Intel Wants PCI Express 3.0 Inside Thunderbolt

Intel's Thunderbolt interconnect interface may not be mainstream just yet, but Intel is determined to push it forward making use of the latest PCI Express 3.0 standard.

Right now, Thunderbolt does not even come close to its full potential, mostly because it uses copper wires instead of optical cables.

Had it been made with fiber optics from the start, it would have easily attained its apex of 50 Gbps, but the current iteration only hovers around 10 Gbps. Still, not only does the standard relay data, but it integrates the DisplayPort connection as well, for displays.

Furthermore, data streams are sent in both directions over a single cable and relay packetized traffic for both protocols. Now, Intel intends to combine the technology with the PCI Express 3.0 interface, though it is unclear if copper will keep being used.

At any rate, if we were to put things in perspective, Thunderbolt, as it is today, is a sort of PCI Express 2.0 x4 delivered through cables instead of motherboard slots.

Using PCI Express 3.0 would push the bandwidth from 10 Gbps to 20 Gbps.

"We are working on integrating PCI Express 3.0 support into a future version of Thunderbolt, but are not prepared to get into more detail at this time," said Dave Salvator, a spokesman for Intel, according to X-bit Labs.

The Santa Clara, California-based company has yet to disclose implementation or availability dates, but that is unsurprising.

It is still possible to surmise when PCI Express 3.0 Thunderbolt appears, however: since PTB, or post-Thunderbolt (the one with fiber optics and silicon photonics components) will emerge in 2015, the PCI Express 3.0 version should appear in 2014 or even 2013. Finally, the 3.0 will add some extra features to the TB's already considerable list of capabilities.