How long are thunderbolt cables

Tech Specs. Actual performance may vary depending on host computer, environment, and use conditions. United States. Woodstock, IL Zaandam, Noord-Holland DH. United Kingdom. Malad W , Mumbai, Maharashtra, South Africa. Thunderbolt 3 is backward compatible. Solutions and products built to Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 specifications will require the Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt Adapter. Thunderbolt 3 passive cables have maximum lengths. We currently have the following passive Thunderbolt 3 copper cables:.

The maximum length of the cable refers to the maximum length at which the cables perform optimal speeds while also delivering other enabled features power or video data. In the future we will offer active cables which will provide 40Gbps of bandwidth at longer lengths.

Active Thunderbolt 3 cables support Thunderbolt at 40Gbps data transfer at lengths of up to 2m. Optical cables are targeted later, with lengths of up to 60m. Although the extra length is great, active cables feature a couple of obvious caveats. For starters, active cables are more expensive, which is probably one of the reasons why companies tend to bundle shorter, passive cables with their Thunderbolt 3 products. Another issue with active cables is that they lack backwards compatibility with USB 3.

If you try to connect an active Thunderbolt 3 cable to a USB 3. But even with the extra cost, and the lack of USB 3. A longer 2-meter active cable can be more convenient, but a lot will depend on the type of Thunderbolt 3 devices that you use, along with your desk layout.

I ran each of the tests five times, I then dropped the high and low results and took the average of the remaining three. Even the cable connecting at 20 Gbps, which is what passive cables connect at longer lengths, performed well in most tests.

Here, the extra bandwidth afforded by short passive cables and longer active cables made a considerable difference. While, in some instances, a 0. To strengthen my point, Razer, makers of the Razer Core X eGPU , actually bundles a 2-meter active cable with its graphics enclosure — a generous gesture. If passive cables were noticeably faster than active cables, then I have no doubt that Razer would have included a passive cable instead. Having the flexibility to be able to move your devices further away from your Mac can make a big difference in usability, especially with products like eGPUs or external drives.