Video: Why PCIe 7.0 Is Evolving to 128 GT/s for AI and Disaggregated Compute
PCI Express technology is advancing faster than ever, moving from 32 GT/s to 64 GT/s and now to 128 GT/s with PCIe 7.0. In this Ask the Experts video, Lou Ternullo, Sr. Director of Product Marketing at Rambus, explains what is driving this rapid evolution, what is new in the PCIe 7.0 specification, and how the ecosystem is preparing for next‑generation AI and data‑centric workloads.
Watch the video to understand how PCIe 7.0 enables higher bandwidth, longer reach, improved security, and scalable system architectures.
What This Video Covers
This Ask the Experts episode explores the key technical and market forces shaping PCI Express 7.0, including:
- Why AI and large language models are accelerating PCIe bandwidth requirements
- What changes in the PCIe 7.0 specification compared to previous generations
- How disaggregated compute is expanding PCIe beyond the server motherboard
- The role of optical interconnects and retimers at extreme data rates
- How PCIe 7.0 strengthens data protection and integrity
- What Rambus has announced for PCIe 7.0 IP and why customers choose Rambus
What Is Driving the Rapid Evolution of PCI Express?
The rapid evolution of PCI Express is being driven primarily by AI workloads, especially generative AI and large language models. These applications move massive volumes of data between CPUs, accelerators, memory, and storage, making bandwidth a critical bottleneck.
At the same time, the industry is shifting toward disaggregated system architectures. Compute, storage, and accelerators are increasingly separated across servers or even racks, connected through PCIe over copper or optical links. PCIe 7.0 is designed to support this expansion in both bandwidth and physical reach.
What Is New in PCIe 7.0?
The most significant change in PCI Express 7.0 is the doubling of the data rate from 64 GT/s in PCIe 6.0 to 128 GT/s.
Key technical characteristics include:
- Continued use of PAM4 signaling
- Support for 256‑byte FLIT mode, introduced in PCIe 6.0
- A PIPE interface that remains largely consistent with previous generations
Growing adoption of optical interconnects to extend PCIe reach
By preserving architectural continuity while doubling performance, PCIe 7.0 enables faster adoption and smoother system integration.
How PCIe 7.0 Protects High‑Speed Data
As PCIe traffic increases in speed and volume, data integrity and security become even more critical, especially for AI and cloud infrastructures.
PCIe 7.0 builds on security innovations introduced in PCIe 5.0 and 6.0, including:
- Integrity and Data Encryption (IDE) to protect data in transit
- Trusted Device Interface Security Protocol (TDISP) to secure communication between hosts, switches, and endpoints
- End‑to‑end protection across the entire PCIe fabric, including switches and retimers
These features help ensure that high‑speed PCIe data remains protected from interception, tampering, or corruption.
Rambus PCIe 7.0 Product Announcements
Rambus has announced a comprehensive family of PCIe 7.0 digital IP solutions, enabling complete system‑level implementations.
The portfolio includes:
- PCIe 7.0 host and endpoint controllers
- Embedded switch IP
- Retimer IP to extend PCIe reach
Together, these components support complex PCIe topologies where CPUs communicate with multiple endpoints through switches and retimers, including systems that span longer distances.
Why Choose Rambus for PCIe 7.0 IP?
Rambus brings deep experience and a differentiated approach to PCIe 7.0 enablement.
Key reasons customers choose Rambus include:
- Over 20 years of PCIe expertise, dating back to the first PCI Express specification
- A complete end‑to‑end PCIe system solution, covering host, switch, retimer, and endpoint IP
- Proven capability to integrate with third‑party PIPE‑compliant PHYs and SerDes across PCIe generations
- An embedded debug and logic analysis tool, XpressAgent, designed to accelerate integration and first‑silicon bring‑up
This combination helps customers reduce risk and accelerate time to market as PCIe speeds reach unprecedented levels.
Watch the Ask the Experts Video
Learn how PCI Express 7.0 is evolving to meet the demands of AI, disaggregated compute, and high‑bandwidth data movement.
Frequently Asked Questions about PCIe 7.0
What is PCI Express 7.0?
PCIe 7.0 is the seventh generation of the PCI Express specification, doubling data rates to 128 GT/s to support AI, accelerated computing, and disaggregated system architectures.
Why is PCIe evolving so quickly?
AI workloads and disaggregated compute systems require massive increases in bandwidth and low‑latency connectivity between CPUs, accelerators, memory, and storage.
Does PCIe 7.0 support optical interconnects?
Yes. PCIe 7.0 includes support for optical connectivity to extend reach beyond traditional copper connections.
How does PCIe 7.0 improve security?
PCIe 7.0 builds on IDE and TDISP to provide end‑to‑end data protection across hosts, switches, retimers, and endpoints.
