However, the world of HDMI is much more complex than just a single cable type or HDMI connector. With many types of HDMI cables and different HDMI versions, it’s easy to accidentally buy the wrong hardware and end up with substandard or even non-functional results.

Understanding the Basics: HDMI Standards and Versions

The High-Definition Multimedia Interface, more commonly called HDMI, was established as a digital replacement for analog video standards. Since its inception, HDMI has been revised several times, resulting in numerous versions with distinct capabilities and specifications. This explosion of versions complicates the HDMI landscape, but understanding these versions is vital to ensure optimal audiovisual performance.

The story of HDMI as an established standard began in 2002 with HDMI 1.0. However, things really started to heat up with HDMI 1.3, released in 2006. HDMI 1.3 was a significant step forward, increasing the bandwidth to 10.2 Gbps and introducing Deep Color, which allows billions of colors.

HDMI 1.4, released in 2009, added 4K video signal support in the 1.4b revision. At a relatively low refresh rate of 24Hz, 25Hz, and 30Hz, it matched the almost-universal 24fps frame rate of cinematic content and most TV content. HDMI 1.4 also introduced the HDMI Ethernet Channel (HEC) and Audio Return Channel (ARC). This meant that HDMI was now more than just an AV cable.

HDMI 2.0, introduced in 2013, increased the bandwidth to a whopping 18 Gbps, opening the door to much higher temporal fidelity – i.e., frame rate. Specifically, we got 4K at 60Hz, much higher than 24Hz! HDMI 2.0a also included support for HDR (High Dynamic Range). HDR has a sizable bandwidth cost but brought an even more significant image quality improvement than the jump from 1080p to 4K Ultra HD.

HDMI 2.1, ratified in 2017, has been a literal game-changer. It brought a massive leap in bandwidth up to 48 Gbps, allowing HDMI 2.1 to support resolutions of up to 8K and high frame rates of up to 120Hz at 4K, essential for modern game consoles.

HDMI 2.1 also introduced features like Dynamic HDR (improving on the static HDR of HDMI 2.0), enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC), and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), making it a perfect choice for immersive home theater and gaming experiences.

Following HDMI 2.1, the HDMI standards continued to evolve under the guidance of the HDMI Forum. HDMI 2.1a, the most recent update as of 2023, is essentially the same as 2.1 but brings a new feature known as Source-based Tone Mapping (SBTM), which makes it possible for the source device to do some of the processing work when it comes to HDR.

Types of HDMI Cables: From Standard to Ultra High Speed

When we think of HDMI, we often picture the quintessential HDMI cable that connects our TV to a game console, DVD player, or Blu-ray player. However, not all HDMI cables are created equal. There are various types of HDMI cables, each designed to serve specific purposes and deliver certain performance levels.

Starting with the Basics: Standard HDMI Cable

The Standard HDMI cable is the most common. Introduced with HDMI 1.0, it’s designed to handle the needs of most home applications. This cable can carry high-definition video up to 1080p and is compatible with all HDMI’s previous, current, and (likely) future versions.

High-Speed HDMI Cable: A Step Up

The High-Speed HDMI Cable is designed to handle higher resolutions of 1080p and beyond. It also includes advanced display technologies such as 4K UHD, 3D, and Deep Color. If you’re looking for a cable that can handle 4K video resolution at 30Hz (often labeled 4K@30Hz) or 3D content from your Blu-ray player, the High-Speed HDMI Cable is the way to go.

Premium High-Speed HDMI Cable: For the Enthusiasts

Premium High-Speed HDMI Cables are tested and certified to reliably handle the total 18Gbps bandwidth provided by HDMI 2.0. They support advanced HDMI 2.0 features such as 4K resolution at 60Hz, HDR (High Dynamic Range), expanded color spaces like BT.2020, and even up to 32 audio channels for immersive multi-dimensional audio. These cables also come with an authentication label to guard against counterfeit cables that might not deliver the promised performance.

Ultra High-Speed HDMI Cable: Future-Proofing Your Setup

These cables are designed to comply with the most demanding HDMI specification – HDMI 2.1. They boast a massive bandwidth of 48Gbps and support all HDMI 2.1 features, including 4K and 8K video at 120Hz and 60Hz, respectively. Additionally, they support Dynamic HDR, eARC, and even future-facing formats like 10K for specialized commercial AV (Audio/Video) setups.

Look at these cables if you are an enthusiast looking to future-proof your setup, whether for next-gen game consoles or high-end home theater systems.

Remember, while using the correct type of cable is essential, it’s also crucial that both the source and display devices support the desired features. Even with an Ultra High-Speed HDMI Cable, you won’t be able to enjoy 8K resolution or 4K 120hz if your TV or game console doesn’t support it. For example, you need a Sony PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X console to benefit from 4K@120Hz in supporting video games.

HDMI 2.1a uses the same cables, so you won’t need to get new cables if you already have Ultra High-Speed ones.

The HDMI Connectors: More Than Type A

(Image Credit: Intel Corporation)

The Type A HDMI connector is the most familiar type of HDMI connector we know. However, there are other types of HDMI connectors to consider.

For instance, Type C (Mini HDMI connectors) and Type D (Micro HDMI connectors) are used mainly with portable devices, including DSLR cameras, smartphones, and some laptops. These connectors are smaller than Type A but offer the same functionality, provided the device supports it.

Type B, also known as Dual-Link, was designed to carry the signal of Dual-Link DVI, although it gained little traction as subsequent updates to HDMI standards catered to these needs using Type-A connectors. We couldn’t find any examples of commercial devices that used this connection, although it is within the HDMI specification documents.

Type E, the Automotive HDMI, is designed specifically for automotive applications with a locking tab to ensure the cable remains secure during vehicle movement.

HDMI Specifications and Capabilities: An Ocean of Features

Besides the increased resolution and frame rate support, HDMI standards also introduced several key features.

The HDMI Ethernet Channel (HEC), introduced with HDMI 1.4, allows HDMI cables to carry Ethernet signals, providing internet connectivity to your devices without extra wires.

The Audio Return Channel (ARC) and its improved version, eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel), send audio from the display back to the source or receiver, simplifying the connection process in a home theater setup.

The Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) feature lets users control multiple HDMI devices with a single remote. This is the sometimes rather annoying feature that makes your console turn off your TV or turn on when you turn the TV off.

HDMI and Other Technologies

While HDMI reigns supreme in the home theater and game console domain, other types of connections like DVI, DisplayPort, and USB-C are prevalent in specific areas, like computer monitors.

Adapters and converters are available to interchange between these connections and HDMI. Fiber optic and optical cables also have their niches, offering superior bandwidth and length capabilities at the cost of higher prices and installation complexity.

HDMI is likely to stay around for some time, but in the world of PCs, DisplayPort is the dominant standard, thanks to a need for ultra-high refresh rates and advanced variable refresh rate technology.

Choosing the Best HDMI Cable

Choosing the best HDMI cable depends on your needs. Amazon and other retailers provide a literal mountain of choices regarding HDMI. The cable length, EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) shielding, and whether it includes a locking tab can all affect functionality and compatibility.

Remember, the HDMI standard is backward compatible, meaning newer cables will work with older equipment. However, you will only benefit from the advanced features of the newer cable if your equipment supports it.

It’s also essential to avoid falling for HDMI cables with exorbitant prices. HDMI is a purely digital standard, so there is zero image quality difference between a cheap HDMI or an expensive HDMI cable certified for the same standard. Don’t buy something “gold plated” or “all copper” on the promise that you’ll get better picture quality.

Spending more money can help with the cable’s durability, ability to withstand interference (as we just mentioned), how long the cable can be, and how many HDMI port insertion cycles it can handle. For the most part, as long as it’s the correct standard for your needs, save yourself money on cables and spend it on a better TV or source device instead.

Of course, the comparison only comes into play if the device you’re connecting has both options. This usually means laptops and smartphones, since televisions usually stick with HDMI (and sometimes DisplayPort) only.

USB-C: The Future of Wired Connectivity

It’s been a while since USB has actually acted as the Universal Serial Bus. The older versions of the standard lacked the bandwidth to connect more than simple input devices, let alone multimedia streams.

But with the development of USB 3.0 and the more robust USB C-type connector to go with it, USB is quickly becoming the standard port in most devices. Whether it’s power delivery or data transmission, the new USB-C cable can match or exceed the performance of its peers.

Many laptops – including the latest versions of the Apple MacBook — have completely ditched all other connections in favor of USB-C ports. To keep up with this trend, many 4K monitors are starting to roll out with USB-C ports as well.

How Does USB-C Transmit Video Streams?

How exactly does a USB-C cable transmit audio-visual content? USB has always been able to transfer data, but a proprietary standard (like HDMI or DisplayPort) is usually needed to power a display.

It turns out this is still the case. Under the hood, the USB port leverages a technology like DisplayPort to output multimedia streams. Called the Alternate Mode, this allows USB-C to double up as a cable with an entirely different transmission protocol.

Of course, not every USB-C port possesses this ability. Ports that support the alternate mode are labeled as such, with a little logo of the alternative standard beside the port. For most devices this translates to DisplayPort, as HDMI Alternate Mode implementations are rarely seen.

Combining Power and Video Output

An interesting thing about USB-C is that it can combine video transmission with the USB-PD (Power Delivery) mode. This means you can charge your laptop while getting its video output on an external display, all with the same cable.

Obviously, only a few devices are actually able to take advantage of this technology. Relatively lightweight laptops like the Dell XPS 13 or Macbook Air can be easily charged with the 90W of USB-PD available through a USB-C cable, though other models might struggle.

If you have a laptop that meets this criteria, though, it’s a great way to cut down on the mess of cables when connecting an external display with your laptop. You can ditch the charger, relying on the USB-C connection to charge the laptop as well as transmit its video output at once.

What About HDMI?

USB-C might be quietly taking over ports, but that doesn’t mean HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) is over yet. Most laptops and desktop computers will include an HDMI port alongside USB-C, keeping both options open.

And to be honest, you’re not losing out on much by using an HDMI connection. The video quality is still stellar, the frame rate is excellent, and you get HDR support as well.

This is especially true if your system – and your monitor – support the latest HDMI 2.1 standard instead of the more common HDMI 2.0. This brings increased color depth and FreeSync compatibility to the HDMI standard, putting it on par with DisplayPort.

To DisplayPort or Not

As USB-C Alt Mode utilizes DisplayPort, you’re not choosing between USB-C and HDMI, but rather between DisplayPort and HDMI. And that’s a much easier decision to make.

To be clear, both DisplayPort and HDMI have virtually the same features. Whether you want 4K resolution or 144Hz refresh rate, both the standards have you covered.

That being said, DisplayPort is primarily a video transmission standard, designed specifically to replace DVI (Digital Video Interface) in computers. Things like FreeSync and Dynamic HDR are only available on DisplayPort, making it the perfect choice over HDMI on devices that support it.

The Thunderbolt Factor

Further confusing any USB-C comparison is the Thunderbolt standard. Thunderbolt 3 also uses the USB-C form factor, offering improved performance across the board.

And as Thunderbolt innately supports DisplayPort, you get the ability to connect compatible displays using Thunderbolt ports as well. This is important, as the Thunderbolt Alternate Mode comes with the unique capability to power multiple displays at once.

That’s right. If the USB-C ports on your device have the Thunderbolt symbol, you can run two 4K displays simultaneously. You can even daisy chain displays using Thunderbolt, though that is rarely useful.

USB-C vs HDMI: Which Standard Is Best for Video Output?

DisplayPort is the best video transmission standard for any PC. And with USB-C Alt Mode, you can create a DisplayPort connection using a USB cable, getting the best of both worlds.

If you have the right device, the USB-C connection will transmit power as well as video data, allowing you to charge your laptop through the monitor it is connected to. And with Thunderbolt-compatible ports, it is possible to connect two displays at once.

Even without these situational features, DisplayPort 1.4 has significant advantages over HDMI 2.0 – being the two most common implementations of the standards. This makes USB-C a better option for connecting a monitor to your computer than HDMI.

Below, we’ll explain what Bluetooth 5 is, then cover how you can check your PC’s Bluetooth version and upgrade your adapter to the latest version.

What Is Bluetooth 5?

Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology found in almost all new electronic devices. It enables you to connect devices together.

For example, it’s used to connect smartphones to wireless devices including wearables (like wireless earbuds), smart home devices, peripherals (like wireless keyboards), and audio devices (like a car’s audio system).

Bluetooth 5 is the latest version of Bluetooth, introduced in 2016 to replace the older Bluetooth 4.2. The first Bluetooth 5-enabled devices were released in 2017, including the Apple iPhone 8 and Samsung Galaxy S8.

Bluetooth 5.0 brought several new features to the table, including increased data rate and bandwidth. Its functionality has improved further with Bluetooth 5.1, Bluetooth 5.2, and the most recent new version, Bluetooth 5.3.

Compared with previous versions, Bluetooth 5.0 had:

1. An increased range of Bluetooth connections at 240 meters (a 4x longer range than the previous 60 meters).
2. Double the data transfer speeds, enabling faster and more consistent connections.
3. Beacon technology, allowing businesses to beam messages to nearby customers.
4. Dual audio capabilities, enabling two connected devices at once and improving communication with Internet of Things devices (IoT).
5. Increased bandwidth and message capacity including a doubled maximum audio bitrate at 2 Mbps, increasing audio capabilities for Bluetooth headphones and Bluetooth speakers.
6. Bluetooth Low Energy communication, reducing power consumption and increasing battery life for peripheral devices.

Luckily, each Bluetooth iteration is backwards compatible, meaning that if your Bluetooth devices are only Bluetooth 4.2-compatible, they’ll still work with a Bluetooth 5 smartphone — but they will run on Bluetooth 4.2.

How to Check Which Bluetooth Version You Have

To check your Windows PC Bluetooth version:

1. Right-click the Start icon and click Device Manager.

2. Select Bluetooth to expand the drop-down menu.

3. Find your PC’s Bluetooth adapter (this will depend on your PC). Right-click the adapter and select Properties.

4. Select the Advanced tab.

5. Check the Firmware Version. You will see “LMP” followed by a number. LMP stands for Link Manager Protocol. This determines what version of Bluetooth your PC is compatible with, according to the following table:

How to Upgrade Your PC to Bluetooth 5

If you want to make the most of the latest Bluetooth technology, but your PC only supports Bluetooth 4, it’s possible to upgrade. All you need to do is purchase a new Bluetooth adapter that’s compatible with the best Bluetooth specification and connect it to your PC.

Disable the Built-in Bluetooth Adapter

To disable your older adapter:

1. Right-click the Start icon and select Device Manager.

2. Select Bluetooth to expand the drop-down menu.

3. Find your PC’s Bluetooth adapter (this will depend on your PC).
4. Right-click the adapter and select Disable device.

5. A message will appear saying “Disabling this device will cause it to stop functioning”. Select Yes.

Connect the New Bluetooth Adapter

Now, simply plug-in the new adapter. To check that it’s connected properly and recognized by your PC:

1. Open Start.
2. Search for “Bluetooth” and select Bluetooth and other devices settings.

3. If Bluetooth is toggled to the “on” position it means the adapter is ready to go.

Can I Upgrade My Smartphone to Bluetooth 5?

Unfortunately, if your smartphone (or other handheld device) isn’t Bluetooth 5-compatible, there’s no way to upgrade it. Instead, you’ll have to purchase a new device that is compatible with Bluetooth 5. However, all new Bluetooth 5-enabled peripherals will be backwards compatible with your phone.

We’ll explain the most important things you need to know about network topology, why mesh technology is unique, and why it’s becoming so popular. 

What Does “Topology” Mean?

Topology refers to how things are arranged in relation to each other. For example, an area’s topological map isn’t used much for detailed navigation, but it shows the “big picture” arrangement of points of interest.

In the context of computer science and networks, topology refers to how the elements of a network are linked together. It describes which nodes on a network can communicate directly before going through another node.

Other Types of Network Topology

There are five general types of network topology, each with its advantages and disadvantages.

Linear Bus Topology networks have all nodes connected to a single cable. This cable is known as a “backbone” connection, with a “terminator” at each end of this main cable. Data only flows in one direction at a time, known as a “half-duplex” system.

This is a simple network setup that doesn’t require much cabling. However, the weakness in a bus topology is that the entire network stops functioning if anything goes wrong with the backbone cable. It’s also hard to pinpoint which device on the network might be causing issues, making troubleshooting time-consuming.

Ring Topology networks don’t have a single cable with terminators on each end. Instead, all the nodes are arranged in a circle, with every node always having another node on both sides. Unlike linear bus topology networks, ring topology networks operate in a full-duplex mode so that data can be sent and received simultaneously. Like bus topology, any fault in the cable brings the whole network down.

Star Topology networks are the most common type of home network today. Here, all of the nodes in the network have a direct connection to a central device. This can be a network switch, hub, or router. All network traffic flows through this primary device.

One disadvantage of this topology is the potential for network congestion and, of course, the hub device as a single point of failure. It also requires much more cabling than the above network topologies in a wired network.

However, in most home networks, this is a non-issue since most devices are connected to the wireless router using Wi-Fi, with Ethernet reserved for a handful of devices.

Tree Topology (aka Expanded Star Topology, aka Hierarchical Topology) takes the idea of a star topology network and expands it into a tree-like architecture. For example, your home router is the center of your star topology, but it’s a node on a bigger star with a local router, which is a node on an even bigger star. 

The different star topology networks are also connected to a backbone cable, so the “trunk” of the tree topology is a linear bus network, and the “branches” are star topology networks.

Keep these general network designs in mind as we unpack mesh topology.

Mesh Topology

A Mesh Topology network offers a direct connection between any two nodes. Unlike bus or ring topologies, network traffic doesn’t have to pass through every node on the network to reach its destination. Nor does network traffic have to pass through a central hub as it does with a star topology. Any two nodes can communicate privately, with no chance that anyone else on the network can eavesdrop.

That’s true of full mesh networks, but there are two types of mesh network topology, so let’s briefly unpack the first.

Full Mesh Topology Versus Partial Mesh Topology

There are two types of mesh topology. In Full Mesh networks, every node on the network has a point-to-point connection to every other node. This means that no matter where two nodes are located on the network, there’s a direct wired or wireless connection between them. This requires the most complex wiring with the number of connections rapidly with every node added.

A Partial Mesh network has the same basic philosophy in its design that nodes on the network connect directly to other nodes, but not every node is connected to every other node. Every node is connected to at least one other node, and often more than one, but the partial mesh isn’t nearly as complex.

The Advantages of Mesh Topology

The main advantage of a full mesh network is redundant connections. Even if a direct connection between any number of nodes fails, they can always get through by routing through another network node, even if it isn’t as fast. Even better, it’s easy to pinpoint where the fault is by design, so fixing things is relatively easy.

In that sense, full mesh networks are like the internet as a whole, where at least one viable route for data transmission is always available, even if large network segments go down. Partial mesh networks offer less redundancy, although the network designers can concentrate on giving the most critical nodes the most connections, balancing redundancy, cost, and complexity.

Besides being redundant, mesh networks have a significant advantage regarding network performance since nodes can all send and receive data simultaneously, choosing the most efficient routes through the network. This means reliable, low latency networking performance perfect for IoT (Internet of Things) setups in smart homes.

Mesh networks have exceptional privacy since data moves between network devices in full mesh systems.

Finally, mesh networks have excellent scalability without negatively affecting network performance or bandwidth. A mesh network can grow organically over time by adding new nodes and hooking them into the nearest nodes (partial mesh) or all other notes (full mesh).

The Disadvantages of Mesh Topology

The two main disadvantages of mesh topology are cost and complexity. Partial mesh setups help balance these issues, but a full-mesh, wired network is like a spider’s web of connections.

Mesh networks have higher power consumption than other network types. That’s because all nodes must be active and turned on to provide routing paths for data. There’s also a significant maintenance burden since individual nodes that develop issues for any reason must be fixed or replaced to maintain network performance.

Wireless Mesh Networks in the Home

Local Area Networks (LANs) used in the home have traditionally been star topology networks. All devices connect to a central router, whether by Wi-Fi or Ethernet. The need for internet connectivity in the entire home is growing with the rise of smart devices and home appliances.

A centralized device can cause performance bottlenecks and limit the reach of both wired connections and wireless signals without using repeaters or extenders. Repeaters and extenders come with complex configurations and worse network performance, so they aren’t the ideal solution for whole-home networking.

Mesh network routers in the home are an example of partial mesh networks or perhaps a type of hybrid topology. Not all nodes are connected to every node. Instead, the primary node connects to the WAN (Wide Area Network), which is another way of referring to the greater internet beyond your home network.

That primary node is connected directly to devices like laptops and smartphones, but it also sets up dedicated wireless connections to other mesh network units. Every mesh router connects to the following mesh unit with the best connection speed and reliability. That connection can be over Wi-Fi or through Ethernet “backhaul,” where a high-speed cable connects some mesh router units.

As devices move around the home, they are seamlessly handed off between mesh units as each one relays the path to the internet. Client nodes such as smartphones are not used as part of the mesh. No traffic is routed through one client device directly to another. All traffic passes to the nearest mesh router node. If you want to expand the network to improve performance or coverage, add more mesh units.

As you can see, “mesh” wireless networks for home use don’t quite match the template of an actual mesh network. Instead, it’s more like having several star-topology networks linked together by a set of dedicated mesh sub-connections. 

Still, this is the most advanced and seamless home network solution. One we can recommend to anyone, assuming your budget will stretch to this new technology.

Since PCIe is becoming fundamental in computers of all shapes and sizes, it’s worth talking about what PCIe is, what it’s used for, and what the new PCIe 6.0 will offer in the future.

The Basics of PCIe

PCIe is short for Peripheral Component Interconnect Express. Some of our readers who’ve been around computers for a while might remember the old PCI standard, but PCIe is to the original PCI standard as a fighter jet is to a paper airplane.

PCIe is both a protocol and a physical hardware connection standard. The most common PCIe hardware connection standard is the motherboard expansion slot. You connect expansion cards to these slots, and communication happens over the connecting pins. However, it’s possible to send PCIe protocol signals over other types of connections.

NVME SSDs using the M.2 connector can use PCIe, and this seems no different to the computer from an SSD connected through a standard PCIe slot. The Thunderbolt 3 and 4 standards also support sending PCIe signals over a cable. This is how eGPUs (external graphics cards) are possible.

PCIe devices send data in a serial fashion but across multiple, parallel lanes. An x16 PCIe slot on a computer’s motherboard can accommodate sixteen data channels at once. PCIe also offers x8, x4, and x1 slots. In general, graphics cards use the x16 slot because they need as much bandwidth as possible. While slower slots are usually physically shorter, it’s common for x16-length besides the primary one to be x8.

PCIe cards offer backward compatibility and cross-compatibility, so you can stick an x4 card in any PCIe slot that will physically accommodate it. It’s just that you’ll waste any PCIe lanes the x4 card doesn’t use. The same goes for using a PCIe 5.0 card in, for example, a 4.0 slot. It will work but be limited to the lowest common denominator.

Who Decides on the PCIe Standard?

The PCI Express standard is designed and approved by the PCI Special Interest Group (PCI-SIG), a consortium with members from the electronics and computer industry with a vested interest in the technology.

PCI-SIG was founded in 1992 as a group tasked with helping computer manufacturers correctly implement the Intel PCI standard. Today it’s a nonprofit organization with over 800 members.

The PCI-SIG board has AMD, ARM, Dell, IBM, Intel, Nvidia, Qualcomm, and more members. You might recognize these names as major computing device manufacturers, and having a shared standard makes their work much easier, not to mention the lives of their customers!

What Is PCIe Used For?

We’ve already mentioned expansion cards and SSDs above, so you’ve probably got a general idea of PCIe’s uses.

The PCIe standard connects just about any external peripheral device you can imagine. It offers a much wider bandwidth than USB, especially when looking at multiple lanes. PCIe also provides a direct path to the CPU, making it perfect for high-speed, low-latency applications.

Modern GPUs use sixteen lanes of  PCIe bandwidth to maximize their performance, but not every peripheral needs that much bandwidth. The latest PCIe 4.0 SSDs use “only” four lanes, but that’s enough to blow the SATA standard clear out of the water. While SATA tops out at 600 MB/s, high-end PCIe 4.0 drives can move more than 7000 MB/s.

PCIe expansion cards also accommodate sound cards, video capture cards, 10Gb Ethernet adapter, WiFi 6 cards,  Thunderbolt or USB controllers, and more. Peripherals that are integrated into your computer’s motherboard also use PCI Express. It’s just that the wiring is permanent and not in the form of a slot.

How Does PCIe 6.0 Improve on PCIe 5.0?

The headline improvement is usually a big leap in the data rate with every PCIe revision. That’s the amount of information that can be moved across the bus each second.

In that department, PCIe 6.0 does not disappoint. It fully doubles the already tremendous data transfer rate of PCIe 5.0 from 32 Gigatransfers per second (GT/s) to 64 GT/s per lane. Whereas PCIe 5.0 could shift 63 Gigabytes per second (GB/s), 6.0 can move up to 128 GB/s. That’s over an x16 connection, with more minor connections scaling down. It means an x8 PCIe 6.0 slot now has as much performance as an x16 5.0 slot.

This creates plenty of headroom for future GPUs and ultra-fast storage solutions. Not to mention incredible scope for external devices connected via PCIe or expansion cards that offer Thunderbolt and USB 4.

New Features in PCI Express 6.0

Making such a monumental performance leap in a single generation wasn’t easy. To achieve these numbers, the PCI-SIG engineers had to develop a few innovative new ways to move electrons around.

PAM4 Signaling

Quite possibly, the most significant change with PCIe 6.0 compared to previous generations of the interface is how data is encoded. 

PCI Express 6.0 uses PAM4, which is short for  Pulse Amplitude Modulation with four levels. If you know anything about electrical waveforms, you’ll know that the “amplitude” of the wave is how far the wave’s crest is from the baseline.

Older NRZ (Non-return-to-zero) PCIe encoding only had two amplitude levels per pulse during a clock cycle. PCIe 6 doubles that to four, increasing the amount of data encoded with each cycle. 

Forward Error Correction (FEC)

While the PAM4 encoding method provides a significant boost to speeds, it also provides a big boost to bit errors. In other words, one arrives at its destination instead of a zero, and vice versa.

To combat this, PCIe 6.0 has a new Forward Error Correction feature, which checks to make sure data is getting where it should go without getting corrupted, with the help of a robust CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) implementation.

One danger of adding more error correction steps into the pipeline is that you’ll add more latency. Additional latency has been a growing concern with various high-speed computer components. Although they can shift more and more data, they take longer to react to a request for data, which can cause issues of its own.

FEC has been designed to target adding no more than two nanoseconds of latency compared to previous versions of PCIe, which is a tiny bit of extra latency no human can detect.

FLIT Mode

FLIT mode was another measure introduced to improve error correction in PCIe 6.0. It organizes data into units of uniform size using a dedicated onboard flow control unit. This is necessary to check packets for errors since you can apply an algorithm to each data packet and check if the packet still gives the result when it reaches the other end of the pipeline.

The thing is, it turns out that FLIT mode also brings significant efficiency gains in other places. It helps lower latency, makes bandwidth usage more efficient, and lets PCIe 6.0 do away with much of the encoding overhead from previous versions. So although PAM4 adds up to 2ns of latency, FLIT mode saves on latency in other areas.

L0p Mode

One interesting feature in PCIe 6.0 is L0p mode. This mode reduces the number of lanes a peripheral uses to send and receive data. So if your laptop is running on battery power and the GPU doesn’t need 16-lanes to do its current job, it will drop down to only using the number of lanes it needs, saving electricity by increasing power efficiency.

Should You Wait for PCIe 6.0?

If you’re thinking about buying or building a new computer soon, should you wait for PCIe 6.0 motherboards to come out first? It’s always tempting to try and build a futureproof computer. What if a new GPU or SSD comes out that needs PCIe 6.0 to reach its full potential?

The short answer to this question is that you don’t have to worry about waiting for PCIe 6.0. At the time of writing, PCIe 5.0 motherboards have only started rolling out to consumers, and even the most high-end current GPUs are nowhere near needing PCIe 5.0.

In benchmarks comparing flagship cards like the RTX 3080 or RTX 3090 running on PCIe 3.0 and 4.0, the difference in performance was somewhere between nothing and 3%.  Yes, that’s right. We are only now reaching the limits of PCIe 3.0, and that’s only with the most expensive GPUs on the planet. Don’t sweat it—at least not for a few years. 

Remember that PCI-SIG has only published their final PCIe specification for version 6.0 on paper. While the final specification won’t change, it will be some time before we see much hardware that supports it, at least in the consumer space.

PCIe 6.0 Benefits Data Centers Today

That’s not to say PCIe 6.0 isn’t beneficial to someone already. In the giant data centers, we all rely on cloud-based services, every extra bit of bandwidth is precious. Inside those racks of computers, you’ll find systems with dozens or hundreds of CPU cores and arrays of high-speed SSD storage. The improvements in PCIe bandwidth will immediately help take the pressure off those straining data pipes.

Having so much more bandwidth means that AI and machine learning applications could analyze more data in less time. It implies that HPC (High-Performance Computing) applications that do complex work in science, engineering, and physics can broaden their horizons.

Even IoT (Internet of Things) systems that send a flood of data to data centers to process in real-time will benefit massively from the additional bandwidth.

What Comes After PCI Express 6.0?

PCIe technology will be around for a long time unless someone invents a peripheral interconnect technology that’s radically better. Companies like Intel, AMD, and Apple are doing exciting things with the related technologies between chips inside their processor packages. With CPUs like AMD’s Ryzen and Intel’s Alder Lake stuffed to the gills with CPU cores, they need to move a tremendous amount of data. We’re sure the PCI-SIG can learn a few things from what’s happening inside these processors.