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CalDigit Thunderbolt Station Adds to Growing Ranks of Thunderbolt Docks

adeon said:
According to Caldigit on Twitter the Thunderbolt Station can do an HDMI Display + a thunderbolt Display.


If that's the case, I wonder if can you do 6 of these stations and 6 displays + a Thunderbold Display?
:eek:
Click to expand...

Since Thunderbolt currently only carries two video signals, I really doubt it.
 
CallDigit like a few others, have a decent reputation for bringing quality items to the consumer. My only dislike is the fact that all of these items (of similar nature) cost over 100 dollars. This is not their fault but rather, the advent of Apple pushing out a product to boast speed claims that is really not designed for the typical consumer. When a cable costs 35-50 dollars just to connect TB devices, we have a real problem here as compared to USB 3 which, while slower, is pennies on the dollar compared to TB.

Like others who are moderately to heavily invested in Mac equipment, I'll be in that group of those looking to get that TB panacea via a "station" of sorts. This product is on my short list. Meanwhile, I'll still recommend for my friends to go the USB 3 route for now as it will fit most of their home/hobby/small office needs along with small network storage.
 
phrehdd said:
CallDigit like a few others, have a decent reputation for bringing quality items to the consumer. My only dislike is the fact that all of these items (of similar nature) cost over 100 dollars. This is not their fault but rather, the advent of Apple pushing out a product to boast speed claims that is really not designed for the typical consumer. When a cable costs 35-50 dollars just to connect TB devices, we have a real problem here as compared to USB 3 which, while slower, is pennies on the dollar compared to TB.

Like others who are moderately to heavily invested in Mac equipment, I'll be in that group of those looking to get that TB panacea via a "station" of sorts. This product is on my short list. Meanwhile, I'll still recommend for my friends to go the USB 3 route for now as it will fit most of their home/hobby/small office needs along with small network storage.
Click to expand...

look at what apple has on their new mac pro.

http://www.thunderbolt4mac.com/Apple/New-Mac-Pro/index.asp

It is nothing but usb3 .... AND 6 Thunderbolt ports! Wowowow, it shows the determination how Apple wants to push their thunderbolt technology out the door. It has its advantage over USB3. I hope the new Thunderbolt2 can come down the price a bit especially on the cable part.
 
carestudio said:
look at what apple has on their new mac pro.

http://www.thunderbolt4mac.com/Apple/New-Mac-Pro/index.asp

It is nothing but usb3 .... AND 6 Thunderbolt ports! Wowowow, it shows the determination how Apple wants to push their thunderbolt technology out the door. It has its advantage over USB3. I hope the new Thunderbolt2 can come down the price a bit especially on the cable part.
Click to expand...

I have no issues with the Mac (Mini) Pro and all its ports. Most people on the other hand wont be getting a the new MP. Most people wont/can't afford to jump on the TB band wagon for at least another year or two until prices drop significantly. If you recall, TB has been out for a while and only now are we seeing some 3rd party love that never came from Apple when they released TB on some of their models.

Btw, high probability I will get the new Mac (mini) Pro as the next logical step to my Mac Mini. I have had an early MP that was in many respects a dead end as it was on the older bus system (1.2?).
 
phrehdd said:
I have no issues with the Mac (Mini) Pro and all its ports. Most people on the other hand wont be getting a the new MP. Most people wont/can't afford to jump on the TB band wagon for at least another year or two until prices drop significantly. If you recall, TB has been out for a while and only now are we seeing some 3rd party love that never came from Apple when they released TB on some of their models.

Btw, high probability I will get the new Mac (mini) Pro as the next logical step to my Mac Mini. I have had an early MP that was in many respects a dead end as it was on the older bus system (1.2?).
Click to expand...

The only downside for the new MacPro is the limited to Thunderbolt which is PCIe Generation 2? a lot of new PC logicboards now are using Generation 3.
 
carestudio said:
The only downside for the new MacPro is the limited to Thunderbolt which is PCIe Generation 2? a lot of new PC logicboards now are using Generation 3.
Click to expand...

Please fill us in on where you found out about a 'generation 3' of TB. Also, which motherboard makers? Best I can see, including searches on Internet is that TB generation 2 is the latest version.
 
phrehdd said:
Please fill us in on where you found out about a 'generation 3' of TB. Also, which motherboard makers? Best I can see, including searches on Internet is that TB generation 2 is the latest version.
Click to expand...

You misread the post.

Existing TB encapsulates PCIe 2.0 and Displayport.

I don't know if TB2 ups the ante to PCIe 3.0 or not. I haven't read the specifications yet.
 
John Kotches said:
You misread the post.

Existing TB encapsulates PCIe 2.0 and Displayport.

I don't know if TB2 ups the ante to PCIe 3.0 or not. I haven't read the specifications yet.
Click to expand...

My mistake and yes, I did misread your post. We concur about the 3.0 for the bus if Apple is remaining 2.x.
 
John Kotches said:
Might that be the reason for TB2 with bonded channels and a 20GB bandwidth?

Dunno, but it would actually make some sense.
Click to expand...


20Gb is PCIe Generation 2 by 8 lanes.
which is Generation 3 by 4 lanes I think. You obviously will not take advantage of over 8-lanes from thunderbolt2.

back to Caldigit station, it says 10Gb, how could one use three USB 3.0 , 5Gb speed? do they share all 10Gb from 3x 5Gb? Belkin one can only support 2.5G USB3, dont know why it is capped like that.
 
carestudio said:
20Gb is PCIe Generation 2 by 8 lanes.
which is Generation 3 by 4 lanes I think. You obviously will not take advantage of over 8-lanes from thunderbolt2.
Click to expand...

How much video data is actually passing on the bus from CPU to GFX? How much is being passed from Gfx to Display which is a different bus? That matters a bit in the equation. Not my area of expertise, so I'm not asking a question I know the answer to already.

back to Caldigit station, it says 10Gb, how could one use three USB 3.0 , 5Gb speed? do they share all 10Gb from 3x 5Gb? Belkin one can only support
2.5G USB3, dont know why it is capped like that.
Click to expand...

What makes the most sense to me is an implementation equivalent to a hub rather than 5 Gbit/second/port.
 
Thunderbolt Hubs for Apple Cinema Display users

If you are a user of the 24inch or 27inch Apple Cinema Display which does not have thunderbolt ports on the back, there is still NO option for you to use your monitor AND at the same time, connect a thunderbolt peripheral device that does not have the port duplicated. These displays use the mini display port connector which will use one port on the hub, the other port will connect the hub to your MacBook Pro/Air.

Think about adding a video encoding/recording device from matrox or blackmagic design and you are stuck! Yes even the latest www.belkin.com/us/p/P-F4U055 Thunderbolt™ Express Dock from Belkin has only TWO ports at the back. Do not be misled by the pictures. That dark receptacle at the front is a groove that cuts through to the back allowing a tidy way to connect the cable to your MacBook Air/Pro.

I am waiting (not sure how long I can wait) for a 3 or 4 port thunderbolt hub!
 
This seems to be one of the best thunderbolt docks yet. Will they make a dock that takes advantage of TB2?

Anyways, I really want to wait for a eGPU Thunderbolt solution, though.


Macspectation said:
I am waiting (not sure how long I can wait) for a 3 or 4 port thunderbolt hub!
Click to expand...

I don't think a Thunderbolt hub would be effective at this point (due to the speed cap that the previous post mentioned). I think we need to see Thunderbolt buffed even further—with boosts like PCIe 3.0 and even more bandwidth—before a 3/4 port Thunderbolt hub would be truly effective.

****************************************************************
Off topic note: I think each version of Thunderbolt should have nicknames, like how each version of OS X has names. :D
 
carestudio said:
thunderbolt hub? interesting, what do you really need from such hub? the speed is capped to 10Gb anyway.
Click to expand...

2011 MacBook Pros only have one Thunderbolt port, which doubles as the only external display port.

Unless you have an Apple Thunderbolt Display, the display has to be the last device in the chain.

For those of us who normally use our laptops connected to a large external display, that makes any Thunderbolt peripheral without a daisy-chain port about as much use as an inflatable dartboard.

So a hub would be 100% better than the status quo, even if the total speed was capped at 10Gb/s. In many cases it would just be used to connect a display** + one other device.

However, with the Mac Pro having 6xTB, current iMacs and MBPs having 2xTB I doubt that this situation is going to improve.

-LikesMac- said:
This seems to be one of the best thunderbolt docks yet. Will they make a dock that takes advantage of TB2?
Click to expand...

Not so worried about the dock 'taking advantage' of TB2 - you're not going to saturate TB1 with a 1Gb Ethernet and a couple of USB hard drives hanging off a dock - but the important thing is how TB and TB2 devices play together (I'm sure it will be backwards-compatible, but can TB1 & TB2 be mixed or does a TB1 device pull the whole chain down to TB1?)

Unfortunately, for those of us with 2011 TB Macs these docks are just taking too long to get to market, and the two available (Matrox and Belkin) don't measure up.

**The Caldigit dock does offer a HDMI output which would be a partial solution - allowing you to connect a display and, e.g. a Thunderbolt peripheral. However, I'm waiting with baited breath to see how well this works & whether you can still connect a display device to the second TB port (I don't expect both to work simultaneously, but they need to be able to switch).

MiniDP rather than HDMI would have been better, though - MiniDP-to-everything adapters are widely available and most Mac users already have the ones they need.
 
Any update on when this thing will get to stores?

Jesus Christ, I am going to die of old age before I can buy a suitable dock. :mad:
 
format6 said:
Any update on when this thing will get to stores?

Jesus Christ, I am going to die of old age before I can buy a suitable dock. :mad:
Click to expand...

Only God knows. LOL!!! cant wait to see this dock on the market.... millions of people are awaiting....
 
I am reserecting this thread a bit, but I received an email last night from Caldiget previewing their dock, with a release date mentioned as soon.

It looks like they are finally ready to start selling the dock.
 
theluggage said:
**The Caldigit dock does offer a HDMI output which would be a partial solution - allowing you to connect a display and, e.g. a Thunderbolt peripheral. However, I'm waiting with baited breath to see how well this works & whether you can still connect a display device to the second TB port (I don't expect both to work simultaneously, but they need to be able to switch).

MiniDP rather than HDMI would have been better, though - MiniDP-to-everything adapters are widely available and most Mac users already have the ones they need.
Click to expand...

Hate to burst people's bubble on the dual display but here is the email chain with their support:

Me:
I was wondering if you could answer a question about the dual monitor setup. would this configuration work:

Monitor 1: HDMI output -> monitor
Monitor 2: Thunderbolt output -> thunderbolt to HDMI converter -> monitor

Would the OS see these as two separate desktops (extendable)

Thanks for clearing this up. It seems to be a point of confusion

Caldigit:

Dear customer,

No, it will not work.

Monitor 1: HDMI output > HDMI/DVI Monitor

Monitor 2: Thunderbolt output > Apple Thunderbolt Display
- If you want to use the Thunderbolt to HDMI/DVI converter, then the Thunderbolt station's HDMI port will not provide any signals. Among the station's Thunderbolt/HDMI ports, you can only run one non-Thunderbolt display.

Monitor 3/4/5: it is possible to use an USB3.0 to HDMI/DVI converter

Best regards,

CalDigit - Support

Me:
will the usb 3.0 be at 5.0 Gb/sec ?

Can you explain why the above configuration wouldn't work. Was this a design choice or a thunderbolt hardware constraint? It seems this feature would be greatly appreciated by your customers.

Caldigit:

Dear customer,

Yes, the USB3.0 is at 5.0Gb/sec. We were able to hit 400+MB/s with the SATA6G SSD on those ports (using our AVPro).

As for the monitors configuration, it's a hardware limitation.

Best regards,

CalDigit - Support
 
wshamp said:
Hate to burst people's bubble on the dual display but here is the email chain with their support:
...
As for the monitors configuration, it's a hardware limitation.
Click to expand...

This isn't Caldigit's fault.

Thunderbolt only gives you 1 display per Thunderbolt peripheral, whether it's a built-in screen (TB display), a HDMI socket on a hub or a legacy DisplayPort device connected to thunderbolt-through.

Caldigit at least offers you a choice between using the HDMI socket *or* an adapter on the TB-out port, which is an improvement on the existing Belkin (no HDMI) and Matrox (HDMIm but not TB-out) hubs, though.

Caldigit --> TB HD or similar with daisychain port --> miniDP adapter --> screen

... might work, though.
 
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