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Thunderbolt drive enclosure only?
- Thread starter xgman
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Try the Thunderbolt Go flex adapter, it is $99 (plus $50 Apple TB Cable) and it works with any go flex drive or any 2.5" SATA drive.
Currently it is the cheapest and only (not sure about only part) solution for TB
Hope it helps
Lacie has just launched their eSata Hub for Thunderbolt. $199. This allows you to connect up to two eSata drives (I'm assuming in their own enclosures) and then connect them to a Thunderbolt port. I'm still digging up info on this one but it looks intriguing. Apple TB cable still needs to be purchased separately though.
http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?id=10574
Cheers!
http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?id=10574
Cheers!
Try the Thunderbolt Go flex adapter, it is $99 (plus $50 Apple TB Cable) and it works with any go flex drive or any 2.5" SATA drive.
Currently it is the cheapest and only (not sure about only part) solution for TB
Hope it helps
I've heard lots of stories about this adaptor freezing and locking up computers. From what I'm reading (and it makes sense) is that the people having the issues are possibly using SSD drives that require more power than the Go Flex STAE121 can provide as it is non-powered. Seems to be anything over 256GB (depending on the brand) can cause issues. Smaller SSD drives seem to be working fine. Seagate does however offer a larger STAE122 adaptor which can handle bigger drives and does have it's own power brick for about $179 or so plus of course the $50 Apple TB cable.
Both adaptors can deal with bare SSD drives as the connection port is a standard SATA connector but it's a bit of a kludge and you may need to jury rig the drive so that it sits stable on the connector. Not sure if the connector is SATA II or III on these Seagate adaptors. I suspect Sata II. At that price the Lacie hub makes more sense as it can handle two external SATA drives for $199 (but also limited to SATA II). You can buy external SATA II enclosures for cheap and then install whatever drive(s) you want with the Lacie. (again, limited to SATA II and still needs the TB cable as well)
Cheers!
Edit: STAE121 does not have a TB daisy chain port so it is the end of the line in any TB solution. STAE122 does have extra TB ports for pass-through.
Drobo is coming out with a 4x 2,5" SATA enclosure for Thunderbolt (dual ports). It looks small enough to go in a backpack. Great for mobile lab enviroments.
For those not familiar, Drobo is a no maintenance automatic RAID disk enclosure. It will present a very large volume and just ask you to replace the smallest disk when the array is full. Very easy and "Mac-like" storage.
For those not familiar, Drobo is a no maintenance automatic RAID disk enclosure. It will present a very large volume and just ask you to replace the smallest disk when the array is full. Very easy and "Mac-like" storage.
I would skip straight past anything that Drobo made.
Wait for these:
http://www.caldigit.com/Thunderbolt/T1T2.html
Wait for these:
http://www.caldigit.com/Thunderbolt/T1T2.html
No storage, but this seems to make sense for portables more than anything else, but looks nice (but expensive):
http://www.belkin.com/thunderbolt/
Sept though.
http://www.belkin.com/thunderbolt/
Sept though.
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The Qnap JTB-400 is a four-bay BYOD enclosure, but, as always seems to be the case with any Thunderbolt product, there's not word on pricing or release.
Still no pricing or release date on the Caldigit drive. The Belkin and Matrox docks were supposed to be released in September. Does that mean the 30th of September? What is the hold up? Also I've seen previews/reviews of the Promise J2 TB drive, but, again, no word on pricing or release.
Sure: My Book Thunderbolt Duo
Reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/Book-Thunderbolt-dual-drive-storage-WDBUPB0040JSL-NESN/dp/B006W3ZWXE
Supports RAID 0, RAID 1, JBOD, daisy chaining and probably the 4 TB 5K4000 drives (Hitachi). Do not use 7200 RPM drives in external enclosures, because they can overheat and need a better power supply!
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I don't think you can buy this without drives nor will it work with any other drives...
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5797/...x-desk-and-western-digitals-thunderbolt-duo/3
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You can buy the 4 TB variant, and you can use the 2x2 TB drives in other enclosures.
AnandTech is misinformed (or the PR contact @WD). The (WD Green) disks use the standard SATA-III protocol.
This is a warranty problem, not a technical problem. Faster drives (7200 RPM) overheat in this enclosure.Western Digital (WD) User Manual said:
And please read this sentence again:
Mr. Retrofire said:
The only problem in such enclosures are 7200 RPM drives. The 5400 RPM drives have a higher storage density, run cooler and are faster compared to many 7200 RPM drives. And btw, read the feature list on wdc.com!
Western Digital (WD) said:
The Belkin dock is delayed till 1st 1/4 2013. Seems like Caldigit is the best bet for daisy chaining removable storage unless that gets delayed too.
by the way, that comment about not using 7200 speed drives in external enclosures is nonsense. Been using them for years with no issues whatsoever.
by the way, that comment about not using 7200 speed drives in external enclosures is nonsense. Been using them for years with no issues whatsoever.
That would be a bad bet since Caldigit has not been able to send any of these to its resellers yet.
Announced in Spring 2012, but still not shipping.
LaCie, WD, and G-Tech have no problem shipping drives, and all 3 have drives that can be daisy-chained.
Refurbs like the LaCie 2big mentioned elsewhere knocks the price down quite a bit.
As for 7200RPM and externals, all of the above manufacturers offer 7200RPM drives.
Correct. Not likely to appear.
Did you call CalDigit to see when they might appear? These were announced almost a year ago, yet still no price or delivery info.
You can also purchase one of the refurb 2big disks that others have purchased from MacMall if they are still available. For $299, you get a dual drive enclosure and 2 3.5" SATA drives. Not a bad deal.
Or if you are really clever (and tech-savvy), purchase the LaCie Thunderbolt Hub, disassemble it, and place into your own favorite chassis.
Or purchase the Seagate Thunderbolt GoFlex Desktop Adapter, and do likewise.
Those are the only options you have until someone else delivers.
The Drobo 5d started shipping today.
I have one on the way and it is supposed to get around 400 MB/s.
I have one on the way and it is supposed to get around 400 MB/s.
Or get Ministation, rip out reg drive and put SSD into. Will be very fast, comes with cable. Only downside, you can't daisy chain.
MacMall is out of the 2 drive refurbs. So far the Mybook TB Duo's seem to be the best option. 2 drives per and replaceable. Still almost $500 a pop if I want to use 1TB velociraptors and have a couple extra drives sitting around. Again, unfortunately a TB drive with only 1 connector is useless.
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=630
I wonder how noisy these things are fan wise.....
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