14 DAY TRIAL // Thunderbolt is a scalable interface (currently at 20 Gbps bandwidth) based on the DisplayPort 1.2 protocol but, sadly, rather underused. Intel wants to change that though.
To that end, it has started a new program that will promote the technology.
Called “Thunderbolt Ready,” it is an initiative that allows owners of motherboards to add Thunderbolt 2 (20 Gbps).
All it takes is for said motherboard to have a GPIO header (general purpose input/output header). From now on, you can check for a “Thunderbolt Ready” logo on your PC if this strikes your fancy.
Even if you have Thunderbolt, it might be limited to 10 Gbps (as if that's not a lot already) so you might want to add a Thunderbolt card anyway.
Since USB 3.0 can match Thunderbolt 1 at 10 Gbps (not that many devices use this specification yet), people may go for TB2 just because of that.