Intel announced on Tuesday the unveiling of the best data-transfer system since Thunderbolt, appropriately called Thunderbolt 2. The new data-transfer technology, codenamed "Falcon Ridge" until now, promises to offer double the bandwidth capability of the original Thunderbolt, enabling some fancy new tricks for those who work with super-high definition, or 4K, video.
Thunderbolt 2 runs at 20Gbps, or gigabytes per second, twice as fast as the first generation Thunderbolt's 10Gbps, which Intel claims is, itself, still faster than other PC data-transfer technologies on the market today. But Thunderbolt 2 will offer more than just speed. Intel has a new controller chip that has combined two previously independent 10Gbps channels into one bi-directional 20Gbps channel.
What does that mean? Well, the first generation Thunderbolt could do data transfer and run a display, that was one of the cool things about it. But with that generation, you had one 10Gbps channel each for both data and display, which is not enough to stream the new generation of 4K high definition video.
With the new Thunderbolt 2 system, and the addition of what Intel calls DisplayPort 1.2 support, you can stream ultra-high definition video to a 4K monitor and transfer that data at the same time, or you can stream 4K video to dual QHD (Quadruple High-Definition) monitors. That means that 4K video professionals (and people who just love super high definition video) will be able to view and backup their work at lightning speed, simultaneously. And for people who don't work with 4K video, you just get better speeds. As Intel claims, "backing up terabytes of data will be a question of minutes, not hours." Sounds nice.
The best part about Thunderbolt 2 is that it's essentially only a change in the controller chip, meaning it's backwards compatible. Any current Thunderbolt monitor, data cables, or adapters you own will also work with the new generation Thunderbolt 2—no need to buy new stuff, except the computer, of course.
According to PCWorld, Intel is also working on a Thunderbolt technology for mobile tablets and smartphones, though whether that ever hits the market is still in question.
Thunderbolt is a high-bandwidth video and data transfer technology by Intel, first available only on Macs. Some PCs have picked up the transfer protocol, and dozens of peripherals, like external hard drives and displays, offer Thunderbolt support as well.
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