The Impact of Thunderbolt on the Mac Pro?

[NazRat]

. . . or any desktop for that matter. I've needed a new machine for a while and have been putting it off. Just when I'm getting ready to pull the trigger, Thunderbolt comes along. Now, supposedly, you can hang anything and everything off an external PCIe buss with nothing more than an adapter. I don't see why an expansion chassis for PCI/PCIe cards won't be in that mix. I use UAD cards which is the only reason I'd be in a Mac Pro. But, the prospect of an iMac, Mac Mini, MacBook Pro that I can hang an expansion chassis off of is looking more attractive (or even a UAD TB product to replace the cards - they've already announced they're in development). Now I'm going to wait a little while longer and see what happens. Thunderbolt is definitely a game changer. For all the folks that need a twelve core with 24 gig, the Mac Pro is still the only game around, but for the most part a lesser machine would suffice if you had one or two slots for PCIe cards or new products that deliver that performance.

[dickhauser]

Sonnet has announced an expansion chassis that would use Thunderbolt:

http://www.sonnettech.com/news/nab2011/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This morning (4/27) I emailed MOTU and Sonnet to ask if the MOTU PCIe cards were compatible. Magic Dave responded almost immediately that the MOTU cards would fit, but that MOTU doesn't do testing with expansion cards.

Haven't heard from Sonnet.

I don't know how much the chassis will cost, but it's interesting, all right.

[mhschmieder]

I do not see the described device at the above link, or at the product page for PCIe over on the Sonnet site:

http://www.sonnettech.com/product/compu ... index.html

[NazRat]

http://www.sonnettech.com/news/nab2011/
It's the 4th item listed on the page - 'Echo Express' for PCIe. No PCI, but I imagine someone will pick up the slack. Plus a firewire adapter next one down.

Let the games begin . . .

[mhschmieder]

Ah, no wonder I missed it -- it's for an EXTERNAL chassis (that hosts a PCIe card); not an internal PCIe card in a MacPro! VERY confusing! What's the purpose? Maybe for non-MacPro users?

But the topic title was macPro so I had PCIe in mind; not external chassis. So I was looking at the fifth item down, for the Allegro Thunderbolt Adapter, which converts FW800, and that had me even more confused as "to what end?" in terms of advantage over standard FW connection.

[NazRat]

The point (at least for me) is that the only reason I would buy a Mac Pro is because I need PCIe slots for my UAD cards. With Thunderbolt, I will no longer need a Mac Pro. I can put my PCIe cards in these adapters and hang them off a Mini, Macbook Pro or iMac or whatever has a TB buss without needing the bulk and (in my case) overkill of a Mac Pro. You could also hang a MOTU PCIe card, Pro Tools Core Cards, specialty video cards, etc. off these (though not yet proven). So, if this stuff all works with existing PCIe cards, it preserves my investment in those cards and relieves me of having to purchase an expensive box that is in excess of my needs. I think there are a significant amount of users in this boat. Of course, this is assuming that all these devices will work in this environment, but as always, no guarantees.

[dickhauser]

Ah, no wonder I missed it -- it's for an EXTERNAL chassis (that hosts a PCIe card); not an internal PCIe card in a MacPro! VERY confusing! What's the purpose? Maybe for non-MacPro users?

I was interested because if the thing works, I could consider getting a Macbook Pro instead of a Mac Pro. I'm thinking that one could mount the MOTU PCIe card in the external chassis, and connect them to a Macbook Pro via the Thunderbolt.

[mhschmieder]

Oh, I see: I inverted your query. I thought you meant "what is the impact of Thunderbolt on the MacPro" in terms of integrating it into a MacPro setup or it being introduced in a future revision, as opposed to "why would I need a MacPro, or why would someone buy a MacPro, if they can use Thunderbolt on a different Mac product?".

[HCMarkus]

The new iMac will rock. Then comes the new Mac Pro.

[Rainman]

The new iMac DOES rock, just released this am, check it out.

[FutureLegends]

I'm mostly excited by the rumour that the new MacPro will be rack mountable taking up just 3U... Not that I can afford it anyway though

[burn em]

This is amazing. Just bought a new 17" MBP. For once I'm a bit future proof! This is the best thing that has happened to people who do high track count remote recording since firewire! Exciting stuff!

[mikehalloran]

I am not regretting my new iMac purchase last summer. The eSATA modification will keep me going for a while - even if it has only a 3gB transfer speed.

It is nice to see Thunderbolt on the new ones but it will probably be a year or more before any peripherals exist that I would want to use.

Since my wife could really use a new computer but has no use for the kind of speed I need, perhaps a T-Bolt iMac is in my future with this one going to her. We'll see...

[Radiogal]

I´d like to see a PCIe card with Thunderbolt connectors.
Even if the speed will be reduced to max PCIe speed, the connectors might be useful.

It will take time for Thunderbolt to fully integrate the industry.
Does anyone know if Thunderbolt is Mac only or will it become available for PC too?

[MIDI Life Crisis]

A rack mounted Mac Pro? That would be very cool! Re: iMac v Mini v MacBook v Mac Pro, one may want to look carefully at the internal buss speeds. That is often where you see some major differences and where people often forget to look when considering a purchase.

For most users, it would seem that an iMac is the way to go. Power users who need top speed processing are probably still going to want the Mac Pro line. Rack mounted with Thunderbolt would be a no brainer for many of us. What do you think? $6k? $7.5k? $3k?! And delivery? 2015? 2525? (if man is still alive.)