Intel’s Thunderbolt has arrived on the PC after being exclusive to the Macintosh platform for more than a year. With its promise of 10Gb/s‑per‑channel throughput, what self-respecting power user wouldn’t opt for a Thunderbolt-based external backup solution? Well, before you get too excited, let’s compare T-bolt point-by-point with its natural competitor, USB 3.0. After all, there’s more to a technology than pure performance, as we found out.
Intel created USB in the 1990s, and it has been an amazingly revolutionary technology. USB has scaled from 12Mb/s at its inception to 5Gb/s today with relatively minor road bumps, and is now basically “free,” as it’s included on Intel’s and AMD’s chipsets. Still, when you play the specsmanship game, it’s hard not to fall in love with Intel’s newest child: Thunderbolt. SuperSpeed USB 3.0’s theoretical 5Gb/s, or 640MB/s, looks impressive until you notice that Thunderbolt can move 10Gb/s over its copper interface. Oddly, the 10Gb/s speed is actually a misrepresentation. Thunderbolt can move 10Gb/s per channel. Since it has two channels, it can actually hit 20Gb/s. That means Thunderbolt theoretically moves 2.5GB/s if you don’t account for overhead. Why not call it 20Gb/s? Intel doesn’t want to brag, apparently.
Winner: Thunderbolt
The Promise Pegasus R4 RAID cabinet offers blistering speed—if you have a Thunderbolt port and $1,000.
You know what’s incredible about USB 3.0 today? It’s practically free. It comes baked into chipsets from both AMD and Intel, and even when it’s not native, host controllers cost just two bucks. Thunderbolt’s pricing, on the other hand, is crazy expensive. At least we think so; we don’t know how much the controllers—all made by Intel—even cost. Early on, one vendor told us $200, which is insane. Other board makers have since told us that T-bolt chips cost about $30. Whatever the cost, the fact is that basic boards with Thunderbolt cost about $60 more than similar boards without it. Let’s not even get into the cables, which today cost $50 for a basic 2‑meter span. By a country mile, USB 3.0 wins this category, and we can’t see that changing for the foreseeable future. Did we mention that Thunderbolt cables cost $50?
Winner: USB 3.0
USB ports are so common, they’re in cars and wall plugs and are as ubiquitous as an AC outlet these days. Have to bring a boatload of data to your friend’s house? Just unplug your USB 3.0 cabinet and bring it with you. Even if he doesn’t have USB 3.0, you can still access your data via USB 2.0. That’s not the case with Thunderbolt, which is extremely rare even on the Macintosh platform, where it’s been supported for more than a year. If you want to lug your project on your Thunderbolt drive to your friend’s house, you’d better bring your computer too, because he or she likely doesn’t have Thunderbolt. Hell, by the end of 2012, Intel is hoping that we’ll have 100 devices that support Thunderbolt. There are likely 100 USB 3.0 devices made in just burnt umber alone.
Winner: USB 3.0
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