I wish the new iMacs had 3 thunderbolt ports.

iCaleb · Dec 10, 2012, 12:54 PM

Here's what I would like to do........Have 2 1080p 21.5'' monitors to go with the iMac screen one to the left and one to the right.

But at the same time I would also like to have an external drive set as the main boot drive running mountain lion.

But with the two TB ports already taken up by the two hdmi monitors the only option would be to use a usb 3.0 drive as the main boot drive instead of a TB ssd drive.

How much faster would the usb 3.0 ssd/hdd drive be compared to the internal standard hdd?

dlbmacfan · Dec 10, 2012, 01:06 PM

You can daisy chain Thunderbolt peripherals, so I think you can put an external TB drive in between the computer and one of your monitors.

iCaleb · Dec 10, 2012, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dlbmacfan

You can daisy chain Thunderbolt peripherals, so I think you can put an external TB drive in between the computer and one of your monitors.

I can only afford the lacie rugged TB ssd drive but it only has one TB port making it non daisy chain able.

Your idea would only work with the pricey Little big disk ssd which has two TB ports.

SnowLeopard2008 · Dec 10, 2012, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iCaleb

I can only afford the lacie rugged TB ssd drive but it only has one TB port making it non daisy chain able.

Your idea would only work with the pricey Little big disk ssd which has two TB ports.

Can you put the SSD/boot drive at the end of the chain? iMac->TBD->SSD/boot.

iCaleb · Dec 10, 2012, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SnowLeopard2008

Can you put the SSD/boot drive at the end of the chain? iMac->TBD->SSD/boot.

I would be using two dell 21.5 inch displays via hdmi to DP not the TB display.

If I could only find a hard drive with two TB ports for under 300.

kaelell · Dec 10, 2012, 01:51 PM

right there with you. Even thunderbolt hubs seem to be starting at £250ish

thekev · Dec 10, 2012, 01:54 PM

I believe the current chip only supports 2 ports.

iCaleb · Dec 10, 2012, 01:55 PM

So what are my other options?

A usb 3.0 drive or some type of network storage?

Or would these two options be slower than the internal hdd?

xgman · Dec 10, 2012, 01:58 PM

This is a big problem right now. I had to spend a fortune on dual TB enclosures to be able to get extra ports. I needed to be able to house 5 drives via TB. An external monitor will be plugged into one of them and a Firewire adapter into the other end of the line. That's a long way to go and a lot of cash to get what could have been much less expensive and bother if there were more ports or if manufacturers simply included the pass through port to begin with.

I'm using WD MY Passport Duo Thunderbolts which have 2 drives per unit and a passthorugh. Trouble is I had no use for the drives so they are moving to my Mac Pro which I'm selling, and using existing ssd & velciraptors in their place. The TB box was around $465 with the slow Green WD drives.

I fully expect in a couple few months OWC and others will fill the gap, but for now it's a huge pain in several areas.

iCaleb · Dec 10, 2012, 01:59 PM

If only Apple would of put an HDMI out port on the new iMacs this wouldn't be an issue.

bflowers · Dec 10, 2012, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iCaleb

If only Apple would of put an HDMI out port on the new iMacs this wouldn't be an issue.

If only they would have done a lot of things. If wishes were _________ (fill in your favorite saying here)

iCaleb · Dec 11, 2012, 11:39 AM

My questions are still unanswered.

Number one being the fastest and number four being the slowest.

Would this be in the correct order as shown below?

#1 External thunderbolt ssd.

#2 External usb 3.0 ssd.

#3 External usb 3.0 hdd.

#4 Internal stock hdd.

A thunderbolt drive is not an option for me unless I remove one display from my setup.

So should I have a 2 screen setup and a thunderbolt ssd as the boot drive?

Or should I have a 3 screen setup and a usb 3.0 ssd/hdd as the boot drive?

hfg · 12:10 PM

You could get a refurbished LaCie "Little Big Disk" for $200, replace the hard disks with your choice of matching SSD drives, configure the SSDs for RAID-0 to maximize speed, then run your display off of the second Thunderbolt port on the LaCie. Set your system to boot from the external Thunderbolt RAID-0 SSD.

This would be #0 in your list above.

The LaCie LBD as received with RAID-0 hard disks would be about #1.5 to 2.2 in your list.

-howard

iCaleb · Dec 11, 2012, 12:06 PM

I'm not a big fan of refurbished items.

hfg · 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iCaleb

I'm not a big fan of refurbished items.

They appear to be new, possibly LaCie is dumping the old SATA-II internal bus stock and now is selling the current SATA-III internal bus models. But it is much cheaper for the old ones if you already have the SSDs.

The most likely part to wear out is the disks ... and you are discarding them.

You can get a brand new 1TB SSD LaCie Thunderbolt (highest speed) for $1000 if you don't already have the drives.

That isn't a bad deal since doing it yourself would require 2 x $400 512GB SSDs plus the $200 Thunderbolt dual drive enclosure (less if you can use / sell the hard disks that come with it) making the DIY one $1000 as well (plus the cheaper refurbished enclosures may be a bit slower with SATA-II internal bus).

-howard

xgman · Dec 12, 2012, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iCaleb

My questions are still unanswered.

Number one being the fastest and number four being the slowest.

Would this be in the correct order as shown below?

#1 External thunderbolt ssd.

#2 External usb 3.0 ssd.

#3 External usb 3.0 hdd.

#4 Internal stock hdd.

A thunderbolt drive is not an option for me unless I remove one display from my setup.

So should I have a 2 screen setup and a thunderbolt ssd as the boot drive?

Or should I have a 3 screen setup and a usb 3.0 ssd/hdd as the boot drive?

Switch 3 & 4 around and I wouldn't place an SSD on usb 3 if I could get a TB enclosure. The pickup in speed would be worth the extra $ I think.

mmomega · Dec 12, 2012, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaelell

right there with you. Even thunderbolt hubs seem to be starting at £250ish

Show me a real Thunderbolt hub that is for sale and shipping, I'll buy it.

kaelell · Dec 13, 2012, 05:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mmomega

Show me a real Thunderbolt hub that is for sale and shipping, I'll buy it.

there....ermm...mmm....oh...there's one on the apple store for £899.
There is also this huge screen on the back of it.

=)

mmomega · Dec 13, 2012, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaelell

there....ermm...mmm....oh...there's one on the apple store for £899.
There is also this huge screen on the back of it.

=)

Actually one just went on sale yesterday the Matrox DS1 I believe.
1 USB3
2 USB2 ... ?
1 HDMI
1 Gigabit
Set of Headphone jacks

for $249

I'll wait for the Belkin Hub or a TBDisplay with USB3 if either ever makes it .

kaelell · Dec 13, 2012, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mmomega

Actually one just went on sale yesterday the Matrox DS1 I believe.
1 USB3
2 USB2 ... ?
1 HDMI
1 Gigabit
Set of Headphone jacks

for $249

I'll wait for the Belkin Hub or a TBDisplay with USB3 if either ever makes it .

Just saw that too, for £200 though its still way over priced with only 2 TB's.

I will wait for the Belkin Hub and pray that the pricing is just speculation.

iCaleb · Feb 23, 2013, 12:42 AM

I found the solution!!! A USB 3.0 to hdmi adapter.

1st TB port using ssd OS drive.

2nd TB port using hdmi adapter to first monitor.

USB 3.0 port using hdmi to second monitor.

PROBLEM SOLVED.

Aqueous · Feb 23, 2013, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iCaleb

I found the solution!!! A USB 3.0 to hdmi adapter.

1st TB port using ssd OS drive.

2nd TB port using hdmi adapter to first monitor.

USB 3.0 port using hdmi to second monitor.

PROBLEM SOLVED.

I would love to believe that that will work well for you, just have a gut feeling that you will have problems getting that to work... could be wrong, but?

I know HDMI was giving people grief in the MacMini's. Factor in USB3 (also giving people grief in the 2012 Mac Lineup) plus HDMI and I start to have doubts. And how will you get them all to look the same? Can't help but think the HDMI will be glitchy for you...

Hope I'm wrong though!

OWC Helios could be an option for you ($399) but it gives you 2 TB ports plus whatever PCIe card you want to throw in it. I have a CalDigit Fasta6G (2) Sata Ports and (2) USB3 Ports. Kinda useful as a customizable hub for the future...

Outrigger · Feb 23, 2013, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iCaleb

USB 3.0 port using hdmi to second monitor.

PROBLEM SOLVED.

you will NOT like the performance of the 2nd monitor with the usb connection. hope you're only using it for text.

seanm9 · Feb 23, 2013, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iCaleb

My questions are still unanswered.

Number one being the fastest and number four being the slowest.

Would this be in the correct order as shown below?

#1 External thunderbolt ssd.

#2 External usb 3.0 ssd.

#3 External usb 3.0 hdd.

#4 Internal stock hdd.

A thunderbolt drive is not an option for me unless I remove one display from my setup.

So should I have a 2 screen setup and a thunderbolt ssd as the boot drive?

Or should I have a 3 screen setup and a usb 3.0 ssd/hdd as the boot drive?

In the real world the speed of the disk will be the factor...
Thunderbolt is 10 Gb/s
SATA 3 is 6 Gb/s
USB3.0 is 5 Gb/s

SSD's with SATA 3 interfaces seem to work near the limit of the SATA 3 (6Gb/s) interface, so it will not be *that* much slower in a USB3.0 enclosure (depending on how well the USB to SATA Bridge works in said enclosure.) HDD's max out (because of the moving parts) about 1.5 Gb/s (SATA 1 speed)

so #1 and #2 probably have no speed difference...

use the USB3.0 SSD as a boot drive and enjoy the 3 screens... USB video is garbage...

theSeb · Feb 23, 2013, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iCaleb

If only Apple would of put an HDMI out port on the new iMacs this wouldn't be an issue.

Agreed since the rMBP has HDMI out and 2 x TB and the Mini also has HDMI out. It seems like a silly omission.

Dec 10, 2012, 01:54 PM	#7
thekev macrumors 601 Join Date: Aug 2010	I believe the current chip only supports 2 ports. __________________ Legend has it that a bad GPU driver killed Intel's father. To this day intel can't bring themselves to write a good one.
	0

Dec 10, 2012, 01:58 PM	#9
xgman macrumors 68040 Join Date: Aug 2007	This is a big problem right now. I had to spend a fortune on dual TB enclosures to be able to get extra ports. I needed to be able to house 5 drives via TB. An external monitor will be plugged into one of them and a Firewire adapter into the other end of the line. That's a long way to go and a lot of cash to get what could have been much less expensive and bother if there were more ports or if manufacturers simply included the pass through port to begin with. I'm using WD MY Passport Duo Thunderbolts which have 2 drives per unit and a passthorugh. Trouble is I had no use for the drives so they are moving to my Mac Pro which I'm selling, and using existing ssd & velciraptors in their place. The TB box was around $465 with the slow Green WD drives. I fully expect in a couple few months OWC and others will fill the gap, but for now it's a huge pain in several areas. __________________ {2012 27imac-3.4i7-680mx-32gb ram-768SSD+External TB Samsung840pro ssd + TB velociraptors-UAD Apollo/Marantz/Amphion/Bowers&Wilkins Sound-Impulse 61} {ipads}{iphones}
	0

Dec 11, 2012, 12:02 PM	#13
hfg macrumors 68000 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Cedar Rapids, IA.	You could get a refurbished LaCie "Little Big Disk" for $200, replace the hard disks with your choice of matching SSD drives, configure the SSDs for RAID-0 to maximize speed, then run your display off of the second Thunderbolt port on the LaCie. Set your system to boot from the external Thunderbolt RAID-0 SSD. This would be #0 in your list above. The LaCie LBD as received with RAID-0 hard disks would be about #1.5 to 2.2 in your list. -howard Last edited by hfg; Dec 11, 2012 at 12:10 PM.
	0

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Dec 10, 2012, 12:54 PM	#1
iCaleb macrumors 6502 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: USA	I wish the new iMacs had 3 thunderbolt ports. Here's what I would like to do........Have 2 1080p 21.5'' monitors to go with the iMac screen one to the left and one to the right. But at the same time I would also like to have an external drive set as the main boot drive running mountain lion. But with the two TB ports already taken up by the two hdmi monitors the only option would be to use a usb 3.0 drive as the main boot drive instead of a TB ssd drive. How much faster would the usb 3.0 ssd/hdd drive be compared to the internal standard hdd?
	0

Dec 10, 2012, 01:06 PM	#2
dlbmacfan macrumors member Join Date: Jul 2011	You can daisy chain Thunderbolt peripherals, so I think you can put an external TB drive in between the computer and one of your monitors.
	1

Dec 10, 2012, 01:51 PM	#6
kaelell macrumors 6502 Join Date: Nov 2009	right there with you. Even thunderbolt hubs seem to be starting at £250ish
	0

Dec 10, 2012, 01:55 PM	#8
iCaleb Thread Starter macrumors 6502 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: USA	So what are my other options? A usb 3.0 drive or some type of network storage? Or would these two options be slower than the internal hdd?
	0

Dec 10, 2012, 01:59 PM	#10
iCaleb Thread Starter macrumors 6502 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: USA	If only Apple would of put an HDMI out port on the new iMacs this wouldn't be an issue.
	0

Dec 11, 2012, 11:39 AM	#12
iCaleb Thread Starter macrumors 6502 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: USA	My questions are still unanswered. Number one being the fastest and number four being the slowest. Would this be in the correct order as shown below? #1 External thunderbolt ssd. #2 External usb 3.0 ssd. #3 External usb 3.0 hdd. #4 Internal stock hdd. A thunderbolt drive is not an option for me unless I remove one display from my setup. So should I have a 2 screen setup and a thunderbolt ssd as the boot drive? Or should I have a 3 screen setup and a usb 3.0 ssd/hdd as the boot drive?
	0

Dec 11, 2012, 12:06 PM	#14
iCaleb Thread Starter macrumors 6502 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: USA	I'm not a big fan of refurbished items.
	0

Feb 23, 2013, 12:42 AM	#21
iCaleb Thread Starter macrumors 6502 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: USA	I found the solution!!! A USB 3.0 to hdmi adapter. 1st TB port using ssd OS drive. 2nd TB port using hdmi adapter to first monitor. USB 3.0 port using hdmi to second monitor. PROBLEM SOLVED.
	0