If Thunderbolt 1 & 2 is Mini DisplayPort, Mini DisplayPort must also be Thunderbolt? There is a lot of confusion around Thunderbolt, Mini DisplayPort and connectivity.

This is because both Thunderbolt and Mini DisplayPort use an identical connector, and the only difference is that the Thunderbolt connector can carry (in addition to the Mini DisplayPort), a Thunderbolt signal, which is a PCI-Express. Thunderbolt is fully compatible with Mini DisplayPort peripherals, and the new port is backward compatible, therefore it can still be used to connect to DisplayPort devices, BUT, only the new port can be used to connect to Thunderbolt devices. What works, what doesn’t? The image below shows which combinations of Thunderbolt (TB Cable) and Mini DisplayPort (DP Cable) will (green) and will not (red) work together. This diagram refers to Thunderbolt 1 & 2 only Clearly, there are some cases where the two technologies will work well together, but there are nearly two times as many combinations that will not.

Computers with a Thunderbolt connector (usually designated with the Thunderbolt Logo – a lightning bolt shaped arrow), will function when connected to either Thunderbolt or Mini DisplayPort display, provided you are using a cable matching the technology of the display. However, a Mini DisplayPort enabled device will not function when connected to a Thunderbolt display or docking station. The case for Thunderbolt: more connections While Mini DisplayPort only allows for connections from your computer to a display, Thunderbolt goes well beyond that, allowing you to connect other Thunderbolt enabled devices such as docking stations, hard drive enclosures and RAID enclosures. When it comes to transferring data from a computer to an external hard drive or RAID enclosure, Thunderbolt offers far greater performance than USB 2.0 & 3.0, and even FireWire 400 & 800 and ExpressCard/PCIe. This is because Thunderbolt operates with two dedicated channels (one upstream and one downstream) each capable of speeds of 10 Gb/s or 20 Gb/s with Thunderbolt 2. The comparison chart below illustrates just how efficient Thunderbolt is with handling media files: Also, remember that Thunderbolt cables are required to connect two Thunderbolt devices together. Next Steps Check out our full range of and accessories.This articles applies to Thunderbolt 1 & 2 technology only, Thunderbolt 3.

I just bought a DisplayPort 1.2 monitor that fails to run off my laptop’s Thunderbolt 1 port. Am I right in guessing this is because Thunderbolt 1 is only DisplayPort 1.1a capable? The monitor has no way to change DisplayPort versions for me to check. Funny thing is, the monitor runs off my desktop graphics card’s mini DisplayPort with no problem. Now this mini DisplayPort must be version 1.1, as it is an old card (Radeon HD 5970) that was released one month before DisplayPort 1.2 became available. Any insights?

Hi Kim, DisplayPort 1.2 is backwards compatible, so the issue should not be due to different DisplayPort revisions. When you use a Thunderbolt 1 computer with a DisplayPort monitor, you do need to use a Mini DisplayPort cable, not a Thunderbolt 1 or 2 cable.

If you are using a Mini DisplayPort cable, we recommend you narrow down the issue further. If possible, also test the Thunderbolt 1 port with another monitor.

If you are troubleshooting a StarTech.com product, please contact our technical support team. You can contact us in a number of ways, listed on our support page: Thanks! I want to use a 40″ 4K TV as a computer monitor. It will also be used to watch BluRay movies and occasionally even some over-the-air television shows. Computer applications include browsing, word processing, spreadsheets, photo editing, and some video editing, but no gaming. Sony’s 43-Inch 4K Ultra HD TV (XBR43X830C; 2015 Model) looks ideal because of its size and the review it gets. I want to drive the TV with Lenovo’s ThinkPad P40 Yoga PC (Intel Core i7-6500U; 16GB; 1TB SSD; 14-inch Full HD) because of its size, flexibility, weight, keyboard, etc.

It contains the NVIDIA Quadro M500M 2GB graphics chip. The issue is that the TV has only HDMI inputs, and the computer’s 4K support is limited to its miniDisplayPort according to this review. I see the Sabrent Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter that claims 4K support which would seem to close the gap. Sabrent says that it connects via Thunderbolt 2. As a neophyte, I’m sure there are caveats and gotchas that I don’t foresee. Can you please let me know if my plan looks workable?

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Do you seen any pitfalls? The captive (i.e. Non-removable) data-in cable attached to the Apple Thunderbolt Display accepts.only.

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Thunderbolt signal. While it’s true that a DisplayPort video datastream would normally be one of the streams encoded within the Thunderbolt signal, the display is designed to be used.only.

with a Thunderbolt host, and is unable to interpret a “naked” DisplayPort signal on the line. The display can be used with a PC.if and only if.

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the PC has Thunderbolt-out capability, either built-in or added via an expansion card. Any version of Thunderbolt (“TB”) on the PC host should work. If the host uses Thunderbolt version 1 or 2, it will have one or more Mini DisplayPort-shaped Thunderbolt ports, into which you can plug the cable from the display directly. If the host uses Thunderbolt 3, it will have one or more USB-C-shaped connectors, to which you can connect the display by way of a TB3-to-TB2 adapter (which has a male USB-C-shaped connector on the upstream end, and a female Mini DisplayPort-shaped connector on the downstream end). Also, I haven’t checked, but it’s possible that a Thunderbolt 3 dock is available somewhere that features a TB1/TB2-style (Mini DisplayPort-shaped) TB port; if so, this would be an alternative to a dedicated TB3-to-TB2 adapter.

Note that earlier Apple display models, such as the Cinema Displays, know nothing of Thunderbolt and will happily accept plain old DisplayPort input.