Introduction

As the demand for data transmission continues to grow, OCuLink has begun to expand into the consumer market. OCuLink was originally designed to meet the high-performance computing needs of servers and data centers, but in recent years, with the rise of consumer-grade products such as external graphics processing units (eGPUs) and high-end gaming equipment, it has gradually entered the field of vision of ordinary consumers.

The popularity of OCuLink devices in the consumer market has promoted the development of related accessories and peripherals, thereby continuously expanding its application scope in the market. Although the application scenarios of OCuLink in the consumer market are still relatively limited, mainly concentrated in high-end applications that require large amounts of data transmission, it provides these devices with unprecedented connection speed and bandwidth advantages. This issue takes stock of various OCuLink products on the market, including terminal devices such as laptops and mini hosts, as well as related accessories such as SSD enclosures and graphics card docks.

What is OCuLink

OCuLink, short for "Optical-Copper Link," is a peripheral connection standard that allows you to connect PCIe devices using an external cable rather than an internal slot. 

The interface was developed by the PCI-SIG, the Body for standardization and norming of the PCI interface (Peripheral Component Interconnect Special Interest Group). It is designed to provide a smaller, more flexible, and more efficient PCIe expansion solution.

OCuLink delivered PCIe 3.0 and PCIe 4.0 bandwidth. It also supports SATA and SAS. The common OCuLink interface on the market uses two different connectors, SFF-8611 and SFF-8612, which are used for the host side and the device side, respectively. It provides 4 PCIe lanes, each with a bandwidth of 8GT/s (PCIe 3.0) or 16GT/s (PCIe 4.0), for a total bandwidth of up to 64Gbps.

OCuLink is a connection system for the PCI Express area. The interface has a Small-Form-factor which is optimized for internal and external enclosure usage. OCuLink cables are a cost-effective possibility for an external PCIe extension.

Compared to Thunderbolt, which integrates DisplayPort and PCI-Express, OCuLink is a pure PCIe channel and does not include a DP channel. Its transmission loss is relatively low when connecting an external graphics card dock. OCuLink of PCIe 3.0×4 can reach a bandwidth of 32Gbps, while PCIe 4.0×4 can reach a bandwidth of 64Gbps, which is more advantageous than the maximum bandwidth of 22Gbps of Thunderbolt 3 and the maximum bandwidth of 32Gbps of Thunderbolt 4.

However, OCuLink may be slightly inferior to Thunderbolt in terms of compatibility, integrity, and completeness, but it has the characteristics of relatively lower price and better performance.

OCuLink Products Inventory

According to the latest statistics, as of mid-November 2024, there are 41 OCuLink-related devices involving 12 mini PCs, eight gaming consoles, eight graphics docks, seven laptops, four connectors, one SSD, and one chip from 16 companies.

In terms of product categories, the largest number of OCuLink products are currently mini PCs, gaming consoles, graphics docks, and laptops.

There are twelve mini console PCs, accounting for 29%, followed by gaming consoles and graphics docks, each with eight products, accounting for 20%; there are seven laptops, accounting for 17%; there are four connectors, accounting for 10%; there is one SSD and chip products, each with one product, accounting for 2%.

According to the data, there are 17 brands and manufacturers related to OCuLink products. Among them, MINISFORUM has six products; AOOSTAR has five products; GPD, ONE-NETBOOK, and ROG each have four products; GMKtec and Lenovo each have three products; AYANEO and METAPHYUNI each have two products; THUNDEROBOT, Amphenol, FEVM, BizLink, LUXSHARETECH, GZOSMETA, Molex, and Parade Technologies each have 1 product.

Summary of ChargerLAB

The continued development and technological innovation of OCuLink will undoubtedly bring more possibilities to connection technology. As the technology matures and its application deepens, we can foresee that OCuLink will support more high-performance devices in the near future, thereby further promoting technological innovation and product diversification in the consumer electronics market.