Plugable is introducing its Thunderbolt Four product lineup right now, with the TBT4-HUB3C Thunderbolt 4 Hub main the pack. Joining it are two Thunderbolt Four cables – the 2m. lengthy TBT4-40G2M, and the 1m. lengthy TBT4-40G1M.
Intel had supplied detailed updates on Thunderbolt Four in mid-2020 earlier than releasing it in Tiger Lake-based merchandise. As peak bandwidth (40Gbps) did not get an improve over Thunderbolt 3, many customers simply thought-about it a branding replace. In reality, beneath the hood, the specs had been being fine-tuned to usher in some options from the USB world. It is these new options that Plugable is specializing in:
- Hub performance along with the daisy-chaining scheme prevalent in earlier Thunderbolt variations
- Active cables as much as 2m in size and supporting as much as 40Gbps speeds – most attainable based mostly on the host / system interfaces (Thunderbolt Three lively cables with non-Thunderbolt 3 Type-C units are sometimes restricted to USB 2.Zero speeds)
The TBT4-40G2M (lively) and TBT4-40G1M (passive) are Intel-certified Thunderbolt Four cables, priced at $59 ($49 after coupon software) and $34 ($29 after coupon software) respectively. The pricing premium is because of elevated certification prices (the manufacturing facility is required to get random manufacturing tons repeatedly examined for Thunderbolt Four cables, in comparison with solely the preliminary manufacturing run beforehand).
These cables complement the Thunderbolt Four flagship from Plugable – the Goshen Ridge-based TBT4-HUB3C. The JHL8440 Goshen Ridge controller used within the hub is a quad-port answer – one upstream, and three downstream ports.
The TBT4-HUB3C comes with a 0.8m passive Thunderbolt Four cable, a 110W energy brick, and a bundled USB-C to HDMI adapter supporting resolutions as much as 4Kp60 with HDR. The essential hub itself is kind of tiny in comparison with the facility brick, measuring simply 118 mm x 18 mm x 73 mm. Despite the small measurement, the unit has a strong feel and appear with its brushed end. The hub suggestions the scales at 201g, mild sufficient to be thought-about pocketable.
Plugable additionally bundles a USBC-HDMI adapter (USB-C male to HDMI 2.Zero feminine converter supporting ShowPort Alternate Mode from the USB-C aspect) with the bundle. The intent is to route the incoming show indicators from the host to one of many downstream Thunderbolt Four ports, after which on to a HDMI monitor. This additionally brings out the advantages of the hub scheme – With daisy chaining not within the image for many deployments (every spoke within the hub can nonetheless be a daisy chain in Thunderbolt 4), customers don’t want to fret in regards to the placement of various Thunderbolt peripherals / shows within the chain. Additionally, it permits the peripherals to be disconnected unbiased of one another – one thing not attainable within the chain topology with out interrupting the hyperlinks to peripherals meant to be stored lively.
Performance Testing
The variety of use-case situations for Thunderbolt Four hubs such because the Plugable TBT4-HUB3C are too many to rely. Our efficiency analysis is restricted to the configurations specified beneath. The upstream port of the TBT4-HUB3C is linked to the Thunderbolt Four port of the ASRock Industrial NUC BOX-1165G7 – a dangerous selection, on condition that the port is simply licensed for USB 3.2 Gen 2 / ShowPort Alternate Mode. The downstream ports had been linked as per the listing beneath.
- Port #1 – DIY Thunderbolt Three SSD utilizing the TEKQ Rapide and the WD_BLACK SN750.
- Port #2 – PowerColor Gaming Station eGFX Solution with the PowerColor Radeon RX Vega 56 Nano.
- Port # – USBC-HDMI connector on to a LG34WK95U configured to show a 3840×2160 desktop at 60 Hz (8-bit RGB)
The Thunderbolt Control Center will be use to approve linked units. All main connections to the Thunderbolt port (aside from the shows and related routing gear) are…
