Macworld Forums: Belkin and Matrox set to bring USB 3.0 to the Mac via Thunderbolt - Macworld Forums

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I still want a >$100 Thunderbolt to FireWire adapter. Nothing fancy, just something that would let me use my FireWire gear when I'm ready to upgrade to a new laptop.

That Matrox thing looks terrible. Like a cheap box from China. Sorry, just my 2 cents.

The marketing copy says it has a mini displayport connection, and it also says that it has a 2nd thunderbolt port to pass through to additional thunderbolt devices. From the pictures however, it appears that it only has the 2 thunderbolt ports. If that's the case, and the mention of a mini displayport is actually referring to one of the thunderbolt ports which can double as a mini displayport, it's verrrry important to note that there will be NO way to daisy chain 2 of these together AND connect 2 external displays, one to each of these docks. It'll be "either/or", not "and". Still, not too bad of a device I guess.

Note: I was referring to the Belkin device, not the Matrox.

Why are these hubs/docks so expensive? I know and understand that new electronics are required for T'bolt, but the other ports electronics are a dime a dozen cost wise. Personally I would like to see what OWC is going to be coming out with for their external drive/hub combo they used to have for the Mac mini. At these high costs it isn't going to promote acceptance and use of the standard.

The Belkin device looks interesting. I wonder why Matrox chose to use two USB 2.0 ports and only one USB 3.0 port? Seems like more of a stop-gap solution. I think I'd spend the extra $150 and get the Belkin simply because it seems like it'll have a longer lifespan than the Matrox.

Gary, on 05 June 2012 - 02:00 PM, said:

This is true; a USB 3.0 docking station for a Windows laptop is about $165 on Amazon and will drive two displays.

http://us.toshiba.co...ry/PA3927U-1PRP

IIRC, there are performance differences between USB and Firewire in how they manage bandwidth. If the same is true of Thunderbolt, I bet you still get better USB 3.0 performance out of a Thunderbolt-based product than one that runs strictly on USB 3.0. But I could be wrong about that.

imjeffp, on 05 June 2012 - 11:38 AM, said:

When I complained (loudly) to anyone that would listen about the removal of Expresscard, I was ostracized. But...this is exactly what I was talking about. With Expresscard, you could have added any port you wanted. Still, TB is better, but when?

This post has been edited by klahanas: 05 June 2012 - 06:53 PM

klahanas, on 05 June 2012 - 06:52 PM, said:

Exactly - thunderbolt has yet to provide any connectivity for the masses. ExpressCard was sooo handy (though it did take up a lot of internal space).
I'm not in the know, but I'm guessing licensing royalties are still premium. We've been wallowing far too long in hopes that thunderbolt will prove useful.

tms, on 05 June 2012 - 07:10 PM, said:

I don't think Thunderbolt is doing any worse than ExpressCard did. Very few people ever used the ExpressCard slot. Not a huge number of people are using the Thunderbolt port beyond hooking a monitor into it, but we are just now starting to see consumer level devices come to market. It is also highly likely that now that that Intel has USB 3 integrated into their chips we will see the USB ports upgraded on Macs.

The specs on the Belkin Express Dock have changed overnight. Yesterday it had USB 2 ports and an HDMI video port. Now it has USB 3, eSATA and no dedicated video port. As has been pointed out, you have to give up the TB daisy chain to use a MiniDisplay connection. This might work if you use a TB peripheral that also has two TB ports - so that you could still connect a monitor at the end of the chain. But the absence of a dedicated video port seems a net loss. Of course there could be technical reasons for the change. Even Thunderbolt is not limitless. There very well may be capacity issues, or bridging issues involved. I doubt we'll know much more until the Express Dock is subjected to some real world tests.

The Matrox DS1 looks better from the front, but it has limitations of its own. I suspect the absence of a TB passthrough accounts for the lower price. As usual you get what you pay for. Though I agree, mixing USB 2 and 3 ports is just plain silly. But this, too, may be a cost issue. Its biggest shortcoming may be the absence of FireWire 800. This will probably be a deal breaker for anyone using a MacBook Air. Whereas the Belkin device will look like a godsend to anyone with an Air.

Cool! But, fact of the matter is, Apple themselves will be bringing their own USB3 to the Mac (finally)!

http://news.cnet.com...=news&tag=title

Stewsburntmonkey, on 05 June 2012 - 07:36 PM, said:

They should have been among the first to include USB3. They sell a premium product at a premium price. I don't buy the "most people" argument at all. The ability to add fast external devices was (and still is) a reasonable expectation from this class of device. Most people don't drive to Wisconsin, should Google remove them from their maps?

Granted, TB assuages this concern (eventually) but there's been at least a three year gap in having the ability. And at what a price!