A new peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) link state can enhance power saving capabilities of a PCIe link operating in a flow control unit (FLIT) mode. A device can operate a data link with a host in a FLIT mode using fixed-sized packets, the data link being in a partial width link state (PLS) in which a first set of lanes of the data link are in an electrical idle state and a second set of lanes of the data link are in an active state available for data traffic with the host. The device can transition one or more lines of the second set of lanes from the PLS to a partial width standby link state (PSLS) in which the one or more lines of the second set of lanes are in a standby state that has lower power consumption than the active state.