PCIe 5.0 SSDs Expected to Dominate for Five More Years as PCIe 6.0 Launch Delayed Until 2030 for Mainstream Adoption

PCIe 5.0 SSDs are set to remain a mainstay in the consumer market for the foreseeable future. Wallace Kou, CEO of Silicon Motion, has provided insights into the lack of demand for PCIe 6.0 technology, suggesting that current offerings are more than adequate for most users.

Silicon Motion Indicates PCIe 6.0 SSDs Are Unlikely Before 2030

The longevity of PCIe 5.0 SSDs in the market can be attributed to both their enhanced speed and the absence of a pressing need for faster drives. This latest standard has almost doubled the data transfer rates compared to PCIe 4.0. However, the majority of the mainstream consumer segment has yet to fully embrace this new standard.

Experts like Kou believe it will be several years before PCIe 6.0 becomes commonplace, mainly due to the minimal benefits it offers over its predecessor. He notes that most PC Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are currently uninterested in PCIe 6.0, and that neither AMD nor Intel has prioritized discussions around this newer standard. For further details, refer to Kou’s remarks shared in a report by Tom’s Hardware.

With PCIe 5.0 SSDs performing strongly and Silicon Motion leading the industry, there’s little incentive for the company to invest in developing PCIe 6.0 SSD controllers. Kou explains that competition in the PCIe 5.0 space has diminished due to the significantly higher costs associated with the production of PCIe 5.0 components compared to their PCIe 4.0 counterparts. For instance, the cost associated with a single tape-out can reach approximately double that of PCIe 4.0 controllers when factoring in the design and manufacturing expenses for PCIe 5.0.

Transitioning from PCIe 5.0 to PCIe 6.0 will further escalate manufacturing costs, with expectations that Gen 6.0 SSD controllers could be 25% to 30% more expensive. This new generation controller is anticipated to feature 16 NAND channels, produced using an advanced 4nm process node. As a result, a single tape-out for PCIe 6.0 could set manufacturers back between $30-40 million, far exceeding the $16-20 million for PCIe 5.0.

The earliest PCIe 6.0 SSDs may not debut until late 2027 or 2028, primarily aimed at the enterprise market, especially with NVIDIA’s projected release of its Rubin technology in late 2026. For average consumers, however, adopting PCIe 6.0 now seems impractical as many do not utilize platforms that support PCIe Gen 5.0, and even those that do experience no substantial advantages when upgrading from Gen 4.0 SSDs.

As PCIe 6.0 adoption would inevitably lead to increased costs across the board—as demonstrated by the already expensive motherboards necessary for PCIe Gen 5.0—it’s anticipated that PCIe 5.0 SSDs will continue to dominate the market without significant competition for at least the next five years.

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