USB 3 TRANSFER RATE VS THUNDERBOLT PROFESSIONAL

Not only that, the Thunderbolt port is not as widely used today, being reserved for certain professional purposes, or the use of an EGPU. On the other hand, USB 3.0 can be found in any fairly modern equipment. However, Thunderbolt ports can only be found on Intel computers, which limits their use. They are closely followed by the USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 port, which offers up to 20Gbps and is only compatible with USB-C, but this USB 3.0 standard falls short of Thunderbolt speeds. With all that said, the fastest ports are Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4, both of which use the USB-C port and DisplayPort 1.4. The last two transfer modes are characterized by incorporating 2 lanes with 8b / 10b coding.

USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (with USB-C only): Up to 20 Gbps.

USB 3.2 Gen 1 × 2 (with USB-C only): Up to 10 Gbps.

USB 3.2 Gen 2 × 1 (compatible with USB-A, USB-B and USB-C): up to 10 Gbps.

USB 3.2 Gen 1 × 1 (compatible with USB-A and USB-B and USB-C): up to 5 Gbps.

This is the USB 3.0 generation that comes closest to Thunderbolt in terms of speeds, offering 20 Gbps through a USB-C port. ASRock is one of the companies that has bet the most to implement this standard on its motherboards, but the competition has not followed suit. Mainly, it is a connection that is summarized in these 2 transfer modes :ĭespite being launched in 2017, we see how many manufacturers resent using it. Say that the USB 3.1 standard is backward compatible with USB 3.0 and 2.0. In this case, USB 3.1 SuperSpeed corresponds to USB 3.1 Gen 1, while USB 3.1 SuperSpeed + refers to USB 3.1 Gen 2, which is the one with the highest speed (10 Gbps vs 5 Gbps of Gen 1). The speed was doubled to 10 Gbps and the support in USB-C port was added, surviving the USB Type-A.īoth USB 3.1 and USB 3.2 have their Gen 1 and Gen 2 versions. With Thunderbolt 2 and its 20 Gbps speed, the USB 3.1 standard emerged whose objective was to replace USB 3.0. The year 2013 was presented as a threat to this interface, at least in professional environments. Another novelty was the use of 2 unidirectional data paths, compared to USB 2.0, which used only one. With USB 3.0 came the name ” SuperSpeed ” or “SS”, which was a new type of transfer. Actually, the only notable thing that was improved was the inclusion of DisplayPort 1.4 support. As a result, laptop manufacturers decided to use this port to eliminate the dedicated battery charging connection.Īfter 3 years, Intel decided to improve the connection slightly, instead of releasing Thunderbolt 4. Say that Thunderbolt 3 was compatible with the two previous versions using adapters, but one of its novelties was in the possibility of feeding the laptop with up to 100W. Its new controller supported PCIe 3.0, including DisplayPort 1.2. Do not be scared by the 5K, this resolution was seen in the iMacs of 2015. In addition, it reduced power consumption and allowed to connect 2 4K screens at 60 Hz, a 4K screen at 120 Hz or a 5K screen (5120 x 2880) at 60 Hz. The main improvement was characterized by its bandwidth of 40 Gbps, which multiplied by 2 the transfer speed of the second version. Regarding the MacBook Pro, they would not incorporate it until 2016. Intel’s Skylake architecture would be the first to support this connection, so Thunderbolt 3 appears between 20. We go to the Thunderbolt 3 port, perhaps the most used of all and that shared a port with USB-C.

Usb 3 transfer rate vs thunderbolt