Thunderbolt and USB-C

[dante12]

I'm currently running two 16a via USB 2.0. I'm looking to add a AVB switch and the 24i and 24o units so I can run my desk off the 24s and have 24 inputs and outputs with the 16as. My computer doesn't have thunderbolt and I can only upgrade it to USB-C.

Will that work to run the AVB switch and 24s? Or do I need to get a computer with thunderbolt capabilities?

[HCMarkus]

24ai and 24ao units are USB only.

[mikehalloran]

24ai and 24ao units are USB only.

Yep. USB-C is a port only, not a protocol. If you were to add a USB-C card that enabled say, up to USB 3.2, your units will still operate over USB 2 through the USB-C cable.

[dante12]

Would it be able to handle that amount of I/O? From the 16A manual it says more than two devices requires thunderbolt.

What is the difference between port and protocol?

[mikehalloran]

Would it be able to handle that amount of I/O? From the 16A manual it says more than two devices requires thunderbolt.

What is the difference between port and protocol?

A port accepts the plug of a cable of the same shape.

You can buy USB-C cables that handle TB4, TB3, USB 3.2, USB 3.1, USB 3.0, HDMI, DisplayPort and USB 2. Each of these are protocols. Although the cables look alike, the least expensive ones handle USB 2 only while the most expensive are certified TB4 and are downwards compatible with the lower protocols.

On the Mac, this is pretty straightforward. USB-C ports can handle TB3 on Intel Macs and TB4 on Apple Silicon Macs and are downwards compatible if a compatible USB-C cable is used. The cable resellers use nonsense such as Thunderbolt video compatible which causes people to purchase cheaper cables that won't work when they really need TB3. Thunderbolt 1/2 use a different port that is also used by older video formats — again, buy an MDP video cable when you need TB2 or TB1, it's not going to work.

With Windows, if you need Thunderbolt, you need to add a card or have a computer that has a port that looks like this. The 16a requires a TB or TB2 cable to get the promised 256 channels (128 in/out).
https://motu.com/products/avb/16a/body.html

A Win machine with TB3 or TB4 USB-C ports will need a TB3 to TB2 adapter. Some say the Apple adapter works; others say it won't and you'll need a different one. Again USB 3.1 over USB-C is not Thunderbolt.

[CharlzS]

I'm currently running two 16a via USB 2.0. I'm looking to add a AVB switch and the 24i and 24o units so I can run my desk off the 24s and have 24 inputs and outputs with the 16as. My computer doesn't have thunderbolt and I can only upgrade it to USB-C.

Will that work to run the AVB switch and 24s? Or do I need to get a computer with thunderbolt capabilities?

Here's the chart on connections: https://motu.com/avb/avb-faq#q3

I connect an 828es to a PC via TB (an Apple TB cable to and Apple TB2 to TB3 adapter) with no issues. I also have a USB-C port on the PC, but when plugged into that, only the TB2 to TB3 adapter is recognized by the PC and not the 828es. I'd check with MOTU to see if they might have some other USB3 solution/recommendation.