Question What is thunderbolt for?

[msharov]

In all the motherboard reviews on this site I'm seeing "+40 Gbps Thunderbolt ports" always listed as a major "pro", but I have not seen a single peripheral that plugs into one of those. Can anybody give an example of why I would want them?

 

[USAFRet]

In all the motherboard reviews on this site I'm seeing "+40 Gbps Thunderbolt ports" always listed as a major "pro", but I have not seen a single peripheral that plugs into one of those. Can anybody give an example of why I would want them?

https://www.intel.com/content/www/u...vices-make-the-most-out-of-thunderbolt-4.html

https://www.amazon.com/thunderbolt-3-accessories/s?k=thunderbolt+3+accessories

https://www.xda-developers.com/best-thunderbolt-accessories/

Basically, an alternative to the standard USB port.

 

[punkncat]

Thunderbolt is, put simply, a high speed connection format that allows for much faster data transfer as well as an ability to daisy chain multiple devices along the same mobo connection. So, for instance, you could have a monitor, drives, and other devices connected in line to the same header with full functionality and speed.

The reply above beat me a bit and probably explains it way better.

My own experience has been that the devices that work with it are a bit too expensive yet. I have more time to wait than I have money to spend just to save a few seconds.

 

[msharov]

Yes, I know it's a type of USB port, but what devices need it? All the links for accessories you listed are for thunderbolt cables and docks that have a thunderbolt port on them. But where are actual thunderbolt-supporting devices? An SSD enclosure, for example? Or a flash drive? Or what?

 

[punkncat]

For instance, this is just a very general search on Newegg for "Thunderbolt". As you can see, there are loads of things that can use it. The real question comes down to, is the increased throughput worth the price for your use case?
It can also be handy for connecting more monitors as mentioned above.

https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?d=thunderbolt

 

[USAFRet]

Yes, I know it's a type of USB port, but what devices need it? All the links for accessories you listed are for thunderbolt cables and docks that have a thunderbolt port on them. But where are actual thunderbolt-supporting devices? An SSD enclosure, for example? Or a flash drive? Or what?

Monitors
External drives and enclosures
Keyboard
Mouse
Headset

The Intel link shows a lot of actual devices and use cases.

 

[Rokinamerica]

Apple uses it extensively. External drives are certainly a major reason for them. Video and photography are common uses.