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Intel unveils Thunderbolt 3.0, mentions eGPUs (Skylake 6th-gen i-core)


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Intel just unveiled Thunderbolt 3.0 with USB-C connector.

This is what they say about external graphics..
 

Quote
External Graphics
Gamers can now connect plug ‘n’ play external graphics to a notebook to enjoy the latest games at recommended or higher settings.

 


Looks good for the future of Thunderbolt eGPU!

Full press release here: https://thunderbolttechnology.net/blog/thunderbolt-3-usb-c-does-it-all

 

 

 

TB3-640x312.png Thunderbolt1-640x338.png

 

 

 

 

TB-Bandwidth-640x335.png tb3-8.jpg

 


Here's an Intel video of prototype TB3 notebooks running egpus. Intel are definitely onboard with egpu support.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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That would be awesome if it is official :D

That's the official Thunderbolt webpage. Doesn't get more official than that.

TB3 is going to run a x4 3.0 (32Gbps-TB3) PCIe link. I know one of our eGPU users was contacted by Intel requesting if could get hotplugging working. So maybe Intel's been working out the bugs for eGPU support for a while now?

Very good reason to skip Broadwell and wait for the TB3 equipped Skylake platform in 2016.

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I know one of our eGPU users was contacted by Intel requesting if could get hotplugging working. So maybe Intel's been working out the bugs for eGPU support for a while now?

They are watching us :D

x4 3.0 PCIe speed is sweet! Will give some improvements in demanding games.

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That's the official Thunderbolt webpage. Doesn't get more official than that.

TB3 is going to run a x4 3.0 (32Gbps-TB3) PCIe link.

I know one of our eGPU users was contacted by Intel requesting if could get hotplugging working. So maybe Intel's been working out the bugs for eGPU support for a while now?

Very good reason to skip Broadwell and wait for the TB3 equipped Skylake platform in 2016.

Looking more at the thunderbolt site, they mention external graphics a lot.. it seems to be one of the main selling points!

I was already planning to replace my 2013 Macbook with a Skylake-version because of TB3, so I'm really happy with this.

I'm really looking forward to real eGPU-enclosures, with no hacks needed and actually tested for graphics cards!!

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On reddit too: Intel unveiled Thunderbolt 3, now has 40 Gbps bandwidth, supports USB 3.1, DisplayPort 1.2 and uses a USB-C connector : hardware

If I remember correctly, a major reason why most Windows OEMs didn't adopt Thunderbolt was because Intel's current CPUs (or current chipsets) don't support Thunderbolt natively

Apple has been using external controllers (extra costs), while most Windows OEMs haven't adopted it yet

I think Skylake (or Intel's 170 chipsets) will bring support for Thunderbolt

So hopefully Thunderbolt becomes standard in Skylake PCs

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Hopefully AKiTiO will develop sth awesome for us :D

Edit: For 20 Gbit/s cheap copper based passiv cables are enough (max 2m length), guess that will be close to the USB 3.1 cables.

For 40Gbit/s aktive cables (max 2m length), like the current TB cables, are required. Probably pricy again.

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Main problem for TB diffusion is cost, due to Intel and Apple royalties AFAIK.

If the situation didn't change will be hard to see TB3 widspread on sub $1500 laptop.

In that case I was thinking about the wireless Skylake connection trough WiGig WBE, does anyone have more information about his availability?

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I wonder if Intel's TB3 epgu support/implementation would support internal lcd use when there is an dgpu already in the laptop. It is likely that they will not have have any dedicated connection from the TB3 bus straight to the internal lcd. The only way to use th internal lcd with egpu would be optimus/enduro through the igpu. If there is a dgpu in the laptop, either the manufacturers must implement some kind of mux / switch or you have to use the messy software solutions to disable the dgpu. I have not tried out the software solutions, so I don't know how easy it is for the user to switch between dgpu and egpu.

Btw, why is the TB3 bandwidth only 32 Gbps? What is the 8 Gbps lost to?

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Btw, why is the TB3 bandwidth only 32 Gbps? What is the 8 Gbps lost to?

Because PCIe comes in x1, x4, x8 and x16 each generation.

TB3 can use PCIe 2.0 x8 or PCIe 3.0 x4 which is both 32Gbps. The next bigger one would be 64Gbps and thats too much for 40Gbps ;)

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I wonder if Intel's TB3 epgu support/implementation would support internal lcd use when there is an dgpu already in the laptop. It is likely that they will not have have any dedicated connection from the TB3 bus straight to the internal lcd. The only way to use th internal lcd with egpu would be optimus/enduro through the igpu. If there is a dgpu in the laptop, either the manufacturers must implement some kind of mux / switch or you have to use the messy software solutions to disable the dgpu. I have not tried out the software solutions, so I don't know how easy it is for the user to switch between dgpu and egpu.

Btw, why is the TB3 bandwidth only 32 Gbps? What is the 8 Gbps lost to?

The TB3<->TB3 link can carry 40Gbps as combined DP + PCIe + USB traffic. However, the PCIe component of that maxes out at 32Gbps because, as @Dschijn points out, PCIe connects at x4 3.0 which is 32Gbps.

Same issue applies to TB2. It can carry 20Gbps but connecting at x4 2.0 sees the PCIe component being 16Gbps.

TB1 can carry 10Gbps as combined TB1+DP traffic, but the PCIe link connects at x4 2.0 (16Gbps). So TB1 is limited upstream to 10Gbps.

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We may have TB3 sooner than we thought. According to @Prema, we'll see Clevo TB3 boxes published in August-October 2015:

Clevo is going to publish new models with Thunderbolt 3 in August-October. :D

Intel will offer official eGPU boxes:

Computex 2015 (frequently updated)

I have the new SLI on preorder as my new dev system. So BIOS is going to be sweeeet... :)

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