Michal Ždanský As expected, the new MacBooks received the new high-speed Thunderbolt (LightPeak) port, and other Apple computers will follow suit. In this article, I would like to take a detailed look at the vaunted Thunderbolt, both from a technical and a theoretical point of view.
Thunderbolt under the magnifying glass
Although LightPeak talked mainly about optical fiber transmission, Thunderbolt, which appeared in the MacBook Pro, is metallic, i.e. the transmission is based on electrons, not photons. This means that we can only dream about a theoretical speed of 100 Gb/s for now, as well as about 100 m cables. On the other hand, thanks to electrons, Thunderbolt can also charge passive devices up to 10 W, and the price will be much lower due to the absence of optics. I reckon that the future optical version will also contain a metallic part just for charging.
Thunderbolt uses the PCI Express 2.0 interface through which it communicates. It has a throughput of up to 16 Gb/s. PCI Express is now mainly used by graphics cards. Thus, Thunderbolt becomes a kind of external PCI Express, and in the future we could also expect external graphics cards connected via Intel's new interface.
Thunderbolt, at least as presented by Apple, is combined with mini DisplayPort in revision 1.1 and allows backward compatibility with it. So if you connect, for example, an Apple Cinema Display via Thunderbolt, it will work normally, even if the Apple monitor does not yet have Thunderbolt.
What is very interesting is that the new interface is two-channel and bidirectional. The data flows can thus run in parallel, resulting in a total data transfer of up to 40 Gb/s, but with the fact that the maximum speed of one channel in one direction is still 10 Gb/s. So what is it good for? For example, you can exchange data between two devices at the same time at the highest possible speed while sending the image to an external monitor.
In addition, Thunderbolt is capable of so-called "daisy chaining", which is a method of chaining devices. In this way, you can serially connect up to 6 devices with a Thunderbolt port that will function as input/output devices and up to 2 monitors with DisplayPort at the end of the chain (with two monitors it will be 5 devices), which do not need to have Thunderbolt. In addition, Thunderbolt has a minimal delay (8 nanoseconds) and a very precise transfer synchronization, which is important not only for daisy chaining.
USB 3.0 killer?
Thunderbolt most threatens USB 3.0, which is still slowly developing. The new USB offers a transfer speed of up to 5 Gb/s, i.e. half the capacity of Thunderbolt. But what USB does not offer are things like multi-channel communication, daisy chaining, and I don't even expect use for A/V composite output. USB 3.0 is thus rather the faster sibling of the previous dual version.
USB 3.0 can be additionally connected to the motherboard via PCI-e, unfortunately Thunderbolt does not allow this. It needs to be implemented directly on the motherboard, so if you were considering adding Thunderbolt to your PC, I have to disappoint you. However, we can expect Intel and eventually other motherboard manufacturers to start implementing it in new products.
Undoubtedly, Thunderbolt is a direct competitor of the new USB, and there will be a fierce battle between them. USB already fought a similar battle with the then-new FireWire interface. Until today, FireWire has become a minority issue, while USB is almost everywhere. Although Firewire offered a higher transmission speed, it was hampered by paid licensing, while the USB license was free (except for the special high-speed USB version). However, Thunderbolt has learned from this mistake and requires no license fees from third-party manufacturers.
So if Thunderbolt wins its place in the sun, the question will be whether USB 3.0 will be needed at all. Compatibility with USB will still be possible with Thunderbolt through the reduction, and the current USB 2.0 will suffice for normal data transfers of flash drives. So the new USB is going to have a hard time, and within a few years Thunderbolt may be ousting it entirely. In addition, 2 very strong players stand behind Thunderbolt - Intel and Apple.
What will it be good for?
If we can talk about the present time, then Thunderbolt is not used in practice, mainly due to the absence of devices with this interface. It is not surprising, Apple was the first to exclusively present Thunderbolt in its notebooks, moreover, exclusivity is guaranteed for many months, at least in terms of integration on motherboards.
However, other manufacturers are just starting to flirt with Thunderbolt. Western Digital, Promise a LaCie have already announced the production of data storage and other devices with the new Intel interface, and it can be expected that other strong players such as Seagate, Samsung, A-Data and more will soon be added, as few will want to miss out on the new wave that they can ride on in popularity. Apple has become a kind of symbol of certainty regarding the implementation of new technologies, and most of the technologies it has deployed have become almost mainstream in some time, led by the original USB.
We can expect that Apple will want to implement Thunderbolt in most of its products. A new revision of Time Capsule is almost 100% certain, as well as new iMacs and other Apple computers that will be introduced in the near future. Deployment can also be expected for iOS devices, where Thunderbolt would replace the existing dock connector. It cannot be said for sure that it will be this year, but I would put my hand in the fire for the fact that the iPad 3 and iPhone 6 will no longer avoid it.
If Thunderbolt really succeeds in breaking through among I/O devices, then we can expect a flood of products with this interface by the end of the year. Thunderbolt is so versatile that it can replace all legacy connectors as well as modern interfaces such as HDMI, DVI and DisplayPort without blinking an eye. In the end, there is no reason why it cannot replace a classic LAN. Everything just depends on the support of the manufacturers and their trust in the new interface and, last but not least, on the trust of the customers.
Ouch. Well, that's a joke :)
There is nothing else to say about that, not WOOOOW…!!! I am very much looking forward to the time when I will have a mini-pidi Mabook Air where it will be of great use on the road and when I get home and connect it to the new Cinema and it will have powerful graphics and a sound system implemented in it and I don't know what else and suddenly it will become a powerful machine for practically anything. That will be great, sir. Or a tablet and a cinema would also be great :-)
http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/04/usb-3-0-shocker-supersonic-magnum-thumb-drive-rocks-200mb-s-rea/