volition person made its user debut by the clip the next-gen specifications person been finalized successful 2028.