NVIDIA ConnectX-7 card: PCIe 5.0 x16/x32 network that supports 400GbE

NVIDIA's new ConnectX-7 SKUs teased: PCIe 5.0 x16/x32 with 10/25/40/50/100/200/400GbE connectivity. Yes, PCIe 5.0 x16 and x32!

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Mellanox was acquired by NVIDIA a few years ago at a cost of $6.9 billion, and now we're seeing NVIDIA unveil its new ConnectX-7 SKUs that have some impressive features.

NVIDIA ConnectX-7 card: PCIe 5.0 x16/x32 network that supports 400GbE 02

NVIDIA's new ConnectX-7 SKUs come in PCIe, OCP NIC 3.0, and IC form factors. At the International Supercomputing Conference, Serve the Home spotted a single-port PCIe version of NVIDIA's new ConnectX-7 that uses a SuperMicro SuperBlade.

We're only just seeing PCIe 5.0 connectivity hitting consumer boards with the new Intel Z690 chipset and Intel 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake" CPUs, while AMD and its new X670 + X670E chipsets and upcoming Zen 4-based Ryzen 7000 series CPUs supporting PCIe 5.0 on upcoming motherboards. But in servers and data centers, PCIe 5.0 is used for its super-high-speed bandwidth.

  • Maximum Total Bandwidth: 400GbE
  • Supported Ethernet Speeds: 10/25/40/50/100/ 200/400GbE
  • Number of Network Ports: 1/2/4
  • Network Interface Technologies: NRZ (10/25G) / PAM4 (50/100G)
  • Host Interface PCIe Gen5.0: x16/x32
  • Cards Form Factors: PCIe FHHL/HHHL,OCP3.0 SFF
  • Network Interfaces: SFP56, QSFP56, QSFP56-DD, QSFP112, SFP112

In the pictures of the NVIDIA ConnectX-7 card, there's a huge heat sink across the card that helps keep the heat down... as you'll need it: the card can push an insane 400GbE. Now, your motherboard probably has 1GbE, maybe 2.5GbE at the higher-end. Newer flagship motherboards have 5GbE and 10GbE networking, but it's expensive for the switch -- and much more if you push into 10GbE and beyond.

400GbE however, is a different beast... you're talking beyond 40GB/sec transfers over the network, which makes things hot. Hence, the large heat sink on the NVIDIA ConnectX-7.

Anthony joined the TweakTown team in 2010 and has since reviewed 100s of graphics cards. Anthony is a long time PC enthusiast with a passion of hate for games built around consoles. FPS gaming since the pre-Quake days, where you were insulted if you used a mouse to aim, he has been addicted to gaming and hardware ever since. Working in IT retail for 10 years gave him great experience with custom-built PCs. His addiction to GPU tech is unwavering and has recently taken a keen interest in artificial intelligence (AI) hardware.

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