Thunderbolt: all the information you need to know

Thunderbolt Technology

Although a few days ago we already explained what Thunderbolt is and what it is for. Better let's start at the beginning… And it is that having Intel as the main responsible for its development, Thunderbolt is a communication standard between devices that, in part, takes advantage of existing technological resources. Originally, the technology was developed to be compatible with almost all types of connections existing in the equipment.

Thunderbolt makes use of protocols of two well-known patterns on the market: PCI Express and DisplayPort. The first is a long-ago bus used for internal connection of devices to the computer, such as video cards and Ethernet adapters. The second is an interface for streaming video and audio widely used by Apple and the companies that manufacture more sophisticated equipment. To some extent, the DisplayPort competes with the HDMI.

Thanks to these characteristics, the Thunderbolt allows communication between devices of the most varied types offering excellent performance. The technology allows communication with certain devices through FireWire, DVI and other connections through adapters.

However, the most striking feature is speed. The first specification of the Thunderbolt is that it can reach up to 10 Gb / s (gigabit per second) in data transfer, a rate that is equal to approximately 1.25 gigabyte per second. The third (and last) version of the Thunderbolt is even more impressive: it can reach up to 40 Gb / s .

The data traffic can be full-duplex (bidirectional), that is, it is possible to send and receive information at the same time. But it is important to note that this rate is the theoretical maximum. In practice, a number of factors can make the speed a little slower (yet still high enough to cover most applications).

The proposal of this technology is to facilitate the user's work as much as possible, therefore, a single Thunderbolt port allows data transfer, transmission of audio and video signals, and even power supply, avoiding, in many cases, the need to connect the device to a power outlet.

Thunderbolt 1

Thunderbolt is not necessarily a new technology made from scratch. After all, it has the protocols of the PCI-Express and DisplayPort standards. We can consider its physical appearance as new, more precisely, the Thunderbolt cable.

The first investigations of Intel considered the use of cables with fiber optics, this being one of the most striking characteristics of when the technology has been announced, still under the name of Light Peak, in 2009. The idea was to launch the Thunderbolt with this resource, but fiber optics is a sophisticated and complex-handling material that would undoubtedly result in significantly higher production costs.

Given this scenario, Intel decided to opt for traditional cables with copper wires, with a maximum recommended size of 3 meters. Special fiber optic cables can be found, but they are rare (and expensive, in fact).

The first version of Thunderbolt arrived offering a speed of 10 Gb / s. They are, in fact, two channels of 5.4 Gb / s for sending and another two of the same capacity for receiving data.

High rates may seem exaggerated, but they are a growing need. We increasingly have fast internet connections and high definition videos, for example. This implies increasing volumes of data.

The Thunderbolt is shown as a solution to such demands not only for its speed, but also for being optimized to deal with both data transmission via PCI Express and audio and video information (even in high resolution) via DisplayPort, all of this over the same cable.

The first version also allows the interconnection of up to seven devices in a single port in a chained way, that is, with one device connected to the other. In an example given by Intel, it is possible to connect an external hard drive to a monitor and this to a notebook. HD data can be accessed through the laptop.

It is interesting to note that the management of the Thunderbolt port is done by a small controller chip so that the technology is not directly dependent on a chipset or even the processor to function.

When it comes to power, each Thunderbolt 1 port can deliver 10 watts of power, with power supplied by the same cable used for data.

Thunderbolt connector

The Thunderbolt makes use of the Mini DisplayPort connector, widely used in Apple computers for communication with monitors or projectors. Here are two advantages:

There are no additional costs for the development of a new connection standard. The connection of DisplayPort devices to the Thunderbolt port is possible, since, as you already know, there is compatibility between both technologies.

Thunderbolt 2

In April 2013, Intel introduced the second version of the technology. The Thunderbolt 2 brought as its main attraction the possibility of transferring, in a bidirectional way, 20 Gb / s per second, twice what the previous specification offered.

Again, the question about exaggerated speed comes up, but Intel's primary goal with the new top feature was to make the technology fully suitable for 4K resolution video streaming.

Intel has also taken care to keep Thunderbolt 2 compatible with the first standard version. In other words, the cables and connectors are the same. In addition, devices made for Thunderbolt 1 can also work with Thunderbolt 2, but, as a general rule, maintaining the maximum transfer rate of 10 Gb / s.

Obviously, compatibility with DisplayPort ports is maintained, but with one difference: Thunderbolt 2 started to support version 1.2 of the technology, this time, a new specification.

Finally, it should be noted that Thunderbolt 2 continues to allow the communication of up to seven devices in a chain on the same connection.

Thunderbolt 3

June 2015 marked the announcement of the third version of the technology. Intel has reserved two great features for the Thunderbolt 3: data transmission speed of up to 40 Gb / s (also bi-directional) and a new connector.

Intel explains that the Thunderbolt 3 is capable of transmitting, at the same time, videos for two monitors with 4K resolution and 60 frames per second or to a single device, but in 5K and 60 frames per second. For those who work with large volumes of data, technology can also make a difference: 40 Gb / s is the same as transferring approximately 5 gigabytes per second.

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But probably the most surprising thing is the new connector. Instead of the Mini DisplayPort port, Intel decided to adopt the USB Type-C (or USB-C) standard, which was created especially for USB 3.1.

USB-C has two great advantages: it is compact, it can even be implemented in smartphones, and it is reversible, that is, a cable of this type can be connected up or down.

For users and manufacturers, combining the Thunderbolt 3 with the USB connection standard brings convenience. You can have a computer with three USB-C ports, for example, since one of them is USB and Thunderbolt at the same time, which saves space and reduces production costs.

Thunderbolt-compatible USB-C ports and cables are easy to identify - they have the lightning bolt symbol, which is a registered trademark of the technology. Please note, however, that the Thunderbolt 3 requires specific cables.

The technology is ready to work with two types of cables. The cheapest, passive type, limits transmissions to 20 Gb / s. The most expensive, active type (it has a chip that increases performance), can work with 40 Gb / s.

Thunderbolt 3 attributes don't end there. The version is also capable of providing up to 100 watts for electrical power. This means that more energy consuming devices such as a video monitor or external hard drive may not need an external source. The Thunderbolt connection takes care of the data and the power supply.

In addition, it includes support for standards such as HDMI 2.0 and 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10G Ethernet). Mini DisplayPort connectors are still supported, but with the use of adapters.

The number of devices that can be daisy-chained, however, was reduced from seven to six.

Recommended Models

There is a variety of cables and accessories, but we are going to recommend the ones that we think are most interesting. Surely it will help you on your computer.

Original Apple Cable

Thunderbolt / Displayport to HDMI adapter

1TB Thunderbolt Hard Drive

LaCie D2 3TB Hard Drive

conclusion

When the Thunderbolt was introduced, a question appeared: Being so fast in data transmission, would this technology take the place of USB in the market? As you can see, that did not happen.

USB has also evolved, faster and faster. In version 3.1, USB can reach up to 10 Gb / s, more than enough for most current applications. Also, the pattern has the cheapest implementation and is very popular.

Thus, the Thunderbolt ends up occupying a complementary space, serving users who find limitations in the USB or other transmission standards. As exemplified in the text, it is the case of someone who works with very large volumes of data or is a matter of high quality video transmissions.

We also recommend reading:

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As always, we recommend reading our tutorials and if you have any questions, you can contact us and we will respond.