thunderbolt News - Page 4 of 5 - CNX Software

July 4, 2022February 12, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 29 Comments

Mini review of ORICO “USB 4.0” M.2 NVMe SSD enclosure

Orico USB 4.0 M.2 NVMe SSD enclosure review

ORICO has sent me a sample of a USB 4.0 M.2 NVMe SSD enclosure for review, which was timely as I did not have a fast USB storage option for testing. In this post, I’ll check out the hardware, show how to install an NVMe SSD, and test performance in UP Xtreme i11 mini PC since it happens to come with a USB4 port. ORICO USB 4.0 M.2 SSD enclosure specs and unboxing The exact model I received is the ORICO M234C3-U4 with a Rose Gold aluminum enclosure (107x50x17mm), supporting M.2 M-Key and B+M Key 2230, 2242, 2260, 2280 SSDs (more on that later), and offering up to 40 Gbps through its USB 4.0 port. The device ships with a USB Type-C to USB Type-C/Type-A cable, a thermal pad, a heatsink, two screws, and a multilingual user manual. There’s only one USB Type-C port one the device. M.2 NVMe SSD […]

May 3, 2022May 4, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

NVISEN FU01 is a fanless Tiger Lake mini PC with a Thunderbolt 4 port

NVISEN FU01 fanless mini PC is offered with a choice of Intel Core i3/i5/i7 Tiger Lake processors, fitted with up to 16GB RAM (upgradeable to 64GB), a 256GB or 512GB M.2 NVMe SSD, and the highlight of the computer is its 40Gbps Thunderbolt 4 port with 8K video output support. The Tiger Lake system can drive up to three 4K displays with HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort connectors adding to the Thunderbolt 4 port, offers Gigabit Ethernet and WiFi 5 connectivity, plus six USB 3.0/2.0 Type-A ports for expansion. NVISEN FU01 specifications: SoC (one or the other) Intel Core i3-1115G4 dual-core processor @ 3.0GHz, up to 4.1GHz (Turbo) with Intel UHD graphics; 28W TDP Intel Core i5-1135G7 quad-core processor @ 2.4GHz, up to 4.2GHz (Turbo) with Intel Xe graphics; 28W TDP Intel Core i7-1165G7 quad-core processor @ 2.8GHz, up to 4.7GHz (Turbo) with Intel Xe graphics; 28W TDP System Memory & […]

February 24, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Intel launches Alder Lake P-Series and U-Series mobile hybrid processors

Intel-Alder Lake P-Series and U-Series block diagram

Intel first unveiled the most powerful Alder Lake H-Series last year before the launch in January, and also introduced Alder Lake-S desktop IoT processors and Alder Lake U-Series and P-Series mobile IoT SoCs in early January. But now the company has announced the launch of the Alder Lake P-Series (28W) and U-Series (9W and 15 PBP) 12th generation mobile processors designed for “thin-and-light” laptops which should become available around March 2022. The block diagram of the 28W P-Series and 15W U-Series (source: product brief from Intel) shows both offer the same interfaces including eDP 1.4b, HDMI 2.0b, 2x PCIe Gen4, 12x PCIe Gen3, 2x SATA… and the same 50x25x12mm BGA package. But the 9W U-Series comes in a cost-optimized 28.5x19x11mm BGA package that does without SATA interfaces, a lower number of PCIe Gen3 interfaces (10 vs 12), USB 2.0 interfaces (6 vs 10), Thunderbolt 4 interfaces (2 vs 4), and […]

January 5, 2022April 5, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

Intel unveils Alder Lake desktop and mobile IoT processors

Intel Alder Lake-H Mobile IoT processsor

Intel introduced high-end Alder Lake Hybrid processor family for consumer devices a couple of months ago, with Pentium G7400 and Celeron G6900 leaking a few weeks later, and now the company has formally announced the Alder Lake-S and Alder Lake-H processor families for respectively desktop IoT and mobile IoT solutions, as well as more efficient U-series and P-series of 12th Gen Intel Core Alder Lake IoT processors with a TDP ranging from 15W to 28W. Alder Lake S-Series desktop processors for IoT Key features and specifications: CPU Up to 16 cores, up to 24 threads in IoT SKUs Up to 30 MB Intel Smart Cache TDP – 35W to 65W Real-time capability on select SKUs Graphics/Video Intel UHD Graphics 770 driven by Intel Xe architecture with up to 32 EUs Up to four independent displays up to 4K or one display at 8K resolution Up to two video decode boxes […]

September 7, 2021September 9, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Intel NUC P14E Laptop Element features Intel NUC 11 Compute Element

Intel NUC P14E Laptop Element is a 13-9-inch modular laptop equipped with the same Intel NUC 11 Compute Element found in the Intel NUC 11 Enthusiast Phantom Canyon NUC11PHKi7C. The NUC 11 Compute Element “Elk Bay” is a U-Series Compute Element (95 x 65 x 6 mm) offered with a choice of Tiger Lake processors ranging from an Intel Celeron 6305 chip to a Core i7-1185G7 processor combined with up to 16GB RAM. The card also includes a WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 module, a Gigabit Ethernet transceiver, and supports PCIe x4 Gen 3 and Thunderbolt 4. Intel NUC P14E Laptop Element (CMCN1CC) specifications: Computer module – NUC 11 Compute Element with 11th generation Tiger Lake Celeron to Core-i7 processor 4 GB to 16 GB LPDDR4x 4266 MHz 256 Mbit Flash EEPROM with Intel Platform Innovation Framework for EFI Plug and Play Intel AX201 wireless module for WiFi 6 up […]

September 18, 2020September 18, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

DeskMini X35G Ice Lake Mini PC Coming in October for $400 and up (Crowdfunding)

MINISFORUM DeskMini X35G Ice Lake Mini PC

MINISFORUM is a Hong Kong-based company specialized in mini PC, and we recently covered their Gemini Lake-based MINISFORUM S40 PC Stick, but to differentiate themselves in a field with some many Gemini Lake mini PC, the company is preparing to launch DeskMini X35G mini PC based on a more powerful Intel Core i3-1005G1 “Ice Lake” processor that offers features such as Thunderbold 3 40 Gbps USB-C port and support for Intel Optane Memory. DeskMini X35G specifications: SoC – Intel Core i3-1005G1 dual-core/quad-thread Ice Lake processor @ 1.2GHz / 3.4GHz (Turbo) with 4 MB Intel Smart Cache, Intel UHD graphics @ 300 to 900 MHz; 15W TDP System Memory – 16GB DDR4-3200MHz (soldered) Storage M.2 2280 NVMe SSD (PCIe 3.0 4X) with support for Intel Optane memory 2.5 inch SATA3.0 HDD or SSD Support 1×M.2 2280 SATA SSD Support MicroSD card slot Video Output HDMI 2.0 up to 4Kp60Hz DisplayPort up […]

July 9, 2020July 10, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Intel Introduces Thunderbolt 4, Showcases MultiPort Thunderbolt 4 Docks

Intel has just introduced Thunderbolt 4 universal cable connectivity solution for data, video, and power with up to 40 Gbps bandwidth, and USB4 specification compliance. The new standard can support up to four Thunderbolt ports in docks and universal cables up to 2 meters in length. Compared to Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4 doubles the minimum video and data requirements leading to support for two 4K displays or one 8K display, and PCIe storage speeds up to 3,000 Mbps. It also enables PC charging on at least one computer port and allows you to wake your computer from sleep by touching the keyboard or mouse when connected to a Thunderbolt dock. It also adds mandatory Intel VT-d-based direct memory access (DMA) protection to helps prevent physical DMA attacks. The first processors to integrate Thunderbolt 4 will be “Tiger Lake” mobile processors, and the company also announced the Thunderbolt 4 controller 8000 […]

September 5, 2019September 5, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

USB4 Specification Released, Up to 40 Gbps Data Transfer Rate Supported

USB 3.2 was announced about two years ago with speeds of up to 20 Gbps using existing USB 3.1 Gen 2 USB-C cables, but the USB Implementers Forum has done a bit work more and just released the USB4 specification allowing twice the speed at 40 Gbps. The USB4 architecture leverages the Thunderbolt protocol specification that was recently contributed by Intel Corporation to the USB Promoter Group, enables the faster data rate, as well as multiple simultaneous data and display protocols. Highlights of USB4 standard Two-lane operation using existing USB Type-C cables and up to 40Gbps operation over 40Gbps certified cables Multiple data and display protocols that share the maximum aggregate bandwidth Backward compatibility with USB 3.2, USB 2.0 and Thunderbolt 3 Up to 100 Watts power delivery Both USB 3.2 and USB4 require USB-C cables to make use of the maximum transfer rate, so traditional USB cables may fade […]