PCIE is a high-speed serial bus interface used to connect motherboards to external devices such as graphics cards, SSDs, etc. The higher the version of PCIE, the faster its bandwidth and speed, providing better performance and compatibility.
Currently, there are two main PCIE versions on the market, PCIE3.0 and PCIE4.0. so what’s the difference between them? Let’s compare them from the following aspects:
Principle
The principle of PCIE is to divide the data into several small packets and transmit them through different channels. Each channel has a sender and a receiver and can transmit in both directions at the same time. The transmission speed is called GT/s.
PCIE 3.0 has a rate of 8 GT/s, while PCIE 4.0 has a rate of 16 GT/s. This means that PCIE 4.0 is twice as fast as PCIE 3.0 on a single channel. If both use the same number of channels, then the bandwidth of PCIE4.0 is twice that of PCIE3.0.
For example, if 16 channels are used (i.e. x16), then the bandwidth of PCIE3.0 is 8GT/s x 16 / 8 = 16GB/s, while the bandwidth of PCIE4.0 is 16GT/s x 16 / 8 = 32GB/s.
Performance
Due to the increase in bandwidth and speed, PCIE 4.0 can theoretically provide higher performance, especially for devices that require large amounts of data transfer, such as high-end graphics cards and high-capacity SSDs.
However, in practice, not all devices can fully utilize the advantages of PCIE4.0.
In terms of game performance tests, the difference between PCIE 3.0 and PCIE 4.0 is not very large.
That said, only higher-end devices can take advantage of PCIE performance.
Example:
Let’s imagine PCIe bandwidth as a road, assuming that PCIe3.0 is 8 lanes in both directions and PCIe4.0 is 16 lanes in both directions, which means that PCIe4.0 is able to accommodate more cars at the same time.
However, if there are only ten cars on the road, even if more bi-directional lanes are added, there will still be only those ten cars driving, so the efficiency of the passage will not be significantly improved.
Advantages and Disadvantages of PCIE 3.0 and PCIe 4.0
According to the above analysis, we can summarize the advantages and disadvantages of PCIE3.0 and PCIE4.0:
PCIE3.0
Advantages: low cost, good compatibility, meets the needs of most users
Disadvantages: relatively low performance, unable to support the latest devices
PCIE4.0
Pros: high performance, support for the latest devices, great potential for future development
Cons: High cost, poor compatibility, relatively low demand
Application Scenarios
Different PCIE versions are suitable for different application scenarios. Generally speaking, PCIe 3.0 has been able to meet the data transmission needs of most users, whether for daily work or playing games.
Therefore, it is also the most cost-effective choice.
And like PCIe4.0 such high-speed and stable high-capacity SSD. It is more suitable for professional designers and editors, who have a greater need for file transcoding, picture rendering, and video editing.
At the same time, PCIe4.0 can also support the latest graphics cards and motherboards, ready for future technological development.
Taking Bestoss’ SSDs as an example, Bestoss GM328 PCIe3.0 NVMe SSDs have read and write speeds between 2700MB/s~3200MB/s.
The Bestoss GM888 PCIe4.0 NVMe SSD has read and write speeds between 5500MB/s~7100MB/s, and it is also backward compatible with PCIe3.0, which ensures wider use.
Compared to PCIe 3.0, PCIe 4.0 read and write speeds are nearly twice as optimized, which is enough to see how strong the performance increase is!
Conclusion
In conclusion, PCIE3.0 and PCIE4.0 have their own advantages, disadvantages and application scenarios. When you choose, you should make a reasonable judgment based on your needs and budget.
If you just want a stable and reliable SSD, then PCIE3.0 is enough.
If you want to pursue extreme performance and future compatibility, then PCIE4.0 is the way to go.
