Difference between Thunderbolt 3 and USB C

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Almost every digital enthusiast knows thunderbolt 3, because it is so famous, some people even think it can replace all interfaces, because it is the fastest in the world! Even so, can you really tell thunderbolt 3 when you see it? Because it looks almost exactly the same as the Type-C!

Of course, there is still a difference from the Type-C: Thunderbolt 3 has an extra lightning mark! But the actual functions are quite different. Let us take a look at the difference between thunderbolt 3 and USB C.

What is thunderbolt 3?

Thunderbolt was originally developed by Intel. There were Thunderbolt 1 and Thunderbolt 2 before, but the port form of Thunderbolt 1 and Thunderbolt 2 is Mini DisplayPort, that is, Mini DP port, and the Thunderbolt 1 and Thunderbolt 2 ports have been applied to Apple’s Mac series for a long time. on the other hand, there are some information you need to know that the Thunderbolt actually refers to a specification, and the MiniDP port used by Thunderbolt 1 and Thunderbolt 2 and the Type-C interface used by Thunderbolt 3 are the standard types of interfaces. The Type-C interface type used by Thunderbolt 3 is also because Type-C interfaces are becoming more and more common nowadays. This is where the intersection of Thunderbolt 3 and Type-C today! The transmission speed of Thunderbolt 3 supports up to 40Gbps in both directions.

What is USB type c interface?

Type-C interface is only a type of USB interface. Compared with the original commonly used USB interface, Type-C interface does not need to distinguish between front and back. It is more convenient to plug and unplug, compact in size, and more flexible to use. Now Type-C interface is used in laptops, mobile phones, tablet computers and so on. Regarding the data transmission speed, the Type-C of the USB 3.1 protocol can reach 10Gbps, but the USB 3.0 can only reach 5Gbps. There are still many Type-C data cables on the market that only support the transfer speed of USB 2.0, and the actual transfer speed is only 40MB/S. At the same time, the Type-C interface can also carry 100W power transmission and video transmission functions. More: What is USB Cables?

Difference between thunderbolt 3 and USB C

1.    Type-C was launched earlier than thunderbolt 3.

2.    Type-C is physical form of the interface, and Thunderbolt 3 refers to the protocol specification of the virtual layer supported by the interface.

3.    USB Type-C is not necessarily Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 3 must be Type-C interface.

4.    Thunderbolt 3 can realize most of the functions of USB Type C, and the transmission rate is higher, and the achievable operations are more abundant.

Difference between thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.1

Thunderbolt 3 is a data transmission standard launched on the USB 3.1 Type-C standard, so Thunderbolt 3 is a Type-C interface, and the USB 3.1 specification has other morphological interfaces besides Type-C, such as a USB-A interface. Therefore, the relationship between Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.1 is that Thunderbolt 3 can support USB 3.1, but USB 3.1 does not necessarily support Thunderbolt 3.

What can thunderbolt 3 be used for?

The Type-C interface can be connected to USB devices, such as large-screen displays, projectors, etc., and Thunderbolt 3 can also extend the network cable port, and the video will be clearer and more stable on transmission.

The data cable supporting Thunderbolt 3 can theoretically achieve 4K@120Hz when it is switched to the DP port, and 4K@60Hz can be realized when it is switched to HDMI2.0. For USB Type C, both DP port and HDMI can only achieve the effect of 4K@30Hz, that is, it can only watch videos and cannot be used as a computer screen extension.

Thunderbolt 3 also has other powerful features

1.    Drive high-speed SSD mobile hard drives (usually write speeds are above 700MB/s and read speeds are above 1500MB/s)

2.    Multi-screen ultra-clear image expansion to meet high-end business, financial users and geek players, pursuing the needs of multi-screen expansion and high resolution.

3.    Notebooks with integrated graphics cannot play large-scale 3D games, but using external graphics with the Thunderbolt 3 can easily run large-scale games.

In the future, more and more notebooks will have powerful Thunderbolt 3.

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