With PC end-users demanding more and more performance, AMD has supported PCIe 4.0 on the X570 chipset, and Intel has followed with PCIe 5.0 on core 12 processors. AMD has also said it will support PCIe 5.0 on Ryzen 7000 series processors.
The PCI-SIG association announced an updated specification for PCIe 6.0 earlier this year, even though its consumer counterpart for PCIe 5.0 has not yet been rolled out. PCI-SIG recently announced a new specification for PCIe 7.0.
PCI-SIG, as an association of more than 800 industry companies, is committed to advancing PCIe technology and continues to provide reliable, scalable solutions. The PCI-SIG 2022 developer Conference in June not only celebrated the 30th anniversary of PCIe but also announced the first specification target for PCIe 7.0, which will continue to double its data rate to 128 GT/s. Bi-directional speeds of 512 GB/s can be achieved over X16 channel connections.
PCIe 7.0 specification objectives
- The x16 configuration offers a raw bit rate of 128GT/s and a bidirectional transfer rate of up to 512GB/s
- Use PAM4 (Level 4 Pulse amplitude modulation) signaling
- Focus on channel parameters and scope
- Continue to achieve low latency and high-reliability goals
- Improve power efficiency
- Maintain backward compatibility with all previous generations of PCIe technology
“With the upcoming release of the PCIe 7.0 specification, PCI-SIG continues its 30-year commitment to deliver industry-leading specifications that drive innovation,” said Al Yanes, President, and Chairman of PCI-SIG. “As PCIe technology continues to evolve to meet high bandwidth demands, the PCI-SIG working group will focus on channel parameters, range, and improving power efficiency.”
What will change with PCIe 7.0’s high bandwidth?
As you can see from the PCIe 7.0 specification, two-way transfer speeds of up to 512 GB/s make for even faster storage devices. However, in addition to the extremely fast performance, the vast data throughput will also bring higher heat. How to solve the impact of temperature on the service life and performance of storage devices will be more worthy of attention.
In addition, the X1-channel PCIe 7.0 delivers 32 GB/s of bi-directional data, double the current flagship PCIe 4.0 SSD. This means that PCIe 7.0 storage devices will be able to achieve higher transfer speeds with fewer channels. It will also benefit from the volume control of high-speed SSDS and the ability to experience high-speed storage on smaller devices.
It is important to note that the specification of PCIe 5.0 SSDS coming to the consumer market was proposed in 2019. The original PCIe 7.0 standard will be completed in 2025, and full adoption may not be until around 2028. However, only the continuous updating of new technical standards can further promote the development of the industry and lay the foundation for future storage applications.
As a member of PCI-SIG, SMI (DiskMFR’s Controller supplier) will continue to focus on the cutting edge of the industry. The PCIe 5.0 enterprise SSD master chip is ready to be announced in the near future, and the more advanced PCIe 6.0 and 7.0 specifications. SMI & DiskMFR will also be included in the development landscape. Meet the performance, latency, and reliability requirements of the data center, enterprise, and consumer storage, and provide more comprehensive storage products and solutions for ARTIFICIAL intelligence, machine learning, high-performance computing (HPC), and super large-scale data centers, and various cloud applications.
END.
