I am designing a system where point-to-point differential connections (SGMII) are routed via a connector on a backplane. I am wondering whether the SMT or through-hole connector is the better choice wrt signal integrity. With the number of signals we need inner signal layers will be needed. So I either can contact the signal layer from the through-hole connector directly or I have to use vias. Vias have smaller diameter so my power planes are less perforated, but would require more "turns".
For PCI Express on PC mainboards I have seen only through-hole but this might be due to the insertion/extraction force for the heavier add-on cards.
Andreas