PCI-SIG today announced that PCI Express 6.0 technology will double the data rate to 64 GT/s while maintaining backward compatibility with previous generations and delivering power efficiency and cost-effective performance. 

The PCI SIG announced PCI Express 6.0 on Tuesday, scheduled to bring I/O transfer rates of 256 gigabytes per second (GBps) in a few years. Targeted for release in 2021, the PCIe 6.0 technology will double the data rate to 64 GT/s and up to 256 GB/s via x16 configuration while maintaining backward compatibility with previous generations.

PCIe 6.0 Specification Features

• Delivers 64 GT/s raw bit rate and up to 256 GB/s via x16 configuration
• Utilizes PAM-4 (Pulse Amplitude Modulation with 4 levels) encoding and leverages existing 56G PAM-4 in the industry
• Includes low-latency Forward Error Correction (FEC) with additional mechanisms to improve bandwidth efficiency
• Maintains backwards compatibility with all previous generations of PCIe technology

"PCI Express technology has established itself as a pervasive I/O technology by sustaining bandwidth improvements for five generations over two decades," Dennis Martin, an analyst at Principled Technologies, said. "With the PCIe 6.0 specification, PCI-SIG aims to answer the demands of such hot markets as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, networking, communication systems, storage, High-Performance Computing, and more."

"Continuing the trend we set with the PCIe 5.0 specification, the PCIe 6.0 specification is on a fast timeline," Al Yanes, PCI-SIG Chairman and President, said. "Due to the continued commitment of our member companies, we are on pace to double the bandwidth yet again in a time frame that will meet industry demand for throughput."PCI-SIG is the consortium that owns and manages PCI specifications as open industry standards. The organization defines industry standard I/O (input/output) specifications consistent with the needs of its members. Currently, PCI-SIG is comprised of over 800 industry-leading member companies. To join PCI-SIG, and for a list of the Board of Directors, visit www.pcisig.com.

The PCIe 6.0 specification is actively targeted for release in 2021.