Thunderbolt 3 40gbps Data Transfer Rate
Summary: This article gives information about Thunderbolt 3 USB-C transfer rates on Dell systems.
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This article is not tied to any specific product.
Not all product versions are identified in this article.
Symptoms
Customers using Dell systems with a Thunderbolt 3 port may report they are unable to achieve data transfer rates up to the maximum 40gbps. Some customers may report that the data transfer speeds vary depending on the system they are testing on.
Customers may also report that the system only has two lanes of data and not the expected four lanes. See the chart below on which systems were designed with two lanes and which were designed with four lanes.
Note: Any system that is not listed in the article should be four lanes as Intel has standardized to four lanes.
| Platform | Lanes of PCIe capable using Thunderbolt 3 port |
|---|---|
| Dell Precision 3510 * | Four lanes |
| Dell Precision 3520 * | Four lanes |
| Dell Precision 5510 | Two lanes |
| Dell Precision 5520 | Two lanes |
| Dell Precision 7510 | Four lanes |
| Dell Precision 7520 | Four lanes |
| Dell Precision 7710 | Four lanes |
| Dell Precision 7720 | Four lanes |
| XPS 12 2-n-1 | Two lanes |
| XPS 13 9365 2-n-1 | Four lanes |
| XPS 13 9350 | Two lanes |
| XPS 13 9360 | Two lanes |
| XPS 13 9370 | Four lanes |
| XPS 15 9550 | Two lanes |
| XPS 15 9560 | Two lanes |
| Latitude 7275 | Four lanes |
| Latitude 7285 | Four lanes |
| Latitude 5570 * | Four lanes |
| Latitude 7370 | Four lanes |
| Latitude 7280 | Four lanes |
| Latitude 7480 | Four lanes |
| Latitude 5480 | Four lanes |
| Latitude 5580 | Four lanes |
| Alienware 13 R2 | Two lanes |
| Alienware 15 R2 | Four lanes |
| Alienware 17 R3 | Four lanes |
| Alienware 13 R3 | Four lanes |
| Alienware 15 R3 | Four lanes |
| Alienware 17 R4 | Four lanes |
| Inspiron 7577 | Four lanes |
* Only select configurations have Thunderbolt 3 ports.
Cause
No cause information is available.
Resolution
Thunderbolt 3 ports can be configured with 2 or 4 PCIe lane designs. Alpine Ridge uses separate inputs for Display Port 1.2 data (DP stream is not part of PCIe traffic).
Thunderbolt 3 bandwidth is shared bandwidth which means all connected devices use the bandwidth for all protocols that transfer through the same Thunderbolt 3 cable (DisplayPort over USB-C traffic and PCIe traffic such as USB, Ethernet, and Audio). Below is a chart that can help explain how different items can use the 40gbps total bandwidth. The Dell Thunderbolt TB16 dock can use up to the full 40 Gbps of bandwidth depending on what devices are attached to the TBT dock.
| Port | Version | Throughput | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| HDMI | 1.4 | 10.2 Gbps | Up to 4K2K @ 30 Hz true color |
| Mini Display Port | 1.2 | Up to 16 Gbps per lane | Up to 4K2K @ 60 Hz |
| Full-Size Display Port | 1.2 | Up to 16 Gbps per lane | Up to 4K2K @ 60 Hz |
| VGA | |||
| RJ45 | IEEE 802.3 | 10/100/1000 Mb/s | |
| USB (2) | 2.0 Type A | 480 Mbps | 5 V @ 500 mA, 2A Peak |
| USB (2) | 3.0 Type A | 5 Gbps | 5 V @ 900 mA, 2A Peak |
| USB w/Powershare (1) | 3.0 Type A | 5 Gbps | 5 V @ 2A Power Share |
| USB Type-C Thunderbolt™ | Gen 3 | Up to 40 Gbps | Up to 60 W* |
For more information go to: Thunderbolt 3 Tech Brief
Note: Systems with the two-lane design will only support up to 20gbps data transfers over PCIe devices such as external hard drives or PCIe video cards. Systems with four-lane design will support up to 40gbps of data transfer over PCIe depending on the device in use.
Affected Products
Alienware 13 R3, Alienware 13 R2, Alienware 15 R3, Alienware 15 R2, Alienware 17 R4, Alienware 17 R3, Latitude 7280, Latitude 7370, Latitude 5480/5488, Latitude 7480, Latitude 5580, Latitude 7275, Latitude E5570, Precision 3520, Precision 5520
, Precision 3510, Precision 5510, Precision 7510, Precision 7710, XPS 12 9250, XPS 13 9350 (End of Life), XPS 13 9360, XPS 13 9365 2-in-1, XPS 15 9550, XPS 15 9560
...
Article Properties
Article Number: 000060905
Article Type: Solution
Last Modified: 09 Oct 2024
Version: 5
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