Intel said 14th-gen desktop CPUs support Thunderbolt 5 – but it turns out that was a mistake
Intel has corrected itself when it comes to the new Raptor Lake Refresh series of desktop processors, clarifying that these 14th-generation chips won’t support Thunderbolt 5 after all.
When Raptor Lake Refresh launched, Intel’s release statement noted that the 14th generation processors “will include support for … upcoming wired Thunderbolt 5 connectivity.”
A correction has now been issued – as indicated by Tom’s hardware – in which Intel clarifies that the above statement was incorrect.
Intel notes: “While some processors in the Intel Core 14th Generation processor family will support Thunderbolt 5, Intel Core 14th Generation desktop processors specifically will not support it.”
Analysis: An eye-opening launch blunder
Thunderbolt 5 connectivity is hardly the biggest issue surrounding Intel’s Raptor Lake Refresh – obviously all the focus (as always) has been on how much faster they are gen-on-gen, and how much power they consume, and the price. Still, it’s pretty bad for Intel to fail to mention a basic fact about the 14th generation in the launch announcement.
At least we now know that desktop CPUs won’t get Thunderbolt 5, which might make you wonder: which 14th-gen processors will? Intel must refer to the other chip family that will be launched in December and run alongside Raptor Lake Refresh, namely Meteor Lake.
Meteor Lake are (mobile) laptop processors, so this makes sense: Thunderbolt ports are most common there. They are present on many more notebooks than on desktops.
It’s also worth noting that Thunderbolt 5 was announced not too long ago, and devices using the standard won’t hit the market until 2024 (likely later in the year). So there’s still quite a way to go before that happens, but Thunderbolt 5 is a big deal, simply because of its blazing speed. However, it looks like Raptor Lake Refresh PC owners will have to live without it.