The Thunderbolt interface is also called the Thunderbolt interface; the English name is Thunderbolt; it is mainly developed by Intel; it has gone through 3 iterations since its official release; Thunderbolt 1 and Thunderbolt 2 are MINI-DP interfaces; Thunderbolt 3 is replaced by the more advantageous Type -C interface; this interface integrates PCIExpress, DisplayPort and other technologies; the transmission speed of Thunderbolt 1 is 10Gbps, the transmission speed of Thunderbolt 2 is 20Gbps, and the transmission speed of Thunderbolt 3 is 40Gbps. It is widely used in notebook computers; for the connection of peripheral devices; such as external monitors, external graphics cards, external docking stations, external hard disk cabinets, etc.
Intel released the Thunderbolt 4 interface standard; compared with the previous generation Thunderbolt 3 technology, the improvement is not very obvious. The bandwidth is still 40Gbps; mostly compatibility upgrades.
1. Display support
Although the previous Thunderbolt 3 interface also supports 4K video output; but it can only support one 4K display at most; it is very unfriendly to machine friends who use two 4K displays for multi-screen; now Thunderbolt 4 has enhanced the video transmission rate; think To pass the Thunderbolt 4 certification; the interface can be connected to at least two 4K monitors; or an 8K monitor can be connected to the interface. This is a very useful upgrade for graphic designers who use notebooks to work.
2. PCIe data transmission speed
Want to pass Thunderbolt 3 interface certification; PCIe data transmission speed is at least 16Gbps; that is, at least 2 speeds; this is a headache for some players with external graphics cards; because the interface is not full of Thunderbolt 3; then the performance of the external graphics card will be Great discount; so Thunderbolt 4 has upgraded the certification starting point of PCIe data transmission speed to 32Gbps this time; equivalent to the speed of PCIe3.0x4; it can basically meet the external needs of some high-end graphics cards.
3. Security
The Thunderbolt 3 interface has general security; it cannot prevent physical DMA attacks; Intel has added Intel VT-d-based direct memory access (DMA) protection to the Thunderbolt 4 interface certification; thus avoiding physical DMA attacks; to a certain extent, It compromises the security of the Thunderbolt interface; of course, it is of no use to us ordinary users.
4. Wake up from sleep
If an external docking station is connected through the Thunderbolt 4 interface; and a keyboard and mouse are connected to the docking station; then the Thunderbolt 4 interface can allow the computer to be woken up from the sleep state through the keyboard and mouse. It is the same as when we usually use the computer; tapping the keyboard or clicking the mouse to light up the extinguished screen; the Thunderbolt 4 interface will also support this function.
The Thunderbolt 4 interface will also support docking stations with up to 4 Thunderbolt 4 interfaces; and the PC can be charged on at least one computer port; and can reach a nominal 40Gbps speed on a 2-meter long universal cable.
