Thunderbolt vs USB-C Cable Connections
We would always recommend using the Thunderbolt™ cable that is provided with our hubs. All cables supplied with the hubs are certified by Intel®. Cables with the Thunderbolt™ logo should have the same Intel® certification.
However, if you are looking at purchasing a cable to achieve 40Gbps, a suitable option would be either:
- up to 0.8m passive
- up to 2m active
These are the greatest lengths of cables that Thunderbolt™ has been certified on, so while you could look at longer options, it’s not recommended as you will not be making the full use of Thunderbolt™ capabilities.
Finally, ensure that the Thunderbolt™ cable is connected to a Thunderbolt™ 3 port on your PC. USB-C may connect, but you will not get full functionality.
Thunderbolt vs USB-C specification
| Functionality | Thunderbolt 3 | USB-C |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | Up to 40Gb/s | Up to 10Gb/s |
| Display | - Two 4K Display’s or - One 5K Display | - One 4K Display |
| Graphics (external) | Uses PCIe bus which enables the use of eGPU | Cannot use eGPU |
| Compatibility | - Thunderbolt 3 - Thunderbolt & Thunderbolt 2 devices, using an adapter - USB-C devices - Legacy USB 3.x/2.x devices, using an adapter, with speeds limited to device capabilities | - USB-C Devices - Legacy USB 3.x/2.x devices, using an adapter, with speeds limited to device capabilities |
| Expansion | Daisy-chain up to 6 devices | Can natively only connect to a single device. Can be expanded with additional hardware options, depending on host PC. |
Thunderbolt™ & USB-C connectors are essentially the same, so it can be difficult to pick the right cable sometimes. For Thunderbolt™ cables, look for the ‘lightning’ icon which should be displayed on the end of the cable. It should look something like this:
This way you can be sure you’re getting a Thunderbolt™ certified cable. While a few variations of the lightning bolt are being used, all other USB types have their own logo, so any lightning bolt should denote Thunderbolt™.