Intel To Make Thunderbolt 3 Royalty-free, Release Specifications

Intel Thunderbolt 3 is a single port connect that supports multiple standards (Thunderbolt, USB 3.1, DisplayPort, PCIe), leverages USB-C connector, and offers up to 40 Gbps throughput. So far, it’s mostly found in higher end computers and laptops, but Intel has now announced plans to make it royalty-free, and “release the  specifications to the industry” (so maybe not completely free/public) in order to increase adoption of the standard.

Thunderbolt-3 main features:

  • Thunderbolt, USB, DisplayPort, and power on USB-C
  • USB-C connector and cables (small, reversible)
  • 40 Gbps Thunderbolt 3 – double the speed of Thunderbolt 2
    • Bi-directional, dual-protocol (PCI Express and DisplayPort)
    • 4 lanes of PCI Express Gen 3
    • 8 lanes of DisplayPort 1.2 (HBR2 and MST)
      • Supports two 4K displays (4096 x 2160 30bpp @ 60 Hz)
  • USB 3.1 (10 Gbps) – compatible with existing USB devices and cables
  • DisplayPort 1.2 – compatible with existing DisplayPort displays, devices, and cables
    • Connect DVI, HDMI, and VGA displays via adapters
  • Power (based on USB power delivery)
    • Up to 100W system charging
    • 15W to bus-powered devices
  • Thunderbolt Networking
    • 10Gb Ethernet connection between computers
    • Daisy chaining (up to six devices)
    • Lowest latency for PCI Express audio recording

That means eventually we may get devices with a single Thunderbolt/USB-C like smartphones to connect all peripherals including 4K displays,  NVMe SSDs, Ethernet, external GPU, etc.., and power/charge the device though a Thunderbolt 3 dock, which can be purchased for $200 and up. One example is StarTech.com Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station with 4K display, Ethernet, Audio and USB ports going for $199.99 on Amazon US.

Intel also announced plans to integrate Thunderbolt 3 into future Intel CPUs.

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10 Comments
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dx
dx
7 years ago

Hopefully this would end the type c chaos.

CampGareth
CampGareth
7 years ago

This’ll have other benefits, for instance TB3’s 40gbit is hard to reach at the moment due to the PCI-E lanes not being directly fed off the CPU, rather through some intermediary circuitry. Put TB3 on the CPU and with a bit of luck you’ll be able to get full speed and hotplug ability.

TLS
TLS
7 years ago

@dx

Unlikely, as Thunderbolt cables are more complex, can’t be as long and cost a lot more. It’s not a 1-1 replacement for USB-C.

dx
dx
7 years ago

At least vendors have a way of describe what one version of type C to a customer.

I bought a laptop this year with a type C and there’s not indication what it does. 4 months the manufacturer added to their FAQ that it’s USB 3 SS gen1 with 3A@5V power output.

Now vendors have a title to market type C as, in stead of plain “type C”.

tkaiser
tkaiser
7 years ago

dx :
Hopefully this would end the type c chaos.

This would require that consumers (and reviewers) start to understand/mention that USB-C is not even related to USB3. And this will never happen.

We can only hope that USB-C will be widely adopted and crappy USB-C implementations (used as 5V power input only for example) disappear so the connector itself will not be mentioned any more. Then it will get easy since people start to talk about either USB3 or TB3 and/or the alternate modes (DisplayPort and so on).

tkaiser
tkaiser
7 years ago

@Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) These profiles exist and also logos exist to clearly mark what’s possible: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB-C#Alternate_Mode_partner_specifications And then other logos exist that specify the speed (SuperSpeed vs. SuperSpeed Plus) and whether cable and jack are compliant to latest power delivery specs or not (the USB logo then turns into a battery symbol). See picture at the bottom of https://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Viele-neue-Logos-fuer-universelle-USB-Buchsen-2792355.html Of course there are multiple problems with these logos (starts with the symbols: ‘SS’ for SuperSpeed for example, adding an insanely small ’10’ somewhere when it’s about ‘SuperSpeed Plus’ instead) and market/consumers are used to incorrectly used USB version numbers anyway.… Read more »

zoobab
7 years ago

200usd for a converter?

tkaiser
tkaiser
7 years ago

@zoobab
LOL, calling such a Dock a ‘converter’ is a nice joke (you obviously didn’t look into how signals from one TB3 cable could be converted to/from the various other connectors? 😉 )

BTW: Startech’s Dock is missing charging capabilities for a connected MacBook (Pro) so the Belkin TB3 Dock is most probably a better choice here.

tkaiser
tkaiser
7 years ago

@Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) BTW: I believe you’re wrong claiming ‘Intel … wants to make [Thunderbolt] royalty-free’ since this would mean they charge current TB adopters today which AFAIK is not true. Intel’s announcement talks about making ‘the Thunderbolt protocol specification available to the industry under a nonexclusive, royalty-free license’. Today such license is not available and you’re tied to Intel for both host and device support (you need any of these TB controller chips on each side of a TB cable + the ‘cable conditioners’ inside the cable plugs), tomorrow we might see TB3 not only in new Intel CPUs… Read more »

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