Thunderbolt is a revolutionary I/O technology that supports high-resolution displays and high-performance data devices through a single, compact port.

Thunderbolt began at Intel Labs with a simple concept.It gives you access to a world of high-resolution displays and high-speed peripherals with one compact port. That’s because Thunderbolt is based on two fundamental technologies: PCI Express and DisplayPort.

Thunderbolt also provides 10 watts of power to peripherals. Thunderbolt is based on DisplayPort technology, the video standard for high-resolution displays, any Mini DisplayPort display plugs right into the Thunderbolt port. To connect a DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI, or VGA display, just use an existing adapter.

• USB 2.0: 480 Mbps
• FireWire 800: 800 Mbps
• Express Card: 2.5 Gbps
• USB 3.0: 5 Gbps
• Thunderbolt: 10 Gbps

With 10 Gbps of throughput in both directions, Thunderbolt I/O technology lets you move data to and from peripherals up to 20 times faster than with USB 2.0 and more than 12 times faster than with FireWire 800.