So, PCIe 7.0 is sort of right here, with the Peripheral Element Interconnect Particular Curiosity Group (PCI-SIG) stating that growth on the brand new specification has reached model 0.9 and is now within the “closing draft” stage. In different phrases, except any members of the PCI-SIG submit amendments, it’s prepared for launch.

A fast little bit of historical past earlier than we get into what this implies for you: the PCI-SIG was based in 1992 as a consortium of business our bodies collectively overseeing the event of the PCI connection specification. For the uninitiated, that’s an interface generally used for the motherboard in your laptop computer or PC to speak with different parts, like your GPU or SSD. The PCI-SIG has greater than 800 member firms, together with business giants like Intel, AMD, Nvidia, and Qualcomm.

In the event you personal a contemporary laptop, it’ll use PCIe in some capability. Most new-for-2025 methods will characteristic PCIe 5.0, the fifth (surprising, I do know) iteration of the PCI Categorical format. PCIe 4.0 continues to be commonplace, although – my laptop computer makes use of it. Every new model brings numerous enhancements, however the main benefit is that every era delivers double the obtainable bandwidth in comparison with the earlier iteration, which interprets to improved information switch speeds; a significant profit for the perfect SSDs.

In different phrases, new variations of PCIe enable drive producers to supply considerably quicker storage in your PC. For instance, PCIe 4.0 SSDs usually max out on the 7,000MB/s mark, whereas PCIe 5.0 SSDs can obtain as much as 14,000MB/s and even greater – take the Essential T705 SSD my colleague John Loeffler reviewed final yr, which delivered information learn speeds as quick as 14,400MB/s.

So, the place’s PCIe 6.0?

Now we come to the large query: why ought to we get enthusiastic about PCIe 7.0 nearing completion when the pc {hardware} business has but to undertake PCIe 6.0 in any significant approach? Nicely, for starters, these specs have to be out within the wild for some time earlier than they will develop into the norm. I bear in mind the primary time I bought my arms on a mainstream PCIe 3.0 SSD for my very own customized construct, and being blown away by the speeds it supplied in comparison with my comparatively sluggish previous SATA drive.

Secondly, PCIe 6.0 drives are on the way in which. The PC {hardware} firm Micron demoed such an SSD earlier this month, and whereas the drive in query continues to be a prototype proper now, it achieved a monstrous 27GB/s sequential learn velocity in testing. As file sizes get bigger and bigger, quicker switch speeds develop into a necessity; 27GB/s may appear extreme, however anyone wants that bandwidth. PCIe 7.0 guarantees to take issues even additional, with SSD speeds that might theoretically attain above 50GB/s.

Nonetheless, it does beg the query about whether or not PCIe 7.0 is one thing we must always care about proper now. I’ll reply that: it’s difficult. Okay, that’s not a really satisfying reply, I do know. On the one hand, customers will not see PCIe 7.0 {hardware} of their PCs for a very long time, so it’s onerous to get enthusiastic about it in the present day.

However, specification development like that is vitally vital: merely put, it retains PCIe on the forefront of {hardware} interface growth. So long as the PCI-SIG continues to enhance the specification, firms needn’t put money into their very own (quicker) interfaces, and everybody stays in the identical boat – and as we’ve seen with the rise of USB-C adoption, connection standardization is at all times a great factor. As a seasoned PC builder, I can’t think about how a lot it could suck if some parts merely weren’t appropriate with my motherboard as a result of it didn’t use PCIe.