Re:Why aren't motherboards mostly USB-C by now? (2021)
by chx on Sunday November 19, 2023 @01:21AM
(#38329709)
> now we have multiple hundreds of dollars thunderbolt cables
This is mostly an exaggeration.
Apple has a $160 3m 40Gbps cable but Cable Matters has the same for $70 (and Trebleet has a 2.5m one for $50).
The 25 feet 40gbps cable from Pure Fi is the only I can think of that fits the "multiple hundreds' description at $200 but then again it's an active optical cable (it's not compatible with plain USB).
> the cap on the actual receptacle component is below $10 even for ones with support for higher speeds.
Maybe the actual C connector they started with is below $10 but you are looking at rather expensive redriver chips inside and careful engineering to care for the signal integrity at 40gbps.
This is mostly an exaggeration.
Apple has a $160 3m 40Gbps cable but Cable Matters has the same for $70 (and Trebleet has a 2.5m one for $50).
The 25 feet 40gbps cable from Pure Fi is the only I can think of that fits the "multiple hundreds' description at $200 but then again it's an active optical cable (it's not compatible with plain USB).
> the cap on the actual receptacle component is below $10 even for ones with support for higher speeds.
Maybe the actual C connector they started with is below $10 but you are looking at rather expensive redriver chips inside and careful engineering to care for the signal integrity at 40gbps.