Thunderbolt 5. The slicing fringe of I/O. All of it — displays, a Thunderbolt 5 dock, and even a Thunderbolt 5 SSD — was perched on my desk. I used to be happy, in the way in which solely tech nerds may be after they have a chunk of substances few others do.
Just a few days later, I used to be more than pleased to take it aside and return to a slower and extra purposeful Thunderbolt atmosphere. As a result of I’m merely undecided that the Thunderbolt 5 ecosystem is prepared for prime time.
This isn’t an indictment of Thunderbolt 5, per se. Moderately, it’s all concerning the complications that may accompany not one, however a large number of units, all of which may work together with one another in surprising methods. Layer on software program, drivers, firmware updates, and the like, and it’s powerful to level an accusing finger at anyone part. That is what testing cutting-edge {hardware} can imply: battling know-how that ought to simply work, however doesn’t.
Additional studying: Greatest Thunderbolt docks 2024: Prolong your laptop computer’s capabilities
Thunderbolt 5: The subsequent era of I/O
Thunderbolt 5 was introduced a couple of yr in the past, as the subsequent step within the evolution of the Thunderbolt I/O commonplace. Thunderbolt wasn’t essentially designed for energy customers, however the most effective Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 docks permits customers to position a pair of 4K shows on their desk operating at 60 Hz. I discover this extraordinarily helpful for productiveness, as I can organize a number of home windows’ value of electronic mail, chat, calendar, Net browsers, and extra on two or extra shows.
Each Thunderbolt 3 and 4 present 40Gbps of throughput. Thunderbolt 5 will increase that to 80Gbps, and in sure conditions as much as 120Gbps, too. This further bandwidth performs proper into the gaming and productiveness area, as the additional bandwidth helps as much as three 4K shows at 144Hz, two 8K shows at 60Hz, or a single 1080p show at 540Hz. (Intel hasn’t nailed down the specifics of those final two resolutions). Intel can also be touting the truth that Thunderbolt 5 ought to have the ability to energy exterior GPUs, a functionality that was handed over in Thunderbolt 4.
The issue is that Thunderbolt 5 {hardware} is in brief provide, interval. Though a few of the earliest Thunderbolt 5 docks had been proven off this previous January, it’s now October, and about the one dock I’ve seen introduced is Kensington’s SD5000T5 EQ, which I went hands-on with a short while in the past. There aren’t too many Thunderbolt 5 cables, both.
However a hands-on will not be a take a look at and I used to be keen to acquire {hardware} that I might use to place the Kensington SD5000T5 by way of its paces: to attach it to 3 4K144 shows by way of a laptop computer with Thunderbolt 5 connections and, as a bonus, to see if I might discover an SSD that might run at Thunderbolt 5 speeds.
I wasn’t anticipating it to be straightforward. For no matter cause, units with Intel’s Thunderbolt 5 host and accent part (“Barlow Ridge,” or the Intel JHL9580 and JHL9480) have been few and much between. Docks are nonetheless scarce, as I stated, and solely two notebooks to my information ship with a (non-integrated) Thunderbolt 5 controller, a model of the Razer Blade and the Maingear ML-17.
Mark Hachman / IDG
Luck favored me. The Kensington SD5000T5 remained on my desk, and Maingear agreed to ship over an ML-17 for evaluate. A colleague additionally was within the technique of reviewing a pre-release model of OWC’s Envoy Extremely Thunderbolt 5 SSD and agreed to let me take a look at it for a short while in commerce for some benchmarking outcomes. All the things appeared to be coming collectively.
Thunderbolt 5 began off poorly, then received worse
Just a few days later, I had cleared the decks of all of my present initiatives, and sat all the way down to play with the subsequent era of I/O energy. I up to date the ML-17 with the required Home windows updates, Microsoft Retailer updates, obtainable firmware updates, and so forth. Maingear shipped the pocket book to me with the Intel Driver & Assist Assistant utility up to date as nicely, so I used to be fairly certain that I had the newest {hardware} and drivers.
The primary steps had been pretty constructive. As most players know, gaming notebooks embody a hefty energy brick terminating in both a barrel charger or the squarish energy connector. One of many advantages of Thunderbolt 5, nonetheless, is its means to produce a hypothetical energy draw of 240W. Simply having the ability to plug within the gaming pocket book into the Thunderbolt 5 dock and energy it up with out the necessity for the laptop computer’s ungainly exterior energy connector left me fairly happy.
Properly, type of. I later found that the dock would energy the laptop computer on simply one of many two Thunderbolt 5 ports, nonetheless, and checking it with a USB energy meter discovered that it delivered not more than 87W, even whereas gaming.
Mark Hachman / IDG
Energy supply of 240W requires express assist from the laptop computer, dock, and cable and I wasn’t too shocked that it didn’t meet my expectations. Sadly, nonetheless, the development continued.
Acer graciously provided three of its Nitro XV5 (XV275K) 4K shows for a take a look at mattress. All three shows run as much as 144Hz on the HDMI port and to 160Hz on the USB-C/DisplayPort, which ought to have been ok to satisfy the Thunderbolt 5’s promised to render a picture at 144Hz on three 4K shows.
Sadly, that didn’t occur. Maingear’s laptop computer produced a picture on simply two of the shows plus the laptop computer itself. (Thunderbolt 4 docks output to 2 4K shows, plus the laptop computer, so I’ve no cause to imagine my interpretation of “three displays” was incorrect.). Whereas one laptop computer rendered at 4K 144Hz simply superb, it was an actual battle to get the opposite to do the identical at 1440p — it took some unplugging and re-plugging to realize it simply as soon as, slowly. I couldn’t constantly repeat this.
(Kensington’s dock provides three upstream Thunderbolt 5 ports. I used Kensington’s personal USB-C to HDMI adapter to connect with one show, plus two uni 4K60 USB-C to DisplayPort cables — that are solely rated for 1440p165, not 4K — for the others. I hoped that three shows would mild up. They didn’t).
Additional studying: Is Thunderbolt 5 storage prepared? A primary have a look at the cutting-edge tech
In reality, the entire setup felt fairly laggy simply navigating across the laptop computer and by way of a Net browser — not one thing you’d anticipate with a top-of-the-line Intel CPU and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 GPU inside. I’m fairly certain the Thunderbolt connection negatively contributed. Streaming a 4K, 60Hz video stuttered badly when run on the exterior show that was linked to the Thunderbolt dock — nicely over 30 % of the frames had been misplaced. Enjoying again the identical video on simply the laptop computer itself wasn’t excellent, nevertheless it was a lot, significantly better.
Maingear blamed this on the Thunderbolt 5 cable. “I haven’t tested a plethora of cables yet, but the Apple TB5 Pro cable has worked consistently for us,” a Maingear consultant wrote in an electronic mail. “Where Thunderbolt 4 you were able to get away with a decent USB-C cable, Thunderbolt 5 seems to work best with certified Thunderbolt 5 cables.”
That could be true, however Kensington’s Thunderbolt 5 cable was labeled appropriately and this needs to be licensed. And why ought to I would like to purchase an Apple cable to get my PC docking station to work?
Mark Hachman / IDG
Storage efficiency suffered as nicely
Once I linked the SSD, the efficiency of my Thunderbolt 5 take a look at setup was simply as unhealthy. I usually run PCMark’s exterior storage benchmark to check a dock. My colleague Jon Jacobi prefers operating storage-specific benchmarks to check the efficiency of the SSD instantly. I desire PCMark, whose exterior storage take a look at experiences the “bandwidth” of the SSD. That’s what I’m aiming for: How a lot information does the drive must work with?
I additionally take a look at a second means, by recording the time it takes to repeat a folder filled with multimedia and different recordsdata from the SSD, by way of the dock, onto the laptop computer. I do all that by itself and in addition whereas streaming a 4K 60Hz video by way of the Web over the Thunderbolt cable, simply to see whether or not a background file switch will have an effect on efficiency.
The expertise, fairly frankly, stunk. Whereas operating the PCMark take a look at with the SSD instantly linked, I recorded a rating of 1,743 or 252.3 MB/s. However whereas linked to the dock, the SSD’s PCMark rating plunged to simply 1,108 or 159.3MB/s. Was that the dock’s fault or the Thunderbolt 5 connection? One of many two, probably.
Once I instantly linked the SSD to the laptop computer and copied my folder to the desktop, it took a median of 1 minute and 5 seconds. Whereas streaming video, the identical job took 58 seconds longer or two minutes and three seconds. That appeared fairly excessive.
Weirdly, after I linked the SSD to the dock after which carried out the folder copy, it completed in 41 seconds — far sooner! However performing the folder copy whereas streaming the video required two minutes and 6 seconds, once more with the SSD connected to the dock. (The Web connection was provided by Ethernet, which remained linked. However letting the system use Wi-Fi didn’t appear to make any distinction).
It’s value a reminder that after I examined the Kensington dock on a “normal” Thunderbolt 4-equipped laptop computer and a slower SSD, the dock carried out “normally,” as nicely.
Previously few years, we’ve seen the occasional bizarre end result when benchmarking, corresponding to benchmarks of cell CPUs run on battery energy that exceed the efficiency of the identical laptop computer whereas plugged in. Nonetheless, the wildly various outcomes, together with the heavy stuttering whereas taking part in video, advised me one thing’s not fairly proper. What’s it? I don’t know, which is souring me on the entire Thunderbolt 5 expertise.
Do you have to purchase Thunderbolt 5? Not proper now
When testing a single machine, an excellent evaluate works to isolate the variable. Desktop CPUs are examined in opposition to the quickest GPUs doable, with widespread motherboards, reminiscence, and storage (if doable), in order that any variations in efficiency may be instantly attributed to the brand new CPU.
Mark Hachman / IDG
On this case, I’m testing a brand new dock, laptop computer, and SSD, with new cables operating between them. That’s a minimum of three unknowns I can’t actually nail down. So Maingear can accuse the cable of being defective, whereas I believe that Maingear’s {hardware} could also be at fault. I can’t know for sure.
What I’m a bit suspicious about is the relative lack of Thunderbolt 5 {hardware}, even late in 2024. Intel has cycled by way of its Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake launches, and neither consists of an built-in Thunderbolt 5 controller. Intel gave some good causes for excluding it — desktop distributors desire to “upsell” by utilizing discrete elements, for instance — however the instability that I’m seeing makes me surprise if there’s one thing extra happening.
I’m not writing Thunderbolt 5 off in any respect. An up to date driver might probably clear up this downside or it’d require a extra refined {hardware} revision to Intel’s Barlow Ridge controller itself. I don’t know.
For now, nonetheless I’d not advocate shopping for into the Thunderbolt 5 ecosystem. Once you purchase (or take a look at) bleeding-edge {hardware}, typically you’re the one which finally ends up with the cuts.
