At the same time, because this is based on Type-C, Thunderbolt 3 will also use existing standard Type-C cables to introduce active support. When using Type-C cables, Thunderbolt speeds drop to 20Gbps full-duplex - the same bandwidth as regular Type-C - sacrificing some bandwidth for cost. For comparison, the cost of Type-C cable is only a few US dollars, while the cost of traditional lightning cables is more than 30 US dollars; this means that in order to make the lightning interface more widely used, the cost must first be reduced, not to mention There was also a need to make the cables more stable and easy to replace.
Driving these cables is Intel's new Alpine Ridge controller designed for Thunderbolt 3. It is the latest generation product of the Ridge series . This controller can handle the high speed of 40Gbps of Thunderbolt 3. Alpine Ridge also integrates a USB3.1 (SuperSpeed+) host controller, which serves dual purposes. When the controller is used as a USB Type-C host controller, Alpine Ridge can directly drive USB3.1 devices (just like the current DisplayPort and Thunderbolt work together). And when used as a device controller (such as When connected to a monitor with a Thunderbolt port), you can allow the device to use the USB 3.1 port on the other end.
The addition of a USB host controller increases the number of protocols carried by Thunderbolt 3. In addition to PCI-E and DisplayPort, USB3.1 has also become a built-in function of the controller. The only significant difference here is that while DisplayPort video and PCI-E data connectivity are encapsulated in Thunderbolt's data stream, USB 3.1 is deployed on top of Thunderbolt's existing PCI-E connections, rather than being encapsulated separately in Thunderbolt. in the data flow.
Speaking of packaging, Thunderbolt 3 also includes a DisplayPort update, although not everyone is looking forward to this. With the increase in bandwidth, the video data rate of Thunderbolt 3 has also doubled. However, Intel did not use the latest DisplayPort 1.3 in Thunderbolt 3. The speed of DisplayPort 1.3 has also been doubled based on 1.2, changing the equivalent channel of DisplayPort from 4 to 8. Essentially, a Thunderbolt 3 cable carries two DisplayPort 1.2 connections. The end result is that Thunderbolt 3 will be able to drive DisplayPort 1.3 display devices - such as 8K displays and 5K single-chip displays; of course, Thunderbolt 3 can also easily drive everything DisplayPort 1.2 can drive, including 4K 60Hz displays or 5K multi-chip displays display.
Additionally, gamers will be happy to hear that Intel will finally support discrete graphics cards using Thunderbolt; after some false starts, the company is finally giving its blessing and support to external graphics cards. Although Thunderbolt can always theoretically support external graphics cards (essentially the PCIe bus), the biggest highlight should be support for GPU hot-plugging and so-called "accidental disconnection" situations. Intel says they have since resolved the issue. Intel initially partnered with AMD on this effort - though NVIDIA has long been involved, including an external Thunderbolt card case or a smaller "graphics dock" that contains a smaller, cooler but A mobile discrete graphics card with stronger performance than iGPU.
Another concept Intel has been wavering on could also be implemented using Thunderbolt 3: Thunderbolt Network. By simulating a 10 Gigabit Ethernet connection, two computers can be connected via a Thunderbolt cable, or in high-end workstations and servers, a 10 Gigabit Ethernet connection is virtually invisible to the outside, which is a more practical solution than Gigabit Ethernet. s solution. Thunderbolt Network has been available on OS X since 2013, and Intel moved the technology to PCs in 2014. However, since Thunderbolt Network was launched as a feature of Thunderbolt 2, the number of PCs with the necessary drivers has been limited. But there have always been very few. The Thunderbolt Network will also be a standard feature of Thunderbolt 3, so more systems will support it.
In addition, because Thunderbolt 3 is based on USB Type-C, Intel has also inherited Type-C’s excellent power delivery capabilities, and they will also make full use of this feature. Because the Type-C Power Deliver 2.0 specification allows chargers to deliver power up to 100W, it is possible that Thunderbolt 3 will also have the same power delivery capabilities (optional), so that a single Thunderbolt 3 cable can be used to simultaneously power the display It transmits signals and supplies power , but the current Apple Thunderbolt 2 interface display does not yet have such a function. In other words, the USB power transmission standard is different from the Thunderbolt bus power supply standard, so not all Thunderbolt hosts can provide 100W power, and even many cannot provide such high USB power output. For standard bus-driven Thunderbolt devices, the Thunderbolt connection can now carry 15W of power, compared to 10W for Thunderbolt 2.
In addition, due to changes in integrated wiring, Intel has also provided ways for Thunderbolt to achieve backward compatibility. Intel has provided a Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt adapter, which can interconnect Thunderbolt 1/2 and Thunderbolt 3 devices, so old devices can be connected to new hosts, and new devices can also be connected to old hosts. Although it's unclear whether this adapter currently only provides simple connection conversion or integrates a complete Alpine Ridge controller.
Finally, Intel said it expects to see the launch of Thunderbolt 3 products by the end of this year, and will achieve greater shipments in 2016. At this point in time, we can expect Thunderbolt to ship alongside Skylake products, although Intel has made it clear that Thunderbolt and Skylake are not technically related. In addition, Intel may also put the Thunderbolt 3 Alpine Ridge controller on other products, such as Bro ad well, Haswell-E, etc.
Whether Intel can achieve greater success with Thunderbolt 3 remains to be tested by the market. However, switching to a Type-C interface is a good thing for OEMs designing DisplayPort desktop computers. In the past, it was difficult to see this design on devices other than Apple - now OEMs can use it without adding additional interfaces. Integrate thunder and lightning under the premise. But on the other hand, this still requires an additional controller, which increases the cost, power consumption and size of the device, and even cooling concerns. In the Thunderbolt 1/2 era, Intel's biggest support for this technology was docking. The adoption of PCI-E and the enhancement of USB power transmission performance have brought Thunderbolt's flexibility and performance to a new level. At this point, USB Type-C can't compare.
[The above information is compiled and released by Aibo Testing. If there is any discrepancy, please correct it in time. If there is any reference, please indicate the source. Welcome to discuss together. We have been paying attention to its development! Focus: CCC/SRRC/CTA/operator warehousing]