Which PCIe version introduced the highest bandwidth among the given options?

PCIe 4.0 introduced the highest bandwidth among the provided options. This version of the PCIe interface effectively doubles the bandwidth of its predecessor, PCIe 3.0, reaching a maximum throughput of 64 GB/s in a 16-lane configuration (x16).

The increase in bandwidth is significant for applications that require high-speed data transfer, such as graphics cards or NVMe storage devices, which benefit from the higher data rates. PCIe 4.0 enables better performance for modern computing tasks, including gaming, video editing, and large data processing applications.

In comparison, while PCIe 1.0, PCIe 2.0, and PCIe 3.0 also have their own advantages, they do not match the speed capabilities introduced with PCIe 4.0. Specifically, PCIe 1.0 offered a bandwidth of 2.5 GT/s, PCIe 2.0 increased it to 5 GT/s, and PCIe 3.0 further improved it to 8 GT/s. However, none of these versions can match the performance enhancements brought by PCIe 4.0.