Finally, Intel has released Light Peak. Intel calls this connector with Thunderbolt Peak Light. Connectors that offer connection speeds up to 1Gbps (700Mbps real) for data transfer and communication between devices. Well, we just see the news
Intel's long-awaited Light Peak technology, now known formally as Thunderbolt, is finally available on its first consumer device, and the company today unveiled more details about when we'll be seeing it in consumer PCs and gadgets.
First unveiled at Intel's Developer Conference back in 2009, the data transfer tech promises to replace a handful of ports with one that can do more things, and do them faster.
Its first inclusion in a computer is in Apple's MacBook Pro line, which refreshed earlier today with Thunderbolt ports across the line (see CNET's hands-on here). Intel followed up a few hours later with a press conference about the technology, as well as its plans to bring it to computers and devices over the next year or so.
To help readers better understand what the technology is and why it matters, CNET has put together this FAQ.
What is Thunderbolt?
Thunderbolt is Intel's new input/output technology that promises to bring transfer speeds that exceed what is currently available with USB 3.0, as well as extending that speed across several devices at once. In terms of where you'll see it, Thunderbolt will appear as a new port on laptops and PCs, as well as on devices that support it.
The technology itself makes use of existing DisplayPort and PCI-Express data protocols to open up what you can do with a single port into multiple uses and at high speeds. This includes "daisy chaining" up to seven Thunderbolt-equipped devices together, while retaining full speed across all of them at once.
How fast is it?
Thunderbolt currently runs with a top speed of 10Gbps, though promises to one day top 100Gbps in data throughput when it moves from a copper wire to optical fiber. In the interim, copper wire has both speed and cable length limits, keeping cable length at 3 meters or less. The data transfer is also bidirectional, meaning it can both transmit and receive data at the same time, and at its top speed.
During Intel's press conference about the technology this morning, the company demonstrated it working on a MacBook Pro, pulling four raw, uncompressed 1080p video streams through a Thunderbolt storage array, and feeding into a Thunderbolt-attached display, all the while topping more than 600MBps in its transfer speeds. An earlier test of just file transferring had gotten it up to 800MBps.
To put this in perspective of what's been available up to this point, that's twice as fast as the theoretical limit of USB 3.0, 20 times faster than USB 2.0, and 12 times faster than FireWire 800.
When can I get it?
The long and the short of it is that you can get Thunderbolt today, so long as you buy Apple's MacBook Pro, which is the first laptop to ship with a Thunderbolt port as a standard port across its entire line.
As far as it arriving on PC laptop and desktop machines, the company today estimated that we wouldn't see it there until early next year given OEM design cycles. In the interim, there will be a slew of Thunderbolt-ready devices like hard drives and displays that will take advantage of the technology arriving in the spring. One of the first will be a LaCie external hard drive called the Little Big Disk that packs multiple solid state drives in a single enclosure that works with Thunderbolt.
Will I be able to add it to my old PC or laptop?
If your old machine is a PC you built, replacing its motherboard with one that will carry Thunderbolt will do the trick. During Intel's press conference today, the company stayed mum on offering it as an expansion to PCs through PCI Express slots, or laptops through ExpressCard technology.
Does this replace USB?
Intel is positioning Thunderbolt as an "adjacent" technology, one that will compliment it. That said, USB's ubiquity means it's not going anywhere just yet. Intel has also said it plans to support USB 3.0 in future chipsets alongside Thunderbolt.
How much will it cost?
Intel has stayed mum on cost besides saying that it was competitive with other high performance I/O solutions. As far as its inclusion in the new MacBook Pros, it's been added as a standard feature across the entire line, versus being a paid add-on at the time of configuration.
The same cost principle goes for Thunderbolt's cables too. Because Thunderbolt is not an open specification, that means companies cannot simply make their own through a license, though that could change once we're into the lifespan of the product.
Konektor Intel Light Peak aka Thunderbolt
First unveiled at Intel's Developer Conference back in 2009, the data transfer tech promises to replace a handful of ports with one that can do more things, and do them faster.
Its first inclusion in a computer is in Apple's MacBook Pro line, which refreshed earlier today with Thunderbolt ports across the line (see CNET's hands-on here). Intel followed up a few hours later with a press conference about the technology, as well as its plans to bring it to computers and devices over the next year or so.
To help readers better understand what the technology is and why it matters, CNET has put together this FAQ.
What is Thunderbolt?
Thunderbolt is Intel's new input/output technology that promises to bring transfer speeds that exceed what is currently available with USB 3.0, as well as extending that speed across several devices at once. In terms of where you'll see it, Thunderbolt will appear as a new port on laptops and PCs, as well as on devices that support it.
The technology itself makes use of existing DisplayPort and PCI-Express data protocols to open up what you can do with a single port into multiple uses and at high speeds. This includes "daisy chaining" up to seven Thunderbolt-equipped devices together, while retaining full speed across all of them at once.
How fast is it?
Thunderbolt currently runs with a top speed of 10Gbps, though promises to one day top 100Gbps in data throughput when it moves from a copper wire to optical fiber. In the interim, copper wire has both speed and cable length limits, keeping cable length at 3 meters or less. The data transfer is also bidirectional, meaning it can both transmit and receive data at the same time, and at its top speed.
During Intel's press conference about the technology this morning, the company demonstrated it working on a MacBook Pro, pulling four raw, uncompressed 1080p video streams through a Thunderbolt storage array, and feeding into a Thunderbolt-attached display, all the while topping more than 600MBps in its transfer speeds. An earlier test of just file transferring had gotten it up to 800MBps.
To put this in perspective of what's been available up to this point, that's twice as fast as the theoretical limit of USB 3.0, 20 times faster than USB 2.0, and 12 times faster than FireWire 800.
When can I get it?
The long and the short of it is that you can get Thunderbolt today, so long as you buy Apple's MacBook Pro, which is the first laptop to ship with a Thunderbolt port as a standard port across its entire line.
As far as it arriving on PC laptop and desktop machines, the company today estimated that we wouldn't see it there until early next year given OEM design cycles. In the interim, there will be a slew of Thunderbolt-ready devices like hard drives and displays that will take advantage of the technology arriving in the spring. One of the first will be a LaCie external hard drive called the Little Big Disk that packs multiple solid state drives in a single enclosure that works with Thunderbolt.
Will I be able to add it to my old PC or laptop?
If your old machine is a PC you built, replacing its motherboard with one that will carry Thunderbolt will do the trick. During Intel's press conference today, the company stayed mum on offering it as an expansion to PCs through PCI Express slots, or laptops through ExpressCard technology.
Does this replace USB?
Intel is positioning Thunderbolt as an "adjacent" technology, one that will compliment it. That said, USB's ubiquity means it's not going anywhere just yet. Intel has also said it plans to support USB 3.0 in future chipsets alongside Thunderbolt.
How much will it cost?
Intel has stayed mum on cost besides saying that it was competitive with other high performance I/O solutions. As far as its inclusion in the new MacBook Pros, it's been added as a standard feature across the entire line, versus being a paid add-on at the time of configuration.
The same cost principle goes for Thunderbolt's cables too. Because Thunderbolt is not an open specification, that means companies cannot simply make their own through a license, though that could change once we're into the lifespan of the product.
Konektor Intel Light Peak aka Thunderbolt
While his photographs can be viewed here
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The new Thunderbolt technology will be available in Apple's new MacBook Pro, which was also announced today. One of the new MacBook Pro notebooks was used at Intel's demo.
Thunderbolt shares the same port design as DisplayPort technology and is compatible with DisplayPort 1.1 or later. Looking from Apple's perspective, Thunderbolt is DisplayPort plus much more.
The new MacBook Pro comes with only one Thunderbolt port. This one port, however, can be used to connect to multiple devices via daisy chain.
It was connected to a six-bay external hard drive and Apple's Cinema Display monitor at the same time. This is possible thanks to the fact that the external hard drive has two Thunderbolt ports. One is connected to the notebook, the other to the external display. Thunderbolt allows for connecting up to seven devices this way, without lowering the bandwidth.
The six-bay external hard drive is from Promise. Intel says that, apart from Apple, there are a wide range of hardware vendors that have adopted Thunderbolt, which means consumers can expect many Thunderbolt-enabled products in the near future.
Also available at the demo was another, more portable, hard drive from LaCie, the Little Big Disk.
It also comes with two Thunderbolt ports.
The demo showcased the unprecedented throughput speeds that Thunderbolt offers, which is around 700MBps in the photo. Note that existing hard drives offer a maximum of just 6Gbps speeds via the third generation of SATA.
Intel's press conference announcing the new technology
Thunderbolt allows for high-speed bidirectional connectivity. It uses both copper and optical cables. The former has the max length of 3 meters, and the latter can be many meters long.
The technology can be used with any existing peripheral protocols (USB, FireWire, eSATA) via adapters. It can't be upgraded via add-in adapters, however, and users will need to get a new computer or motherboard.
According to Intel, Thunderbolt is designed to co-exist with USB and will slowly change the way users interact with peripheral devices. In the future, the technology can be scaled up to support speeds of up to 100Gbps.
The new Thunderbolt technology will be available in Apple's new MacBook Pro, which was also announced today. One of the new MacBook Pro notebooks was used at Intel's demo.
Thunderbolt shares the same port design as DisplayPort technology and is compatible with DisplayPort 1.1 or later. Looking from Apple's perspective, Thunderbolt is DisplayPort plus much more.
The new MacBook Pro comes with only one Thunderbolt port. This one port, however, can be used to connect to multiple devices via daisy chain.
It was connected to a six-bay external hard drive and Apple's Cinema Display monitor at the same time. This is possible thanks to the fact that the external hard drive has two Thunderbolt ports. One is connected to the notebook, the other to the external display. Thunderbolt allows for connecting up to seven devices this way, without lowering the bandwidth.
The six-bay external hard drive is from Promise. Intel says that, apart from Apple, there are a wide range of hardware vendors that have adopted Thunderbolt, which means consumers can expect many Thunderbolt-enabled products in the near future.
Also available at the demo was another, more portable, hard drive from LaCie, the Little Big Disk.
It also comes with two Thunderbolt ports.
The demo showcased the unprecedented throughput speeds that Thunderbolt offers, which is around 700MBps in the photo. Note that existing hard drives offer a maximum of just 6Gbps speeds via the third generation of SATA.
Intel's press conference announcing the new technology
Thunderbolt allows for high-speed bidirectional connectivity. It uses both copper and optical cables. The former has the max length of 3 meters, and the latter can be many meters long.
The technology can be used with any existing peripheral protocols (USB, FireWire, eSATA) via adapters. It can't be upgraded via add-in adapters, however, and users will need to get a new computer or motherboard.
According to Intel, Thunderbolt is designed to co-exist with USB and will slowly change the way users interact with peripheral devices. In the future, the technology can be scaled up to support speeds of up to 100Gbps.
Thunderbolt is a new connector on all the latest Macbook Pro which can be found here http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs.html. As for other non-Apple computers, please be patient waiting for ya: D
I think, Thunderbolt is ideal for professionals who require high-speed connections to other devices such as external hard disk, server storage and dual monitors with just one connector only: shock:. : D but who knows could replace the USB 3.0 technology and mass-produced
I think, Thunderbolt is ideal for professionals who require high-speed connections to other devices such as external hard disk, server storage and dual monitors with just one connector only: shock:. : D but who knows could replace the USB 3.0 technology and mass-produced
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