Thunderbolt 4 is the latest technology building upon the innovation of Thunderbolt 3 with the ability to transfer data, video output to display, and power devices using a single USB-C cable. Since there are minimum requirements that have to be guaranteed met, Thunderbolt 4 is the most comprehensive solution available from USB-C connectors.
You can connect external GPUs with Thunderbolt 4. All you need is an eGPU, an enclosure, and a laptop with Thunderbolt 4 that supports eGPUs. The setup is simple. However, the cost of an eGPU and enclosure can make you think twice before getting an external GPU for your laptop with Thunderbolt 4.
One of the best reasons to upgrade to the Thunderbolt 4 laptop is the speed: a Thunderbolt connection can transfer data at up to 40GB per second – that’s four times faster than USB. That means no more waiting forever for large files and videos to load.
Another reason is the increased portability of having fewer cables needed. With only one type of cable, you don’t have to worry about bringing around extra adapters or converters so you can plug in your laptop anywhere on any device with a compatible connector like HDMI or VGA. This makes it perfect for those who need their laptops when they are out-of-office or traveling overseas without an adapter handy. The reduced number of cables also reduces clutter and helps keep things tidy while looking stylish as well.
Last but not least, there is the increased security that comes with the Thunderbolt connection. All data transferred over a thunderbolt cable is encrypted and a password port.
HP’s new and improved Spectre x360 15T is probably the best 2-in-1 laptop you can invest in, considering the crafty aesthetics and a reliable processing setup. You might have a diverse set of preferences that can be best represented by this class-leading convertible.
HP offers the elusive and interactive Windows 10 Pro OS and sweetens the pot further with a bundled flash drive, HP pen, and MS Office trial version. For creatives, media fanatics, and students who are more into reading, the 15.6-inch 4K panel is a necessitated inclusion. With an overall resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels, the featured IPS screen is one of the brightest in the retail sector. Besides, the touchscreen is bezel-less and completely stylus compatible.
| Display Size | 15.6 Inches |
| Screen Resolution | 3840×2160 |
| Max Screen Resolution | 3840 x 2160 Pixels |
| Processor | 1.8 GHz core_i7 |
| RAM | 16 GB DDR4 |
| Memory Speed | 1.8 GHz |
| Hard Drive | 512 GB ssd |
| Graphics Coprocessor | NVIDIA GeForce MX330 |
| Chipset Brand | Intel |
| Card Description | Integrated |
| Wireless Type | 802.11ac |
If you want a premium laptop that you can also use as a tablet, the HP Spectre x360 14 is one of the very best options you can find right now. It’s a fantastic combination of versatility and portability with a beautiful design that stands out from the crowd.
The ASUS ZenBook 14 ultra-slim laptop is one of the most powerful yet compact notebooks with a 14-inch screen on our list that digital artists, animators, and illustrators would want to consider. It has a 14” screen with a 1920 x 1080 pixel screen resolution with a narrow bezel design. The machine offers a higher screen-to-body ratio compared to the competition, which is bright and color accurate.
The Zenbook 14 offers 8GB RAM and helps an artist open multiple software in the background while surfing the web without any issue. It also has plenty of flash storage, 512GB to be exact, which allows the user to install software locally and store their animations, drawing, and artwork without any picture storage issues.
| Display Size | 14 Inches |
| Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 Pixels |
| Processor | 4.7 GHz apple_ci7 |
| RAM | 16 GB LPDDR4 |
| Memory Speed | 4266 MHz |
| Hard Drive | 512 GB Flash Memory Solid State |
| Graphics Coprocessor | NVIDIA GeForce MX450 |
| Chipset Brand | NVIDIA |
| Card Description | NVIDIA MX450 |
| Graphics Card Ram Size | 2 GB |
| Wireless Type | Bluetooth, 802.11ax |
| Number of USB 3.0 Ports | 3 |
| Average Battery Life (in hours) | 16 Hours |
What stands out about this model is its multipurpose Touch-enabled screen pad. It can especially be helpful for art and design students to draw, take notes, and other minimalistic changes. The keyboard has good keys with a fast travel time.
Overall, it is a great machine for graduating art majors who want a laptop that is lightweight and offers great performance. However, if you’re looking forward to playing high-end games on this, then this might not be the best choice.
The Asus TUF Dash F15 is a gaming laptop from Asus that has a thin form factor and is easily portable when compared to heavy gaming laptops. Armed with Intel’s new 11th-generation Tiger Lake-H35 processors, the laptop delivers a breathtakingly powerful experience. Although it is aimed at gamers, it is highly suitable for performing all kinds of intensive tasks.It has a super-portable design and a great battery life that makes it one of the best gaming laptops. The TUF line of laptops from Asus is aimed at the budget audience who are looking for the best gaming laptop without compromising on specs and performance.
| Standing screen display size | 15.6 Inches |
| Screen Resolution | 1920×1080 |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| Processor | 3.3 GHz core_i7 |
| RAM | 16 GB SO-DIMM |
| Hard Drive | 1 TB flash_memory_solid_state |
| Graphics Coprocessor | GeForce RTX 3070 |
| Chipset Brand | NVIDIA |
| Card Description | Dedicated |
| Wireless Type | Bluetooth |
This computer has all of the power and speed necessary for any type of game, along with enough battery life to last you through hours of gameplay without needing a charge. Whether you’re looking for something in a budget-friendly price range or are willing to spend more money for top-of-the-line performance, this product will not disappoint.
The MacBook Pro M1 from Apple is a powerhouse laptop capable of sustained high performance for all kinds of intensive tasks. It is aimed at high-end users who need superior CPU and GPU performance. With the M1 chip, Apple aims to provide the best experience for its users as it can have tighter control over both the hardware and software components of its devicesThe connectivity options include two Thunderbolt / USB4 ports.
You can connect an external display and other devices with a Thunderbolt 4 or USB-C cable. The port also allows you to charge your MacBook with a USB-C cable. Use a USB-C or Lightning cable to charge your iPhone and iPad. You can increase the number of available Thunderbolt ports by getting a Thunderbolt 4 Hub. This will enable you to create a complete workstation setup that is convenient and highly effective.
| Display | 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors, 16:10 aspect ratio |
| Processor | System on Chip (SoC) Apple M1 chip; 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores; 16-core Neural Engine |
| Graphics and Video Support | Apple 8-core GPU |
| Charging and Expansion | Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports with support for: Charging, DisplayPort Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40 Gbps), USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10 Gbps) |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi 802.11ax Wi-Fi wireless networking; IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible, Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology |
| In the Box | 13-inch MacBook Pro, 61W USB-C Power Adapter, USB-C Charge Cable (2 m) |
The latest macOS Big Sur is designed to work seamlessly with the Apple M1 chip. You can experience the full performance and efficiency gains of the M1 chip with the Big Sur as you can take advantage of the advanced power management features that allow intelligent splitting of tasks between the performance and efficiency cores of the processor. Apple has taken convenience and performance up by many notches with the latest M1 chip. This makes MacBook Pro M1 the best Thunderbolt 4 laptop in 2021.
MacBook’s are one of the most popular laptops among computer science students because of their developer-friendly workspace. However, in 2020, Apple released their new MacBook that is powered by the M1 chipset. It is an Apple-made chipset and comes with eight cores based on TSMC’s 5nm processing node. As a result, you will most likely get up to 3.2GHz of clock speed. Meanwhile, this laptop comes with a 16 core neural engine which will give higher AI performance.An HD Webcam is further integrated to help you with online classes, video conferencing, streaming videos, and working from home if you are also doing a part-time job. Seeing the beautiful panel, some students would be thinking of using it for entertainment. This is a perfect machine to do so, whether watching movies, Netflix, Youtube or listening to music. Its dual front-firing setup produces adequately loud audio output. As we know, MacBooks have never been so good in the I/O department, and there is no exception with the latest Macbook Air.
| Product Dimensions | 11.97 x 0.63 x 8.36 inches; 2.8 Pounds |
| Item Weight | 2.8 pounds |
| Manufacturer | Apple Computer |
| Language | English |
| ASIN | B08N5M7S6K |
| Item model number | MGND3LL/A |
| Batteries | 1 Lithium Polymer batteries required. (included) |
| Date First Available | November 10, 2020 |
The laptop includes only two Thunderbolt 4 capable USB Type C ports with DisplayPort and charging support. Additionally, it gets a headphone jack. So you will have to use a dongle to get more functions, especially if you tend to use external devices more often. Apart from that, this laptop has Wi-Fi 6 technology along with Bluetooth 5 support. The laptop is framed with solid Aluminium construction regarding the build quality, weighing less than 3 pounds. Speaking of the overall design, this is outstanding with great portability.
Thunderbolt 4 is a hardware function upgrade of the USB-C port, which can provide more power. The Thunderbolt 4 port has four PCIe channels, allowing more data to be parsed at any given time. You can enable unique use cases, such as faster file transfer, power transfer, and even the use of an external GPU.
With all Thunderbolt 4 laptops certified, you can be sure of the quality and reliability. You’ll also have peace of mind knowing that any laptop with a Thunderbolt port will charge your monitor while driving resolutions up to 8K. And this is really what makes it worth spending on a Thunderbolt 4 machine not only does it offer universal compatibility but also high-resolution displays at lightning speeds. If you want to buy an affordable yet reliable laptop, choose one with a T4 port because they are unmatched in performance and versatility when compared to other ports like USB or HDMI.
One thing to keep in mind is that if the laptop has a Thunderbolt port, it means its price will be higher. The next thing is that this laptop made of Thunderbolt will be very popular because it moves at a high speed.
Thunderbolt 4 is an upgraded cable connection interface from Intel capable of powering your devices, transferring data, and displaying a video source to an external monitor all at once all with just one port. When it comes to speed, Thunderbolt 4 ports have a 40Gbps bidirectional bandwidth.
The port’s appearance is physically the same as miniDP (DisplayPort). To confirm you have a Thunderbolt port on your computer, display, or cable check for the Thunderbolt symbol next to or above the port or connector.
Thunderbolt 3 ports look exactly the same as USB-C ports, and indeed, the connector is physically the same from a plug-in perspective. Indeed, Thunderbolt 3 is a superset of USB-C; you can plug a USB-C-only device into a Thunderbolt 3 port on a computer, and it’ll work just fine.
When it comes to connecting your laptop to your monitor or TV, HDMI is the preferred connection type capable of transferring high-definition audio and video over a single cable. Thunderbolt is significantly faster than USB 3.0 or FireWire and provides more video bandwidth than HDMI.
Intel introduced Thunderbolt 4 in their latest 11th Gen Intel Core processor family (codename Tiger Lake). Here’s a quick breakdown of some of the features Intel says users can expect: An increase in the minimum video and data requirements provided by host devices through Thunderbolt 4.
