Final answer:
The PCI Express x16 bus is markedly faster than the latest AGP bus, with PCIe offering significantly higher bandwidth and data transfer rates, accommodating the performance needs of modern components.
Step-by-step explanation:
The PCI Express x16 bus is faster than the latest AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus. PCI Express, often abbreviated as PCIe, is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard designed to replace the older PCI, PCI-X, and AGP standards. PCIe x16 has a much higher maximum bandwidth than AGP, making it more suitable for modern high-performance graphics cards and other peripherals that require fast data transfer rates. For instance, PCIe 3.0 x16 provides a bandwidth of up to 32 GB/s (16 GT/s), which is significantly greater than AGP 8x's maximum bandwidth of approximately 2.1 GB/s. As technology advances, PCIe continues to evolve with newer versions like PCIe 4.0 and 5.0 offering even greater performance.