8

I just bought a recent ASUS laptop.

The seller clearly stated on its website that this laptop USB type-C connector was "thunderbolt 3" compatible.

Since, my USB connector doesn't have the usual little lightning logo, I'm having doubt that's this connector is really "Thunderbolt 3"... It's clear however that the connector is USB 3.1 Gen2

I'm still confused with the different types of USB type-C connector so I would like to check if my laptop has the hardware required to be "thunderbolt 3" enabled,

According to this article, my laptop should have a dedicated controller for thunderbolt, but how to be sure?

Any help appreciated..

Fabien
  • 435

7 Answers7

3

I know this is a fairly old thread, but I have been looking for a definitive answer myself, as the specs for my HP 850 G5 just say Thunderbolt - ditto for all the details I could find in Device Manager.

Eventually I came across the freeware HWiNFO64 at hwinfo.com, and found the information I wanted ("Thunderbolt 3 Bridge") under the Bus heading. It will also tell you whether you have 2 or 4 PCI-E lanes (I only have two it seems, ho hum!).

Ian Hensman
  • 31
3

I ran msinfo32.exe and found mention of 'Thunderbolt' in 2 spots. a) Under: System>Hardware Resources>IRQ b) Under: System>Software Environment>System Drivers

You can also search for the word 'Thunderbolt' using msinfo32.exe

IRQ for Thunderbolt Driver for Thunderbolt

Jason
  • 131
1

I finally found a way to verify the thunderbolt compatibility of a computer:

  • If the laptop is really Thunderbolt enabled, there should be a line in the different "BIOS setup options" mentioning "Thunderbolt" somewhere (or maybe "Alpine Ridge" for the host controller codename)
  • If there is no mention of Thunderbolt in the BIOS, then it's likely that your computer is not Thunderbolt enabled..
Fabien
  • 435
1

On windows machine you can run dxdiag.exe. From there you can save a text file with all you installed HW/drivers,...

Then look for thunderbold in the text. Something like:

Name: Thunderbolt(TM) Controller - 15EB
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_15EB&SUBSYS_08311028&REV_06\C4520491CDB7D00000
   Driver: C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\tbt100x.sys, 17.04.0079.0011 (English), 12/30/2018 08:38:22, 137680 bytes
   Driver: C:\Intel\Thunderbolt\setup.msi, 1/7/2019 14:28:28, 8798208 bytes
   Driver: C:\WINDOWS\system32\tbtcoinx_17_4_79_11.dll, 17.04.0079.0011 (English), 12/30/2018 08:38:24, 411600 bytes
Jean-Marc Volle
  • 111
1

Hunt down your laptop specifications online for detailed specifications. For instance a Google search on "HP 15-eg0073cl specs" leads to a page that says:

External Ports

  • SuperSpeed USB Type-C® 10Gbps signaling rate (USB Power Delivery, DisplayPort™ 1.4)
  • 2 SuperSpeed USB Type-A 5Gbps signaling rate
  • 1 HDMI 2.0

Lack of Thunderbolt port is confirmed, however USB-C to DisplayPort 1.4 monitor should work.

SushiGuy
  • 111
-1

I'm not sure if this is definitive, but my Dell Latitude 5401 which has Thunderbolt has this shown in the Device Manager. Maybe that might help someone: Screen shot of device manager showing "Thunderbolt HSA Component"

MJB
  • 1
-2

My system came with a thunderbolt software or installed. It's called Thunderbolt Software and it lists the ports available.

Joswin Lobo
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