USB4 has arrived, what is this? In short, USB4 is the latest and fastest version of the USB standard. For those who are inexperienced, The USB nomenclature is Hydra. USB 2.0, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.2 2×2, Thunderbolt 1, 2 & 3 – despite the fact that some of these are direct upgrades of their predecessors, Millwire almost all of them in his Nest run Naturally, things get even worse. USB manufacturers only need to meet the minimum specification of the USB generation. This is one of the reasons I have a cable that doesn’t draw data to charge my phone.
Of course, the type and amount of information that cables can transfer also varies. Some cables can tunnel DisplayPort signals. Some cables can be used to connect external video cards or entire PCIe devices. Some cables can’t do both or both. The USB-IF’s solution is to remove the “generation” reference and simplify the terminology, but in that sense it’s just a little simpler. In the future we will see USB4 2×2, 4×4 and the recently announced v2.
20Gb/s vs 40Gb/s
This keeps the focus specifically on USB4. USB4 is a revision of the Universal Serial Bus. Built on the Type-C platform and backward compatible. To be classified, a cable must be able to transfer 20 Gb/s, but can achieve up to 40 Gb/s over bi-directional cable lanes. You can tell if a USB4 cable is capable of 40Gb/s data transfer when these emblems are sold or physically badged.
Via USB-IF.
What else can USB4 do?
USB4, as expected, has all the features of its predecessor, but better. This includes support for DisplayPort and PCIe. Moreover, at 40 Gb/s he could watch 8k video at up to 60 Hz. Of course, code alone is not enough. If you want the maximum advertised performance, make sure your USB cord and port share specifications. Just because they are compatible doesn’t mean they match.
In terms of minimum specs, datapro.net gives a very good indication of the requirements for both hosts and hubs.
Hosts must support:
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- 20 Gbps USB4 (Gen 2 x 2)
- USB3.2, USB2.0
- DisplayPort
- Tunneling over USB4
- DisplayPort alt mode for all downward facing ports (DFP)
- USB-PD (Power Delivery) 2.0
Hubs must support:
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- 40 Gbps USB4 (Gen 2 x 2)
- USB3.2, USB2.0
- PCIe3.0
- DisplayPort
- Tunneling over USB4
- DisplayPort alt mode on at least one downward facing port (DFP)
- USB-PD (Power Delivery) 2.0
Tunneling is also supported on all USB4 cables. This is an exciting feature that has been around for a while, but is relatively sparse. The most exciting example of tunneling is undoubtedly the ability to use an external GPU (eGPU for short) and even connect his high capacity RTX card to a laptop with the right cords and ports. . However, USB4 improves on this even more due to its possible speed combined with that fact. every day It is possible with any USB4 compliant device. The folks at USB-IF hope the new cable will boost eGPU sales, but they’d prefer that kind of firepower straight to the desktop.
USB4 vs Thunderbolt 4
Finally, let’s talk about Thunderbolt 4. The Thunderbolt name and brand are owned by Intel and the branding is exclusive to Intel. According to Intel, the Thunderbolt 4 cord just needs to meet a higher minimum standard than regular USB4, including extra features like the advertised 40 Gb/s speed.This means USB4 and Thunderbolt 4 share ports, but the baseline will feature more Thunderbolt cables. Same port, different cable.
Up to v2, that’s it. Make sure you read the features of your USB4 cable (actually all cables) before buying. The new USB has brought many benefits to the table, but the good ones are only slightly easier to come by.
Marcus is a designer at Velocity Micro. He is behind nearly every image we see.His interest in PCs is the product of his experience in digital art and design, 3D modeling, and computer peripherals. With his partner, two dogs, two cats, a small woodworking shop, and his arcade his controller collection he lives in the RVA area.
