Skip to main content

Thunderbolt

130 'Thunderbolt' stories February 2011 - March 2014
See All Stories

Review: Corning’s 33-foot Optical Thunderbolt cable allows you to move your Thunderbolt devices (or Mac) far away from your desk

Avatar for Seth Weintraub Mar 8 2014 - 6:00 am PT
13 Comments
Site default logo image

The promise of the Thunderbolt standard is that it can deliver a lot of data over long distances very quickly for many types of devices. Unfortunately, that promise has been pretty slow to materialize, and the long distance piece of the equation has been particularly painful.

Corning is hoping to turn that around this year with the consumer launch of its Thunderbolt Optical Cables in 10 meter (33 foot), 30 meter (99 foot), and 60 meter (198 foot) sizes. With these lengths, you can put your Thunderbolt hard disk and arrays far away from your desk. If you have a Thunderbolt Display or a Thunderbolt dock, you can even move your Mac to the utility closet or basement and really clean up your desk space.

I’ve been using the 33-foot version for a few weeks and here’s my take:
Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

LaCie unveils ultra-fast Little Big Disk Thunderbolt 2, new portable 1TB ‘Fuel’ drive

Avatar for Chance Miller Jan 5 2014 - 4:37 pm PT
1 Comment

Ahead of showing the devices off at CES, LaCie has just announced a pair of new storage accessories for Apple users. First off, the company will be showing off the Little Big Disk Thunderbolt 2 drive. As the name implies, this drive will take advantage of Intel’s latest Thunderbolt 2 technology and deliver speeds up to “ten times faster” than any USB 3.0 drive. LaCie touts transfer speeds of 1,375 MB/s. Inside the shell are two 500GB PCIe Gen 2 SSDs in RAID 0. LaCie says the Little Big Disk 2 will be capable of handling 4k and 3D video edits.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

9to5Toys Boxing Day: Mohu HDTV antenna $25, ZAGG InvisibleSHIELD/OtterBox BOGO, Belkin Thunderbolt dock $199, more

Avatar for Dec 26 2013 - 10:21 am PT
1 Comment

Happy Boxing Day! Be sure to follow 9to5Toys to keep up with the best gear and deals on the web: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and subscribe to the new Safari push notifications feature.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Up to 60% off Tech Gear: Mohu HDTV antenna $25, Toshiba 1TB portable HD $48, much more

Gadget Accessories:

Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock $199 shipped (Reg. $299)


Other great deals from today:

Site default logo image

Apple starts selling black Thunderbolt Cables alongside new Mac Pro

Avatar for Mark Gurman Dec 19 2013 - 12:33 pm PT
7 Comments

The new Mac Pro is not Apple’s only new blacked-out product: to go with the new pro machine, Apple has released black versions of its 0.5 meter and 2 meter Thunderbolt cables. These cords have Thunderbolt ports on either side, and they work well for transferring data between Macs, connecting to hard drives, and connecting to various other Thunderbolt 1.0 or 2.0 peripherals. Apple is still selling the white cords, and the longer version is $39 per cable and the shorter is $29 (try Amazon for some less expensive options).

Update: Continuing the black theme, the Apple stickers that come with the Mac Pro are black (see above):


Expand
Expanding
Close

Mini review: Elgato Thunderbolt Drive+ (512GB external SSD)

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Nov 26 2013 - 8:10 am PT
8 Comments
Site default logo image

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeVJLM8fmrI

I should say at the outset that this is not cheap. Very not cheap. What you’re looking at is $890’s worth of external drive in the 512GB version I have here, or $500 for the 256GB model.

This is not a drive aimed at a consumer wanting a bit of external storage for their movies, but rather a high-performance drive aimed at audiovisual professionals who need an external drive that delivers the kind of speeds in a mobile environment that they are used to from their office setup … 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

Promise Technology announces first Thunderbolt 2 storage products offering speeds up to 20Gbps

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Oct 24 2013 - 10:46 am PT
7 Comments

While the Mac Pro was expected to be the first machine to launch with the new Thunderbolt 2 standard announced by Intel earlier this year, Apple just unveiled its updated MacBook Pro this week that also received the new Thunderbolt 2 technology. That means it’s time for companies to start announcing storage products and other Thunderbolt accessories that also adopt the faster 20Gbps, 4k video capable Thunderbolt 2. The first to announce new products is Promise Technology (via MacRumors), with two new storage solutions including the Pegasus2 hardware RAID and the SANLink2 Thunderbolt 2 to 8G Fibre Channel bridge:

Running bi-directionally at 20Gbps – twice the bandwidth of Thunderbolt at 10Gbps – Thunderbolt 2 is a breakthrough technology for video creators and multimedia professionals because it allows for simultaneous transfer and display of high-bandwidth 3D and 4K video files, which often requires 15Gbps… Pegasus2, the ideal external RAID storage solution, is available in 4-bay, 6-bay and 8-bay enclosures, and maximizes the available line rate of Thunderbolt 2 by providing blistering fast transfer speeds for a growing number of 4K applications. With two Thunderbolt 2 ports, 6 devices can be attached – allowing for daisy chaining of up to 6 Pegasus enclosure units, Apple Thunderbolt Displays, or Mini DisplayPort devices.

SANLink2 is a portable device bridge which provides dual 8Gbps Fibre Channel ports and dual 20Gbps Thunderbolt 2 ports and can be used to connect Thunderbolt 2 systems directly to a high-speed Fibre Channel SAN, such as the PROMISE VTrak x10 or x30 RAID storage system or a VTrak A-Class shared SAN storage appliance for scale out capabilities and real time raw video HD/4K footage ingest, editing, and collaboration. SANLink 2 enables connectivity that provides flexibility to 4K workflows by removing limitations of systems previously unable to connect directly to a Fibre Channel SAN, and is backwards compatible with Thunderbolt 1.

Pegasus2 will be available from Apple Online Stores  and other retailers in 8TB, 12TB, 18TB, 24TB, and 32TB variants in November, and SANLink2 will become available in December.

Opinion: Is Thunderbolt doomed to be the new Firewire, or can the new Mac Pro save it?

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Sep 30 2013 - 7:50 am PT
58 Comments
Site default logo image

I’m a huge fan of Thunderbolt. A single wire carrying both DisplayPort and high-speed PCIe data is an incredibly elegant approach to minimising cable clutter even if you don’t need the blistering speed, especially when you can use an Apple Thunderbolt Display as a hub for your USB devices.

I also admire clever tech. The reason you can daisy-chain up to six separate devices is because Thunderbolt automatically multiplexes and de-multiplexes the signals as needed. Thunderbolt 2 takes this approach one step further, combining two 10Gbit/s channels into a single 20Gbit/s connection, with the the Thunderbolt controller again doing all the work. It’s impressive stuff.

A fast, clever technology developed by Intel and enthusiastically marketed by Apple ought to stand a fighting chance at mass-market adoption. Sadly, there’s so far not much sign of this happening. It’s all looking rather reminiscent of Firewire … 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Thunderbolt’s future looks even more precarious as 10Gbps Superspeed USB announced

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Aug 1 2013 - 5:41 am PT
34 Comments
Site default logo image

Photo: notebookcheck.com

Our concern that widespread adoption of USB 3 might leave Thunderbolt out in the cold now looks even more likely as the USB 3.1 – aka Superspeed USB – specification has been announced. This allows USB transfers of up to 10Gbps, the same speed as the original Thunderbolt standard.

Thunderbolt is technically superior to USB 3 – combining PCIe, DisplayPort and power signals into a single cable – and the recently announced Thunderbolt 2 version (which will debut in the new Mac Pro) doubles throughput to a blistering 20Gbps. And Thunderbolt can deliver that bandwidth to more than one device at a time. But technical superiority alone is no guarantee of success, as the history of Betamax or Firewire demonstrates … 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

9to5Toys Last Call: $20 Apple Leather Smart Cover, app/game deals, $119 Western Digital 2TB USB 3.0 portable HD, more

Avatar for Jun 28 2013 - 3:16 pm PT
0 Comments

From 9to5Toys.com:

A large majority of the deals we cover each day come from a variety of ‘Daily Deal’ websites or are so popular that they don’t even last 24 hours. We know you can’t be at your computer every second, so we’re going to round up the best deals each day to make sure you have a fair shot at the deals you want. Be sure to follow 9to5Toys.com so you never miss a deal... Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook

Today’s Featured deals:

Genuine Apple iPad Leather Smart Cover $20 Shipped

Gamers’ Deals: MLB 13 The Show (PS3) $28, Amazon Digital Games Summer Sale: freebies & price drops


Other great deals we love:

Non-tech deals we’re pretty sure you’ll still love:

Site default logo image

When Thunderbolt adoption goes mainstream, this is your 10GB/s 128GB Thumb drive

Avatar for Seth Weintraub Jun 6 2013 - 9:31 am PT
0 Comments

The chicken and egg adoption/price reductions of Thunderbolt haven’t yet made the devices accessible to most storage shoppers. That didn’t stop Thunderbolt’s inventor, Intel from Frankenstein-ing an otherworldly thumb drive with a Thunderbolt interface and 128GB of fast storage.

Internally, the drive has SanDisk SSD (why not Intel’s own?) storage and probably has a bottleneck giving the device somewhere between SATA 3 and 10GB/s Thunderbolt speeds. Intel is making a few for demo purposes and but doesn’t expect a consumer version until wider Thunderbolt adoption takes place and prices for the tech go way down. 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Intel announces 2014 Thunderbolt update with 4K support; opens door for Retina iMacs?

Avatar for Mark Gurman Apr 8 2013 - 12:53 pm PT
0 Comments
Site default logo image

Retina iMac mockup via <a href="http://macspoilers.com/665/a-slimmed-down-retina-imac-rumored-to-launch-with-the-ipad-min/"><em>MacSpoilers</em></a>

Today, Intel announced a new version of its Thunderbolt technology that will ship with devices in 2014. The new Thunderbolt technology supports up to 20Gbps throughput, which is up from the 10 Gbps supported by the current version of Thunderbolt.

Notably, the new technology supports 4K resolutions, which could open the door for even higher-resolution Mac displays. Perhaps, this is the technology that Apple needs to work with in order to begin a Retina display rollout for its all-in-one desktop computer, the iMac, or even Mac Pro compatible Thunderbolt displays.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Sonnet announces 15-port Echo Thunderbolt dock with built-in HDD/SSD & optical drive options

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Apr 3 2013 - 6:13 pm PT
0 Comments
Site default logo image

The much-anticipated Belkin Thunderbolt Dock appears to be delayed once again unfortunately, missing its planned Q1 launch, despite taking pre-orders for the device in February after missing its original September launch date. While we’ve been recommending the popular Matrox Thunderbolt Docking station in the meantime, today Sonnet announced a new competitor in the space with the Echo 15 Thunderbolt Dock.

The 15-port dock includes many of the ins and outs you’d expect: Two thunderbolt ports, four USB 3.0 ports, 3.5mm audio in and out (front and back), FireWire 800, Gigabit Ethernet, and two eSATA ports. However, there are two features this 15-port Thunderbolt docking station has that most others do not: extra space to install a 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch SATA HDD or SSD and your choice of a built-in DVD or Blu-Ray drive:

the Echo 15 Thunderbolt dock has you covered—it includes your choice of DVD±RW drive, or Blu-ray Disc™ player (BD-ROM/8x DVD±RW). If you are a Mac user, you’ll also find that the included Blu-ray player software for OS X® is very handy, enabling you to watch Blu-ray movies on your computer or attached monitor.

The fast 6 Gb/s SATA interface supports an HDD at its maximum speeds, and an SSD at up to 380 MB/s… Best of all, the drive sits inside the Echo dock, so you don’t have to clutter your desk space with an external hard drive and its power brick and cable clutter to add more storage. Don’t feel like adding a drive yourself? Sonnet also offers the Echo 15 Thunderbolt Dock equipped with a 2TB HDD, available exclusively through the Sonnet online store.

The Sonnet Echo 15 Thunderbolt Dock is available to pre-order now in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico starting at $399 for a DVD drive and no built-in drive. The next model up comes with a built-in 2TB HDD for $499, while a Blu-ray drive and 2TB HDD brings it up to $549. Other options are also available through Sonnet’s website, and most models are expected to ship in Summer 2013.

Site default logo image

Here’s a Mac Pro concept gallery while we patiently wait for Apple to update the real ones

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jan 22 2013 - 7:26 am PT
0 Comments

This is what happens when designers have to look down at the same box they had almost a decade ago.

We showed you a detailed modular Mac Pro design concept in September posted by designer Peter Zigich. Today, Zigich is back with another future Mac Pro concept that imagined Apple ditching Intel for a custom Apple-designed ARM CPU, “A10”. We’re not sure Apple is ready to take the jump to ARM in the first major refresh of its Mac Pro line since 2010, but the prospect of a smaller, possibly Mac mini-like design for a new Mac Pro is definitely intriguing. The PCI slots are probably not necessary thanks to Thunderbolt, and Zigich doesn’t rule Intel out entirely. While these specs are maybe not completely realistic for an upcoming Mac Pro refresh, it certainly gets us thinking about what Apple might have planned for its aging Mac Pro design. More images available on Zigich’s website here.

Related articles
Site default logo image

Corning and Sumitomo unveil 100-ft optical Thunderbolt cables ahead of CES

Avatar for Jake Smith Jan 3 2013 - 2:25 pm PT
0 Comments


Corning Thunderbolt Cable

Ahead of CES 2013 taking place in Las Vegas next week, Corning has unveiled a new optical Thunderbolt cable for folks who need extra long-reaching Thunderbolt access (perhaps to storage closets or for dummy terminals). Corning’s new cable, perfect for plugging peripherals into supported Macs and moving away from copper core cables, will ship in lengths of 10, 20, and 30 meters and boast the same data transfer speeds of up to 10GBbps. Corning plans to unveil a USB 3 cable as well. No launch date or pricing has been provided for the cables—only that they will be available sometime during the first quarter of this year. At any rate, you bet we’ll stop by Corning’s booth for a closer look next week’s CES.

Just last week, Sumitomo Electric got the “world’s first” Thunderbolt optical cable certification and announced it would mass-produce the cables immediately. The cables are as thick as current copper cables (4.2 mm), can be bent 180 degrees or tangled in knots, and they still perform just like shorter copper cables.

A 100-foot Thunderbolt cable could let Mac users put their whole rig in a closet, run just a Thunderbolt cable to the desktop, and connect to peripherals via the Thunderbolt display. If only there were a Thunderbolt-enabled Mac Pro…

.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

mLogic’s mLink Thunderbolt PCI Card expansion chassis now available for $399

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Dec 11 2012 - 2:00 pm PT
0 Comments

You can now put a video card “in” your MacBook Air!

Back in September mLogic announced a new Thunderbolt peripheral, the mLink Thunderbolt expansion chassis for connecting PCIe cards, Fibre Channel and audio/video capture cards, 10GigE and more to Thunderbolt-equippred Macs. Today, mLogic announced that the $399 Thunderbolt mLink is finally in stock and available for immediate shipment from its website. There are a few competitors on the market, but mLogic is calling the mLink the lightest and smallest Thunderbolt expansion chassis at 2lbs and 8.1 x 2.75 x 5.9”. Here are some of the highlights:

  • Supports half-length, Thunderbolt-aware PCIe cards
  • Two high-performance 10Gbit/second Thunderbolt ports
  • Supports daisy-chaining of up to six Thunderbolt peripherals
  • Industry’s smallest (8.1 x 2.75 x 5.9”) and lightest (2lbs) Thunderbolt expansion chassis
  • Whisper quiet smart-blower for optimal cooling
  • Conserves energy by turning On/Off with the Mac

You can currently pick them up at B&H for $399 with tax in New York.

Site default logo image

LaCie refreshes its best-selling hard drive, the d2, with Thunderbolt & USB 3.0

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Dec 4 2012 - 6:48 am PT
0 Comments

LaCie announced today that it is releasing a refreshed version of its best-selling hard drive with USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt connectivity. Known as the LaCie d2 USB 3 Thunderbolt series, LaCie is offering a 3TB model for $299.95 and latest 4TB 7200rpm hard drive option for $399.95.

According to LaCie, the new d2 offers speeds up to 180MB/s:

Get the fastest speeds available on Mac and PC thanks to the USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt ports. The LaCie d2 performs at speeds up to 180MB/s, twice as fast as FireWire 800 and nearly four times faster than USB 2.0. These speeds allow the user to transfer a 10GB project in less than one minute, back up a computer in record time, easily edit video in demanding applications and browse through photo libraries without delay. Plus with 256-bit AES encryption the data is always secure.

Site default logo image

New last-gen MacBook Air: $699

Avatar for 9to5 Staff Nov 15 2012 - 4:36 am PT
0 Comments

From 9to5Toys.com:

MacConnection offers the base model MacBook Air that was replaced this summer, new in box, for $699. This Air includes an Intel Core i5-2467M 1.6GHz Sandy Bridge dual-core processor, 11.6″ 1366×768 LED-backlit display, 2GB RAM, 64GB SSD, AirPort Extreme (802.11n wireless), Bluetooth 4.0, Facetime camera, Thunderbolt port, and Mac OS X 10.7 Lion. Ground shipping is free.

LaCie updates Little Big Disk Thunderbolt Series with SATA III SSDs and speeds up to 635MB/s

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Oct 9 2012 - 10:46 am PT
0 Comments
Site default logo image

LaCie issued a press release today announcing an update to its Little Big Disk Thunderbolt series that now includes a pair of 2.5-inch SATA III SSDs. The new Little Big Disk provides read speeds up to 635MB/s, according to the company, approximately a 33 percent increase from the previous generation. It is also capable of daisy chaining up to six devices via its dual Thunderbolt ports:

The product features a pair of 2.5” SATA III SSDs. A RAID array can be configured using the Mac OS Disk Utility for performance (RAID 0) or security (RAID 1). It supports daisy chaining up to six compatible devices such as displays and other peripherals.

An example of just how quick the it is: LaCie said the new Little Big Disk can transfer a 50GB project in under two minutes or edit six uncompressed 422 streams simultaneously…
Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

Woot! has 2011 Dual-Core i5 MacBook Air – New in box (Update: $749)

Avatar for 9to5 Staff Sep 29 2012 - 5:27 am PT
0 Comments

From 9toToys.com:

.

Update: MacMall has it for $748.99 with free shipping and the current 4GB USB 3 version for $948.99

Today only, Woot! has the base model 2011 MacBook Air new in box for $759.99+$5 shipping and tax where applicable (Apple charges roughly the same for a refurbished unit). That’s the lowest price we’ve seen for this MacBook Air that was replaced at WWDC in June.

Bonus: Get this Transcend 64GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive for $29.99 with free shipping at Amazon.

Specs include:

  • Eligible for OS X Mountain Lion Up-to-Date Program
  • Originally released July 2011
  • 11.6-inch (diagonal) high-resolution LED-backlit glossy widescreen display
  • 2GB memory
  • 64GB flash storage
  • Thunderbolt port with support for up to 2560-by-1600 resolution
  • FaceTime camera
  • Intel HD Graphics 3000

Product Details

Processor 1.6 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5
L3 Cache 3MB shared
Memory 2GB of 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM; supports up to 4GB
Hard drive 64GB flash storage1
Graphics Intel HD Graphics 3000 processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory2
Ports Thunderbolt port, two USB 2.0 ports
Audio Stereo speakers, Omnidirectional microphone, headphone port, support for Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic
Wireless 802.11n Wi-Fi wireless networking; IEEE 802.11a/b/g compatible; Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology3
Size and weight Height: 0.11-0.68 inch (0.3-1.7 cm)
Width: 11.8 inches (30 cm)
Depth: 7.59 inches (19.2 cm)
Weight: 2.38 pounds (1.08 kg)4

All-Flash Storage

“Wow, that was fast.” With MacBook Air, you’ll find yourself saying that a lot. Because flash storage is up to two times faster than a conventional hard drive,5 everything you do is more responsive and immediate — starting up, browsing a large photo library, launching applications, and opening files, for instance. When you combine the speed of flash storage with a fast dual-core processor and power-efficient graphics, your entire MacBook Air experience feels turbocharged. And flash storage doesn’t have any moving parts, which means it’s more reliable and quiet. Lightning fast, durable, silent — qualities that make sense in a notebook tasked with keeping up with you.

High-Speed Thunderbolt I/O

The breakthrough I/O technology pioneered on MacBook Pro and iMac now comes to MacBook Air, letting you connect multiple high-performance devices — such as external hard drives — through a single port. With two 10-Gbps data channels, Thunderbolt lets you transfer data at rates up to 12 times faster than FireWire 800 and up to 20 times faster than USB 2.0. Thunderbolt technology gives MacBook Air capabilities it’s never had before. Like attaching FireWire peripherals or connecting to Ethernet networks at gigabit speeds — two big gains from one tiny port.6

Long-lasting battery. Instant on. Even after a month off.

Since space-saving flash storage leaves room for a bigger battery, you can devote more time to the things you enjoy most. Things like browsing the web, editing photos, and watching videos. Get up to 5 hours of battery life on a single charge on the 11-inch model. Put MacBook Air to sleep, and it enters standby mode to conserve battery life for up to 30 days.7 When you come back to your MacBook Air and open it up, it’s on in an instant.

DVD or CD Sharing

With the Mac App Store, getting the apps you want on your Mac has never been easier. No more boxes, no more discs, no more time-consuming installation. Click once to download and install any app on your Mac. But if an app you need isn’t available from the Mac App Store, you can use DVD or CD Sharing. This convenient feature of OS X lets you wirelessly “borrow” the optical drive of a nearby Mac or PC. So you can install applications from a DVD or CD and have full access to an optical drive without having to carry one around.

Backlit keyboard

As incredibly compact as MacBook Air is, it still manages to fit a full-size keyboard that makes typing as natural as it is comfortable. And now the keyboard is backlit, so you can type with ease in even the dimmest light. A built-in ambient light sensor detects changes in lighting conditions and adjusts the display and keyboard brightness automatically. From a seat in a sunny café to a seat on a cross-country red-eye, you’ll always have the perfect lighting for any environment.

Related articles

Avid announces new Pro Tools|HD Native, its first Thunderbolt interface and PCIe card

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Sep 8 2012 - 8:24 am PT
0 Comments
Site default logo image

Avid, maker of the music industry’s leading digital audio workstation software called Pro Tools, has officially announced its first Thunderbolt interface for Pro Tools with the new Pro Tools|HD Native Thunderbolt interface and PCIe card. Thanks to Thunderbolt, Avid says the new Pro Tools|HD Native provides the “highest performance and lowest latency of any native DAW” yet. As usual, Avid bundles your choice of either the Thunderbolt interface or PCIe card with its Pro Tools HD software, and you will also get a choice of a Pro Tools HD Series audio interface including either the HD OMNI or HD I/O.

In addition to an “audiophile-grade headphone output” powerful enough to drive high impedance headphones, a few of the benefits of the new Thunderbolt interface according to Avid:

Unlike USB- or FireWire-based DAWs, which are inherently prone to latency, Pro Tools|HD Native employs either a high-speed Thunderbolt interface or PCIe core card to connect Pro Tools HD Series interfaces with your laptop or desktop computer. By eliminating distracting monitor latency while recording, increasing your I/O capabilities, and providing 64-bit floating-point processing for more headroom and a higher mix resolution, you get a professional native solution that meets the highest audio standards.

Pricing for the two packages ranges from $4,999 to $5,999, but Avid is also offering Digi 002, Digi 003, and Mbox Pro owners a hardware trade-in worth $1000:

Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

Western Digital announces superfast Thunderbolt My Book VelociRaptor Duo and portable USB 3.0 drives for Mac

Avatar for Seth Weintraub Aug 30 2012 - 8:03 am PT
0 Comments

The fast keep getting faster. Western Digital announced two new speedy new platter drives aimed at Mac users today. The Thunderbolt “My Book VelociRaptor Duo” is a speed improvement on WD’s previous Thunderbolt Drives coming from the addition of two 10,000RPM internal HDDs (the speed of the drives is actually still the bottleneck here —Thunderbolt is very fast).

Extreme speed of WD VelociRaptor drives inside.

With the extreme speed of two 10,000 RPM WD VelociRaptor drives inside united with the revolutionary speed of Thunderbolt technology your creative inspirations have never moved so fast.

Enhanced workflow efficiency.

The dual Thunderbolt ports make it easy to daisy chain more drives for even greater speeds and higher capacity. Add peripherals to further enhance your productivity.

User-configurable for speed or double-safe data protection.

Customize this dual-drive storage system to your needs – RAID 0 for speed, RAID 1 for data protection, JBOD to use the drives individually.

Did you know…

My Book VelociRaptor Duo is a bootable external device supported by Mac OS X. For additional information, please click here.

Western Digitial also upped the speed of its Mac Portable Drives (which we’ve reviewed favorably) with USB 3.0 and sizes up to 2TB:

Ultra-fast USB 3.0 connectivity.

With the blazing-fast connectivity of USB 3.0, this drive lets you access and save files in record time. Reduce transfer time by up to 3 times when compared to USB 2.0 transfer rates.**Performance may vary based on user’s hardware and system configuration.

Massive capacity in a small design.

This compact enclosure offers up to a massive 2 TB of storage. It’s the ideal companion for anyone with lots of photos, movies, videos and files that they want to take with them.
Password protection secures
your drive.

Use WD Security utility to set password protection and hardware encryption and protect your files from unauthorized use or access.

Both Press releases follow:


Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

Drobo announces 5D and Mini Thunderbolt/USB3 Storage devices with mSATA built-in

Avatar for Seth Weintraub Jun 21 2012 - 8:10 am PT
0 Comments

I’m not going to lie: I’ve heard enough Drobo horror stories to steer clear of its products for a while now. However, it seems to be doing well with its “Bring your own storage” model, and the products are rated well on Amazon, so the company must be doing something right. Today, Drobo announced a new Thunderbolt product, the 5D, with some serious specs:

Drobo 5D is equipped with dual Thunderbolt ports for daisy chaining. Connect up to six Thunderbolt devices and/or a non-Thunderbolt monitor at the end of the chain. With six Drobo 5D arrays in a chain, you can have up to 96 TB of usable capacity. And, the bi-directional 10 Gbps performance of Thunderbolt allows all devices in the chain to achieve maximum throughput.

Interestingly, the 5D and Mini have a battery backup to safely shutdown the device and an mSATA add-on that purports to increase performance:

Inserting mSATA SSD in Drobo 5D

Data-Aware Tiering technology, usually reserved for business-class storage solutions, is also available in this desktop Drobo. It intelligently uses the high-performance flash in SSDs to accelerate performance of the storage array, allowing applications such as Adobe Premiere and Apple Aperture fast access to data. To keep capacity of the Drobo at a maximum, the Drobo Accelerator Bay accepts an industry-standard mSATA SSD, leaving all five 3.5” drives bays available for high-capacity HDDs.

If getting the fastest performance possible is your thing, you can also load up every drive bay with SSDs. Drobo gives you the flexibility to choose.

For my money, I much prefer Network Attached Storage, which admittedly moves at a slower 1Gbps. Drobo offers solutions in this area but I am currently using and loving my Synology Diskstation that resides in my closet instead of my desk. It has not been anything but reliable for months (expect a review soon).

Drobo also announced a Drobo Mini Product that holds four 2.5-inch HDDs or SSDs.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Retina MacBook Pros run three external displays, refreshed Airs get dual external display support

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jun 20 2012 - 12:25 pm PT
0 Comments
Site default logo image

Picture by Gabor Cselle

While Apple already recognized in its support documents for Thunderbolt that the new Retina MacBook Pro supports up to three external displays (as pictured above from Other World Computing’s recent tests of the setup), it has yet to confirm official support for the refreshed Ivy Bridge MacBook Airs. Today, we get word that the new MacBook Airs indeed support two external Thunderbolt displays thanks to the recent “Mac OS X Lion Update (Mid-2012 MacBook Air)” update that “improves external display support.” Apple has not updated the device’s specs page to reflect support for dual external Thunderbolt monitors.

The image below from OWC shows two iMacs running at 2,560-by-1,440 as Thunderbolt displays, and it shows an LG monitor at 1,920-by-1,200 via HDMI. The post noted “moving images and media didn’t create any lag and we were able to play video on all four displays simultaneously.” This makes the new MacBooks the first to support up to four displays at their native resolution. Note: You could theoretically add even more space with AOC DisplayLink displays.

The refreshed MacBook Air with dual external Thunderbolt displays is pictured above, while the MacBook Pro with three displays is below:

Expand
Expanding
Close

Manage push notifications

notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications
notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications