Where are there so few and many are so expensive? I figured the price would have dropped by now, but there is nothing really going on as far as development it seems.
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External thunderbolt hard drives.
- Thread starter WinterWolf90
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Are you looking for anything in particular? Some of the TB2 drives have gone on some killer sales where I'm at. A lot of retailers around here have had the G-Technology Pro and TB Raid lines that use TB2 on sales for like half off their original MSRP. In some cases, they've been as much as 20-30% cheaper than buying just the bare drive that is inside the enclosure (Hitachi GST Ultrastar 7k4000, 7k6000, and He6/8/10.)
For single drives, Thunderbolt has no advantage, if the computer has usb3 ports.
Only multiple drives in a case can take advantage of the better performance that Thunderbolt provides.
As an example, USB 3.0 2TB, bus powered Seagate HDD drives are at Costco now for $65.
I've compared this drive to my Thunderbolt version, and speeds are comparable. Sometimes faster, sometimes slower.
Of course your mileage may vary.
PS Thunderbolt is more expensive due to complexity, not royalties.
As for SSD versions, SCSI based SSDs will perform similar, too.
Only M.2 PCIe SSDs can reliably deliver better performance over Thunderbolt when compared to USB 3.0.
Only multiple drives in a case can take advantage of the better performance that Thunderbolt provides.
As an example, USB 3.0 2TB, bus powered Seagate HDD drives are at Costco now for $65.
I've compared this drive to my Thunderbolt version, and speeds are comparable. Sometimes faster, sometimes slower.
Of course your mileage may vary.
PS Thunderbolt is more expensive due to complexity, not royalties.
As for SSD versions, SCSI based SSDs will perform similar, too.
Only M.2 PCIe SSDs can reliably deliver better performance over Thunderbolt when compared to USB 3.0.
It does have one big advantage over USB even with slower HDDs for some of us - it does not cause interference with 2.4 GHz signals!!! That is a major reason I moved to Thunderbolt (and eSATA) - although for my SSDs, TRIM was an added perk!
Re: 2.4Gbps wifi interference
Well aware of that possibility. Well designed, certified products and cables don't have that problem.
Many USB cables and products aren't certified, and all Thunderbolt products must be certified.
Main cause of USB issues are poorly made cables. Not only could they cause wifi issues, but they also can cause unreliable connections.
Note well: Thunderbolt products can also cause interference in some configurations.
Well aware of that possibility. Well designed, certified products and cables don't have that problem.
Many USB cables and products aren't certified, and all Thunderbolt products must be certified.
Main cause of USB issues are poorly made cables. Not only could they cause wifi issues, but they also can cause unreliable connections.
Note well: Thunderbolt products can also cause interference in some configurations.
Then I must be really unlucky considering how some of my IF-Certified cables still have that issue!!!!!
I did not realize TB could cause interference with 2.4 GHz signals - at least in my situation, testing the WiFi connection with and without my Thunderbolt connections attached made no difference.
I did not realize TB could cause interference with 2.4 GHz signals - at least in my situation, testing the WiFi connection with and without my Thunderbolt connections attached made no difference.