Thunderbolt 5 will deliver 80 gigabits per second (Gbps) of bi-directional bandwidth, and with Bandwidth Boost it will provide up to 120 Gbps for the best display experience. These improvements will provide up to three times more bandwidth than the best existing connectivity solution, providing outstanding display and data connections. Thunderbolt 5 will meet the high bandwidth needs of content creators and gamers. Built on industry standards – including USB4 V2 – Thunderbolt 5 will be broadly compatible with previous versions of Thunderbolt and USB.
That’s some serious speed for a cable.
This is seriously the USB connector that we need.
I know it is not practical to use everywhere (costs would skyrocket for example), but I started using Thunderbolt cables for most things, and they just work.
Is this type-C cable USB 2.0 or 3.0? Does it support charging? Can I connect my monitor? If so, at what refresh rate? Similarly with the ports on devices: can I get DisplayPort on this port? Can I charge from this one? and so on.
All these questions disappear, as Thunderbolt support all those (and more). The only concern is those things are pretty expensive compares to that cheap, thin, barely working USB 2.0 type-C cable that will not even properly charge a tablet.
Back to topic at hand, specifically the advertised TB5 features:
1. “up to” 120 gbs probably means it is not bi-directional at that speed. Which is fine, and is required for native 8K @120 fps with 4:4:4 (uncompressed) chroma. For a contrast HDMI 2.1 “Ultra” cables only support up to 48(?)gbs, which will require compression and/or dropping frame rates. Meaning they would not be suitable for computer usage.
2. Double PCIe speed (version 4). For some reason TB4 did not upgrade the PCIe version, but kept it 3.0 like TB3. So this is a relief.
And they have started fixes for passing through discrete GPU signals from the motherboard ports. What do I mean? I had a Z690 MB with a discrete nvidia card. Previously you’d need a special “DP-in” port available on a very limited number of motherboards to carry that card’s signal along with USB over the TB port. But after installing updates, I was able to do that natively without an additional connection. (Not sure how much latency it adds though).
So Thunderbolt is finally getting us to a true “one single port” from PCs.
One spec is a bit concerning…
“connectors and passive cables up to 1 meter”
I often find 1m cords too short already and this doesn’t even promise that. 1.5m-2m is the sweet spot for my needs because I route cables behind the desk. I don’t want to go back under my desk every time I want to connect something.
I don’t actually need that much bandwidth, but I suspect that some of those who do will find the short length limiting especially if they’re using PC towers on the floor instead of a laptop.
Alfman,
You can find “active” cables with longer lengths:
https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Charging-Compatible-Thunderbolt/dp/B0B5HWK1VN
At these speeds it would be almost impossible to get any longer without sacrifice. Here that sacrifice would be the cost.
sukru,
Those are all usb4 / thunderbolt 4 cables that I see. I’m not seeing anything for thunderbolt 5 yet, it could take a while.
This lists thunderbolt 4 as being capable up to 2m in length.
https://eshop.macsales.com/blog/72169-everything-about-thunderbolt-4-cables/
Maybe physics gave them no choice but to downgrade the length specs without the use of active repeaters.
edit:
another source with length info for passive thunderbolt 4 cables…
https://www.techadvisor.com/article/725009/best-thunderbolt-4-and-usb4-cables.html
Alfman,
Yes, TB5 being new it will take a while before good cables are on market. But if possible I would suggest always try to pay the premium in order to avoid the headache later on.
sukru,
I totally get what you’re saying, but $70-130 for TB4 cables, I’m scared of the prices TB5 cables will come in at. I’m not the target market for this anyways, but yikes that’s no chump change!
Alfman,
True, the price is steep. But this is only when you need more than 3ft (which I only have one, all others are 2-3ft range).
sukru,
Sure, but I’m kind of confused why you keep bringing up the TB4 cables when all of my posts were about the TB5 spec. Given that TB5 will have half the passive cable length, TB5 cables will probably require even more faster active repeaters.
It’s funny to think that a single premium cable that reaches the top of the desk could end up costing more than as much as the peripherals you want to connect with it. I donno, maybe the problem is me being too poor 🙁