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Imagine a computer that communicates with light instead of copper wires. Yes, it sounds a little bit like science fiction, but PCI Express, the main bus for communication within a PC, is preparing to step into the light-speed future – literally.
The PCI-SIG consortium, which is responsible for the development of the PCI Express standard, announced about two big steps at once: the final PCI Express 7.0 specification, announced in 2022, and the start of work on PCI Express 8.0. In addition, it became known that the organization is developing the first standardized solutions for optical connections in PCIe, which could potentially revolutionize the computer connectivity industry.
PCIe 7.0 transfers data in both directions at 128 gigabits per second (GT/s) with no encoding loss, using the same PAM4 modulation as PCIe 6. This gives 512 GB/s of bandwidth on a standard 16-lane (x16) connection. By comparison, PCIe 3.0, which can still be found in some desktop systems, operates at a modest 8 GT/s.
But it’s too early to rejoice: although the specification has already been approved, compatibility testing will only begin in 2027, and the first PCIe 7.0 devices will be released around 2028. So be patient and have the money to upgrade your system.
There are few details about PCIe 8.0 at the moment, but logic dictates that if the speed doubling trend continues, we will see 256 GT/s — the first terabyte per second in PCIe history.
The most interesting part announcement — these are not numbers, but the direction of development. The PCI-SIG is working on the Optical Aware Retimer, which is being integrated into the PCIe 6.4 and PCIe 7.0 specifications. This is the first industry standard for PCIe over fiber. These changes are primarily aimed at AI systems, cloud services, and data centers, not home PCs. But — who knows what will happen in 10 years?
Intel has been developing silicon photonics, a technology that combines electricity and light, for more than a decade. AMD is also not lagging behind: in May 2025, the company acquired Enosemi to develop optical solutions for next-generation AI systems.
Source: pcworld