Intel makes 'Thunderbolt 2' official with 20Gbps speeds, late 2013 launch
Intel on Tuesday finally put a name to its next-generation Thunderbolt protocol as "Thunderbolt 2," with the newly dubbed standard doubling the throughput of its predecessor while remaining backward compatible.
Previously referred to by its codename "Falcon Ridge," Thunderbolt 2 will boast a bandwidth of 20Gbps, which Intel said is good enough for the simultaneous transfer and display of 4K "Ultra HD" video.
To double the speed, Intel is using a new controller chip that combines the first generation Thunderbolt's 10Gpbs uni-directional channels into a single 20Gbps bi-directional channel. In addition, Thunderbolt 2 will carry support for DisplayPort 1.2, enabling video streaming to one 4K monitor, or dual QHD displays.
Because the next-generation protocol is, in essence, a modified controller chip, Thunderbolt 2 requires no new cables or accessory hardware, meaning it will be completely backward compatible with existing Thunderbolt products.
While Thunderbolt has yet to see wide adoption outside of Apple's Mac lineup, Intel claims 30 PCs and motherboards now use the I/O tech. That's in addition to the 80 peripherals and accessories that made their way to market since Thunderbolt first debuted with Apple's late-2011 Mac lineup.
Despite being marketed as a cutting-edge interconnect technology targeting professionals in the video field, Apple still does not offer Thunderbolt in its Mac Pro tower.
In a report last week, Intel told AppleInsider that it plans to extend the standard's reach beyond the few product that currently use the tech, and has up to now focused on quality over quantity.
The chip maker has yet to nail down a specific date on Thunderbolt 2's release, but said it should be in production by the end of 2013, with a ramp into 2014.
Previously referred to by its codename "Falcon Ridge," Thunderbolt 2 will boast a bandwidth of 20Gbps, which Intel said is good enough for the simultaneous transfer and display of 4K "Ultra HD" video.
To double the speed, Intel is using a new controller chip that combines the first generation Thunderbolt's 10Gpbs uni-directional channels into a single 20Gbps bi-directional channel. In addition, Thunderbolt 2 will carry support for DisplayPort 1.2, enabling video streaming to one 4K monitor, or dual QHD displays.
Because the next-generation protocol is, in essence, a modified controller chip, Thunderbolt 2 requires no new cables or accessory hardware, meaning it will be completely backward compatible with existing Thunderbolt products.
While Thunderbolt has yet to see wide adoption outside of Apple's Mac lineup, Intel claims 30 PCs and motherboards now use the I/O tech. That's in addition to the 80 peripherals and accessories that made their way to market since Thunderbolt first debuted with Apple's late-2011 Mac lineup.
Despite being marketed as a cutting-edge interconnect technology targeting professionals in the video field, Apple still does not offer Thunderbolt in its Mac Pro tower.
In a report last week, Intel told AppleInsider that it plans to extend the standard's reach beyond the few product that currently use the tech, and has up to now focused on quality over quantity.
The chip maker has yet to nail down a specific date on Thunderbolt 2's release, but said it should be in production by the end of 2013, with a ramp into 2014.
Comments
But as for this TB2, wow. 20Gbit will have to be witnessed to be believed.
You think Apple was caught off guard by Thunderbolt 2? /s
Whine, whine, whine...
...USB 3.
i.E. the total possible throughput on todays Thunderbolt is the same?
Not that I'd mind, except for Firewire and Ethernet Adapters I don't have any Thunderbolt hardware at all.
Don't expect T2 in the new Mac Pro. I suspect it'll be released before T2 is out.
Lightning, while it'll have its teething period with its lack of backwards compatibility, is so great in terms of owning and using products with it. Plugging in connectors and chargers when you know you cannot do it "the wrong way" is so refreshing. Intel's USB successor should be the same in this regard. In fact, let's look 10 years down the road: what I would like to see is something like a USB and Thunderbolt successor that was one reversible connector to rule them all. Could you imagine having a laptop with a single elegant type of connector besides the headphones port? That'd be awesome!! It could replace HDMI, Thunderbolt, USB and SD Card. And all the devices that use those could switch to the new connector. I'm thinking something as thin as SD Card, and a touch shorter than USB, reversible, with throughput capable of 50Gbps. That's the future I want to live in.
It is a pity the industry could not agree on the anyway up Lightening connector for Thunderbolt and use it to usurp the ageing and not very imaginative USB connectors.
TB1 > USB3
TB2 > Beer
Backwards compatible...for all of those thousands of thunderbolt devices that are out there.
/sarcasm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Feynman
Now we know when the new MacPro will be out...
Apple had early access to TB1, could it happen again? A Retina Cinema Display would presumably need this interface.
sirdir
Isn't 2x10 in fact the same as 20?
i.E. the total possible throughput on todays Thunderbolt is the same?
Based on the image, I'd say it offers more flexibility for how much data is going in one direction at any given moment.
Oflife
The mini DisplayPort / Thunderbolt connector is not really that good. I have a 2011 MBA 13" connected to a superb Dell monitor via DisplayPort, but the plug that goes into the MBA is not as well thought out as say Lightening, and likewise, the large connector that plugs into the monitor (looks like an HDMI with only one chamfered corner) is very very difficult to unplug.
It is a pity the industry could not agree on the anyway up Lightening connector for Thunderbolt and use it to usurp the ageing and not very imaginative USB connectors.
A few towers at my workplace have the big clunky DisplayPorts, even though all our monitors are VGA/DVI. Apple never used the large DP, for obvious reasons. Mini DisplayPort fixes those issues, and it baffles me that PC makers are still using the inferior variant. But then, most PC makers operate on such thin margins, they are very resistant to change.
scotty321
Because Thunderbolt 1 was such a hit! (Rolls eyes)
macxpress
Backwards compatible...for all of those thousands of thunderbolt devices that are out there.
/sarcasm
Yes, this advanced connector has failed because it's not on all the bargain-basement PCs and netbooks within the first two years of commercial availability.
We had this conversation about USB in 1999. Look at the big picture.
But Soli told us it was going to have 40Gbps throughput. I'm crushed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ascii
TB1 > USB3
TB2 > Beer
Steady on there!