PCIe 8.0 version 0.5 has been released – On track for 256 GT/s speeds

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PCI-SIG members now have access to version 0.5 of the PCI Express 8.0 standard

PCI-SIG members have today gained access to version 0.5 of the PCIe 8.0 standard, arriving ahead of schedule to industry partners. This is the official first draft of the PCIe 8.0 specification, incorporating feedback from the standard’s 0.3 release last year. Currently, the standard is on track to be fully released by 2028, delivering a tremendous boost to PCIe performance.

With PCIe 8.0, PCI-SIG aims to deliver a 2x bandwidth boost over PCIe 7.0. PCIe 7.0 is already 2x faster than PCIe 6.0, and 4x faster than PCIe 5.0. In other words, PCIe 8.0 aims to be 8x faster than PCIe 5.0, the fastest PCIe standard available on today’s consumer PCs.

Next-generation CPUs from AMD and Intel are already planning to deliver PCIe 6.0 support to the datacenter market. Furthermore, PCIe 7.0 support is undoubtedly already part of both companies’ CPU, GPU, and AI roadmaps. PCI-SIG is aiming to deliver PCIe 8.0 before the industry needs the bandwidth, allowing the market to plan ahead with PCIe in mind.
 
PCIe 8.0 Specification Objectives:

• Delivering 256.0 GT/s raw bit rate and up to 1.0 TB/s bi-directionally via x16 configuration
  
• Evaluating new connector technology
  
• Ensuring latency, FEC and reliability targets are achieved
  
• Maintaining backwards compatibility with previous generations of PCIe technology
  
• Improving bandwidth through protocol enhancements
  
• Reducing power through additional techniques
  

Why do we need PCIe 8.0?

Most PC users consider PCIe 4.0 and 5.0 to be more than fast enough for their needs. Regardless, the needs of the enterprise market are always changing. The growth of AI and other applications has demonstrated clear demand for higher-bandwidth connections. Furthermore, PCI-SIG doesn’t want innovation to be limited by the performance of its PCI Express standard. If that happens, the industry will seek alternatives.

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