Nine External Thunderbolt Storage Devices, Rounded Up
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Page 1:Nine Thunderbolt Devices Feel The Need For Speed
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Page 2:Elgato Thunderbolt SSD 240 GB
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Page 3:G-Technologies G-RAID Thunderbolt 8 GB
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Page 4:LaCie Little Big Disk 240 GB
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Page 5:LaCie 2big 6 TB
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Page 6:Promise Pegasus R6 12 TB
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Page 7:Promise Pegasus R4 8 TB
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Page 8:Preview: Promise Pegasus R4 (SSD Version)
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Page 9:Seagate GoFlex Desk Thunderbolt 3 TB
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Page 10:Seagate GoFlex Ultra-Portable Thunderbolt 1 TB
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Page 11:Western Digital My Book Thunderbolt Duo 6 TB
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Page 12:Test Setup And Benchmarks
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Page 13:Benchmark Results: Single File Transfer
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Page 14:Benchmark Results: Folder Transfer
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Page 15:Thunderbolt: Faster Than USB 3.0; Three Winners Emerge
We compare nine different Thunderbolt-based storage solutions, delivering scorching sequential throughput. Of the nine, three submissions rise to the top. Although it remains pricey, in the applications where it makes sense, Thunderbolt cannot be beat.
Delivering up to 1 GB/s data of throughput and the ability to communicate over PCI Express externally, it's no surprise that Thunderbolt has the attention of enthusiasts today. Those same savvy buyers see that the technology still bears a prohibitively high price premium, though, and decry its lack of value. If you aren't yet familiar with Thunderbolt and want a low-level lesson on it, check out Everything You Need To Know About Thunderbolt.
Nevertheless, several Thunderbolt-based external storage solutions are now available with the potential to nearly double the peak performance of today's most popular interfaces. The question is: are vendors able to populate these enclosures with the right hardware to enable blazing-fast transfers?
Finding Its Place
We certainly understand if you're reluctant to spend extra money on a new and unproven connectivity standard that looks like it's being set up to replace USB. But take solace in Intel's insistence (for now) that Thunderbolt is meant to complement USB 3.0 and not replace it. Although the two interfaces appear at odds, they're decidedly ideal in very different ways and for equally disparate applications.
USB 3.0 does, for example, enable impressive performance across a bus rated for 5 Gb/s. However, its inefficiencies knock what, on paper, appears to be a 500 MB/s interface down far below that theoretical maximum. As an interface for storage, Thunderbolt's 10 Gb/s (1 GB/s) peak has no trouble nudging USB 3.0 from its pole position.
It's perhaps more accurate to think of Thunderbolt as the spiritual successor to the FireWire standard, aimed at users with high-end applications unable to compromise performance—and willing to pay top dollar for it.
And like FireWire 800, which was exorbitantly-priced when it debuted, today's Thunderbolt-based adapters cost more than $150 and require expensive cabling that isn't included. Intel says that it's committed to bringing down the cost of second-generation Thunderbolt controllers and cables, hopefully allowing the technology to dangle within reach of value-conscious customers sooner rather than later.
A large number of Thunderbolt-related product announcements at this year's Computex give us some indication that a flood of products should be emerging soon. But there are already dozens of Thunderbolt-based storage devices available. We gathered up nine and put them to the test.
- Nine Thunderbolt Devices Feel The Need For Speed
- Elgato Thunderbolt SSD 240 GB
- G-Technologies G-RAID Thunderbolt 8 GB
- LaCie Little Big Disk 240 GB
- LaCie 2big 6 TB
- Promise Pegasus R6 12 TB
- Promise Pegasus R4 8 TB
- Preview: Promise Pegasus R4 (SSD Version)
- Seagate GoFlex Desk Thunderbolt 3 TB
- Seagate GoFlex Ultra-Portable Thunderbolt 1 TB
- Western Digital My Book Thunderbolt Duo 6 TB
- Test Setup And Benchmarks
- Benchmark Results: Single File Transfer
- Benchmark Results: Folder Transfer
- Thunderbolt: Faster Than USB 3.0; Three Winners Emerge
What the R6 isn't expensive enough?
Cheers,
Andrew Ku
TomsHardware.com
with the external PCI-E device specification coming soon, i believe the days of thunderbolt are limited.
Thunderbolt IS ePCI-E. Well, using Intel's implementation. You think the specification will somehow make things cheaper? Nope.
Could you maybe do add a random read/write graph comparing GoFlex Desk with USB3 and Thunderbolt?
I was also wondering what the CPU usage is during read/write - is there any impact at all? or does the thunderbolt controller bear all the processing grunt-work?
Thanks again, great article.
thunderbolt is a medium that allows for multiple interconnect protocols to be transmitted over the same wire. It can send PCIe, it can send DP, it was supposed to be able to send USB 1/2/3, as well as Ethernet, all over the same wire... but we have not seen that happen over the copper version that was released.
The external PCIe will be cheaper and easier because it will be hosted directly by the mobo chipset, or the CPU by tapping into already existing hardware. Chip makers will not have to add a new and expensive tech to the device, the connection will just siphon off lanes that are already there. And because it is already standardized and cheap technology it will be easier and cheaper to implement. Finally it will be an open standard that multiple manufacturers can adopt. Thunderbolt (as much as I love the idea) is made and operated by Intel, and Intel wants to charge a premium for it. Until there are multiple chip makers who can make it, then it will continue to be too expensive... and when multiple chip makers can make it then Intel will be the only one worth buying (much like their network interfaces) because nobody can do quality like intel, but at least the price will come down.
And thunderbolt is not going optical fibre in the coming years. the cable is too expensive and cant carry much power.
and the fact that apple is using it gives some clues about its price, compatibility, usability and openness.
i remember how TB was promoted : one single wire from your PC to a TB brick. and from that brick you added USB, ethernet, firewire, DP, HDMI. basically it was touted as "1 wire for everything". supposed to be magical, and we all know how that turns out.
Read http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thunderbolt-performance-z77a-gd80,3205.html Thunderbolt can externalize anything. It just has to have the controller. It is external PCIe. External USB 3.0 and ethernet are possible but unlikely because they are already on the mobo.
From a practical standpoint, external PCIe may cheaper, but it's pointless from a performance standpoint http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express#External_PCIe_cards. Everything is limited to a PCIe 1.0 x1 connection. The new ExpressCard standard (v2.0) ups bandwidth to slightly more than PCIe 1.0 x2, which still isn't that fast compared to TB (PCIe 2.0 x4 uplink). Plus ExpressCard only lets you connect a single device. It's one and done after that. For a mobile user, Thunderbolt is the way to go. Worse, you can't count on EC to be available. I'm already seeing Ultrabooks with TB. It makes sense because it doesn't require a lot of space. EC requires more space, hence it will be a greater rarity now that TB is out.
It looks expensive now but be patient. TB is something you will want. Many people need to look past the role Apple played. It clearly is a performance oriented technology that opens up a whole new world, especially on the mobile side.
Cheers,
Andrew Ku
Tom's Hardware.com
Thank you for your Wikipedia quote. Everybody can quote from the spec sheet. The trouble is you make it seem like Intel are bunch of morons building a interconnect that nobody uses. That's is plain wrong. Just like SSDs, they will come down in price and next thing you know, you'll be asking yourself why in the world would I not use Thunderbolt. Imagine running a external GPU on your Retina Display MacbookPro when you dock your laptop. There'll be a lineup of people buying that technology at a premium price.
Partnering with Apple is no accident. 2 giant corporations backing the initiative is nothing to sneeze at. Give it a few years, and you'll soon find out the true power of Thunderbolt. USB 3.0 complements Thunderbolt.
? Depends how you are making the comparison. PCIe 3.0 vs Thunderbolt? Or did you read the section specifically discussing external PCIe. Those are two seperate conversations.
On the desktop, TB doesn't make a lot of sense except for long display connections. Performance wise it's better to go pure native and drop in RAID, graphic cards, etc.. directly into a PCIe slot.
On the mobile side, space is a luxury. TB opens up a world of possitiblities that ExpressCard can't. TB is a PCIe 2.0 x4 uplink that allows daisy chaining. ExpressCard (current form) supports a single device on a PCIe 1.0 x1. The new ExpressCard standard (v2.0) is slightly faster than PCIe 1.0 x2. I don't forsee laptops having multiple ExpressCard slots. It's just not feasible. With TB, you need a single port, and you can get a lot of performance.
Let's be clear, TB is still in its infancy. What we've been hearing about in press releases are about its potential. Now that TB is finally available, it's up to Intel and its partners to come up with innovative solutions that are readily available for purchase.
Cheers,
Andrew Ku
TomsHardware.com
So for mobile, I can see the benefit of TB over eSATA to reduce form factor. But for desktops and WSs, I don't see the benefit.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3181015?start=165&tstart=0
If you read the whole thread, you'll find plenty of people without problems. Every product has its quirks. We can only go by what we experience first hand obviously.
Cheers,
Andrew Ku
TomsHardware.com
The Western Digital’s My Book Thunderbolt Duo 6 TB is now available for only $599 from Amazon.
I got a special $590 price for some reason. Compared to the LaCie 2Big for $750 I'm wiling to cope with the slower drives.
Please post updates on prices!