How to know if a laptop has thunderbolt 3?

Hey guys,
I'm planning on getting a new laptop InShaaAllah and I want it to have thunderbolt to support the (possibly) upcoming external gpu's.

Anyway's this whole thunderbolt thing is very confusing to a newbie like me. In spec's of laptops I've seen "USB 3.0 (or 3.1) type-c", "USB 3.1" and sometimes explicitly stated "thunderbolt". Googling seems to interchangeably use "type-c", "USB 3.1" and "thunderbolt".

So I wanted some clarification into what is what? Which one I need for an eGPU? And/or a link that explains it in simple terms would do too because ( I honestly couldn't find one)

Thanks in advance.

 

Short answer: it will say thunderbolt 3. if it doesn't say thunderbolt 3, it doesn't have it.

usb C is the shape of the connector. the usb C shape is used for thunderbolt 3 and can also be used for usb 3.1. some usb C ports have just usb 3.1, and some have both usb 3.1 and thunderbolt 3.

 

Thunderbolt 3 will be labeled (and marketed) as Thunderbolt 3.

Type C is a connector shape (just like USB, mini-USB, micro-USB). It can be confusing, because it's coming out at the same time as USB 3.1. But Type-C does not automatically mean Thunderbolt or USB 3.1 speeds. All it means is that it's the shape of a plug.

As for external GPUs... honestly, if you're a newbie, I'd say forget about external GPUs. They are a giant headache. It's not as simple as just buying the right parts, installing a driver, and magically having everything work. You need to very specifically pick out the exact model of parts (even down to the BIOS revision) that may or may not work with your laptop. You'll need to deal with hacked / modded drivers. You can only connect that eGPU to an external monitor (it won't send the signal back to the laptop's built-in display). And even if you get ALL of that working, you're going to have an eGPU that is both slower and more expensive than buying a separate laptop + gaming desktop.

My suggestion to you is this:
* If you need gaming in a laptop form factor, then just buy a gaming laptop with a decent GPU (nVidia GeForce 970M, 980M, or 980).
* If you want gaming that you can upgrade later, then buy a portable laptop (that you will use as a laptop), and build a separate gaming PC. It's going to be a lot easier, cheaper, and perform better than trying to build an eGPU setup.

 

Thanks for the info man. guess I wont be short-listing laptops based on whether they have thunderbolt or not then