Through a press release on their website, the PCI Express Special Interest Group (PCI-SIG) has announced that it has finalized its PCI Express 2.0 specifications. The specifications initially entered the release candidate stage a little over three months ago.

The new PCI Express 2.0 Bus Specification doubles the interconnect bit rate from 2.5 GT/s to 5 GT/s. The PCI-SIG describes this as “by far the most important feature of the PCI Express 2.0 specifications.” Doubling the interconnect bit rate increases the aggregate bandwidth of a single PCI Express x16 slot to 16 GB/s. PCI Express 2.0 is also backwards compatible with older versions of the standard, meaning that consumers will still be able to use their older hardware in slots based on the revised standard.  

In addition to the bandwidth increase, the new specifications have a number of other improvements. Dynamic link speed management has been added allowing software to control the speed at which Express 2.0 links are operating. Under the new specification, software is also notified of changes in link speed and width. The Express 2.0 interface also implements a new feature that gives software optional controls to manage packet routing on the interconnect. The power limit can now also be redefined in order “to accommodate devices that consume higher power.”

The new interface will prove to be particularly useful for video cards whose performance is limited as a result of lower I/O throughput. Manufacturers will be able to use the faster channels for shared memory graphics which uses system memory to boost performance.   

The New York Times has come to find out that Lap Shun Hui, a California based investor, has bought Packard Bell from NEC Corporation. The official purchasing price of Packard Bell has yet to be revealed, however, it is thought to be around $80 million.

Hui is a renowned computer executive who gained much of his fame from his time with eMachines. Having purchased eMachines back in 2001, Hui brought the brand back to fame by installing a new management team and undergoing a number of steps to strengthen the company. In his period of working with eMachines, Hui also hired former Best Buy CEO Wayne Inouye as President and CEO. After the acquisition of eMachines by Gateway, Wayne Inouye went on to become president & CEO of Gateway Computers. Hui was able to successfully sell eMachines to Gateway for $30 million in cash and 50 million shares of stock on January 30, 2004. The total deal was estimated to be around $234.5 million.

Despite his absence from the PC market in recent years, Hui seems to be interested in reentering the personal computer industry of late. Recently he offered a bid of $450 million in order to buy Gateway Computers, his offer, although met with mild interest, was refused. Despite this, Hui allegedly remains as one of Gateway's largest shareholders.

Hui’s move to buy Packard Bell has been met with general interest in the industry. Some are thinking that Hui might strengthen and position the company to reenter the American retail market. Whether this plan involves Gateway Computers or not is yet to be discovered. When asked about Hui’s Gateway ambitions, Packard Bell’s chief executive, Mr. de Lencquesaing stated “Who knows where it’s going to go?”

Although Packard Bell was a powerful force behind personal computers in the 1990’s, and was reportedly the number 1 PC maker in America according to PC Week’s June 10, 1996 issue, Packard Bell began to face a string of problems that dropped the company from prosperous to struggling. Finally, after facing large amounts of financial trouble, Packard Bell was forced to pull its operations from the U.S. Instead, they decided to focus on smaller markets such as the Netherlands.