PCI Express (PCIe) is a standard hardware interface used by computers to connect peripherals like graphics cards and storage drives. It was first released in 2002 as “Third Generation I/O” (3GIO) and became popular by the middle of the decade, when most motherboards contained at least one PCIe slot for graphics.
Why is PCIe important?
As technology has advanced, the need for faster data transfer has become more and more critical. PCIe provides a more efficient and reliable solution than the previous PCI and PCI-X standards. As a switching architecture, it has up to 32 separate, serial lanes that transfer data in parallel, unlike PCI, which used a shared bus. This allows it to be more scalable and offer superior graphics performance and faster storage access.
How does PCIe Work?
The PCIe interface uses a multi-lane switched architecture that supports full duplex communication. The data is transmitted over lanes or links, which come in different sizes from x1 to x32, depending on the bandwidth needed. PCIe is also backward-compatible, so it can work with older generations of interfaces, like PCI and AGP.
FAQs
What is the difference between PCIe and PCI?
PCIe offers higher bandwidth and speed than PCI because its lanes are separated and can be managed by the system separately. PCI is limited to 133 MB/s, while PCIe 3.0 can transfer data at up to 32 GB/s.
What devices use PCIe?
PCIe is used primarily for graphics cards and storage devices, like NVME solid-state drives.
What is the latest PCIe version?
The latest PCIe version is PCIe 5.0, which offers up to 128 GB/s data transfer rate.
Conclusion
PCI Express (PCIe) is a crucial interface standard for modern computers to connect peripherals like graphics cards and storage devices. It offers faster and more efficient data transfer than the previous standards and can be scalable to accommodate future technology advancements.
