[NAME]  - The USB-C port on rear of XPS 8960 is USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C. This port is capable of a theoretical 20 Gbps, assuming the external device supports that speed. The USB-C port on front of PC is USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C that's capable of a theoretical 10 Gbps. You also have USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports for 5 Gbps plus two slow USB 2.0 ports for mouse and keyboard. So make sure you connect the external drive that supports the fastest speed to the rear Gen 2x2 Type-C  port. If necessary, you can get a long(er) USB-C>USB-C Gen 2x2 cable with full support at 20 Gbps and plug it into the rear USB-C port. Put the other end on your desktop or wherever you keep your USB devices. That way you can quickly/easily swap drives connected to that fast port without having to move the PC, etc. That's what I did. Amazing how much faster my backups are using the fast rear USB-C port instead of the front one...
I just got my 8960 last month, and am thinking of upgrading to Thunderbolt 4.  My original plan was to wait until new systems offered Thunderbolt, but my HP Envy bit the dust. My starting research said the RTX 3060 video card blocked both PCIe x4 slots.  I removed the left side panel today, and the bottom slot is accessible. I have seen threads that say it's very difficult to find a Thunderbolt card that is compatible.  Does anybody have any info or a card they used successfully?  I would like to avoid having to play guessing games as to what will work. I currently get benchmark readings of 7,000 MB/s with the internal SSD, and the Samsung 980 Pro I installed.  The USB drives I built only get around 1,000 MB/s.  I would like to increase that performance. I have seen several claims on YouTube of getting 3,000 MB/s with a ORICO USB4.0 M.2 SSD Enclosure 40Gbps NVMe M.2 Enclosure.  The authors are very vague, and seem to claim those numbers with the stock USB 3.2 ports.  I have ordered an enclosure to test, as I will need an enclosure anyway.  I have not seen what speeds to expect with Thunderbolt 4, but suspect it is higher than 3,000 MB/s. I saw a post on this site that said any up yo date motherboard should work, and that makes sense.  The XPS 8960 was released only 3 months ago. Thanks in advanced for any help.
XPS 8960, Thunderbolt 4 upgrade