WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.720 It is a great time for USB-C. Not only is the iPhone finally getting it, 00:00:04.720 --> 00:00:11.120 but there's a fast new version of Thunderbolt, namely Thunderbolt 5, that uses the USB-C connector. 00:00:11.120 --> 00:00:14.400 It gives faster maximum data transfer than Thunderbolt 4, 00:00:14.400 --> 00:00:17.740 but it turns out Thunderbolt 4 isn't even the current top dog 00:00:17.740 --> 00:00:23.520 that Thunderbolt 5 is trying to beat. Instead, that title belongs to USB-4 V2. 00:00:23.520 --> 00:00:26.880 And confusingly, Thunderbolt might not look all that different 00:00:26.880 --> 00:00:30.480 in USB-4 V2, which it's based on at first glance. 00:00:30.480 --> 00:00:35.240 In fact, it has the same maximum data rate, 80 gigabits per second in each direction, 00:00:35.240 --> 00:00:39.440 or an asymmetric mode that gives you 120 gigabits one way 00:00:39.440 --> 00:00:44.380 and 40 the other. So what exactly is the point of Thunderbolt 5 then? 00:00:44.380 --> 00:00:49.600 Well, one is to provide a higher performance floor than what USB-4 V2 offers. 00:00:49.600 --> 00:00:55.800 Although both Thunderbolt 5 and USB-4 V2 can optionally handle 240 watts of charging, 00:00:55.840 --> 00:01:00.200 there's no guarantee your ports can actually deliver anything close to that. 00:01:00.200 --> 00:01:03.500 Your ports just ain't ready. Thunderbolt 5 though, 00:01:03.500 --> 00:01:07.440 requires at least one computer port that could charge a PC 00:01:07.440 --> 00:01:12.160 needing up to 140 watts of power and 15 watts of power for accessories, 00:01:12.160 --> 00:01:16.600 as opposed to the standard USB-4 minimum of just seven and a half watts. 00:01:16.600 --> 00:01:19.600 This means that Thunderbolt 5 can provide extra power 00:01:19.600 --> 00:01:22.820 to higher end laptops, especially compared to Thunderbolt 4, 00:01:22.820 --> 00:01:25.860 which only mandated a minimum of 100 watts. 00:01:25.860 --> 00:01:31.060 And the same is true in terms of data transfer rates. Thunderbolt 5 has to provide a max data rate 00:01:31.060 --> 00:01:36.940 of at least 80 gigabits per second one way up from the 20 gig minimum of USB-4. 00:01:36.940 --> 00:01:41.540 But what does this mean in more practical terms? For example, if you're connecting monitors, 00:01:41.540 --> 00:01:45.340 storage, or an external GPU. Now, if we're talking transferring data 00:01:45.340 --> 00:01:49.100 over the PCI Express 4.0 bus that Thunderbolt 5 supports, 00:01:49.100 --> 00:01:55.820 you'll have 64 gigabits per second of speed, which is roughly equivalent to four PCI Express 4.0 lanes. 00:01:55.820 --> 00:01:59.540 Although external GPU enclosures haven't been in vogue for a while, 00:01:59.540 --> 00:02:03.220 Intel is touting Thunderbolt 5 as a way to get better performance 00:02:03.220 --> 00:02:08.740 if you are using an eGPU, as it doubles Thunderbolt 4's PCI Express bandwidth. 00:02:08.740 --> 00:02:13.620 While the performance still won't be the same as plugging a card into a full length internal slot, 00:02:13.620 --> 00:02:17.140 it should still be a noticeable improvement over existing solutions. 00:02:17.140 --> 00:02:21.500 And although the equivalent of four lanes is a bit of a bottleneck for a GPU, 00:02:21.500 --> 00:02:24.820 it should offer great performance for external SSDs, 00:02:24.820 --> 00:02:28.340 useful for video editors who need to work with large amounts of footage. 00:02:28.340 --> 00:02:32.780 So what about those 80 and 120 gigabit numbers we previously discussed? 00:02:32.780 --> 00:02:36.980 In addition to matching general USB 4V2 data transfer speeds, 00:02:36.980 --> 00:02:40.260 these higher data rates are useful for monitors. 00:02:40.260 --> 00:02:45.700 The upgraded speeds over Thunderbolt 4 enable a pair of daisy-changed 6K monitors. 00:02:45.700 --> 00:02:51.780 And that might sound like a fairly weird resolution, but it's relatively common in professional-grade displays. 00:02:51.780 --> 00:02:58.620 For a more standard or gaming-type setup, you can drive three 4K displays at 144 hertz as well. 00:02:58.620 --> 00:03:02.220 Thunderbolt 5 will switch into 120 gigabit mode automatically 00:03:02.220 --> 00:03:06.580 when a display needs the extra bandwidth, but Intel is still sorting out exactly 00:03:06.580 --> 00:03:10.460 what display modes will trigger that switch at the time we wrote this video. 00:03:10.460 --> 00:03:15.740 To achieve these higher data rates, Thunderbolt 5 uses what's called PAM3 signaling. 00:03:15.740 --> 00:03:18.940 We went over PAM3 in more detail in this video, 00:03:18.940 --> 00:03:23.820 but basically by sending signals at three different voltage levels instead of two, 00:03:23.820 --> 00:03:29.860 Thunderbolt 5 can effectively transmit one and a half bits per cycle instead of just one. 00:03:29.860 --> 00:03:34.220 Pretty cool. But when should we expect products supporting Thunderbolt 5 00:03:34.220 --> 00:03:38.220 to hit the shelves? And is it a must-have piece of tech? 00:03:38.220 --> 00:03:44.620 Well, the first devices should be coming out in 2024, but Thunderbolt 5 will likely remain the province of enthusiasts 00:03:44.660 --> 00:03:49.780 who need the higher bandwidth, at least for now, especially since you don't have to have Thunderbolt 5 00:03:49.780 --> 00:03:53.020 to take advantage of the latest version of USB power delivery 00:03:53.020 --> 00:03:57.980 if you're just trying to do something like charge your laptop. Sadly, we don't yet live in a world 00:03:57.980 --> 00:04:01.140 where we're all using 8K displays on the regular. 00:04:01.140 --> 00:04:05.580 But one day, hooey, that was a whole video just now. 00:04:05.580 --> 00:04:08.620 Thanks for watching. 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