Intel Shares Additional Details on 20Gbps 'Thunderbolt 2'

For some people's edification

I feel it's important to mention, in such threads...

Thunderbolt is really mostly oriented at pro users. If you don't use it, big whoop. Most people don't use a fraction of the power their computers offer. For the folks who need it, it's a Good Thing, and not "overpriced," in that Thunderbolt peripherals are actually pretty reasonably priced, compared with PCIe alternatives.

Used to be a day, people really liked the fact that Macs were a "Pro" platform. I guess now that Apple is all hip and trendy, people just want to moan about everything. And ironically, the casual users moan about Thunderbolt being there, and the "Pros" moan about the platform not being "Pro" enough.

:rolleyes:

How about better support for and making Thunderbolt 1 more widespread before announcing Thunderbolt 2 Intel?

Hmm, they even dropped the gloss from the lightning logo ;)

cool, now there can hardly be any Thunderbolt 2 accessories instead of their hardly being any Thunderbolt 1 accessories! And they'll be non-existent even faster on Thunderbolt 2!

It's embarrassing that the top line professional system, the Mac Pro, doesn't have Thunderbolt while the entire line currently does. If there is a Mac Pro refresh announced this month, it better include Thunderbolt along with the hints at a return to the pro-market.

If you're a "pro user" you aren't using desktop attached storage.

And if you're solely using thunderbolt for secondary or tertiary displays, who cares?

I do.

This problem was already solved decades ago. So what, you only one cable, who CARES?

I do.

2x the speed, 2x the fun, 2x the price.

have thunderbolt on my 2011 macbook pro for the past 2 and a half years

never used it

If you're a "pro user" you aren't using desktop attached storage.

And if you're solely using thunderbolt for secondary or tertiary displays, who cares? This problem was already solved decades ago. So what, you only one cable, who CARES?

Not necessarily true. As a film editor, I need quite a bit of space. My current gen 12-Core pro is maxed out, 2x8 TB's internal SATA II drives and a 256GB SSD drive under my LG Blu-Ray optical. Thunderbolt would allow:

- a smaller form factor
- daisy chaining external drives/drives
- faster, bi-directional transfers for HD/4K video
- Placing the system in a ventilated closet or a few in another room, with a single Thunderbolt cable leading to (a) workstation(s) for HID's, displays, etc.

Apple chose to implement Thunderbolt in less expensive portables as a replacement for FireWire for many reasons. Showcasing it in consumer systems introduces a generally unknown tech to a larger demographic while pushing third party device manufacturers towards Thunderbolts external devices. Consumer awareness is crucial. As a bi-directional system, it carries a myriad of signals (video, audio, data, you name it), thus eliminating the need for FireWire, eSATA, even USB, allowing for slimmer and more efficient systems.

----------

It should be even more embarrassing that the Mac Pros don't even have USB 3.0 !!!! Quite pathetic.

Yup. Thankfully CalDigit has had a PCIe USB 3.0 card, I've had one running in my Mac Pro for a while. Still doesn't excuse USB 2.0, SATA II, Bluetooth 2.1+ as "current" hardware in a $2499+ system, along with no HDMI, Thunderbolt and/or eSATA connections.

It's embarrassing that the top line professional system, the Mac Pro, doesn't have Thunderbolt while the entire line currently does. If there is a Mac Pro refresh announced this month, it better include Thunderbolt along with the hints at a return to the pro-market.

You realize that this holdup is due to Intel not having currently available Xeon-based processor chipsets that can support Thunderbolt, right?