#CopprLink #graphics #card #meters #computer #Živě.cz
The PCI-SIG organization last week she published specification of the new CopprLink interface. Thanks to it, it will be possible to connect graphics cards and other data-intensive components using a cable instead of slots on the motherboard.
CopprLink promises a throughput of up to 64 GT/s and will be fully sufficient for the future PCIe 6.0 standard. In addition, PCI-SIG is already looking for ways to double the capacity even for the needs of the seven-core version. CopprLink will exist in an internal version with a SFF-TA-1016 connector and cable lengths of up to one meter. But there is also an external variant with a SFF-TA-1032 connector and a length of two meters.
PCI-SIG states that CopprLink is an equivalent alternative to traditional PCB-routed slots and lines. Compared to them, it can also have the advantage of a thicker conductor diameter, which will reduce signal losses. Organizations target the new cables in particular at data centers for fast connection of disks or AI accelerators. However, nothing should prevent adoption in desktops or notebooks, where there is a certain, albeit small, demand for a similar interface.
SFF-TA-1032 connector for the external variant of CopprLink
In the case of desktops, these are compact ITX cases, where it is difficult to fit a graphics card somewhere. It is therefore necessary to stretch the “khandas” and take out the slot using the riser cable and bend it so that the card is parallel, not perpendicular to the motherboard.
And in notebooks, there is a hunger for external graphics cards or boxes, into which GeForce, Radeon or Arc can be connected. Today, Thunderbolt 3/4 is most often used for this, but it is not very suitable. Its throughput is only 5 GB/s, but a graphics card with 16 PCIe 4.0 lanes requires six times that.
