Unlock Thunderbolt 5 on 14th Gen Intel Core CPUs!

14th Gen Intel Core CPUs and Thunderbolt 5 Support

Earlier this week, Intel introduced their 14th Generation “Raptor Lake Refresh” desktop CPUs, which include the Intel Core i9-14900K, i7-14700K, and i5-14600K. During the initial phase of the announcement, Intel announced that the company’s 14th Core desktop CPUs will support Thunderbolt 5, which is the most recent version of the standard.

However, Intel has recently said that although certain 14th generation processors would be compatible with Thunderbolt 5, this will not be the case for the chips that are used in desktop computers. As comment that was attached to the initial release from Intel stated, “While some processors in the Intel Core 14th Gen processor family will include support for Thunderbolt 5, Intel Core 14th Gen desktop processors, specifically, will not support it.

” The statement that “Intel Core 14th Gen desktop processors include support for upcoming Thunderbolt 5 wired connectivity supporting up to 80 Gbps of bi-directional bandwidth” was made in error in the press announcement for the 14th generation of Intel Core processors. Intel will provide further information on the Intel Core 14th Generation Central Processing Units (CPUs) that enable Thunderbolt 5 at a later date.

This shouldn’t come as a complete shock, yet it does in some ways. The Raptor Lake Refresh chips are just updated versions of the original Raptor Lake chips; the basic architecture is the same as that of the 13th Generation, but it has been improved for higher levels of performance. Therefore, it should not come as much of a surprise that Intel has not yet included support for Thunderbolt 5 to its desktop computers.

It appears that the only place we’ll see the new connection standard implemented is on laptops, most likely on the Intel Core Ultra “Meteor Lake” CPUs. This is because desktop processors do not support Thunderbolt 5. Thunderbolt 4, as well as earlier versions of Thunderbolt, has been implemented on a far greater number of mobile devices equipped with Intel CPUs than on desktop computers. The number of different desktop motherboards that include the connector is rather limited. (Obtaining access to computers that use AMD CPUs is a whole other can of worms.)

The USB-IF standards committee has received the Thunderbolt specification that was developed by Intel. When Thunderbolt 5 was introduced, Deputy Managing Editor Paul Alcorn provided the following explanation: “Thunderbolt 5 leverages the foundational aspects of the latest USB specification, USB 4 Version 2.0 in this case, but requires that all of the optional features be enabled to earn the Thunderbolt 5 badge.”

The bandwidth of Thunderbolt 5 is uniformly split across 80 Gbps, allowing for simultaneous data transmission and reception at the same pace. However, in situations when there is a larger demand for display bandwidth, it is able to increase its transmission speed to 120 Gbps, making it significantly faster than DisplayPort 2.1. In addition to having the capability to handle up to two 6K panels and three 4K monitors at 144 Hz, Thunderbolt 5 also has the ability to support 8K HDR displays.

In addition, laptops will be able to receive up to 240W of power from charging using Thunderbolt 5 connectors. Our summary of the announcement that took place earlier this year contains a review of the most recent specifications and features.

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