Intel predicts 'a resurgence' of external GPUs because of Thunderbolt 5's huge bandwidth increase

pcgamer.com:

Intel has just officially taken the lid off the next generation of Thunderbolt, predictably named Thunderbolt 5, and expects to see a wealth of new docks as well as a rise in the use of external graphics. 

Jason Ziller, head of Intel's Client Connectivity Division, told us the new interface will be the «best version for creators and gamers,» and with up to 120Gbps of bandwidth and 240W power delivery available on Thunderbolt 5 it's tough to argue against him.

The origins of Thunderbolt come from a time when Intel and Apple were friends, with the purpose being to replace FireWire and create one cable to rule them all. It mixes up PCIe and DisplayPort, and also provides power. And since version three it has been built around USB Type-C connectors to make things easier for everyone.

Now this version five basically provides more of everything. It combines DisplayPort 2.1, USB4 v2, and PCI Express 4.0, and is capable of delivering up to 240W of power at the same time. That should be enough juice to keep even a host of modern gaming laptops powered without needing a brick.

Theoretically, you will be able to plug your new gaming laptop into a Thunderbolt 5 dock and it will happily drive one display at up to 540Hz—or three 4K screens at 144Hz each—all while still keeping your machine fed with power. Currently, with v3, you're limited to a pair of 4K outputs at just 60Hz each and only 100W of power. That's only enough for a standard office laptop, not a gaming slab.

It's the extra bandwidth that really makes this latest version sing, with up to three times the bandwidth of Thunderbolt 4. That 120Gbps mode is in a very specific 'Transmit' mode, which uses three of the four data pipes to fire a huge amount of information one way,