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PCWorld reports that while Hewlett-Packard (HP) had considered using Thunderbolt in its newest desktop PCs, for now it's sticking with USB 3.0.
“We did look at [Thunderbolt]. We’re still looking into it. Haven't found a value proposition yet,” said Xavier Lauwaert, worldwide marketing manager for desktops at HP.
According to Lauwaert, everone seems to be content with USB 3.0 so they don't see the value of including Thunderbolt in their desktop machines.




Thunderbolt is the high speed interconnect system that was introduced by Intel in February. Apple was the first customer to adopt the new connector with the launch of its early 2011 MacBook Pros. Apple has since released new iMacs also supporting Thunderbolt. Due to the newness of the connector, there is presently little 3rd party support, though Intel is said to be opening up Thunderbolt development this quarter.

HP is notable for being the largest U.S. computer manufacturer accounting for 26% of the market in the 1st quarter 2011.

Article Link: Hewlett Packard Not Convinced of the Value of Thunderbolt
 

qzxyu

macrumors member
May 7, 2011
67
0
Anaheim, CA
They have a point as of now since there are very few reasons to include a thunderbolt port, however I hope and think this will change in the near future at which time HP will jump on the bandwagon.
 

HONDAxACURA

macrumors regular
Sep 6, 2008
119
0
California
I think Thunderbolt is more for professional users. Transferring high amounts of data. For the general public, I think USB 3.0 is better.

However, for people who are backing up files to their externals, I would want Thunderbolt. It takes me super long to back up my files with Time Machine with a USB drive.

HP: This is not kid's stuff.
 

Edmoil12

macrumors member
Jun 1, 2010
51
0
Remember when mini displayport was supposed to be the next big thing?

Once again apple will trot out how they are setting an 'industry standard' when hardly anyone else uses it. Here we go again...
 

Michael Scrip

macrumors 604
Mar 4, 2011
7,922
12,470
NC
Can't Thunderbolt run pretty much any protocol?

I thought that's what LightPeak was supposed to be... one connection that could do anything.

Will there be any TB-USB3 converters or dongles?

It would be a shame if USB3 finally takes off... and Apple sticks with ThunderBolt.

Firewire redux...
 

SilianRail

macrumors 6502
Feb 24, 2011
352
56
Intel wants to gouge OEMs on licensing fees and Apple wants to sell us $99 cables. This is what happens when you don't go with a consortium or open standard.
 

firestarter

macrumors 603
Dec 31, 2002
5,506
227
Green and pleasant land
Thunderbolt has value as a backplane extender, even if noone else adopts it.

Desktop PCs arguably have a lot less use for it, as they are very easily expandable anyway. iMacs, laptops and other 'sealed' units will benefit most - particularly when the manufacturer (Apple!) chooses not to include other high speed ports like eSATA.
 

Michael Scrip

macrumors 604
Mar 4, 2011
7,922
12,470
NC
Thunderbolt is mini Displayport

I think he was referring to the fact that Mini Displayport isn't ubiquitous as they once thought it would be.

Right now, almost every video card is still VGA and DVI. Only Macs have settled on Mini Displayport.

HDMI is found more places than Mini Displayport...
 

ThunderSkunk

macrumors 68040
Dec 31, 2007
3,782
3,990
Milwaukee Area
For what possible reason would you want to go with the slower standard? Not for performance sake.

Cheaper? Possibly.
Stick it to Apple? Maybe.
Planned obsolescence? Probably.
 

Macsavvytech

macrumors 6502a
May 25, 2010
897
0
HP was never really a big supporter of thunderbolt. Not sure why this is big news.
Meanwhile Dell, Sony, Apple, Intel and many other big brands are behind Thunderbolt.
 

macrumorsuser10

macrumors 6502
Nov 18, 2010
359
445
Any discussion of the value of Thunderbolt is moot at this point since there are no peripherals that use Thunderbolt (other than the Apple Cinema Display monitors that can use the Thunderbolt in lieu of Mini DisplayPort). If and when the Thunderbolt-connected drives from LaCie and Promise actually ship later this year, we can discuss further at that point. Until then, HP's decision to forgo the adoption of Thunderbolt is spot on.
 

Slurpy2k8

macrumors 6502
Feb 26, 2008
383
0
And HP's opinion is relevant, why? Not sure what they've contributed to the industry, besides being another PC maker clone, so their 'value proposition' is of little concern. The smartest think theyve ever done is to buy Palm. Thunderbolt is an amazing technology, I only hope it is supported by peripherals.
 

haruhiko

macrumors 604
Sep 29, 2009
6,529
5,874
The only PITA of buying a Macbook Pro despite all the awesomeness of the hardware and Mac OS X, is that I have to buy two adapters, one for my HDTV (MDP -> HDMI), and one for other projectors (MDP -> VGA/DVI etc.), there isn't anything except Apple monitors that use the MDP.:(
 

Michael CM1

macrumors 603
Feb 4, 2008
5,681
276
Anybody ever bought a Hewlett-Packard computer and thought, "Gee, these guys really know what they're doing in every aspect of computing. I should always listen to these guys."

Nope.

When HP says it doesn't see the "value" in using the port, that means the company is too cheap to put it on its cheap computers.

Don't get me wrong on Thunderbolt. It's still in its infancy and you can't find crap for it yet. But I'm betting at some point we had no roads in this country. Device manufacturers aren't going to make something if there aren't ports available. This was true with USB and every other port, good or bad.

I don't know the pros/cons compared to USB 3, but I know one of the two is needed. USB 2 is way too slow for the larger and larger files we create today, and FireWire 400/800 is left off of many cheaper products for, well, cheapness.

If Apple wants to really push TB, it should create a connector for iPads and iPhones. I'm sick and tired of newer iDevices requiring more and more voltage to charge. I only have four darn USB ports on my iMac, so I can't exactly plug up everything directly to the back. My iPad won't charge using a powered hub, so give me a frakking break. None of this helps me now since I can't exactly add a TB port, but you gotta start somewhere.
 

MH01

Suspended
Feb 11, 2008
12,107
9,297
Thunderbolt has a place in mac pros for professional use as a expansion card. Guys at work are excited about it for video editing etc but they use maxed out pros that cut through encodes. Thunderbolt ports on the rest of the range is useless at the moment, only port in the industry that is all hype and had nothing that will work with it. I'm kinda peeved off cause the one of my favourite feature of my 2009 iMac 27 was the target mode which meant I could run any device with a minidp into my iMac and use it as a display, brilliant! Thanks to the useless TB port that featuren now only works between two tb equiped devices.... Freakin useless Apple! If I want to continue using it I have to upgrade my mini, MBA , mbp and PC GPU. Which is complete bollocks as only the MPB has the TB port. Apple has to stop being the cool kid on the block and screwing over their own customers with fancy tech that even their range does not work with, a USB 3 port would have been useful from day one, the TB may never catch on at all, and I have no desire to pay top $$$ for TB devices due to lack of competition while over in the PC world USB is becoming common and cheap. So macs are going to be stuck with USB 2 for a while :(
 

8CoreWhore

macrumors 68030
Jan 17, 2008
2,651
1,183
Tejas
Keep in mind - Apple has not eliminated USB while implementing Thunderbolt.

It's not Thunderbolt Vs. USB - it's Thunderbolt Vs. USB 3.0

I rather have TB plus USB 2 then Just USB 3.

TB is even a lot faster and more flexible then Express Card.

TB port is roughly half the size of USB port, making it more suitable for portable devices.

TB (20Gbps) is way better than USB 3 (5Gbps) because it's way faster, and can daisy chain. It's a straight tap into PCI-E.

And, Apple may... may... go with TB plus USB 3 in the future, but there may be tech reasons not to (at least in mobiles).

===============================================================
(From Apple)

One small port. One giant leap in possibilities.
Both MacBook Pro and iMac now give you access to a world of high-speed peripherals and high-resolution displays with one compact port.

That’s because Thunderbolt is based on two fundamental technologies: PCI Express and DisplayPort.

PCI Express is the technology that links all the high-performance components in a Mac. And it’s built into Thunderbolt. Which means you can connect external devices like RAID arrays and video capture solutions directly to MacBook Pro or iMac — and get PCI Express performance. That’s a first for any computer.

Thunderbolt also provides 10 watts of power to peripherals, so you can tackle workstation-class projects on the go with MacBook Pro or from your home office with iMac.

With PCI Express technology, you can use existing USB and FireWire peripherals — even connect to Gigabit Ethernet and Fibre Channel networks — using simple adapters.

And because Thunderbolt is based on DisplayPort technology, the video standard for high-resolution displays, any Mini DisplayPort display plugs right into the Thunderbolt port. To connect a DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI, or VGA display, just use an existing adapter.
 

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Bodypainter

macrumors regular
Oct 11, 2007
196
0
i am sorry, but i still don't get it. Why do we Need thunderbolt again? to Backup Faster? for video cutting? for the display? well, the backup is slow because time machine is slow. in most cases it is done wirelessly - no need for thunderbolt. video cutting? isn't it all going away from bluray and moving to compact codecs and online Internet? no need for thunderbolt (USB works fine here). so we need it for the display? for some strange reason even via produces a very good picture on my monitor! no need for thunderbolt.

I guess apple wants to use it, so they add it. i don't need thunderbolt. I would be more happy if they'd lower the prices, or start with more designs for their machines again (go to the university and everyone has the same boring silver MacBook).
 

Piggie

macrumors G3
Feb 23, 2010
9,109
3,974
Does this feel a little like Firewire / USB2 again?

I have buckets of things that are USB.USB2, the defacto standard, and only 1 thing that was ever firewire, a 8mm video camera.

Don't get me wrong, the faster and higher spec the better, but it's all pointless unless it gets fitted into everything and becomes a standard.

Kinda like having a 12" Diameter penis, Very impressive & you can show it off to people, but useless as it won't fit into anything.
 
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