Workshop – Fitting a PCIe SSD with your existing hardware
Afterburner
© Lead Image © Aleksandr Papichev, 123RF.com
A PCIe SSD can accelerate your system considerably, but you need to do your homework and choose the right product for your computer.
PCIe is a downward-compatible interface technology with standardized slots, but the chaos with interface cards has not gone away. If you want to use fast mass storage to upgrade older systems without UEFI BIOS and NVMe support, you will certainly benefit from the advantages of the Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) bus. However, before you buy expensive components, it makes sense to investigate the specifications; otherwise, you may end up spending several hundred dollars on equipment you can't use.
Understanding PCIe
PCIe [1] is a standard for extensions in personal computers that has been in use for around 15 years, and by now, it has completely replaced its predecessors PCI, PCI-X, and AGP.
The PCIe bus thoroughly eliminates many of the problems of its predecessors. Unlike the PCI bus and its variations, PCIe works with serial connections. Point-to-point connections are created between the components, which leads to significantly higher data transfer rates with significantly less overhead, because slow devices on the bus cannot slow down the faster devices (Table 1).
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Cairo Dock 3.6 Now Available for More Compositors
If you're a fan of third-party desktop docks, then the latest release of Cairo Dock with Wayland support is for you.
-
System76 Unleashes Pop!_OS 24.04 Beta
System76's first beta of Pop!_OS 24.04 is an impressive feat.
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 is Available
Linus Torvalds has announced that the latest kernel has been released with plenty of core improvements and even more hardware support.
-
Kali Linux 2025.3 Released with New Hacking Tools
If you're a Kali Linux fan, you'll be glad to know that the third release of this famous pen-testing distribution is now available with updates for key components.
-
Zorin OS 18 Beta Available for Testing
The latest release from the team behind Zorin OS is ready for public testing, and it includes plenty of improvements to make it more powerful, user-friendly, and productive.
-
Fedora Linux 43 Beta Now Available for Testing
Fedora Linux 43 Beta ships with Gnome 49 and KDE Plasma 6.4 (and other goodies).
-
USB4 Maintainer Leaves Intel
Michael Jamet, one of the primary maintainers of USB4 and Thunderbolt drivers, has left Intel, leaving a gaping hole for the Linux community to deal with.
-
Budgie 10.9.3 Now Available
The latest version of this elegant and configurable Linux desktop aligns with changes in Gnome 49.
-
KDE Linux Alpha Available for Daring Users
It's official, KDE Linux has arrived, but it's not quite ready for prime time.
-
AMD Initiates Graphics Driver Updates for Linux Kernel 6.18
This new AMD update focuses on power management, display handling, and hardware support for Radeon GPUs.