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Group bridges old PCI with new

Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
Expertise Processors, semiconductors, web browsers, quantum computing, supercomputers, AI, 3D printing, drones, computer science, physics, programming, materials science, USB, UWB, Android, digital photography, science. Credentials
  • Shankland covered the tech industry for more than 25 years and was a science writer for five years before that. He has deep expertise in microprocessors, digital photography, computer hardware and software, internet standards, web technology, and more.
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Stephen Shankland

The consortium that develops the PCI technology for plugging devices such as network cards into computers has created a new specification for the technology. The specification will make it easier for computer makers to adopt a new version of the technology called PCI Express without abandoning support for the traditional PCI lineage. The PCI-SIG released the specification, which lets computer makers use PCI Express, then add a bridge to easily graft on the latest version of the older PCI, called PCI-X.

Moving the technologies closer together is important for companies that want to reduce design and manufacturing costs while still supporting both technologies. Intel is among the biggest backers of PCI Express, but among server makers, where the demand for input-output capacity is greater, PCI-X has strong support.