PCI-E 3.0: twice as fast as 2.0

The PCI-SIG (Special Interest Group) consortium, which has more than 900 members including Intel, Microsoft, IBM, Sun, AMD and Nvidia, has just unveiled the bi-directional data rate of PCI Express 3.0. It will be 8 GTransfers /s versus 5 GTransfers /s for PCI-E 2.0 (which should soon arrive) and compared to the current 2.5 GTransfers /s for PCI-E 1.0.

Experts in the work group that concentrated on the subject say that they hesitated between a speed of 10 or 8 GTransfers /s, but the latter seemed more appropriate given a series of factors which includes the power supply and the complexity of implementation in circuits. Either way, this is still honorable because the new generation still allows the doubling of thedeliverable
The definitive specifications of PCI Express 3.0 are expected to be given at the end of 2009 and the first products should follow the year after. Finally, Al Yanes, the PCI-SIG’s president, says that retro compatibility will be maintained. And how about PCI-E 2.0? The first motherboards should arrive at the end of summer.