Western Digital Announces Thunderbolt-Powered My Passport Pro RAID Drive

[g4cube]

I don't see any evidence that it's faster than this WD version. Seagate's own page states 220 MB/s. Less than the theoretical limit of the WD drive in the article.

Not a great difference, I'll grant, but you really need either SSDs or more than a 2-drive array to saturate the Thunderbolt port.

My blurry eyes deceived me. Yes, 233 is faster than 220. Sorry for that slip up.

Will have to wait for the obvious eventual comparisons when reviews are published.

As others note, 2xDrives in RAID-0 in a sealed drive requires caution, as if one drive fails, all data is lost.

Still, for people who are going to splits into 2 separate drives for JBOD, or a comforting RAID-1, the price premium is still there. Heck, can purchase 2 separate 1TB or 2TB portable drives for less; either something like the Seagate/WD/LaCie USB 3.0 drives, or the LaCie Thunderbolt/USB3.0 Rugged in 1TB or 2TB capacity points.

Main advantage of WD or Seagate is the simple, portable bulk capacity. The performance differences are negligible.

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It'll be really nice when the housing comes down in price AND the price of SSD drives get cheaper. That'll be excellent off the thunderbolt port....

Gary

Interesting that WD did not do an SSD version, or consider using their WD Black² hybrid inside:
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=1190

 

[Orlandoech]

Finally, a bus-powered portable RAID solution using Thunderbolt. I have been looking and looking for something like this.

BUT so many alternatives so this is not a clear winner for me.

I already have a Buffalo thunderbolt bus-powered drive with a 1TB SDD (which exceeds the speed performance specs of this drive).

Another alternative is using the CINERAID H212 which is a portable USB 3.0 bus powered RAID enclosure for 2.5" drives. Slightly slower but much cheaper even when you add drives, although 2TB 9.5mm drives are still hard to find bare. http://www.cineraid.com/products/home_h212.htm

The Seagate STDA4000100 mentioned here seem very attractive BUT I cannot find any documentation saying that it can be used in RAID 1 configuration. Also unclear if it uses hardware or software RAID or something else.

I use the CineRAID CR-H252 and love it. http://www.cineraid.com/products/home_h212.htm

 

[cmChimera]

Again...

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/Thund...lite-Dual-RAID

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/Thund.../ThunderBay-IV

I meant more like portable, bus powered enclosures. And ones that are reasonably priced as well.

 

[theluggage]

Put it last in the chain. What's the problem?

For both theluggage and me our chains begin at our computers and end at our monitors. Daisychained technology is pretty useless with single port devices.

Yup. Not much use on a 2011 MBP or a Mac Mini.

Not brilliant if you have a rMBP and need to use a TB to Ethernet adaptor, and/or a TB to FireWire adaptor, either. At least those have an excuse for not having TB thru (vis: they only cost $30).

 

[CharlesS]

Put it last in the chain. What's the problem?

... the fact that you can't use an external display anymore?

 

[GSPice]

As other have mentioned, Seagate already has a two drive 4TB portable RAID 0 array on USB 3.0. They just need to make a RAID 1 version. http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Backup-Portable-External-STDA4000100/dp/B00HXAV0X6

Looks like a good option - and it can be powered by USB 3.0 since they're 2.5" drives, and Seagate has obviously spec'd them to have appropriate current draw.

As I look around though, I only need big OR fast. Not big AND fast, otherwise I'd end up wasting that speed (RAID 0) on incremental backups - and RAID 0 is obviously not good for backups.

I think what I need is a fast SSD thunderbolt for video editing (if I can't fit the library projects on my internal flash), and a RAID 1 to archive everything on after I'm done. If the RAID 1 is USB 3.0, that'd be great for grabbing archived files. But I don't need portability for a huge drive.

 

[macs4nw]

Can't wait to see more of these TB devices introduced; that can only have a downward effect on those prices.

Let's make the best tech out there affordable for more people.

 

[Tanegashima]

So after several years the first thunderbolt powered drive is announced.

Anda after several years, the first thunderbolt version is still the fastest external bus on earth.

But... who cares about pen drives and usb hard disks anymore?

This is 2014, we have AirDrop >1Gbps (about 100MB/s) and over the air and Cloud storage now... meh...

 

[CosmoFox]

Depending on the speed, I'm gonna pick one of these up. It's a small price to pay to have a fast reliable backup/storage drive.

 

[MorpheusXX]

The LaCie Rugged TBolt is TBolt powered and has both SSD configs and HDD configs. Although, this is the first dual drive bus powered enclosure I've seen.

Which definitely gives it my thumbs up.

Elgato has also had a drive around for a while.

http://www.elgato.com/en/storage/thunderbolt-drive-512gb

 

[ZOZO139434371]

So after several years the first thunderbolt powered drive is announced.

Just because you don't bother to do any research, doesn't mean they don't exist. There are a number of bus-powered thunderbolt drives out there. Some have been out for over a year already.

 

[Koudspeel]

Does anyone know if it's possible to crack this thing open and put in 2 SSD's?

 

[weckart]

Put it last in the chain. What's the problem? Silly "deal-breaker" argument. The captive cable being short is also a silly reason to not buy it. It's a portable drive. It's meant to be used with a laptop on the go. I don't want a ridiculously long cable when I'm toting stuff around. They're a pain and usually get damaged easier.

It is a deal breaker because the cable is captive, integral to the device. If it breaks, your device is usless. It is a sign of cost cutting that does not belong on such an expensive device.

If you had a Thunderbolt port, you would at least have the choice of a short, medium or long cable; whatever suited your needs best and interchangeable at a moment's notice.

There is a market for what WD has put out here but much more limited than it otherwise would have been.

 

[RightMACatU]

Darn! I'm not a "graphics professional"

Nice but not for me @ $300. I'm not THAT in hurry to move my stuff.

 

[flottenheimer]

While I love the promise of Thunderbolt, I am seriously doubting that the standard will survive for long.
Low and slow Thunderbolt adoption by PC and parts makers + the history of Firewire 400 and Firewire 800 having been killed by USB tells me that this adventure might be over before it really starts.

What is being planned for USB 4.0?

 

[MauiBoy]

I meant more like portable, bus powered enclosures. And ones that are reasonably priced as well.

Like this?

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/usb/raid_1/Gmax_Portable

Been using one of these with a Thunderbolt to FireWire 800 adapter, and it works great. No need for an extra power supply. Mine's a 2 x 500GB model.

 

[Cooee!]

I like this product. I will set it up as Raid 1 probably. Although I'll still wait for prices to go down.

 

[imageWIS]

Serious question: WHY are Thunderbolt drives so much more expensive than USB 3.0?? Both technologies originate from Intel, both use non-fiber optic cables, both use the same actual drives, so why, why, why is TB so expensive?!?

 

[rw3]

Serious question: WHY are Thunderbolt drives so much more expensive than USB 3.0?? Both technologies originate from Intel, both use non-fiber optic cables, both use the same actual drives, so why, why, why is TB so expensive?!?

one word: licensing.

 

[imageWIS]

one word: licensing.

What's the price for TB and what's the price for USB 3.0?

 

[mojolicious]

While I love the promise of Thunderbolt, I am seriously doubting that the standard will survive for long.
Low and slow Thunderbolt adoption by PC and parts makers + the history of Firewire 400 and Firewire 800 having been killed by USB tells me that this adventure might be over before it really starts.

All of this.

Things look even worse for Thunderbolt when you consider that for the vast majority of users it'll prove to be no faster than USB3, whereas even FW400 was tangibly quicker than USB2 but still failed to make the cut.

 

[rw3]

What's the price for TB and what's the price for USB 3.0?

From what I remember when Thunderbolt first came out, somewhere in the neighborhood of $75-$100 per device...

 

[thatdrh]

I wish thunderbolt was cheaper.

The early adopters always have to suffer and pay the premium... but... um... aren't we passed the early adopter stage?

 

[g4cube]

one word: licensing.

Not exactly.

There is a license in the sense that manufacturers must sign a license to use the parts, committing to approved designs, and gaining certification before being sold to customers. The ecosystem requires all devices to be certified.

Hi-speed design does entail higher development costs due to materials and test equipment required for validation. There are also certification costs.

There is also complexity. In addition to the Thunderbolt controller chip, there is quite a bit more going on inside than a simple USB-to-SATA bridge. Take a look at some of the reviews and teardowns showing the insides. USB-to-SATA controllers are simple in comparison. I don't think Thunderbolt will ever be reduced to as simple a solution, though the complexity is being reduced.

Overall system cost is higher due to circuitry, cabling, DisplayPort, power management, and overall bandwidth.

Yes, the controller is sole-sourced from Intel, and yes the controller is more expensive than a USB-to-SATA bridge chip, but not $100 more.

Close examination of the Apple Ethernet and FireWire dongles do indicate reduced complexity as there is no daisy-chain capability, so simple bus-powered devices could be less expensive but still ore costly than USB.

 

[cmChimera]

Like this?

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/usb/raid_1/Gmax_Portable

Been using one of these with a Thunderbolt to FireWire 800 adapter, and it works great. No need for an extra power supply. Mine's a 2 x 500GB model.

If it were diskless, and not the size of a tank, yes.