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January 11, 2022
Thunderbolt 4 and other tech issues
Here at RuggedPCReview we see new stuff every day. New rugged handhelds, tablets and laptops. New technologies, new trends, updates, enhancements, new standards, new priorities. Most makes sense, but not everything. And sometimes we come across issues that are hard to figure out. This past year we've had three of them.
One was Intel's apparent decision to hand over more processor configuration leeway to hardware manufacturers in its 11th generation of Core processors. Instead of Intel setting all the parameters to keep chips from overheating, systems designers can now tweak the chips for their articular platforms and markets. As a result, standard performance benchmarks can no longer predict as accurately how a particular device compares to its competition.
Another was a peculiar limitation on Intel's highly touted new Iris Xe graphics that came with that same 11th generation of Core processors. The confusion there was that those graphics apparently depended on not only the type of memory installed in a machine, but also of the number and use of memory card slots.
And a third surrounded, again with the introduction of Intel's 11th generation of Core processors, the inclusion of Thunderbolt 4 capability into the chips. There, it quickly became apparent to us that Thunderbolt 4 was a finicky and rather vague thing that, for now, worked in some hardware and with some peripherals but not in others.
Each of these three issues has a direct impact on customers. Which makes the vagueness surrounding these enhancements baffling. Finding solid information on each of those three areas was and is next to impossible. Intel won't talk; questions sent to the appropriate Intel group are generally either ignored or, after several reminders, brushed off with a brief general statement that answers nothing.
That leaves us in the unenviable position of knowing that something is wrong or, at least, needs detailed explanation, without being able to get enough information to authoritatively report on it. Article drafts wait and wait for answers from Intel and other sources. That's not a good situation. Because some issues cannot wait or be ignored. They directly affect enterprise, IT and personal purchasing decisions.
Say, for example, that your mobile workforce uses rugged laptops and tablets in the field and then brings them to the office for uploading, processing, analyzing, reporting or whatever. They want to plug the laptop or tablet into a couple of big screens, a keyboard, a mouse, and whatever else, without dealing with a dozen cables and connectors. That's where Thunderbolt 4 (potentially) comes in. Intel describes it as a "one wire solution." All you need is plug that field laptop or tablet into a Thunderbolt 4 dock, and, voila, duel external screens, all the peripherals you need, and also all the charging you need, including that of the laptop or tablet itself. All of that with just one wire between the laptop and the TB4 dock.
Except that it may or may not work.
Yes, over the past twelve month we've tested a good number of high-end new rugged devices that support Thunderbolt 4 and found that things are far from as simple as they should be. And that's not even including the mounting problem of figuring out which USB port is now a Thunderbolt 4 port (and what, exactly that is and means), and which is just a "regular" USB port and, if that, whether it can or cannot provide charging and how much.
The problem seems to be that what Thunderbolt 4 can deliver depends on some pretty fancy software, configuration and driver footwork. Far from being a neat, universal plug-and-play standard, the Thunderbolt 4 controllers in computers and docks must first establish "handshakes" between them, figuring out what is and what it not supported, and to what degree. In our testing, almost every machine had one issue or another with different Thunderbolt 4 docks. And figuring out where the problem lies isn't easy.
The result? A new machine may not support multiple external screens via Thunderbolt 4 at all. Or it may not charge at all. Or it may charge sometimes. Trying to make it work takes time. Too often, marketing claims are one thing, making it all work behind the scenes is another. It's all very opaque. It shouldn't be that way.
Posted by conradb212 at January 11, 2022 3:04 PM