Thank you so much for your video illustrating both Thunderbolt 3 & 4 technologies. I just bought a second hand Razer Core X egpu that comes with no Thunderbolt cable at all and I was about to order a new Thunderbolt 4 cable for it. If I do so, then my connection will be limited to only 1 PCIe line due to the Thunderbolt 4 hub architecture and bandwidth limitation. By ordering an older Thunderbolt 3 cable (which I taught was outdated) I'll take full advantage of all 4 PCIe lanes that are normally required for an egpu. This type of limitation isn't mentioned nowhere so I'm glad I found you're video. I just saved 70 bucks on an useless cable! Thank's buddy :)))
Not sure I understand the 4-to-1 difference between TB3 vs TB4 access to PCIe lanes of input. Are PCIe lanes used for non thunderbolt ports. Does that mean that a hub with 4 USB-c non-thunderbolt ports on a TH3 dock each have access to 10Gb/s of bandwidth instead of having to share a single 10Gb/s channel?
@gags730 I assume that when slow devices are plugged into the PCIe ports, they will only slow down other ports by the amount of bandwidth they actually use at any given time. So a keyboard and mouse will have very limited impact on the other devices plugged into the PCIe (which I assume are the non-TB ports). At least that's how I hope it would work. Perhaps OWC will clarify.
@@apeel2008 WHat you said is what I think happens... But what if the chip see 2 devices and slices it to 5GB just because... Thats what I dont know...or if certain devices have that effect. Its confusing knowing what is going to happen. For the most part even if it was 5GB instead of 10 could I even tell with USB drives. I have a lot of HDD drives wiuth a SATA to USB because they are way larger and cheaper and faster...Will I notice? I dunno... LOL...
I was looking to buy the 'OWC Envoy Express' to connect my Mac M2 laptop to an external NVMe M.2 drive enclosure for 6K playback. I held off when I saw it was TB3, assuming TB4 would be faster, but am I correct in believing that TB3 is actually better (or same) for simple fast connection from one laptop to one HDD?
It would be helpful to have a use case example or two of situations where TB4 is preferable. Is trying to have three devices talking through the 4-lane PCIE prone to having issues that the devices wouldn’t have in their separate TB busses?
Dear Sir, I need help and you appear to be HIGHLY HIGHLY skilled in this area. I am in the process of purchasing a dock for my gaming laptop. I am a PC Gamer who works a lot and is always on the go, ergo, I went the gaming laptop route. I wish to having a docking station at home so I can plug in all my peripherals and an external monitor so that when I get home, I just plug in my laptop to the dock and i'm good to go. As far as my setup goes, I plan to use a Dell 27-inch 1080P 144hz gaming monitor (just one), a keyboard, mouse, ethernet, and some speakers. Will a USB-C dock be enough? Or do I need to go the thunderbolt route? Do i connect the monitor to the dock using displayport or hdmi?
You wouldn't necessarily need to go into a Thunderbolt Dock for this type of setup. Especially since a lot of USB-C docks do offer up to 4k monitor support. For example, We have the USB-C travel Dock found here: eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TCDK6P2SG/ The Thunderbolt docks are always a good thing to have since they allow for more connectivity for different peripherals in case you decide to add on to your setup. Something like the Thunderbolt 3 dock for instance: eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TB3DK14PSG/
So if I have a TB3 dock and use a TB4 cable to connect my Mac.. will anything change? I needed a slightly longer cable than what was supplied with the dock.
Thank you for your comment! Whether to use Thunderbolt 3 or 4 for an eGPU setup really depends on your specific needs and setup. Both options offer great performance, but Thunderbolt 4 provides better consistency and additional features, though it may not always result in noticeable differences in gaming performance compared to Thunderbolt 3. We’d recommend doing a bit of research based on your system and gaming requirements to ensure you’re making the best choice for your setup. If you have any more questions, feel free to reach out!
I don't even know what I bought at this point but it is not serving my purpose. The confusion and misinformation in this space is close to reaching organized ripoffs...
Thank you so much for your video illustrating both Thunderbolt 3 & 4 technologies. I just bought a second hand Razer Core X egpu that comes with no Thunderbolt cable at all and I was about to order a new Thunderbolt 4 cable for it. If I do so, then my connection will be limited to only 1 PCIe line due to the Thunderbolt 4 hub architecture and bandwidth limitation.
By ordering an older Thunderbolt 3 cable (which I taught was outdated) I'll take full advantage of all 4 PCIe lanes that are normally required for an egpu. This type of limitation isn't mentioned nowhere so I'm glad I found you're video. I just saved 70 bucks on an useless cable! Thank's buddy :)))
🙂💙👍
Thank you for explaining this four times to understand the concept. Water pipes was very helpful for visual learners like myself.
Huge thanks for this video, very clever in use the pipes and thanks to share at 04:08 the logo of your hub
Not sure I understand the 4-to-1 difference between TB3 vs TB4 access to PCIe lanes of input. Are PCIe lanes used for non thunderbolt ports. Does that mean that a hub with 4 USB-c non-thunderbolt ports on a TH3 dock each have access to 10Gb/s of bandwidth instead of having to share a single 10Gb/s channel?
@gags730 I assume that when slow devices are plugged into the PCIe ports, they will only slow down other ports by the amount of bandwidth they actually use at any given time. So a keyboard and mouse will have very limited impact on the other devices plugged into the PCIe (which I assume are the non-TB ports). At least that's how I hope it would work. Perhaps OWC will clarify.
@@apeel2008 WHat you said is what I think happens... But what if the chip see 2 devices and slices it to 5GB just because... Thats what I dont know...or if certain devices have that effect. Its confusing knowing what is going to happen. For the most part even if it was 5GB instead of 10 could I even tell with USB drives. I have a lot of HDD drives wiuth a SATA to USB because they are way larger and cheaper and faster...Will I notice? I dunno... LOL...
I was looking to buy the 'OWC Envoy Express' to connect my Mac M2 laptop to an external NVMe M.2 drive enclosure for 6K playback. I held off when I saw it was TB3, assuming TB4 would be faster, but am I correct in believing that TB3 is actually better (or same) for simple fast connection from one laptop to one HDD?
It would be helpful to have a use case example or two of situations where TB4 is preferable. Is trying to have three devices talking through the 4-lane PCIE prone to having issues that the devices wouldn’t have in their separate TB busses?
Your explanation was AWESOME! Thank you! :)
Since they have different purpose, it is strange to call TB4 for 4th version, like an upgrade.
Thanks for the video!
I was waiting for the bit where your analogy says what happens when I plug a TB3 device into a TB4 port...
Dear Sir, I need help and you appear to be HIGHLY HIGHLY skilled in this area. I am in the process of purchasing a dock for my gaming laptop. I am a PC Gamer who works a lot and is always on the go, ergo, I went the gaming laptop route. I wish to having a docking station at home so I can plug in all my peripherals and an external monitor so that when I get home, I just plug in my laptop to the dock and i'm good to go. As far as my setup goes, I plan to use a Dell 27-inch 1080P 144hz gaming monitor (just one), a keyboard, mouse, ethernet, and some speakers. Will a USB-C dock be enough? Or do I need to go the thunderbolt route? Do i connect the monitor to the dock using displayport or hdmi?
You wouldn't necessarily need to go into a Thunderbolt Dock for this type of setup. Especially since a lot of USB-C docks do offer up to 4k monitor support. For example, We have the USB-C travel Dock found here: eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TCDK6P2SG/
The Thunderbolt docks are always a good thing to have since they allow for more connectivity for different peripherals in case you decide to add on to your setup. Something like the Thunderbolt 3 dock for instance: eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TB3DK14PSG/
So if I have a TB3 dock and use a TB4 cable to connect my Mac.. will anything change? I needed a slightly longer cable than what was supplied with the dock.
TB4 cables are backwards compatible - you will be good to go with a TB 4 cable
@@poweredbyowc Good to know. Thank you!
The best explanation video!!! Thank you so much. Can I use a TDBL 4 cable in a TDBL 3 docking? Is it compatible?
You are welcome! Yes, the Thunderbolt 4 cable is cross-compatible with Thunderbolt 3 devices as well!
Thank you
should i use thunderbolt 3 or 4 for an egpu to boost performance in gaming?
Thank you for your comment! Whether to use Thunderbolt 3 or 4 for an eGPU setup really depends on your specific needs and setup. Both options offer great performance, but Thunderbolt 4 provides better consistency and additional features, though it may not always result in noticeable differences in gaming performance compared to Thunderbolt 3.
We’d recommend doing a bit of research based on your system and gaming requirements to ensure you’re making the best choice for your setup. If you have any more questions, feel free to reach out!
@@poweredbyowc well I have a aya neo 2 with ryzen 7 6800u and usb4
With that device, we highly recommend reaching out to the manufacturer to determine what you would need to run an eGPU for the best performance.
Thanks so much, best explanation
So but a thunderbolt 4 hub but buy thunderbolt 3 accessories like an external ssd
lol, thanks for trying.
I don't even know what I bought at this point but it is not serving my purpose. The confusion and misinformation in this space is close to reaching organized ripoffs...
Une comparaison sans test de débit, c'est inutile.
There's engineering math, and then there's marketing math.