Intel has unveiled its latest Thunderbolt 5 standard which delivers next-gen connectivity including 120 Gbps bandwidth, 240W charging, 8K 540Hz & more.
Intel Thunderbolt 5 Standard Delivers Next-Gen Connectivity Support, 240W Rapid Charging, and much more
Thunderbolt technology, formerly developed by Intel & Apple took the capabilities of data transfer to a whole new level, but this isn't the end here since Team Blue has finally unveiled next-gen "Thunderbolt 5" technology, which brings massive upgrades onboard.
- Two times the total bi-directional bandwidth; Bandwidth Boost provides up to three times the throughput for video-intensive usage, up to 120 Gbps.
- Double the PCI Express data throughput for faster storage and external graphics.
- Built on industry standards including USB4 V2, DisplayPort 2.1 and PCI Express Gen 4; fully compatible with previous versions.
- Double the bandwidth of Thunderbolt Networking for high-speed PC-to-PC connections.
- Utilizes a new signaling technology, PAM-3, to deliver these significant increases in performance with today’s printed circuit boards, connectors and passive cables up to 1 meter.
The Thunderbolt 4 standard originally featured high-end compatibility, especially when it comes to bridging the performance gap that existed upon the connection of external displays. Thunderbolt 5 has been discussed by Intel for a while now, and apparently, the company undermined the technology's capabilities given that the data released by Intel shows a completely different picture which we will discuss later on.
Going into the crux, Thunderbolt 5 will come with a bumped-up bandwidth capacity, reaching an astonishing 120Gbps. This is a great milestone for both Intel and the industry, mainly due to how the "Thunderbolt" technology has framed in a way that it can deliver huge power, through merely "cables".
The upgraded bandwidth brings in several advantages, with the primary one being that consumers will now have an "expanded" capacity for external displays. There is a catch here though, since the 120Gbps mark is also achievable when all three lanes are allocated for data transmission, which occurs in cases when you have connected an external display with extremely high resolution.
Gamers should also rejoice with the new technology, as Intel reveals that Thunderbolt 5 will support up to three 4K displays @144Hz, along with the ability to even support a 540Hz display, which will indeed expand the domain of portable gaming. Moreover, Thunderbolt 5 will feature compatibility with next-gen DisplayPort 2.1, USB v4, USB 3 20G, and PCIe Gen4, allowing faster data transmission rates without even thinking of any tradeoff.
Thunderbolt 5 will also come with faster charging, reaching up to 240W which is ideal for current-gen laptops and battery-powered machines. With several benefits, one could say that Thunderbolt 5 is the way to go however, such standards do take a long time to get adopted into mainstream products mainly due to the high costs of production since the technology is "naive" at its beginning. One could see Thunderbolt 5 being included in devices by 2024, with its widespread adoption taking place in the following years.
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