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20 Mar 2025

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PCI Express 7.0’s blazing speeds are nearly here, but PCIe 6 is still vapor
PCI Express 7 is nearing completion, the PCI Special Interest Group said Tuesday, and the final specification should be released later this year. PCI Express 7, the backbone of the modern motherboard, is at the stage 0.9, which the PCI-SIG characterizes as the “final draft” of the specification. The technology was at version 0.5 a year ago, almost to the day, and originally authored in 2022. The situation remains the same, however. While modern PC motherboards are stuck on PCI Express 5.0, the specification itself moves ahead. PCI Express has doubled the data rate about every three years, from 64 gigtransfers per second in PCI Express 6.0 to the upcoming 128 gigatransfers per second in PCIe 7. (Again, it’s worth noting that PCIe 6.0 exists solely on paper.) Put another way, PCIe 7 will deliver 512GB/s in both directions, across a x16 connection. It’s worth noting that the PCI-SIG doesn’t see PCI Express 7 living inside the PC market, at least not initially. Instead, PCIe 7 is expected to be targeted at cloud computing, 800-gigabit Ethernet and, of course, artificial intelligence. It will be backwards-compatible with the previous iterations of PCI Express, the SIG said. PCIe 7 has the following goals, which remain unchanged, according to the SIG: Delivering 128 GT/s raw bit rate and up to 512 GB/s bi-directionally via x16 configuration Utilizing PAM4 (Pulse Amplitude Modulation with 4 levels) signaling Focusing on the channel parameters and reach Improving power efficiency Continuing to deliver the low-latency and high-reliability targets When can we expect PCI Express 6? PCI Express 7 might be far in the future. So when will PCI Express 6.0 debut in PCs? PCI Express 6.0 was officially approved in January 2022. But we have yet to see support for the technology, as Intel’s Arrow Lake desktop chip, for example, still supports PCIe 5.0. It all puts the PCI SIG’s announcement in some perspective: PCIe’s new advances only matter when see them in the real world, and that process can take years.

Raducanu breezes into second round of Miami Open
Emma Raducanu breezes into the second round of the Miami Open with a commanding straight-set win against Japanese teenager Sayaka Ishii.

Labour's shifting position on public-private partnerships
Finance spokeperson Barbara Edmonds her speech to investors last week was about making clear Labour's "boundaries" around privatisation.

'Very much on track': Trump and Zelensky talk truce
However, Ukraine and Russia are both accusing each other of attacks on energy infrastructure as hundreds of prisoners of war are exchanged.

International conflicts see prices at petrol pump fall
Fuel prices are down 5 percent, despite earlier predictions they could top $3 a litre.

NextGen NZ Championship showdown at Hampton Downs
Sommerset GT New Zealand, Bridgestone GR86 Championship prepare for Waikato weekend.

ZZ Top add Christchurch show to NZ tour
The rockers are coming to the South Island, but will a key member be joining them?

Here's what your credit score might stop you doing
Everything you need to know about how credit scores work.

Eight steps to a more fulfilling life, according to this mindset coach
Author Sarah Grynberg offers these daily habits for living a life of greatness.

Highway robbery
If you think that buying an EV will reduce the cost of regular maintenance then think again.

New Boat Race selection policy 'very unfair'
Olympic champion Imogen Grant says the row between Oxford and Cambridge over selection for the Boat Races is "very unfair".

Bronze opens up about autism & ADHD diagnoses
Chelsea and England defender Lucy Bronze speaks exclusively to BBC Sport, telling Alex Scott about her autism and ADHD diagnoses, and how it affects her life on and off the pitch.

Poor pitches put female players' 'safety at risk'
The PFA says the safety of female footballers is being put "at risk" by substandard playing conditions in major matches.