At Computex, Intel officially branded its next-generation Thunderbolt as Thunderbolt 2. As a recap, current Ivy Bridge platforms use Cactus Ridge Thunderbolt controllers while newly launched Haswell platforms use Redwood Ridge. Redwood Ridge maintains feature compatibility, but you get official support for DisplayPort 1.2 (and 4K resolution) if you're using a DisplayPort monitor. This extension of DP 1.2 support does not apply to Thunderbolt displays or DP 1.2 displays connected to a Thunderbolt chain however. The explanation is simple. Redwood Ridge won't be sold for use in devices, only host computers, which is why you can't plug a 4K DP 1.2 display into a Thunderbolt chain and have it work (since none of the members of the chain will support 4K passthrough). Falcon Ridge however...
Computex 2013: Thunderbolt Graphics from SilverStone
Visiting the SilverStone booth was rather interesting. In a similar ilk to MSI’s GUS which used Thunderbolt to transmit data over PCIe, Silverstone are developing their own at-home...
33 by Ian Cutress on 6/6/2013
Intel Announces Thunderbolt 2 at Computex: 20Gbps Bi-Directional Bandwidth per Channel
Earlier this year Intel revealed some details about Falcon Ridge, its 2014 Thunderbolt controller. Today it went a little further and gave the updated Thunderbolt spec a new name...
35 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 6/4/2013
Intel Confirms Falcon Ridge Production in 2013, Ramp in 2014
Yesterday Intel announced its updated Redwood Ridge Thunderbolt controllers (adding 4K/DP1.2 support, lower power operation and slightly lower BOM cost) as well as next year's Falcon Ridge family of...
31 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 4/9/2013
New Thunderbolt Controllers (DSL4510/4410) and Future 20Gbps Falcon Ridge TB Controller Announced
Last year we hinted that another Thunderbolt revision would happen this year, with a speed bump in 2014. It turns out that's exactly what's being announced at NAB this...
44 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 4/8/2013Seagate and LaCie Demonstrate Complementary Product Lineups at CES 2013
Seagate is well on its way to complete the acquisition of LaCie, and the two companies had a joint presence at CES 2013. For the most part, the companies...
2 by Ganesh T S on 1/14/2013
New from Buffalo Technology - Updated AC1750 802.11ac router, MiniStation Thunderbolt with SSD, and Thunderbolt Duo
Ganesh and I dropped by Buffalo Technology at CES 2013 to get a look at their upcoming products. I'll leave most of the MiniStation NAS news to him as...
4 by Brian Klug on 1/12/2013
Western Digital My Book VelociRaptor Duo Review
With Thunderbolt ports available on both Macs and PCs, as well as Thunderbolt controller costs dropping thanks to the introduction of Intel's Cactus Ridge, the Thunderbolt storage space is...
30 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 8/30/2012
Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt Review - An External with USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt
Back when Thunderbolt (then Intel Lightpeak) was optical, I was actively involved in covering the interface, partly out of professional curiosity due to my optical background, partly because I...
61 by Brian Klug on 8/1/2012
QNAP's JTB-400: A BYOD 4-bay Thunderbolt Enclosure
Ahh, finally what I've been asking for: a 4-bay Thunderbolt enclosure that allows you to bring your own disks. I'm reserving excitement until I see just how much QNAP's...
23 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 6/7/2012
Thunderbolt Docks Are Here: Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock & Matrox DS-1
So far Thunderbolt accessory offerings have been fairly limited and conventional. There are several external storage solutions with Thunderbolt support but the only advantage they provide over USB 3.0...
13 by Kristian Vättö on 6/5/2012
ASUS' Thunderbolt EX Upgrade Card for 7-series Motherboards
Only two members of ASUS' Z77 stack feature integrated Thunderbolt support: the P8Z77-V Premium and the P8Z77-V Pro/Thunderbolt. As the interface is still fairly new and the controllers still...
16 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 6/5/2012
Gigabyte - Dual Thunderbolt on Z77
Thunderbolt based motherboards have become a talking point over recent weeks, with our look at a pre-certified MSI solution, followed quickly by ASUS and Intel's certified products. Now...
2 by Ian Cutress on 6/4/2012
Intel and Thunderbolt Devices for Windows
As part of Computex, Intel invited the worlds media to discuss Thunderbolt. While nothing much new was said over what Anand has already discussed and public, we did...
9 by Ian Cutress on 6/4/2012
Thunderbolt on Windows Part 2: Intel's DZ77RE-K75 & ASUS' P8Z77-V Premium
Quad-core mobile Sandy Bridge, 2.5" SSDs and Thunderbolt together have allowed me to use a notebook as my primary work machine. I get all of the portability benefits of...
116 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 6/3/2012
A Tale Of Two Thunderbolt Storage Devices: Seagate's GoFlex Desk and Western Digital's Thunderbolt Duo
I remember the early days of the USB-vs-FireWire wars like they were yesterday, although Wikipedia reminds me that they were more than a decade ago (sigh). USB 1.0 arrived...
45 by Brian Dipert on 5/13/2012
A First Look at Thunderbolt on Windows with MSI's Z77A-GD80
I finally made the transition to a notebook as my desktop last year, a move many had made years prior. Quad-core mobile Sandy Bridge and good SSDs made the...
97 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 5/11/2012
Hitachi G-Technology Releases G-RAID Thunderbolt Storage Solution
G-Technology, a company owned by Hitachi, has released an updated model of their G-RAID solution, which now adds Thunderbolt support. Essentially the G-RAID Thunderbolt is equivalent to the regular...
9 by Kristian Vättö on 4/17/2012
LaCie 2big Thunderbolt Series Review
We've been covering Thunderbolt storage ever since the first Promise Pegasus hit our labs last summer. Since then we've noticed a common theme: Thunderbolt storage is very expensive. Prices...
34 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 2/25/2012
LaCie 2big Thunderbolt Series Now Available
LaCie showcased their 2big Thunderbolt drive at CES 2012 and it has now started shipping. Specifications of LaCie 2big Thunderbolt Series Capacities 4TB and 6TB (and 8TB) Revolutions per minute (rpm) 7200rpm Maximum Read...
23 by Kristian Vättö on 2/15/2012