Whether you're gaming, streaming, or just love using high-performance accessories and peripherals, Thunderbolt™ 4 lets you do more with your PC.
What is Thunderbolt™ 4? In short, Thunderbolt 4 technology is a fast, universal interface for connecting multiple types of accessories, including USB and Thunderbolt-enabled devices. Any standard gaming monitor will work, as the Thunderbolt interface is natively compatible with DisplayPort displays.
When it comes to gaming accessories, the Thunderbolt 4 port gives you a wide range of options. From external capture devices to flexible portable SSDs, here are some of the best Thunderbolt accessories to take your gaming setup to the next level.
Connect All Your Gaming Gear
Thunderbolt 4 ports are compatible with USB 2.0, USB 3.2, and USB4 devices, which means your USB gaming accessories can flow seamlessly. Meanwhile, a Thunderbolt™ dock lets you seamlessly connect a multitude of high-resolution, high-fidelity input and output accessories simultaneously.
Thunderbolt™ 4 docking station. Increase the number of available ports with a Thunderbolt™ 4 docking station. They feature up to four Thunderbolt ports for connecting Thunderbolt™ and other USB-C accessories. They also often offer additional ports, including USB-A, DisplayPort, AUX, Ethernet, and SD card slots.
Not only do Thunderbolt™ 4 docking stations let you connect a ton of gear, they also help keep your desk organized. With a docking station, all those messy cables can run into a central Thunderbolt™ hub located next to your PC, rather than snaking to individual ports on the front, sides, and hard-to-reach back panel. Desktop clutter is minimized and ports are easily accessible, so disconnecting and repositioning devices is a breeze.
Gaming peripherals. Connect wired accessories like gaming keyboards, mice, and headsets to a Thunderbolt™ 4 dock to keep your desktop setup organized and your gear ready to go.
- Mechanical keyboards let you choose the type of keystrokes you prefer, from lightning-fast linear switches to clicky switches with ample tactile feedback.
- Wired mice designed for gaming offer consistent tracking and adjustable sensitivity in dots per inch (DPI).
- Headsets provide accurate directional audio to identify sound sources and have built-in microphones to communicate with teammates.
Get creative with your peripherals. For example, connect a racing wheel or flight control stick to add realistic controls to simulation games. Multiple inputs, like a racing game's steering wheel, pedals, and gear shifter, can dock into a single port. Peripherals take up fewer ports on your computer, leaving more for other uses.
Another advantage of running simulation peripherals through a Thunderbolt™ 4 dock is that your ports are more accessible. You can place the dock in any convenient location, giving you extra mobility to build any setup you might dream up. Thunderbolt 4 cables offer top transfer speeds and are available in lengths up to 2 meters (6.56 feet), giving you greater distance when connecting peripherals to a Thunderbolt™ 4 dock. Learn more about gaming peripherals.
Stream Like a Pro
Connect your streaming device to a Thunderbolt™ 4 dock. Benefits include port expansion, neat cable management, and the ability to quickly connect to streaming peripherals when you want to live stream.
- External webcams typically have higher resolutions and better frame rates than the webcams integrated into your laptop, so they provide smoother, clearer video. You can also easily move them around for better camera angles.
- A standalone microphone can provide excellent audio quality for your live stream. A gaming headset with a built-in microphone is another great option. For those who need professional sound quality and features, connect an XLR microphone with a Thunderbolt™ audio interface.
- Streaming platforms, midi controllers, and programmable macro keys let you map common streaming functions to hotkeys. Instantly switch scenes, trigger overlays, play background music, interact with your audience, and post messages on your social media channels to announce when you're live.
New to streaming? Read our Getting Started Guide.
Thunderbolt™ External Capture Devices.
Adding a Thunderbolt-enabled capture device to your setup can greatly improve the video quality of your live streams.
External capture devices allow you to capture and stream video without affecting your PC's performance. This way, your in-game performance isn't impacted by the video encoding process, allowing you to play at higher frame rates.
Thunderbolt™ capture devices take advantage of the high 40Gbps bandwidth of the Thunderbolt 4 port. You can stream clips up to 4K at 60 FPS on your streaming PC and up to 240 FPS at 1080p (depending on the capabilities of your gaming PC, streaming PC, and capture device). Learn how to create a dual-PC streaming setup here.
Upgrade your gaming PC with high-performance devices
Connect additional accessories to your gaming rig to increase performance and functionality. Thunderbolt 4 ports support high-speed SSDs, gaming monitors, and external graphics cards.
Thunderbolt™ SSDs. A fast external drive can be an asset to your gaming. For example, you can store your game library on an external drive and take it to another PC. Thunderbolt™ SSDs can deliver storage speeds up to 3,000 Mbps for smooth gameplay, fast load times, and help reduce stuttering when games are loading data on the fly.
Thunderbolt™ SSDs can also be used to save gaming footage, as they provide the high throughput needed to edit large video files.
Read all about the benefits of playing games on an SSD here.
Gaming monitors. Thunderbolt 4 ports give you multiple display options. Connect a Thunderbolt™ monitor, a DisplayPort 1.4 monitor, or HDMI, DVI, and VGA monitors using a Thunderbolt™ adapter or dock. The choice is yours.
- High refresh rate monitors allow you to see the benefits of playing games at higher than 60 FPS. Connect a 144Hz or 240Hz gaming monitor for smoother animations and lower latency.
- 4K HDR monitors bring out more colors and details. You can also run a dual 4K setup at 60Hz. Or, connect a single 5K or 8K monitor to play the growing number of games that support these ultra-high resolutions.
- Ultrawide monitors expand your view of the gaming world (in games that support them). Some ultrawide monitors are curved, allowing you to clearly see the edges of the screen.
To learn more about gaming monitor options, continue reading here.
External graphics cards. Thunderbolt™ cases offer convenient external expansion slots for installing high-performance components that require access to the system's PCIe lanes. They are an excellent choice for users of small form factor (SFF) PCs or thin laptops.
For example, a graphics card can be installed in a Thunderbolt™ case to enhance the graphics capabilities and performance of your PC, allowing you to play games at higher video settings.
With Thunderbolt™ 4, your computer's minimum PCIe data requirements have increased from 16 Gbps to 32 Gbps, which means that an external graphics card may see a performance boost, depending on the specifications of the case.
Note: If you plan to add eGFX to your setup, make sure the case is compatible with your PC.
Play games with Thunderbolt 4 accessories
Thunderbolt 4 accessories, including gaming and streaming peripherals, capture devices, displays, fast storage, and external graphics cards, can enhance your gaming experience. Thunderbolt 4 ports provide reliable, versatile connections for the high-performance devices you want.
To use Thunderbolt accessories, look for Thunderbolt 4 ports on your next PC. You'll find them in systems with select Intel processors. Thunderbolt 4 technology is integrated into 11th Gen and later Intel Core processors, allowing you to do more with accessories. Learn what else you can do with Thunderbolt 4 ports here.