When you bought your computer, you probably heard or read the word Thunderbolt in reference to ports that, to your knowledge, look and function just like the USB-Cs you use to charge everything else. You probably totally forgot about it. But the four USB-C ports on your new MacBook are indeed Thunderbolt ports. Many devices, from laptops to monitors, have this functionality, and most of us don’t even know what it means … let alone what it does. I decided it was time to teach a lesson in the basics.
All Thunderbolt ports are USB-C ports, but not all USB-C ports are Thunderbolt ports. In fact, most are not. Essentially, Thunderbolt is faster than USB-C for data transfer and is often required for transmitting video on hi-res displays. That’s important if you’re gaming or transferring huge files, less so if you just want to plug your laptop into the TV to group-watch whatever hit anime you’re streaming from a definitely legal website. But here’s how to know the actual differences between the two.
First things first. A Thunderbolt port only works its magic when you use a Thunderbolt cable. These too tend to look just like regular USB-C cables. Before learning what Thunderbolt is, you gotta know the basics of USB.
What is USB-C?
USB-C is a type of electrical connector. Most of our current phones, tablets, and even computers use USB-C ports and USB-C cables to charge.
If you’ve heard of the USB-C standard, you know of the worldwide efforts to make this connector type a standard across all devices. But a critical part of the move to the USB-C standard is meant to eliminate the need for independent cables for different technologies. That includes interfaces like HDMI, DisplayPort, and … you guessed it, Thunderbolt. So that gets us to the next question.
What is Thunderbolt?
Thunderbolt is an interface that connects external hardware to a computer. It evolved from DisplayPort (originally using Mini DisplayPort connectors), but Thunderbolts 3, 4, and 5 use USB-C. Those numbers need not concern you—just know that a Thunderbolt 5 is newer and faster than a Thunderbolt 4, and so on, but they work the same. What you need to know is how this differs from USB-C.
For starters, Thunderbolt is faster for transferring data—technically twice as fast at 40Gbps compared to USB-C’s throughput of 20Gbps. This allows Thunderbolt 4 and 5 cables to be used to connect devices to external monitors and have them push out resolutions approaching 8K. In short, Thunderbolt allows for faster data transfer and high-performance tasks a regular USB-C won’t support.
In function, a Thunderbolt acts like an HDMI as much as it does a charging cable. For devices like this MSI Claw handheld, the only way to output to a monitor is through Thunderbolt 4 or newer. Both devices need to be Thunderbolt. Connecting them with a regular USB-C just won’t cut it. Not enough juice.
How to tell the difference
First, you’re going to want to look for the Thunderbolt symbol. Its a little lightning bolt that is—sometimes—used to mark a Thunderbolt cable or port. Often, though, it won’t be there. For example, my Asus laptop marks its Thunderbolt ports with this symbol, but my MacBook does not. There’s no standardization, which is what makes telling the difference tricky.
In case you’re not sure of your port status, you can check in your device settings. On a Windows machine, this is found in the Device Manager. On Apple products, go to Settings—> General —> About if you want to find this info.
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