PCIe Gen 4 - What is it? DIY in 5 Ep 105

Опубликовано 6 сентября 2019, 17:00

The PCIe 4.0 standard was announced in 2017. However, we are just now seeing SSDs and Graphics Cards using this new tech for the first time at Computex 2019. If you are looking for the latest and greatest in PC tech, this video is for you.

What is PCIe Gen4?
PCIe Gen4 will have double the bandwidth and lanes when compared to Gen 3, making it twice as fast as the older spec. PCIe slots can be configured with one lane or multiples of four lanes, such as x1, x4, x8, x16, x32 and each new generation doubles the bandwidth of the previous one. For instance, a PCIe 3.0 x8 interface can be replaced by a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface that provides the same amount of bandwidth for add-in hardware like graphics cards, SSDs, Wi-Fi, and Ethernet cards.

How do you get PCIe Gen4?
These new standards require support from a CPU and motherboard. Currently the only CPUs that support PCI Gen 4 are the AMD’s Ryzen Gen 3 and EPYC. This has any PC builders excited and had helped AMD garner a lot of attention at Computex 2019. So, only the latest desktops, notebooks, and servers from AMD will support it. Originally AMD tried to support the new standard on some older motherboards but that proved to be too difficult. Currently the new spec is only supported on X570 and newer motherboards. Check with your motherboard manufacturer to make sure it’s capable.

Should you upgrade to PCIe Gen4?
This is always the hardest question to answer because everyone is in a different place with their hardware and OS combinations. If you’re already in the market for a new system, then it’s always a good idea to future proof and look for Gen4 capable hardware. The tech is backward compatible so you can still use all the hardware that supports the old standard. But if you’ve updated in the last year or two (2018-2019) and still have a high-functioning system, you can probably wait. Some components have more performance to gain from this update than others such as SSDs, GPUs, and Wi-Fi. But if those components are already operating at max capacity with PCIe 3.0, then an update probably isn’t going to give you the immediate performance boost. Even AMDs latest gaming graphics cards are based on PCIe Gen3, since it has enough throughput to maximize the experience. The last thing you should know is that Gen 4 does pull more power, and therefore heat. You might need to consider airflow and cooling options for your build.

What about PCIe Gen5?
PCIe Gen 4 is great, but Gen 5 is not that far away. Within the next two to five years (2021-2024), PCIe 5 will be a thing. The truth is PCIe 4 took a long time to come to market and the standards for Gen 5 are almost a reality. The standards board that sets the specs is closing in on a finalized version of Gen at the time we are producing this video. But like with all new hardware standards it’s going to take some time before you see companies producing hardware with the new speeds. And of course, as always, you know when the time comes, we got your back.

So, what is it about PCIe 4.0 that has you most excited? Are you going to incorporate this shiny new tech into your rig or hold off? Let us know in the comments.