Intel needs AMD CPUs in order to test their future PCIe 4.0 SSDs

Oh, how the tables have turned -- Intel has no CPUs that are capable of supporting PCIe 4.0 technology, so they need to use AMD Ryzen 3000 series CPUs along with an X570 motherboard to test their latest storage products.

Intel technical marketing performance engineer, Frank Ober, tweeted (above) that Intel can send PCIe 4.0-capable SSDs to developers, but they'll need PCIe 4.0-capable CPUs and motherboards to test them. The super-fast new Alder Stream SSDs (an updated version of their Optane drive tech, with second-gen 3D XPoint technology).

But in order to ramp up those speeds they will need more PCIe lanes, and since PCIe 3.0 is pretty much tapped out -- the doubling in bandwidth to PCIe 4.0 is a tasty offering. But, Intel has no PCIe 4.0 anything right now -- so they're stuck. Intel won't have PCIe 4.0-capable CPUs until 2021 which means they need to lean on their main competitor in AMD until then.