Confirmed: PCIe 8.0 will double version 7.0’s speed and reach 256.0 GT/s
- Reference: 1754627586
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/08/08/pcie_8_spec_speed_announced/
- Source link:
The SIG’s [1]announcement of the spec follows the June [2]completion of the PCIe 7.0 spec, which allows for devices that handle 128 GT/s and up to 512 GBps bi-directionally in an x16 lane configuration.
The SIG also said it will achieve stated goals for latency and forward error correction but didn’t enumerate them. The org will also continue to “emphasize techniques to reduce power”, an entirely understandable endeavor given datacenters’ vast appetite for energy.
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Work on the spec will also see PCIe wonks review new connector technology.
[4]Omni-Path is back on the AI and HPC menu in a new challenge to Nvidia's InfiniBand
[5]Arista pushes Ethernet for AI, downplays effect of tariffs
[6]How Broadcom is quietly plotting a takeover of the AI infrastructure market
[7]Nvidia opens up speedy NVLink interconnect to custom CPUs, ASICs
If the prospect of new PCIe connectors is concerning – as it could be for those planning future server fleets – immediate panic is unwarranted as the SIG will deliver the version 8.0 spec in 2028 and it will likely take years before products that use it reach the market.
Al Yanes, PCI-SIG president and chairperson, thinks the revised spec will still be relevant whenever products that employ it go on sale.
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“With the increasing data throughput required in AI and other applications, there remains a strong demand for high performance. PCIe technology will continue to deliver a cost-effective, high-bandwidth, and low-latency I/O interconnect to meet industry needs,” he said in a canned statement.
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PCIe SIG roadmap to version 8.0 - Click to enlarge
The SIG quoted Reece Hayden, Principal Analyst, ABI Research, to support that assertion.
“Data center networks are already preparing to implement PCIe 6.0 technology and are showing great interest in the PCIe 7.0 specification,” Hayden said. “The introduction of the PCIe 8.0 specification further ensures that the industry’s bandwidth requirements will be supported well into the future.”
That may well be the case, but yesterday The Register [11]reported a plan to supplant PCIe with all-optical interconnects, perhaps from 2030 – roughly when PCIe 8.0 devices will debut. ®
Get our [12]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250805675479/en/PCI-SIG-Announces-PCI-Express-8.0-Specification-to-Reach-256.0-GTs
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/13/pcie_70_specs_finalized/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aJXKt9JAbqbT_UXxyh46qQAAAJA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/09/omnipath_is_back/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/06/arista_pushes_ethernet_for_ai/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/27/broadcom_ai_ip/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/19/nvidia_nvlink_fusion/
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aJXKt9JAbqbT_UXxyh46qQAAAJA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aJXKt9JAbqbT_UXxyh46qQAAAJA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/08/supplied_pcie_sig_roadmap.jpg
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/07/iown/
[12] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: A new treadmill in the works
Yes I agree they seem to be updating much faster than the market can absorb. It took seven years (2010 to 2017) from PCIe 3 to 4, so 3.0 devices had already saturated the market and even at the consumer level (i.e. gamers) there was a market for 4.0 devices. But then they followed with 5.0 only two years later, then 6.0 three years after that in 2022, then 7.0 this year. That's too fast, the market doesn't move that fast because you need CPU support, board support and device support to all come together to exploit faster PCIe.
It is clear the PCIe standards org is no longer worrying about the consumer market - nor should they, since even the fastest GPUs are barely pushing against the limits of 4.0 so 5.0 is good enough in the consumer market for a long time to come. Heck it is good enough in the mainstream server market for a long time, including most of the cloud hyperscale market (aside from AI) But AI and a few other niches that want stuff like 800 GbE ethernet and higher bandwidth SSD arrays are pushing against the limits. But even then we're just seeing the first 6.0 stuff appearing in the last couple months despite that standard being finalized three years ago.
So they probably would have been better off to skip 7.0 that was finalized recently and call what is going to be 8.0 as "7.0" instead. A six year gap would give the market time to absorb it, and a 4x bandwidth gain would make it more worth it. Now adoption is going to be split between 5.0, 6.0, and by the time 8.0 is finalized maybe 7.0. But you can ignore it on the desktop, I think 5.0 will be it for a long time. Even if e.g. AMD supports 6.0 in Zen 6 I bet almost all boards split the 6.0 lanes into two 5.0 lanes so all the slots on the board are 5.0. Cheaper boards that way. If you really want 6.0 you're going be paying the better part of $1000 for the board because it'll only be offered on the highest of the high end since so few people will legitimately need it.
Re: A new treadmill in the works
> So they probably would have been better off to skip 7.0 that was finalized recently and call what is going to be 8.0 as "7.0" instead
There is nothing forcing hardware manufacturers to implement 7.0 - if they don't think there is going to be a market for it, they can go straight for really expensive 8.0 devices for the AI barns and continue with the "lower" (but still overkill for most) specs for normal servers and the PC spaces.
Of course, if they can make 7.0 devices cheaply enough ("failed" 8.0 chips?) to be worth the cardboard packaging then they'll still try to wring money out of people who are just playing "mine is bigger" games but don't have a genuine need and budget for the 8.0 stuff (how many tier 1 managers' PCs are there?).
A new treadmill in the works
We have PCIe5. We're going to have PCIe 6 - which datacenters are going to gobble up like the data-bandwidth alcoholics they are. We are now alerted to PCIe 7 and 8.
Excuse me, but what is the point of 7 since 8 is already on the cards ?
I don't think gaming PCs need 1 TB/s bandwidth, but I'm pretty sure datacenters do. I'm also of the mind that datacenters prefer to minimize hardware modifications when they can.
So, does PCIe 7 have any chance of being deployed, or will it be another [1]Osborn ?
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_effect