AWW YISS!
PCI-e 4x bandwidth speeds! More fans, power supplies, and cables!
BRING ON THE EXPANDABILITY! WOOOOOOO!
-SC
PCI-e 4x bandwidth speeds! More fans, power supplies, and cables!
BRING ON THE EXPANDABILITY! WOOOOOOO!
-SC
There really should a Thunderbolt usage for beginners FAQ on here somewhere and if there is, it should be linked on every thunderbolt article for easy reference.
Thunderbolt2 offers 2 x 10Gbit/s channels combined. Thunderbolt offers them as seperate channels. Neither of those speeds offer anywhere near the bandwidth of a 16xPCie card and even then, most higher end GPUs are double-wide and need internal power. You'd end up using 2 slots for 1 card, leaving only 1 PCIe slot for other uses and then cripple the card with bandwidth that doesn't even come close to 4xPCIe.
While I understand that Thunderbolt has a MUCH lower bandwidth than x16 (8 GB/s), couldn't a graphics card, not necessarily a powerful one, still increase the computational power for gfx a fair amount?
TB2 gives 94% of native peformance on AMD cards, and 88% on Nvidia cards. Hardly a big peformance hit...
Just because it's for "professionals" doesn't mean it has to be expensive!
It's like being a "professional" product is an excuse to price gouge the customer.
Don't think it can be more ugly, they didn't spend too much on design.
Don't think it can be more ugly, they didn't spend too much on design.
and
I've seen the benchmarks on some sites and a lot of it is academic. The fact remains to use any GPUs that offer real performance benefits, you need to waste 2 PCIe slots for the double wide size and provide a power feed. That means you render a 2 slot (with power feed) expansion box useless for further expansion or have to spend a lot on wasting 2 of 3 slots on a more expensive system. Let's not forget the full-length PCIe slot expansion system typically are 3 slot to begin with for it to be worth them producing them in the first place and the ridiculous idea some laptop owners have of running a desktop GPU via thunderbolt without being tied to a desk is even more wishful thinking than it sounds.
I can see them selling a few to Pro Tools users who have spent thousands on PCIe cards.
Yah I think the price is fine. LOL @ complaining about $500 PCI expansion slots when you're paying $80,000 for a camera.
There is a long list of use for us:
RED ROCKET (and X)
Avid HBA for Nitris DX
Digidesign HBA for MAGMA (HD Accel cards for Pro Tools)
Black Magic Design (whatever is supported))
ATTO R680 SAS (and some Fibre cards)
Aja (whatever is supported)
Im sure there are more cards to add.
Were excited since NETSTOR, MAGMA ROBEN-3 and more are throwing in their TB2 options quickly
Is that price for real???
F-that...
Don't see many of these moving...
No, these are for professionals.
These aren't for home users and gamers.
The audience is defined by the price. Home users and gamers don't spend $1000 on PCI expansion slots.
...Waiting until NAB before I make a lot of decisions like this. Only a few weeks after actual availability of the new MacPro's for those of us that didn't make the early AM orders...
You're missing the point of connecting an external GPU... If people wanted portable power for their laptops without worrying about size and battery life, they'd just buy a high end gaming laptop. The large market for this type of device is people that want to have portability, small form factor and battery life without sacrificing power when they're at home or in a hotel room or any sort of "home base." As much as portable technology advances, it will always be behind the power of desktop devices (or until battery power is equivalent to in-home power) and this is the perfect solution for the choice between portability and performance.
Also, for the record, the price of this enclosure is absolutely ludicrous, no matter what your profession is.
I'm glad that Sonnet is shipping something in the near future. I'm still waiting for word on their Echo 15. The last update they posted was in October. There are still so few options for versatile T-Bolt docks. Sonnet got this one right, but who knows when -- if ever -- it will ship.
Considering that most desktop PCs offer PCI expansion slots for free, and they are faster than TB2, a professional is more likely to invest in the product that gives maximum return for minimum outlay - in which case 'professionals' wouldn't be buying this product at all.
Doubt it. Getting support for dual GPUs is going to be hard enough.
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Is there a simple data on average bandwidth use for 1x, 2x, 3x, and 4x GPU setups?
Is that price for real???
F-that...
Don't see many of these moving...
Also, for the record, the price of this enclosure is absolutely ludicrous, no matter what your profession is.
LOL. Perhaps you didn't realize there was a time when computers cost more?
Mac SE/30
$6500
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_classic/specs/mac_se30.html
:facepalm: And you don't realize what economies of scale are.
Price doesn't determine audience for any product. It that were true, college students wouldn't be carrying around rMBPs and the iPhone wouldn't be the top selling US handset with AT&T the biggest telco.