External storage and USB-C

[2580285]

Hi there,

my iMac has two USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports and four USB-A ports. I have two external monitors (24", 1920 x 1080) connected to the Thunderbolt 3 ports and other stuff (USB hub, headphones DAC/amplifier, external HDD) connected to the USB-A ports.

I'd like to add an external SSD to store virtual machines on it, and my understanding is that:
- if I go with the USB-A ports I'll have an USB 3.0 connection (5.0 Gbit/s maximum, theoretical);
- if I go with the USB-C ports I'll have either an USB 3.1 Gen 2 connection (10 Gbit/s) or a Thunderbolt 3 connection (40 Gbit/s maximum, theoretical).

So my choice would be between an USB 3.0, an USB 3.1 or a Thunderbolt 3-equipped external SSD, from what I have read. Would that be correct?

If I choose to go with USB 3.1 or TB3 (I don't have a clue if USB 3.0 is enough for a Windows 10 virtual machine, as I always used BootCamp) I would have to sacrifice one monitor output (I have two adapter cables which, I presume, convert to HDMI the DisplayPort signal which is output from the Thunderbolt 3 ports).

So, my question is: aside from getting an eGPU and feeding the monitors from there, or daisy-chaining them (which would require a replacement of the monitor, as the present ones don't have this feature), is there a way I can get a sort of an USB-C hub or something? I guess not, but figured I'd ask anyway and maybe ask for suggestion on the whole problem, too.

Thank you very much in advance!

 

[matreya]

I think this might be something you could use:

http://www.caldigit.com/thunderbolt-3/mini-dock-HDMI-DisplayPort/

or this:

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TB3ADP2HDMI/

 

[2580285]

I think this might be something you could use:

http://www.caldigit.com/thunderbolt-3/mini-dock-HDMI-DisplayPort/

or this:

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TB3ADP2HDMI/

Thank you very much, I think this could do the trick.

There's still a thing I don't understand, though. The two USB-C ports have both the Thunderbolt symbol (the lightning bolt). From what I read, Thunderbolt 3 supports DisplayPort 1.2, so I would be theoretically able to feed two 5120 x 2880 external monitors at 60 Hz (not that I'm planning to, it's just a matter of understanding). But I read somewhere that the iMac 5K 2017 only supports one of such displays because it has only one Thunderbolt controller. Is this correct? Based on this, I could go with two 3840 x 2160 at 60 Hz, since DisplayPort 1.4 supports 3840 x 2160 at 120 Hz for one monitor, right?

What I don't understand is: there are two Thunderbolt 3 ports, but it is possible to drive only one 5K display at 60 Hz. And Thunderbolt 3 should be capable to do this, so I don't know where the catch is.

 

[matreya]

But I read somewhere that the iMac 5K 2017 only supports one of such displays because it has only one Thunderbolt controller. Is this correct? Based on this, I could go with two 3840 x 2160 at 60 Hz, since DisplayPort 1.4 supports 3840 x 2160 at 120 Hz for one monitor, right?

I'm sorry, but this I do not know about. I've got an original retina iMac 5K with Thunderbolt 2 ports.

 

[2580285]

I'm sorry, but this I do not know about. I've got an original retina iMac 5K with Thunderbolt 2 ports.

Thanks anyway!