There's a new naming scheme for future PCIe cables but PCI-SIG hasn't really explained what it's all about

pcgamer.com:

Press releases from technology organisations can sometimes be really exciting, often very predictable, and occasionally rather sparse. A recent announcement from the PCI-SIG, though, that says new PCI Express internal and external cables will use a CopprLink naming scheme, but nothing else, almost seems not worth announcing at all.

All of the team at PC Gamer get countless press releases in their inboxes, which is great as that makes finding news quite a bit easier. We got one the other day from the PCI-SIG (PCI Special Interest Group) that looked quite interesting to begin with but ultimately left us feeling somewhat exasperated by the absolute dearth of information.

It said, and I quote, «PCI-SIG announced the new naming scheme for PCIe Internal and External Cables will be CopprLink. The PCIe 5.0 and PCIe 6.0 Internal and External Cable Specifications are currently in development and are targeted for release in 2024.»

That was it. Nothing about the cables themselves, just that they'll use a name that makes it look like I can't type. The first thing that sprung to my mind was something that Jacob and I were discussing the other day and that's the current OCuLink system.

This is the name for an internal/external PCI cable technology, with the specification covering an electrical signalling method (the Cu part of the name, i.e Copper) and an optical version (the O bit, of course). This supports PCIe 4.0 and uses up to eight lanes to transmit data, though the spec doesn't include power delivery.

Are PCI-SIG telling us that CopprLink will replace OCuLink or will it exist alongside? Will it just be for data or can we expect some of the cabling to supply power? Well, the group will be offering demonstrations of PCIe