Thread: Belkin and Matrox set to bring USB 3.0 to the Mac via Thunderbolt

I saw this the other day too:

Matrox Announces DS-1 Thunderbolt Docking Station for $249 - Mac Rumors

Originally Posted by wgscott

I saw this the other day too:

Matrox Announces DS-1 Thunderbolt Docking Station for $249 - Mac Rumors

With the Matrox, we're starting to get close to "reasonable," IMO. Thanks for the links.

--David

It looks like it is a thunderbolt DAC too. Technically.

Will these devices work with the Thunderbolt port on the Macbook Air? If so, then I could get USB 3.0 transfer rates from my external harddrive.

I would be very careful with USB3. Apple doesn't support USB3. I tried it with LaCie ExpressCard and LaCie external drives. It took me two weeks to find the right version of the Mac to support the third party software from LaCie. Mac OSX 10.6.8 is the most stable one for me. Anything else froze every second song.

LaCie card and software only works with LaCie's Hard drives. So you have to buy Belkin or Matrox devices for compatibility reasons.

Originally Posted by Dj

I would be very careful with USB3. Apple doesn't support USB3.

True. And as of today, no Macs have USB3 hardware. I guess this could change soon, but put me down as doubtful.

I tried it with LaCie ExpressCard and LaCie external drives. It took me two weeks to find the right version of the Mac to support the third party software from LaCie. Mac OSX 10.6.8 is the most stable one for me. Anything else froze every second song.

LaCie card and software only works with LaCie's Hard drives. So you have to buy Belkin or Matrox devices for compatibility reasons.

Not quite sure what you're on about here. To get USB3 on a Mac, you would need to have a hardware adapter like the Belkin or Matrox box. USB3 is supposed to be backward compatible with USB2, so if you plug your USB3 hard drive directly into a Mac, it should perform as a USB2 device. What's this LaCie software for, exactly? And why did you get a USB3 HD to plug into a Mac? Wouldn't a USB2 HD have been cheaper?

--David

Originally Posted by orgel

Not quite sure what you're on about here.

Okay, I get it. You're using the LaCie USB3 drive with an ExpressCard/34 adapter. And the LaCie software is hinky (no surprise there). What made you go that route? Why not just go FW800? Or if you need even more juice, Thunderbolt?

--David

Originally Posted by orgel

To get USB3 on a Mac, you would need to have a hardware adapter like the Belkin or Matrox box. USB3 is supposed to be backward compatible with USB2, so if you plug your USB3 hard drive directly into a Mac, it should perform as a USB2 device.

If you think that is pnp and easy then go for it and try it for yourself.

I wouldn't trust the backward compatibility claims. USB2 drive from LaCie didn't work with ExpressCard (Adapter). Only USB3 drive works with USB2 port. So the Adapter is not backward compatible. Only the drive is backward compatible. It was a bit of disappointing experience with LaCie.

Originally Posted by orgel

What made you go that route? Why not just go FW800? Or if you need even more juice, Thunderbolt?

My WD FW800 drive was very loud. I wanted to give it a try with LaCie and didn't DO ENOUGH RESEARCH about LaCie / USB3 and its issues. Anyways, I got it running now.

But again do some research about their (Belkin and Matrox) USB3 compatibility if you are going for it. Just don't go and buy it to realize that it doesn't work properly and the support is miserable.

Thunderbolt isn't trouble free either. My new MBA has issues to light up my 3 years old monitor with DVI connection. I went to apple store and they said there is no fix for it and you should buy a new monitor with Thunderbolt port. My monitor works perfect with mini-DVI connection on older MBP but not with the new Thunderbolt. So the claim Thunderbolt is backward compatible with DVI is shaky.

Originally Posted by Dj

... I wanted to give it a try with LaCie and didn't DO ENOUGH RESEARCH about LaCie / USB3 and its issues.

Well, at least I made a good decision going with USB3 by mistake. Apple announced new Macs with USB3. And Firewire can rest in peace.

Originally Posted by Dj

Well, at least I made a good decision going with USB3 by mistake. Apple announced new Macs with USB3. And Firewire can rest in peace.

Yeah, all you need to do is get a new MacBook to go with your hard drive. (Just yanking your chain.)

I saw at the Apple Store that the Thunderbolt -> Ethernet dongle they showed yesterday is actually cheap! The Thunderbolt -> FireWire dongle doesn't seem to be in the store yet, but if it's under $50, I have a use for one. (I can be the first person running a Mac-based music server with no USB connections.)

--David

Originally Posted by orgel

Yeah, all you need to do is get a new MacBook to go with your hard drive. (Just yanking your chain.)

..... The Thunderbolt -> FireWire dongle doesn't seem to be in the store yet, but if it's under $50, I have a use for one. (I can be the first person running a Mac-based music server with no USB connections.)

--David

Yep, with that dongle you are setup to use the dead technology for a while. (just kidding!)

And I think I was the first one to run Mac-based music server with usb3. But that was by mistake though!

Originally Posted by struts

Sorry David, I\m not saying I was first and I have already been doing this for a couple weeks. Mac Mini -> Weiss DAC202 (FW800), media over gigabit ethernet from my Netgear ReadyNAS. Even without the NAS one could have been running a TB disk and FW DAC for almost a year now.

So much for that 15 minutes of fame.

--David