With PCIe 6.0, the driver will be able to adjust and scale back the speed of the connection on the PCIe bus itself, if necessary under thermal constraints.

It appears that the PCIe 6.0 standard will be able to handle speeds that exceed the thermal limits of systems. A new Intel driver offers the ability to adjust the PCIe speed on the bus itself and even reduce the number of active PCIe lanes. This can happen when a system gets too hot.

PCIe 6.0 was completed in 2022 and the first compatible devices will hit the market soon. The standard doubles the bandwidth to a total of 16 GB/s: useful for super-fast SSDs or powerful accelerators.

PCIe 5.0 is already ubiquitous today and offers 8 GB/s (4 GB/s in each direction). Devices that maximize connection are equipped with robust heatsinks and fans to dissipate the heat generated. It now appears that experts are preparing for a scenario where this is not enough.

slow down

If a system does get too hot, the PCIe 6.0 driver can reduce the speed of the connection so that less heat is generated. Of course, when that happens, PCIe 6.0’s advantage over its predecessor diminishes.

A lot will depend on how and when the throttling occurs. The inclusion of capacity in the driver shows that PCIe 6.0 is ready to accommodate components that push the boundaries of efficiency.