PCI Express 5.0 specification is now finalized

The first PCI Express 4.0 consumer products are barely trickling to the market yet PCI-SIG has already completed the PCI Express 5.0 specification. This protocol doubles the bandwidth to 32GT/s. Details can be found below. At this point, it's unknown when we can expect the first applications, it will probably take quite some time as PCI Express 4.0 has barely hit the market.

PCI-SIG® today announced the release of PCI Express® (PCIe®) 5.0 specification, reaching 32GT/s transfer rates, while maintaining low power and backwards compatibility with previous technology generations.

“New data-intensive applications are driving demand for unprecedented levels of performance,” said Al Yanes, PCI-SIG Chairman and President. “Completing the PCIe 5.0 specification in 18 months is a major achievement, and it is due to the commitment of our members who worked diligently to evolve PCIe technology to meet the performance needs of the industry. The PCIe architecture will continue to stand as the defacto standard for high performance I/O for the foreseeable future.”

“For 27 years, the PCI-SIG has continually delivered new versions of I/O standards that enable designers to accommodate the never-ending increases in bandwidth required for next generation systems, while preserving investments in prior generation interfaces and software,” noted Nathan Brookwood, research fellow at Insight 64. “Over that period, peak bandwidth has increased from 133 MB/second (for the first 32-bit parallel version) to 32 GB/second (for the V4.0 by16 serial version), a 240X improvement. Wow! The new PCIe 5.0 standard doubles that again to 64 GB/second. Wow2. We have come to take this increased performance for granted, but in reality, it takes a coordinated effort across many members of the PCI-SIG to execute these transitions so seamlessly.”

PCIe 5.0 Specification Highlights:

Delivers 32 GT/s raw bit rate and up to 128 GB/s via x16 configuration

Leverages and adds to the PCIe 4.0 specification and its support for higher speeds via extended tags and credits

Implements electrical changes to improve signal integrity and mechanical performance of connectors

Includes new backwards compatible CEM connector targeted for add-in cards

Maintains backwards compatibility with PCIe 4.0, 3.x, 2.x and 1.x

The new specification increases performance in the high-performance markets including artificial intelligence, machine learning, gaming, visual computing, storage and networking.