PCIe
Definition
Peripheral Component Interconnect Express, a high-speed serial expansion bus.
Detailed explanation
PCIe means Peripheral Component Interconnect Express, the serial expansion interconnect used by GPUs, NVMe storage, network adapters, and many platform controllers. Devices communicate through lanes grouped into links with negotiated generations and widths. Enumeration assigns addresses, resources, and identifiers before a function driver starts. Each link trains to a mutually supported speed and width, and switches can fan one upstream connection into several downstream ports. Advanced capabilities include power management, error reporting, resizable BARs, and virtualization, all represented through configuration space rather than ordinary application APIs.
Where you are likely to see it
This term commonly appears in firmware setup, Device Manager, disk tools, or storage-controller release notes. The definition above gives the short meaning; the detailed explanation describes the term's role in the operating system and hardware stack.
Storage modes, firmware, and controller software describe separate layers with different responsibilities and risks. This glossary is informational and does not provide repair, installation, or technical-support services.
Related vocabulary
Explore connected concepts and nearby entries in the Windows hardware vocabulary.
- BIOSBasic Input/Output System, the traditional term for PC platform firmware.
- UEFIUnified Extensible Firmware Interface, the modern PC firmware standard.
- PnPPlug and Play, the Windows device discovery and package-selection architecture.
- RAIDRedundant Array of Independent Disks, a multi-device storage organization method.