[MacTUG] Thunderbolt: M1 ports vs Intel ports ( & thunderbolt hubs )

[Glenn Anderson]

OWC has an interesting article on the issue of the new M1 Macs having only 2 ports ( vs 4 ports on some of the intel ) as https://eshop.macsales.com/blog/68484-thunderbolt-on-the-m1-mac-mini/?APC=READERSPC&Source=RYW21_Jan23&utm_source=bm23&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Image+-+m1-mac-mini-rear&utm_content=RYW21+-+Jan+23&utm_campaign=01/23/2021&_bta_tid=40848363341401967289013406085410930312486025092809878266856030902156894660244028383709915586308721092704548&_bta_c=e3eimq8pf0gc12s3n1asi5asboyxk

A basic summary of it is…

The intel Macs while having 4 thunderbolt ports, had only 2 thunderbolt bus each with 2 ports.
The M1 Macs while having only 2 thunderbolt ports still have 2 thunderbolt bus, each with a single port.

The above means that both types of Macs have the same total thunderbolt bandwidth.

If you need more than 2 Thunderbolt ports, the M1 Macs now support Thunderbolt Hubs which means you can plug a thunderbolt hub into one of the M1 thunderbolt ports and then plug several thunderbolt devices into it.
Note: You can still daisy chain thunderbolt devices, but as not all thunderbolt devices support this a hub might still be useful.

OWC does mention their thunderbolt hub https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/owc-thunderbolt-hub which provides 3 thunderbolt ports and a USB 3.2 (A) port.




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