A peripheral component interconnect-express (PCIe) link with presence of an active optical cable (AOC) that couples between an electrical PCIe (E-PCIe) transmitter and an E-PCIe receiver may include the AOC. The AOC may include an electrical-to-optical PCIe (EO-PCIe) transceiver coupled to the E-PCIe transmitter. The EO-PCIe transceiver may include a laser diode driver that includes a common mode voltage output terminal. The EO-PCIe transceiver may include a detection condition circuit that includes a decoupling capacitor. The decoupling capacitor may be referenced to a ground level and may connect to the common mode voltage output terminal of the laser diode driver. The detection condition circuit may create a receiver detection condition for a receiver detection circuit of the E-PCIe transmitter to detect presence of the AOC.