Thunderbolt, as it stands, is fast — super fast. Why rest on your laurels, though? This week, Intel announced that it has plans to support the increased speed allowed by PCI Express 3.0.
Agam Shah, PCWorld:
Intel in the future will support the PCI-Express 3.0 protocol to shuttle data faster between host devices and peripherals, an Intel spokesman said in an email. Computers with Thunderbolt interconnect currently communicate with external devices using the older PCI-Express 2.0 technology. The company will incorporate PCI-Express 3.0 in Thunderbolt, but could not provide a time frame for when it will be accomplished. […] PCIe 3.0 can move data at 8 gigatransfers per second, which is a significant improvement over PCIe 2.0, which has a transfer speed of 5 gigatransfers per second.
That’s right. The fastest connector technology in the world is going to get even faster. The fact that PC vendors are still docking around with USB 3.0 when we have such amazing technology with Thunderbolt is dumbfounding. The difference in speed between an internal drive and an external drive is essentially gone. Your Mac mini can now have an insane amount of storage that is just as fast as a Mac Pro filled with disks. With this promise to support the next generation of bus technology, Intel might have signed USB’s death certificate.
What do you think? Is the continued evolution in speed for Thunderbolt USB’s death knell? Sound off in the comment section below this post. All you need is a Twitter or Facebook account.
Source: PCWorld
