This 14-Year-Old PC Standard Is Finally Going Away

The storage market is currently experiencing a major transformation, as manufacturers shift their attention from PCIe Gen 3 M.2 SSDs to more advanced and quicker alternatives like PCIe Gen 4 and Gen 5. This transition has been gradual, though.

A report from ServeTheHome indicates that SSD producers are finally stopping the production of these older SSDs for personal computers. This change is largely prompted by the increasing availability and acceptance of PCIe Gen 4 SSDs, which provide nearly double the bandwidth compared to Gen 3. Leading companies such as Intel and AMD have adopted PCIe Gen 4 as the standard for new platforms, hastening this shift. For example, Intel’s recently launched Core Ultra 200S with the Z890 chipset uses PCIe channels that start at PCIe 4.0.

Having been in the market since the early 2010s, PCIe Gen 3 SSDs are becoming less relevant, particularly for larger-capacity models. While smaller Gen 3 SSDs are still available, the market for high-capacity drives is now dominated by PCIe Gen 4 models. Furthermore, PCIe Gen 5 SSDs are also beginning to make their mark, offering even greater performance, which is especially beneficial for tasks requiring high read/write speeds such as gaming, video editing, and other demanding applications.

Corsair Force Series MP600 1TB Gen4 PCIe X4 NVMe M.2 SSD. — Corsair

This shift isn’t restricted to the consumer sector; enterprise solutions are also moving away from Gen 3 towards PCIe Gen 5 and even PCIe Gen 6 SSDs as organizations seek enhanced throughput for their server and data center needs. The limitations of PCIe Gen 3 are becoming increasingly evident, particularly with advanced applications, prompting manufacturers to cease research and development and production activities for Gen 3 devices.

In the years ahead, we can expect PCIe Gen 4 to dominate the market, with PCIe Gen 5 gaining broader acceptance. As manufacturers fully commit to these newer standards, consumers will benefit from faster and more efficient storage options that meet the growing demands of modern computing.