Thunderbolt 4 and Thunderbolt 3 laptops – the complete list

We’ve seen Thunderbolt ports on enthusiast computers for a while now, but these days Thunderbolt is becoming the port everyone wants on a new laptop, regardless of size, form-factor, or budget.

The 3rd and 4th generations of Thunderbolt are significant upgrades over their predecessors and in many ways, the one port that could replace all others in the years to come.

Physically, both Thunderbolt 4 and Thunderbolt 3 are USB Type-C connectors, thus compact, reliable, and reversible. Technically, the two standards are mostly similar as well. For starters, both TB3 and TB4 support throughputs of up to 40 Gbps, both can drive external monitors via DisplayPort 1.2 or HDMI 2.0 video outs, both offer 10 GbE fast networking, as well as power delivery (at a minimum of 15W of power). So as far as speeds and overall capabilities go, Thunderbolt 4 is not faster or better than the previous standard.

The major difference is in the amount of bandwidth allocated via PCIe. While Thunderbolt 3 systems are required to support 16 Gbps for PCIe connections, Thunderbolt 4 allocates 32 Gbps, and that translates into faster connections with peripherals (docks, eGPUs, storage units, etc) and improved video-output support. In this case, while TB3 supports a single 4K 60Hz display, TB4 supports either a single 8K 60 Hz display or two 4K 60 Hz displays per port.

On top of these, Thunderbolt 4 compliant docks are also required to support instant wake from sleep and VT-D/DMA protection against Thunderspy attacks. Finally, there’s one more aspect worth considering when it comes to cables, with TB4 branded cables of up to 2 meter in length required to support 40 Gbps speeds, while only shorter TB3 cables (most of them under 1 m) were able to maintain the same kind of speeds.

In other words, both Thunderbolt 3 and 4 are the compact and versatile connectors that you can use to charge your laptop, transfer files at fast speeds, connect external monitors and other peripherals, including PCIe compatible graphics units (like the Razer Core, or the Aorus Gaming Box). This last aspect is particularly interesting, as it allows OEMs to design ultra-portable laptops that can also handle serious gaming once hooked up to these external GPU docks.

We’re going to further discuss Thunderbolt 4, USB 4, and Thunderbolt 3 in a separate article, as well as towards the end of this post. For now, let’s get to the complete list of all the available laptops and ultra-portables that offer at least one Thunderbolt 4 or 3 port at the time of this update.

Modern Thunderbolt 4 laptops

It’s important to mention that as of 2022 (and later), Intel’s Tiger Lake and ALder Lake Core U  platforms (and the more recent Raptor Lake updates) include an integrated Thunderbolt 4 controller by default.

That means the vast majority of available Tiger/Alder/Raptor Lake laptops (and most likely future platforms) include at least one Thunderbolt 4 port by default. You’ll find a detailed list of modern Intel ultraportables in this separate article that goes over EVO-certified ultrabooks, but for the most part, expect Thunderbolt connectivity on the majority of Intel computers released past early 2021.

In the past, Thunderbolt functionality was not entirely baked into the chips, and manufacturers had to integrate a separate controller on the motherboards in order to implement Thunderbolt 3, as well as pay Intel for the certification (the right to have TB3). That’s why Thunderbolt 3 ports were mostly available on higher-tier products, and rarely on affordable laptops. Furthermore, because Thunderbolt is an Intel and Apple proprietary technology, that’s why AMD laptops do not include Thunderbolt ports of any kind (so far), albeit that might change in the future.

Bottom point, most Intel laptops available in stores as of early-2021 include Thunderbolt 4 connectivity by default, while in the case of older notebooks, only select options are available with Thunderbolt 3 ports.

Since there are many such computers out there, we’ll split them into three different groups: compact laptops (with 13-inch screens or smaller), large-screen portable laptops (15 to 17-inch screens), and full-size notebooks (15-inch screens or larger) in the following part of this article.

We’ll also include details on their format, hardware platform, type of TB3 port (x2 or x4 PCIe lanes), whether each laptop can charge via USB-C, and the starting MSRP price in the US, in case you’re looking for something within a specific budget or one of the cheaper Thunderbolt laptops out there. Keep in mind prices and availability vary over time, so follow the links for more details, as well as the link on each unit’s name for our detailed reviews and guides.

I’ll also add that the lists below only include laptops released in the last 2-3 years, and for the most part, only the latest version of each laptop is mentioned, even if the previous generations supported Thunderbolt 3 as well.

If you’re looking for a larger screen and faster hardware, but still want to stay within compact and portable ranges (under 4 lbs for 14-inchers, under 5 lbs for 15 inchers, under 6 lbs for 17-inchers), then these are the options to consider.

Last but not least, if you don’t care about portability at all and simply want a powerful computer with a large screen, capable graphics and a Thunderbolt 3 port, these are the options for you.

* these laptops can change via USB-C, but a USB-C charger is not included
** some HP laptops can change via USB-C, but only through select HP docking stations and not with regular USB-C adapters

There’s a catch about the Thunderbolt 3 connection, it can be hooked up to the motherboard via x2 or x4 PCIe lanes. The x2 TB3 port is half the speed of the x4 TB3 connection and is primarily a problem when hooking up an external graphics chip and playing on the notebook’s internal display, as data needs to be swapped back and forth between the laptop and the eGPU dock. Hooking up the eGPU and playing on an external monitor hooked to the eGPU works fine on an x1 TB3 connection though, as in this case the data is no longer sent back to the laptop via the Thunderbolt.

It’s also worth adding that many laptops get two TB3 ports hooked into a single TB3 x4 controller, and not two ports with two dedicated 4x lanes. That means you get the 4x speeds while only one peripheral is hooked in, and they’ll share the connection when you hook up two.

Thunderbolt 3 explained

Now, let’s get back to why this Thunderbolt 3 port is such a big deal. Here are a couple of thoughts:

• The USB Type-C connector is compact and reversible, so compatible cables are not going to take a lot of space. Also, unlike most other connectors like USB Type-A, DisplayPort, HDMI, etc, a USB Type-C cable no longer has a “right-way” to plug in, making it much easier to use.
• USB-C ports are more and more widely spread on mother devices, so down the road, they could replace all the other standard connectors, which means we could end up with one universal connector and one type of cable for pretty much all basic needs.
• Not all USB-C ports support Thunderbolt 3, as the technology is only reserved to certain Intel based-devices with an appropriate TB3 chip. That might change in the future, as Intel plans to bake Thunderbolt 3 compatibility within the CPUs.
• TB3 allows for very fast transfer speeds of up to 40 Gbps, which opens up space for a multitude of compatible accessories: fast external storage units, external graphics and processing units, external docking stations, etc.
• TB3 can output video, audio, and power at the same time, so is a solution for connecting high-resolution external monitors or TV sets.
• TB3 is also capable of network transfer speeds of up to 10 GbE, so can be a solution if you want to quickly transfer content within your network.
• TB3 can also be used for charging your device at up to 100 W of power. So good-bye dedicated charging cables. (it can also charge laptops that normally ship with higher capacity chargers, but slower and while performing less-demanding loads. However, you should keep in mind that not all laptops allow TB3 charging, even if the port theoretically supports it).

Thunderbolt 3 is versatile, compact, and easy to use – source

One compact port can do all of these, so no wonder manufacturers are adding TB3 on the latest ultrabooks.

But what does Thunderbolt 3 mean for ultraportable notebooks? It allows OEMs to design thinner, lighter and smaller devices which wouldn’t have space around their sides to accommodate regularly sized ports. Yes, that means you’ll need to buy adapters for your existing cables and devices, but to some extent, that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make. These smaller computers can be hooked up to peripherals and transformed from the ultraportable travel companions they represent by their own, to business, multimedia, and even gaming computers. You can hook up an external monitor for extra screen real-estate, a storage unit, a docking station with extra ports or those graphics units. Just keep in mind that CPU’s can be a bottleneck un ultraportable laptops hooked up to eGPU, as these are usually built on Core Y or Core U processors, but thin-and-light 15-inchers with quad/six-core Core H processors and a solid amount of RAM will be good matches for the graphics capabilities of a full-size desktop card.

There is however a fair amount of confusion around Thunderbolt 3, mostly because it’s impossible to determine whether a device is TB3 compatible or not by simply looking at the physical connector. And that’s because TB3 and regular USB 3.1 ports both use a USB Type-C physical connector, but have different capabilities. The Apple MacBook, for instance, offers a USB 3.1 port, but not Thunderbolt 3. Standard USB 3.1 Type-C connectors still support data, video and audio transfers, but are limited to a lower bandwidth, so will perform slower, can’t carry power and aren’t compatible with graphics units, among others.

As of early 2019, there are many Thunderbolt 3 compatible accessories available in stores, and we covered some of the better ones in this article. Even so, having a Thunderbolt 3 port on your laptop might still not sit that high on your list of priorities, but you should consider something with TB3 for future-proofness, especially if you plan to take advantage of the matching peripherals down the line and plan to keep the laptop you’re buying today for at least 2-3 years.

With that in mind, we’ll wrap this up here. I’ll continue to update this list of Thunderbolt 3 compatible laptops as often as possible, adding the new entries as they become available, but if you spot something that should be in here and is not, make sure to tell me about it in the comments section below, where I’ll also wait for your feedback and questions if any.