USB 3.0 on new macpro

[cpnotebook80]

Will it be possible to upgrade mac pros from 2008-2009 to usb3 by putting in new cards in the system or is this not possible. Since usb 3 will be faster than firewire 800, maybe apple might install it the newer apple mac pros
any idea

 

[Cathode]

Will it be possible to upgrade mac pros from 2008-2009 to usb3 by putting in new cards in the system or is this not possible. Since usb 3 will be faster than firewire 800, maybe apple might install it the newer apple mac pros
any idea

It's up in the air. Intel isn't supporting USB3 until some point after 2010. This next revision Mac Pro may not include it. However, the beauty of owning a Mac Pro is it allows PCI cards to be added later. You can always add USB3 capability later on.

 

[mac-matt]

everytime i see stuff like this it makes me want a mac pro. then i remember im poor. any chance of the mbp having Q4 this year? honestly it doesnt even look like firewire has caught on much, almost every external hard drive i see is usb 2.0. its kind of a piss off

 

[alphaod]

honestly it doesnt even look like firewire has caught on much, almost every external hard drive i see is usb 2.0. its kind of a piss off

To implement Firewire used to require paying licensing fees to Apple among other companies, so the costs added up very quickly. Therefore it did not gain traction like USB did. USB is very cheap, therefore more prominent as a result.

 

[CCK]

everytime i see stuff like this it makes me want a mac pro. then i remember im poor. any chance of the mbp having Q4 this year? honestly it doesnt even look like firewire has caught on much, almost every external hard drive i see is usb 2.0. its kind of a piss off

FW is a necessity for a lot of video capture, but I think eSATA is the way to go for HD rather than FW, and a lot of drives are USB/eSATA, so wish would get on the stick with eSATA.

 

[Max(IT)]

FW is a necessity for a lot of video capture, but I think eSATA is the way to go for HD rather than FW, and a lot of drives are USB/eSATA, so wish would get on the stick with eSATA.

I vote for eSATA and LightPeak
BTW I think we are going to' have Usb3 in our Macs in, let me guess, 2011

 

[nanofrog]

Will it be possible to upgrade mac pros from 2008-2009 to usb3 by putting in new cards in the system or is this not possible. Since usb 3 will be faster than firewire 800, maybe apple might install it the newer apple mac pros
any idea

PCIe USB 3.0 cards will be available. But the question is, will there be drivers?

So far, the only chipset I've seen is by NEC, and there's no OS X drivers. In time, maybe. It's a different component package BTW, so it can't be used as a drop-in replacement on the existing boards (2010 models will be '09 boards with a microcode update for the new CPU's).

But if you're looking for a faster interface that FW800 that you can do now, eSATA is going to be your best option anyway.

 

[DoFoT9]

PCIe USB 3.0 cards will be available. But the question is, will there be drivers?

even if the drivers were written by the card maker, doesnt apple have to provide some sort of effort to get it to work?

But if you're looking for a faster interface that FW800 that you can do now, eSATA is going to be your best option anyway.

can you recall if apple installed fw400 or usb into their computers first? (way back in 1996/1997 i think?). that might indicate if apple would favour fw1600/fw3200 over usb3.0. i would hope that its both (+ eSata) but i wont get my hopes up!

 

[xgman]

yeah, I think we need to hope for a drop in card that supports mac drivers, otherwise I would think that Apple will wait till Intel integrates usb3 on the MB chipsets which is probably later this year and not in time for the new MP model.

 

[nanofrog]

even if the drivers were written by the card maker, doesnt apple have to provide some sort of effort to get it to work?

No.

can you recall if apple installed fw400 or usb into their computers first? (way back in 1996/1997 i think?). that might indicate if apple would favour fw1600/fw3200 over usb3.0. i would hope that its both (+ eSata) but i wont get my hopes up!

Apple was involved in FW development (started 1986), and it was completed in 1995. USB 1.0 spec was completed in 1996.

Now keep in mind, originally, USB was seen as a compliment for FW to be used for things like keyboards and mice.

Given Apple's involvement in FW and the time lag between parts availability (spec release and parts in the supply chain), I'd think FW saw it's way into their computers first. But I'm not sure, and unwilling to research the systems from that era to find out for sure.

 

[DoFoT9]

Apple was involved in FW development (started 1986), and it was completed in 1995. USB 1.0 spec was completed in 1996.

Now keep in mind, originally, USB was seen as a compliment for FW to be used for things like keyboards and mice.

USB seems to be the winner these days (unfortunately).

Given Apple's involvement in FW and the time lag between parts availability (spec release and parts in the supply chain), I'd think FW saw it's way into their computers first. But I'm not sure, and unwilling to research the systems from that era to find out for sure.

fair enough lol. i am too thats why i asked

 

[DoFoT9]

fair enough lol. i am too thats why i asked

checked through the history books! the first iMacs had USB1.1 and NO FW!