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PCI Express cabled version to take on Thunderbolt

Written by James Delahunty @ 25 Jun 2011 8:12 User comments (3)

PCI Express cabled version to take on Thunderbolt

PCI Special Interest Group (PCI SIG) to develop the new technology under a new working group.
The PCI Express cabled standard will take on the Thunderbolt interconnect developed by Intel and Apple. It would be based on PCIe 3.0, likely supporting a maximum of four parallel lanes for throughput up to 32 Gbit/s. A further version based on PCI Express 4.0 (16 GT/s) could push up throughput even further, though cable length is likely to be limited to about three meters.

It would be used for delivering high throughput I/O to small notebooks and tablet PCs, to connect to peripheral devices. A new working group being formed will define the standard, with the goal to deliver a spec that system makers can implement in products by June 2013.

The difficult task will be to define technical requirements and a new connector. A separate cable group formed in 2005 by PCI SIG already delivered a specification for 2.5 * 5 GT/s based on PCIe 1.1 and 2.0.

"This will help proliferate PCI Express into new business opportunities," said Al Yanes, president of the PCI SIG.

Tags: PCI Express
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3 user comments

125.6.2011 20:23

JUST WHAT WE NEED....another friggin' cable.

226.6.2011 12:49

Originally posted by ivymike:
JUST WHAT WE NEED....another friggin' cable.
If I can have a home dock with HD 1080 output with stable frame rates....I am not complaining!!

32.7.2011 12:47

..? I can watch 1080p off my old USB2 external HD, no muss, no fuss.

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