The long-awaited Thunderbolt 5 cables have finally made an appearance, even before Thunderbolt 5 docks hit the shelves. Cable Matters has unveiled a range of “Intel Certified” Thunderbolt 5 cables boasting speeds of up to 120Gbps—but not all are equally worth considering.
Available on Amazon, Cable Matters offers a 3.3-foot Thunderbolt 5 cable for $32.99, plus an additional 10 percent discount coupon, making it an attractive choice for most setups. They also sell shorter lengths: a 1-foot cable for $22.99 and a 1.6-foot option for $26.99.
While the shorter cables may seem convenient, particularly the 1-foot variant, it’s generally too limiting for practical desktop use. The 1.6-foot length could be sufficient depending on your setup.
Thunderbolt 5 represents a significant upgrade from its predecessor, Thunderbolt 4, doubling bidirectional speeds to 80Gbps and offering an optional boost to 120Gbps for display applications.
While these cables may not be long enough for every desktop setup, they mark a significant step toward the arrival of Thunderbolt 5 devices. Initial Thunderbolt 5 hardware was showcased at CES earlier this year, with expectations of availability later in the year, even though it won’t be integrated into Intel’s Lunar Lake processor just yet.
