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External Thunderbolt PCI Expansion Chassis and Hub in Development
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I sort of knew this might be coming, but I cant believe I didnt consider it when deciding whether to a new Air vs. a desktop!
In the end, my main machine just has to be a MacBook Air. Maximum portability to grab all my work (and play) with one hand and go, with minimum reasons to not bother and leave it behind.
And so far Ive been very happy with the new Airs game performance (Quake Wars etc.), but as a big gaming fan, I thought Id probably also add a new iMac in a year or so, for the latest games and higher detail levels. Maybe even a big ol tower.
But the cost of a Thunderbolt GPU is a LOT better than that! As is the desk space used, and the future upgradability. And it even has some decent portability... since Im considering a pico projector for my large gaming and movies screen. Or, a TB chassis plus Apples loaded-up LED display would still be price-competitive with a high-end iMac.
I still do need a Mac as a DVR I leave at home, and for DVDs from Netflix and library. I never used discs with my last Air and I see no need to start. But my 5-year-old iMac wont die, so I guess it can keep those jobs for now...
In the end, my main machine just has to be a MacBook Air. Maximum portability to grab all my work (and play) with one hand and go, with minimum reasons to not bother and leave it behind.
And so far Ive been very happy with the new Airs game performance (Quake Wars etc.), but as a big gaming fan, I thought Id probably also add a new iMac in a year or so, for the latest games and higher detail levels. Maybe even a big ol tower.
But the cost of a Thunderbolt GPU is a LOT better than that! As is the desk space used, and the future upgradability. And it even has some decent portability... since Im considering a pico projector for my large gaming and movies screen. Or, a TB chassis plus Apples loaded-up LED display would still be price-competitive with a high-end iMac.
I still do need a Mac as a DVR I leave at home, and for DVDs from Netflix and library. I never used discs with my last Air and I see no need to start. But my 5-year-old iMac wont die, so I guess it can keep those jobs for now...
that is one strange thing.. I was expecting the use of all the connections provided by the controller. Its probably a limitation of the cable or the connector.
Well the good news is for people who buy the mba, they arent going to get gimped, and with cheaper controllers the adoption on professional notebooks is going to be more widespread
This would be excellent news for laptop owners! But we would need drivers to have this running perfectly.
Or get the 27" CineD, all that's then needed is a thunderbolt cable that splits out PCIe from DisplayPort onto two cables. DisplayPort goes into external graphics card, maybe via DVI adapter, and PCIe goes into Thunderbolt daisy chain port on the enclosure.
Or better yet, someone just releases a ready made package with a decent enough GPU in it and it hides all the above nonsense away from you. Thunderbolt in thunderbolt out. I can dream.
Some are saying this kind of device is useless and it is just as cost-effective to build a PC. This reasoning is fairly sound, but it neglects a few important factors. First, some of us do not want a large PC (and even Micro ATX is large compared to a laptop) weighting us down. I don't spend a lot of time in front of a computer at home. While I am there, I like to have things neat and clean and quiet; this is impossible with a large PC desktop. I've dealt with those for years and gaming on them is great. However, they too become dated and require updating.
Second, it's not necessarily cheaper to build a new PC than to buy this external GPU case. Version 4 is roughly $250-$300. A respectable graphics card might be another $200. That puts us at about $500 (unless, like myself, you have a spare GPU lying around, making this a much better deal). A decent PC will cost about $900 and that's not including a monitor if you need it. So, you're not having to lay as much down for this unit when you already have the MBP (Air, etc) to plug into it.
There are definitely downsides to this product, not least of all the lack of Mac drivers for all the various cards out there (though Boot Camp may be a respectable alternative). Then there's the Thunderbolt support to consider. If I could plug this product in and my Mac recognised it instantly, then we'd be on to something. However, it doesn't seem like it would be one of those products that Apple would include native drivers for in its next OS install (disc, download, USB stick). However, the promise is great and anything is better than the Intel HD 3000 in this 13" MBP.
I just wonder what happens when you plug it into your computer. It only supports an external monitor. Does that mean your MBP (Air, iMac, etc) monitor just goes black while this is plugged in? Can you just close your Mac while it's being used in this way? Anyway...I'm still excited about this news and after a few reviews start rolling out if this thing is ever developed, I'll jump on the chance to purchase this. I will then be able to avoid the purchase of an XBOX 360, which I was considering to replace the PC I just dismantled and took to the dump. Do I really need any more excuses to waste my time? Perhaps. What a shame people keep coming up with cool s***. I gotta stop spending money, as I have an engagement ring to budget for! =P
Second, it's not necessarily cheaper to build a new PC than to buy this external GPU case. Version 4 is roughly $250-$300. A respectable graphics card might be another $200. That puts us at about $500 (unless, like myself, you have a spare GPU lying around, making this a much better deal). A decent PC will cost about $900 and that's not including a monitor if you need it. So, you're not having to lay as much down for this unit when you already have the MBP (Air, etc) to plug into it.
There are definitely downsides to this product, not least of all the lack of Mac drivers for all the various cards out there (though Boot Camp may be a respectable alternative). Then there's the Thunderbolt support to consider. If I could plug this product in and my Mac recognised it instantly, then we'd be on to something. However, it doesn't seem like it would be one of those products that Apple would include native drivers for in its next OS install (disc, download, USB stick). However, the promise is great and anything is better than the Intel HD 3000 in this 13" MBP.
I just wonder what happens when you plug it into your computer. It only supports an external monitor. Does that mean your MBP (Air, iMac, etc) monitor just goes black while this is plugged in? Can you just close your Mac while it's being used in this way? Anyway...I'm still excited about this news and after a few reviews start rolling out if this thing is ever developed, I'll jump on the chance to purchase this. I will then be able to avoid the purchase of an XBOX 360, which I was considering to replace the PC I just dismantled and took to the dump. Do I really need any more excuses to waste my time? Perhaps. What a shame people keep coming up with cool s***. I gotta stop spending money, as I have an engagement ring to budget for! =P
it could be timing
It's also quite possible that Intel did the larger two connector TBolt controller first, and the smaller one simply wasn't ready in time for the MBP. Too bad for the MBP, since the real estate saved could have been used for the tiny USB 3.0 controller.
The Imac uses both connectors, so that's a good fit.
It's also quite possible that Intel did the larger two connector TBolt controller first, and the smaller one simply wasn't ready in time for the MBP. Too bad for the MBP, since the real estate saved could have been used for the tiny USB 3.0 controller.
The Imac uses both connectors, so that's a good fit.
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True, but you can still get whatever the Mac Pro is using. Even if it isn't the top of the line it will be way better than the mobile chips in the iMac/Macbook Pro/Mini/Air.
It certainly looks like that. There is no other reason to use the bigger and most likely more expensive chip.
what means what u said??? i can connect a mb air to an imac and operate from air but using imac's cpu/gpu power????
nice...
Didn't upgrade my MBP from last year. Still going to wait a little bit until these pheriperals actually start releasing
Then it's go time
Didn't upgrade my MBP from last year. Still going to wait a little bit until these pheriperals actually start releasing
Then it's go time
...Is that a GeForce 9800 GT? Lol...
>_> What? Apple's always put midrange cards in their laptops. And when were laptop GPUs ever upgradeable? lol.
It wouldn't be super difficult. It's just another interface, the way PCI, AGP and PCI-e are; you wouldn't need to write a new one for every new machine. Actually very little if anything would have to be done... we already have thunderbolt drivers.
>_> What? Apple's always put midrange cards in their laptops. And when were laptop GPUs ever upgradeable? lol.
It wouldn't be super difficult. It's just another interface, the way PCI, AGP and PCI-e are; you wouldn't need to write a new one for every new machine. Actually very little if anything would have to be done... we already have thunderbolt drivers.
Some higher-end "laptops" have MXM slots which means the GPU is upgradeable. iMacs use MXM slots as well.
I guess he is referring to the fact that OS X lacks driver support for many GPUs. In general, only the GPUs that Apple uses are supported so for example nVidia GTX 580 doesn't work. Mac GPUs also use EFI so PC cards won't work out of the box.
Let me tell you if it's as big of a PITA to get it working as the current ViDock it won't matter. Fact is it will still be worthless because it doesn't work with most machines and when it does it's buggy.
Great concept, needs much better execution. However there is still hope. I would really really like it to work well.
Great concept, needs much better execution. However there is still hope. I would really really like it to work well.
Think of the new Apple Thunderbolt Display if Apple put a monster GPU in the display and when you dock your MacBook Air it turbo charges it with a beautiful display and ports already there! This sounds like a logical progression for mobile computing coexisting with power users!
This was my first thought. If they had to break it out to retain thinness of the displays, I imagine it would find its way into the power brick. Certainly makes the idea of getting a MacBook Air more appealing!
funny, the iphone4 has one-year+ life cycle so far -- much longer than the video card sector's product cycle of 6-months. my iMac is going on 5 years old, my MBP 4 years. are you sure youre talking about the right company?
...except that fiber LightPeak cant distribute power. doesnt matter anyway tho, all things eventually get replaced w/ something else.
...again, are you talking about the right company? most people buy apple gear because it just works...that it looks beautiful is a plus.
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sorry, but that's not true
The vapor-ware copper TBolt extender cables that have been discussed (but not announced, and not for sale) will include copper for power, as well as fibre for data.
Just because the data is on fibre, doesn't mean that the connector and cable can't add a couple of Cu wires for power. The cable is already a bundle of several things - no reason that a couple of copper wires can't run alongside the fibres.
The vapor-ware copper TBolt extender cables that have been discussed (but not announced, and not for sale) will include copper for power, as well as fibre for data.
Just because the data is on fibre, doesn't mean that the connector and cable can't add a couple of Cu wires for power. The cable is already a bundle of several things - no reason that a couple of copper wires can't run alongside the fibres.
And how do you redirect the video back to the iMac monitor?
Couple more problems:
It will be very expensive
It will be buggy
It will take a long time to reach the market
By the time these products are released, people would have moved onto USB 3.0.
Yes, but just give it a little time. I think we will see more concepts like this as mobile computing takes over in the "Post PC Era".
I don't think you can, currently. The video would be sent to the monitor directly connected to the GPU output. The only way around that would be some sort of SLI setup where the GPU in the iMac would be the master GPU where frames are sent out to the slave GPUs but then composited and displayed from the master GPU. Chances are that will introduce some input lag.
i was informing you about this,,just some days ago...
and i wanna thank MacRumors for been so kind to haven't banned me as
ApplInsdr,,for the same reason,,,
this is gonna get really popular..even 'cause a lot of us was waiting for something like this...
now..i hope..nothing won't stop our desires to come true..
but as someone said here..i'm sure Apple, and its very long sight( thanks Mr Jobs) was playin around of it..by ages..
and i wanna thank MacRumors for been so kind to haven't banned me as
ApplInsdr,,for the same reason,,,
this is gonna get really popular..even 'cause a lot of us was waiting for something like this...
now..i hope..nothing won't stop our desires to come true..
but as someone said here..i'm sure Apple, and its very long sight( thanks Mr Jobs) was playin around of it..by ages..
Not really, longer cables would need larger diameter copper wires for equivalent amperage ratings.
Just more $$$, something that's easy to pull from many Apple users.
wow, this frees up exciting new possibilities!
The tiny macbook air, could get a complete hub, while a pro could be set up directly into a server or an external graphics card and unleash unprecedented power!
The tiny macbook air, could get a complete hub, while a pro could be set up directly into a server or an external graphics card and unleash unprecedented power!