This is all I want, so I can have USB 3.0 for my 2011 Air without breaking an arm and a leg, or selling it and getting a newer model.
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Will there ever be TB->USB 3.0 only hub?
- Thread starter thadoggfather
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Probably with Thunderbolt 2 (20 GBit/s per channel). All other TB solutions do not support the full 5 GBit/s USB 3.0 speed, AFAIK.
It does seem that the TB dock solutions currently out there with USB 3.0 support cap out at USB 3.0 speeds of 2.5Gb/s - not sure if that's a hard limit, or just what the current controller chips are able to push. TB2 probably won't be any help; any machine with TB2 will already have USB 3.0 also.
I suppose someone could make a TB to USB 3.0 hub, even if the USB ports cap at 2.5Gb/s. Will they? Only if they think enough people would buy it. I don't know how likely that is.
I suppose someone could make a TB to USB 3.0 hub, even if the USB ports cap at 2.5Gb/s. Will they? Only if they think enough people would buy it. I don't know how likely that is.
Its does more than USB3 but the price seems pretty affordable...
http://www.belkin.com/us/p/P-F4U055
Trouble is, the only real market for that is 2011 Air/Pro owners who have Thunderbolt but no USB3. Anybody with a USB3 mac who doesn't also want Ethernet/Firewire/audio/kitchen sink is better off with a much cheaper hub. So its a fairly niche market.
The other problem is that the 2011 MacBooks only have one Thunderbolt port which doubles as the only way to connect an external monitor. So a "cheap" TB-to-USB3, along the lines of Apple's Ethernet and Firewire adaptors, the lack of a daisychain port would be a dealbreaker for many. Adding the daisychain port & associated video handling is a major extra expense.
For someone who just wants USB3, the Caldigit one will be a better solution - if it turns up on time and on price.
http://www.caldigit.com/thunderboltstation/
...there's a Matrox dock already available, and cheaper than the Belkin, but it only has one (1) USB3 port and no TB-through. Duh.
This isn't the missing link in your quest for a TB->USB Hub.
But it does give you additional USB 3.0 ports and a clean storage for your keyboard. So it does meet your goal of more USB 3.0 ports.
But it does give you additional USB 3.0 ports and a clean storage for your keyboard. So it does meet your goal of more USB 3.0 ports.
That would swing it for me, lets hope:
A: They do one in the UK
B: It's not excessively priced
Fingers crossed:
A: They do one in the UK
B: It's not excessively priced
Fingers crossed: