CONNECTIVITY
Hit by a Thunderbolt™
Nowadays we have dedicated Thunderbolt ports on laptops, and monitors coming equipped with Thunderbolt 4 technology, and Thunderbolt 5 was recently showcased at CES 2025. If you’re wondering why “Thunderbolt technology included” appears to be a must-have in any device purchase these days, here’s an introduction.
Number Crunching Thunderbolt 1 offered data transfer rates of up to 10 Gbps per channel, combining PCIe (PCI Express) and DisplayPort in a single connection. Thunderbolt 4 offers a 40 Gbps speed and introduces hardware requirements, such as support for dual 4K displays or a single 8K display, charging on at least one computer port, and compatibility with a broad range of accessories. What is it? A physical connection, or you can also use the words hardware interface, that connect various types of peripherals to a computer. Some use the word port, or socket, but hardware interface is the catchall term. In the same breath, you would need to say that interfaces are governed by protocols, so in the instance of Thunderbolt, there will also be governance in terms of how the data and power is exchanged between the peripherals and the computer, especially in terms of priorities and speeds.
workplace advanced too. Think size and number of monitors we see on office desks today. Additionally, we want our movies streamed, as opposed to putting a disc, or if you’re old enough a video tape, into a separate device. We want to attach chargers to our computers, and we now talk into our monitors to our colleagues as opposed to picking up a handset that was either battery operated or connected to a separate phone line. Thunderbolt supports a wide range of devices, including external hard drives, monitors, ethernet networks, and more. Beginning with Thunderbolt 3, the technology adopted the USB-C connector, which is reversible and compact. This not only enhances compatibility with USB-C devices but also supports additional features like USB 3.1, making it a versatile port for various connectivity needs. Thunderbolt has become a popular standard in many high-performance computing environments due to its speed, versatility, and ability to simplify cabling and connections. Any professional undertaking tasks that demand rapid data movement, such as editing
Why the need for speed? We’ve always had our classic peripherals – the mouse, the
high-resolution videos, transferring large files, or using high-speed external storage will be looking for the Thunderbolt™ sign.
keyboard, the monitor and so on, but our peripherals became advanced and with that our lifestyles in the home and
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