▷ Thunderbolt 3 what is it and what is it for?

Thunderbolt 3, fortunately, does not compete with USB-C, unlike the original Thunderbolt. Rather, it combines the strength of the Thunderbolt 3 interface with the potentially ubiquitous USB-C port.

As laptops continue to get thinner, PC makers have discovered that current I / O ports like VGA, HDMI, and USB Type A no longer fit in these sleeker laptops. To replace them, the USB-C interface was introduced which is theoretically twice as fast as USB 3.0, and its form factor eliminates up and down orientation.

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What is Thunderbolt 3 and what is its importance

Thunderbolt was developed by Intel in 2011, when USB 3.0 was able to offer data transfer rates of up to 5 Gigabits per second (or 640 Megabytes per second), the first generation Thunderbolt was able to double that amount. But unlike USB, Thunderbolt could transfer multiple types of data - not just serial data to storage devices and peripherals, but also video data to displays.

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Thunderbolt 3 is the current version of the Thunderbolt interface. Thunderbolt 3 allows data to be transferred at a speed of up to 40 Gbps. That's twice as fast as Thunderbolt 2's 20Gbps throughput, and four times faster than USB-C's 10Gbps and original Thunderbolt interface. Thunderbolt 3 lets you connect fast hard drives, multiple displays including 4K and 5K resolutions, and other peripherals, like PCIe Gen 3 expansion boxes, to your desktop or laptop PC. The big news, though, is that Thunderbolt 3 is designed to work in port the same way as USB-C, and is compatible with USB-C cables and devices. The original Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 interfaces use shaped Mini DisplayPort connectors, which means they are totally incompatible with any USB port.

Sharing ports saves space

Older laptops with separate Thunderbolt 2 and USB 3.0 ports “waste” space, because when all is said and done, both ports do a similar job: connecting peripherals, albeit at different speeds. Intel has created the new Thunderbolt to run on the exact same physical ports as USB-C. That will help adoption, as PC manufacturers won't have to take up additional space on a system chassis for a separate Thunderbolt 3 port. It is important to note, however, that while they are physically the same, the Thunderbolt 3 port has circuitry behind it to allow for faster performance speeds. Ports that only support USB-C and not Thunderbolt 3 will probably be more common. To quickly check if the port you have is a USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 version, just look for the Thunderbolt icon next to the port, which looks like a lightning bolt.

All USB-C devices can be connected and will work on a Thunderbolt 3 port, but will transfer data at a lower speed than USB-C. An easy thing to remember is that Thunderbolt 3 ports are technically compatible with USB-C devices. Thunderbolt 3, however, does not necessarily support USB-C. While it is true that you can physically connect a Thunderbolt 3 device to a USB-C port, it is not guaranteed to work. Some Thunderbolt 3 devices, such as power adapters, can charge your laptop with only USB-C, but devices that transfer data probably won't. You are likely to receive a message on the screen stating that the Thunderbolt 3 device does not support the USB-C port.

Passive vs. Active Cables

The simplest cables are passive and made of metallic copper. Thunderbolt 3 passive cables are identical to USB-C cables and connect to Thunderbolt or USB-C ports. Thunderbolt 3 transfers data at up to 20 Gbps over passive cables, at speeds equivalent to Thunderbolt 2, and doubles the speed of USB-C. But while passive cables are the most compatible with Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C, they are not necessarily the most efficient.

To get all the benefits of Thunderbolt, you will need to use active cables. Active Thunderbolt cables will use integrated chips to achieve a total performance of 40 Gbps. You should use live cables where performance is really important, like when you connect your laptop to 4K or 5K displays. You'll also want to use an active cable for the fastest performance of local file storage, for workstations and servers, especially if connected to a solid state drive (SSD) based RAID array.

Active optical cables are another type completely made of plastic and glass, like fiber optic cables. They use optical transmission to transmit the same 40Gbps throughput, but optical cables can extend their length to a greater extent. You are more likely to see optical cables used in long cable extensions in a data center than at your desk.

This ends our article on Thunderbolt what it is and what it is for. We hope that you find it very useful in understanding the great importance of this new generation interface that Intel has created. You can leave a comment if you have something to add or want to make a suggestion.

Wikipedia source