New heights in connectivity technology: Thunderbolt 5 surpasses Thunderbolt 4

In today's era of rapid technological innovation, people's demand for faster and more efficient data transmission remains unchanged. Therefore, Thunderbolt technology has emerged as an industry disruptor, pushing high-speed connectivity to unprecedented levels. This article will delve into the differences between Thunderbolt 4 and Thunderbolt 5, and provide a comprehensive comparison to help you understand their respective advancements and impacts.

What is Thunderbolt 4?

Since its release by Intel in 2020, Thunderbolt 4 has been widely used in high-end laptops and docking stations due to its powerful versatility. Each port provides 40 Gbps bandwidth, can output to two 4K@60Hz displays or one 8K display at the same time, and provides at least 32 Gbps of PCIe throughput. This is essential for users who rely on external SSDs, high-resolution displays, or external GPUs.

It can easily connect a 2-meter cable without speed loss, daisy chain up to six devices, and always maintain stable performance. In addition, it also enhances security with DMA protection (Intel VT-d), which helps prevent malicious devices from accessing your system memory.

In terms of power, it supports up to 100W of laptop charging power and provides at least 15W of power for accessories such as portable hard drives or capture cards.

What is Thunderbolt 5?

Thunderbolt 5 is the latest iteration of Intel's Thunderbolt technology, designed to further push the limits of connectivity. It has an amazing data transfer rate of up to 80 Gbps. With bandwidth improvements, the rate can soar to 120 Gbps, which is perfect for working with large data sets and high-resolution video editing.

The standard also supports multiple high-resolution displays. For example, connect three 4K monitors at 144Hz or two 8K monitors at 60Hz. This capability will bring significant improvements to content creators, gamers, and professionals who demand the best image quality and performance.

Thunderbolt 5 has excellent power delivery capabilities, providing up to 240W of charging power. This means you can power and charge a variety of devices (from laptops to high-powered peripherals) with just one cable. In addition, Thunderbolt 5 is backward compatible with Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4, and USB4 devices, ensuring that existing peripherals can still be used.

Thunderbolt 5 vs. Thunderbolt 4: Key Differences

1. Maximum Bandwidth

Thunderbolt 4: Provides a maximum data transfer rate of 40 Gbps, suitable for most peripherals and displays at the time.

Thunderbolt 5: Significantly enhances bandwidth capabilities, providing up to 80 Gbps in standard mode. With bandwidth enhancements, bandwidth can reach up to 120 Gbps, enabling faster data transfer and supporting more demanding applications.

2. Video Support

Thunderbolt 4: Supports up to one 8K display at 60Hz or two 4K displays at 60Hz for standard display setups.

Thunderbolt 5: Expands video capabilities to support two 8K displays or up to three 4K displays with a refresh rate of 144Hz. It also supports refresh rates of up to 540Hz for a single display, bringing advantages to high refresh rate displays for gaming and professional applications.

3. PCIe throughput

Thunderbolt 4: Provides 32 Gbps of PCIe 3.0 throughput, sufficient for connecting SSDs and other peripherals.

Thunderbolt 5: Doubles PCIe throughput to 64 Gbps with PCIe 4.0 support, enhancing the performance of storage devices and external GPUs for more demanding workloads.

4. Power delivery

Thunderbolt 4: Provides up to 100W of power delivery, with a mandatory 15W for accessory charging, suitable for powering laptops and other devices.

Thunderbolt 5: Improves power delivery, supporting up to 240W, with a mandatory 140W. This enhancement allows more power-hungry devices, including high-performance laptops and monitors, to be charged over a single cable.

Application advantages in different scenarios

Professional work scenarios: significantly improve productivity

For researchers working with massive data sets, creative workers engaged in high-resolution video editing, and engineers engaged in complex simulations, Thunderbolt 5's high bandwidth and high-speed data transmission capabilities can significantly reduce task processing time. At the same time, its support for complex docking solutions and multi-monitor configurations also makes collaborative work more efficient. In addition, Thunderbolt 5's backward compatibility allows companies to upgrade devices without replacing existing Thunderbolt 3 or 4 devices, thereby reducing upgrade costs.

In the field of gaming, immersion and competitiveness are equally important

Thunderbolt 4 laid the foundation for high-speed gaming experience, and Thunderbolt 5, with double bandwidth and PAM-3 modulation technology, further reduced latency, allowing competitive gamers to react faster and seize the initiative. At the same time, Thunderbolt 5 supports more sophisticated and higher-resolution multi-monitor configurations, bringing players an immersive gaming experience.