AMD’s Lightning Bolt: Cheaper Alternative to Intel’s Thunderbolt

AMD has put together a new concept it calls Lightning Bolt. Lightning Bolt is an AMD technology that is meant to deliver USB 3.0, DisplayPort and Power over a single cable utilizing mini DisplayPort connectors. AMD was able to demonstrate this technology live at CES. The technology itself is designed to be simple and affordable with the cable being a standard mini-DP cable with changes to only 2 pins. The performance and power limitations for the design are a bit of sticking point however, as AMD have claimed USB 3.0 transfers will be faster then USB 2.0 but not full speed, there is no word on how much power the interface will deliver either. Lightning Bolt is expected to hit the market by the end of the year with hubs available sooner at a cost of $40.