[MacTUG] Thunderbolt3 VS USB-C

Marlon A. Griffith m3griffi at uwaterloo.ca
Thu Jan 5 12:08:21 EST 2017


Hey Don,

You have a right to be cynical wrt Apple.

The only point that I can add to your summary is that usb-c has two gens of 3.1. Gen 1 is 5Gbps while gen 2 is 10Gbps. I was confused about this for a long time. Note, that most manufacturers are giving users the gen 1 version.

Marlon


On 01/05/2017 11:55 AM, Donald Duff-McCracken wrote:
> While reading up on Thunderbolt3 today, I learned some stuff which may (or may not) be news to you:
> I had thought Apple had merely slapped the “Thunderbolt 3” moniker on top of their implementation of the “USB-C” protocol. It appears I was being overly cynical ;-)
>
> 1.       “Thunderbolt” was developed by Intel, not Apple and other PC manufacturers use it (and even sell it with that name) eg http://www.infoworld.com/article/2609556/computers/not-just-for-macs--thunderbolt-rumbles-into-pcs.html.
> 2.       Intel set the standard for Thunderbolt 3 to use the USB-C connector! (https://www.cnet.com/news/thunderbolt-3-and-usb-type-c-join-forces-for-one-port-to-rule-them-all/)
> 3.       Thunderbolt 3 is not just USB-C remarketed. And it is not an Apple-con job. It is a superset of USB-C. Really USB-C is just a connector standard, and (if you ignore its use in with Thunderbolt 3) normally its fastest  and default use would be in USB 3.1, and a USB 3.1 implementation is “considered a full-featured” implementation of USB-C (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_Type-C).
> 4.       So Thunderbolt 3 is way faster and has more features then ‘regular’ USB-C.  Compared USB-3.1 (the default use of USB-C), Thunderbolt3 can transfer data 4 times faster, pushes more power, bigger vid bandwidth 2 monitor support), etc
>
> Perhaps I have been drinking the “rainbow Apple-Koolaid” again, so correct me if I am wrong about these factoids!
>
> #SorryAppleForBeingSoCynical
>
>
> ------------------------------------
> Donald Duff-McCracken
> Technical Services Manager
> Mapping, Analysis & Design
> Faculty of Environment
> University of Waterloo
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> https://uwaterloo.ca/environment-computing/about/people
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