Five Reasons Why You Need PCI Express

2004 will see the introduction of PCI Express, the next generation I/O interconnect standard that will replace the existing PCI and AGP buses and revolutionize the PC platform. Read on to learn more about how you can benefit from PCI Express.

1. More Bandwidth = More Performance Since its introduction a decade ago, the PCI bus has served us well as the universal I/O interconnect standard for computing platforms. However, during that time the bandwidth and transfer speeds of other core PC technologies such as processors, system memory, graphics and networking have increased in leaps and bounds, while I/O technology has by comparison stood still.

2. Simplifying the PC Platform PCI Express is helping simplify PC architecture by consolidating the AGP and PCI buses, and enabling hot-plugging and swapping of peripheral devices, all while maintaining backwards compatibility with existing PCI hardware and software. PCI Express also has the potential to consolidate all I/O standards, with a forthcoming generation of PCI Express modules and cables expected to be the first step in that direction.

3. Scalability for the Future The PCI standard was confined to the limitations of its parallel bus architecture, whereas the serial architecture of PCI Express allows scalable width and frequency, meaning bandwidth can be increased as and when required. In fact, PCI Express is expected to provide the headroom required to address all our graphics and peripheral interface needs for at least the next decade.

4. Smaller Devices, that Don't Compromise on Performance Compared to other I/O bus technologies, PCI Express offers unparalleled levels of bandwidth per pin, meaning components require fewer pins and wires at the board level, and requiring less silicon space at the chip level. Industry estimates predict motherboard size will eventually be reduced by as much as 50%, not only reducing cost, but also helping enable a new generation of high-performance, small form factor devices.

5. Improved System Efficiency and Reliability The layered, serial bus architecture of PCI Express offers improved reliability and signal integrity. By comparison, a parallel protocol such as the existing PCI bus is more likely to create cross signals during high-speed data transfer, resulting in lost data. Furthermore, fewer pins and wires means fewer traces and signals, and therefore improved signal integrity, and it is expected that PCI Express will work more efficiently with other high-speed serial technologies, such as Serial ATA.