With the ongoing development of new-generation processors, the introduction of PCIe Gen5 specifications into high-end PC applications is set to commence in 2025. According to Micron Technology, Gen4 products currently represent 25% of PC applications, and it is expected that half of these will transition to Gen5 over the next year.

By 2026, it is projected that 10% of the PC market will embrace the new PCIe Gen5 standard,

Richard Zhao, the SSD product line director at Micron's storage division, indicated that Gen5 SSD technology will see substantial growth in 2025 and 2026. The chip vendor intends to introduce a four-channel Gen5 SSD aimed at the consumer market. While current Gen4 devices will remain accessible, new SSD products are anticipated to progress toward Gen5 specifications by 2027.

The Micron 4600 PCIe Gen5 NVMe SSD, tailored for PC OEMs, has been referred to as "the Ferrari of client SSDs." It is manufactured with G9 NAND technology with TLC chips and incorporates Silicon Motion's 6nm, 8-channel PCIe Gen5 controller chip, attaining data read speeds of up to 14.5GB per second and write speeds of up to 12GB per second.

Zhao indicated that minimizing power consumption was a primary objective from the beginning of the design phase of PCIe Gen5. Power consumption is comparable to the prior Gen4 generation at roughly 8W; however, transmission efficiency can reach nearly double that, indicating that current cooling designs require no alterations, offering substantial advantages to PC OEMs.

Despite market forecasts that AI PCs will rise annually, not all AI applications have adequate storage designs. Existing devices may experience latency issues while loading models, and speedy replies must rely on local models rather than cloud-based loading.

Silicon Motion anticipates that PCIe Gen5 will be accessible in premium models beginning in the second quarter of 2025, with an annual penetration rate of 5%. The company's 8-channel Gen5 SSD controllers have already received orders from four to six memory module manufacturers, representing more than 50% of the market.