Intel thunderbolt 3 Pc#

Thunderbolt 4 arrives in 2020, but USB will remain the king of PC ports.When Thunderbolt arrived as a usable product in 2011, Intel switched to conventional copper wires carrying electrical signals. Thunderbolt's precursor, code-named Light Peak, debuted in a 2009 demonstration and used fiber-optic cables to transmit data as light. The Thunderbolt dock lets him switch his array of gear from one of the two computers he uses by simply moving a single cable. 'Thunderbolt speed and capabilities are amazing,' said Jeff Griffiths, a programmer and electronic musician who uses a CalDigit Thunderbolt dock to connect high-end audio hardware and other peripherals. And Thunderbolt's utility is more important than ever as laptop makers deliver slimmer computers with fewer ports. Serious users, however, need top performance and reliability, which USB simply can't handle.

Intel thunderbolt 3 pro#

For example, a 1TB OWC Envoy Pro Elektron, a USB-C SSD, costs $199 compared to $319 for the Thunderbolt-based Envoy Pro FX, which transfers data at nearly triple the speed. The new Thunderbolt 4 lets multiport docks and hubs offer three Thunderbolt ports instead of just one.ДЇor most of us, USB devices fit the bill just as well at a lower price. They can replace ports for HDMI, DisplayPort, Ethernet and power. Thunderbolt ports provide fast and versatile connections to external storage devices, monitors, network adapters and other peripherals. But they're a crucial part of most people's computing experience. PC ports don't capture the imagination the way fast processors or smartphone cameras do. Ziller has led Thunderbolt work since before it debuted in Apple's 2011 MacBook Pro laptops almost exactly 10 years ago. 'I would expect by 2022 Thunderbolt will be in more than 50% of the PCs sold,' said Jason Ziller, who runs Intel's connectivity products, adding that more than half of laptops that ship in the next year will 'definitely' carry the technology. Because Intel chips are so widely used, the company says Thunderbolt will now have its moment to shine. To get a boost in adoption, Intel has built Thunderbolt into its newest Core processors, code-named Tiger Lake, which means laptop makers get Thunderbolt without having to pay extra for separate controller chips. Despite the hype, only premium PCs carry the fast connection. A year later, the chipmaker forecast that 'most PCs' would have Thunderbolt by 2015 to 2017. Intel has hoped Thunderbolt, which debuted in 2011 on Apple's 2011 MacBook Pro, would become commonplace for computer users. But that may change in the coming year, as more computer makers incorporate the USB competitor into their new models. Thunderbolt, Intel's super-speedy connection technology, isn't widely used.

It's also got ports for USB-A, Ethernet, 3.5mm audio cables and an SD card. Thunderbolt 3 devices only could have one extra port. OWC's $250 Thunderbolt 4 dock has three usable Thunderbolt ports on the front.