Hardware interview practice
Identify how PCIe generations raise usable bandwidth
Compare a fixed-width PCIe link across generations. The later generation raises transfers per second and may reduce line-coding overhead; a wider link may also use more lanes. Which statement correctly identifies the bandwidth levers?
Choose one
Answer choices
- A. Only lane count can raise PCIe bandwidth; the per-lane rate and encoding efficiency are fixed for all generations.
- B. A higher reference-clock frequency alone guarantees the same percentage increase in payload bandwidth regardless of protocol and channel limits.
- C. Usable bandwidth can rise through a higher per-lane transfer rate, lower encoding overhead, more lanes, and better PHY/channel techniques that sustain the faster signaling.
- D. Encoding overhead is payload data, so increasing overhead always increases usable application bandwidth.