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 Thunderbolt controllers. I assumed that Falcon Ridge would ship alongside Broadwell in late 2014 but I just got word that the new Thunderbolt controllers will begin production by the end of this year and ramp volume through 2014. I don't have more specific dates than that, but it's still good news. All Intel is saying about Falcon Ridge is the spec includes a speed bump to 20Gbps per lane up from the current controllers with 10Gbps per lane. Intel's own presentation refers to a single channel/two lane Falcon Ridge controller, delivering no additional bandwidth above existing...
Sumitomo Electric's Thunderbolt Cable
Since the launch of Thunderbolt the only cable supplier has been Apple. Given that no current Thunderbolt devices come with a Thunderbolt cable (save Apple's own Thunderbolt Display which...
13 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 1/13/2012
AMD's Lightning Bolt: Low Cost Thunderbolt Alternative for USB 3.0/DP
One of the things I love the most about AMD is the balance it provides to Intel. While I've spent much of CES looking for Thunderbolt products and lamenting...
69 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 1/12/2012
The First Thunderbolt Speed Bump: Likely in 2014
One of the most interesting use cases for Thunderbolt is as a connection to an external GPU for thin and light notebook users, especially Ultrabook/MacBook Air users that are...
22 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 1/12/2012
Cactus Ridge: Understanding the New, More Affordable Thunderbolt Controller
Eagle Ridge, Image Courtesy iFixit When we first published the details of Intel's 2012 line of Thunderbolt controllers we pointed out that the specs of the two new controllers...
9 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 1/12/2012Belkin Brings Home Automation, TV and Thunderbolt Solutions to CES
Belkin's product portfolio stretches across a huge range from A/V and networking solutions to iPod and Kindle cases. Their CES both focused primarily on their home electronics products with...
4 by Jason Inofuentes on 1/12/2012_carousel.jpg)
Acer’s Upcoming Laptops: S5 Ultrabook with IVB, TB, and a Motor
We spent some time with Acer this afternoon looking at their upcoming products and we were able to get some hands-on time with many laptops and tablets. We’ll save...
5 by Jarred Walton on 1/11/2012
Intel Shows off Thunderbolt, AppUp on Ivy Bridge Ultrabook Reference Design
Intel just dropped a bunch of news about its first smartphone platform partners and their respective products, followed by more news about Ultrabooks. Intel showed off its Ivy Bridge...
3 by Brian Klug on 1/10/2012
Seagate's GoFlex Thunderbolt Adapters
Finally, we're getting somewhere. After seeing nothing but Thunderbolt storage devices with built in, overpriced drives, Seagate is going to be delivering the first GoFlex docks with Thunderbolt support...
17 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 1/10/2012
MSI's GUS II: External GPU via Thunderbolt
In addition to 7-series motherboards, MSI had its GUS II external GPU solution on display. The external chassis features a Thunderbolt interface and an internal PCIe slot. Despite running...
41 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 1/9/2012
Elgato's Thunderbolt SSD: Bus Powered, 120/240GB, Available in February
Elgato sent over info on its brand new Thunderbolt SSD available in February in 120GB and 240GB capacities. There's no word on the controller inside. If I had to...
4 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 1/9/2012
OCZ's Portable Thunderbolt SSD: Lightfoot
I mentioned earlier that we'll be seeing more Thunderbolt devices at CES this year, but what I wasn't expecting was for one of those devices to be made by...
12 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 1/9/2012
LaCie at CES: 2big & eSATA Thunderbolt Hubs
We're expecting to see a lot of Thunderbolt devices at CES this year and we've already seen our first two new products, both from LaCie. The first is the...
2 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 1/8/2012
Thunderbolt Goes Universal in H1'12
Thunderbolt initially launched in February when Apple updated the MacBook Pro, but since then the technology has been an Apple exclusive. The understanding was that Thunderbolt would be a...
25 by Kristian Vättö on 1/4/2012
LaCie Little Big Disk (240GB SSD) Review
A week ago we published our review of the first sub-$1000 Thunderbolt drive enclosure: LaCie's Little Big Disk. Armed with a pair of 2.5" hard drives, the Little Big...
24 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 11/8/2011
LaCie Little Big Disk (2TB) Review: More Affordable Thunderbolt Storage
Thunderbolt is the absolute fastest consumer interface available for users who want high-speed external storage. We proved this in our Pegasus R6 review where we sustained transfer rates of...
40 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 10/31/2011Early Benchmarks and Teardown of LaCie Little Big Disk
LaCie released its first Thunderbolt-equipped storage solution called Little Big Disk (LBD) last week, and some people have already received their units. A user ender21 over at MacRumors Forums...
8 by Kristian Vättö on 9/26/2011
The Apple Thunderbolt Display Review
Ever since I moved to a notebook as my main work computer I've become increasingly annoyed with the process of actually moving my notebook-as-a-desktop around. At my desk I've...
287 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 9/23/2011
LaCie Brings (more) Affordable Thunderbolt Storage to Macs with Little Big Disk, Available in Retail
At IDF I met with LaCie and got a quick demo of its Little Big Disk Thunderbolt storage solution. The heavy metal chassis is home to two 2.5" drive...
17 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 9/20/2011
LaCie's Little Big Disk Thunderbolt Chassis at IDF
I met with LaCie this morning to talk about its upcoming Little Big Disk Thunderbolt storage solution. Unlike the Promise Pegasus R4/R6, the Little Big Disk only accommodates two...
6 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 9/15/2011
Tons of Thunderbolt Peripherals at IDF
We've been asking for more Thunderbolt devices and it looks like we're seeing the first examples of that today at IDF. Check out the gallery below for a bunch...
10 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 9/13/2011