Intel's Arrow Lake-S Desktop CPUs to Support Dedicated Gen 5 x4 Lanes for SSDs; Apex Storage Reveals X16 AIC

Intel is planning to hold an Innovation event on September 19, where we can expect further details on the forthcoming Arrow Lake-S Desktop CPUs and their LGA 1851 socketed platforms.

These next-gen processors, slated for release in late 2024, will offer dedicated Gen 5 x4 lanes for SSDs in addition to the standard Gen 4 x4 lanes. Intel aims to surpass the I/O capabilities of its current 600 and 700-series platforms, which lack in the SSD department compared to AMD's fully compliant Gen 5 SSDs AM5 platform. In current motherboards, Intel partners need to split Gen 5 lanes from PCIe x16 graphics to offer Gen 5 support - a problem Intel plans to address in the forthcoming 800-series motherboards.

Ahead of this, Intel has sent relevant documentation about the Arrow Lake-S CPUs and LGA 1851 socketed platforms to manufacturers, allowing them time to develop new products and adjust support for existing ones.

Meanwhile, the Apex Storage X16 AIC is already available on the market. Priced at $1799.99, it offers up to 16 slots for NVMe Gen 4 SSDs in a single-slot format, supporting up to 128TB of capacity per card. The device, which outpaces its predecessor, the X21 AIC, also features an active cooling system.

Apex Storage has also announced plans for a Gen 5 AIC, anticipated at the end of 2024 at the earliest. The increasing heat generation from the new SSDs necessitates significant cooling for this design. Apex Storage's offerings, with their vast capacities and high speeds, are especially attractive to storage enthusiasts.