Skip to main content

Daisy chain (electrical engineering)

See All Stories
Site default logo image

mLogic’s mLink Thunderbolt PCI Card expansion chassis now available for $399

You can now put a video card “in” your MacBook Air!

Back in September mLogic announced a new Thunderbolt peripheral, the mLink Thunderbolt expansion chassis for connecting PCIe cards, Fibre Channel and audio/video capture cards, 10GigE and more to Thunderbolt-equippred Macs. Today, mLogic announced that the $399 Thunderbolt mLink is finally in stock and available for immediate shipment from its website. There are a few competitors on the market, but mLogic is calling the mLink the lightest and smallest Thunderbolt expansion chassis at 2lbs and 8.1 x 2.75 x 5.9”. Here are some of the highlights:

  • Supports half-length, Thunderbolt-aware PCIe cards
  • Two high-performance 10Gbit/second Thunderbolt ports
  • Supports daisy-chaining of up to six Thunderbolt peripherals
  • Industry’s smallest (8.1 x 2.75 x 5.9”) and lightest (2lbs) Thunderbolt expansion chassis
  • Whisper quiet smart-blower for optimal cooling
  • Conserves energy by turning On/Off with the Mac

You can currently pick them up at B&H for $399 with tax in New York.

LaCie announces availability of $199 Thunderbolt to eSATA Hub: Connect up to 12 eSATA drives

Site default logo image

[slideshow]

At the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in January, LaCie announced a new product for Thunderbolt users. The eSATA Hub Thunderbolt™ Series is a $199 Thunderbolt pass-through that allows you to connect 2 eSATA drives to your Mac via the speedy Thunderbolt port.  By Daisy chaining six of the devices, you could add 12 eSATA drives to your Mac setup.

Today, those devices are now available.

eSATA speeds are up to 3Gb/s or equivalent to SATA II, so you will not be making full use of the Thunderbolt bus speed. However, you will still be much faster than either USB2 (480Mbps) or Firewire 800 (800Mbps). Apple’s Thunderbolt cables are sold separately at $50 a pop.

eSATA docking stations start at around $30, so if you have some eSATA or SATA drives laying around and want to get them on Thunderbolt, this might be a good—though slightly expensive–solution.

Seagate makes a $99 Thunderbolt to SATA drive adapter, but it is having trouble keeping stock (and it lacks a Thunderbolt pass-through) and reviewers note erratic results.

The full specs and press release follows:


Expand
Expanding
Close

Western Digital begins shipment of their Thunderbolt Duo Drives (WDBUPB0040JSL-NESN and WDBUPB0060JSL-NESN)

Site default logo image

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FX-My424O7g]

We first profiled the Western Digital MyBook Thunderbolt Duo at CES in January and noted the extraordinary speed of the drives, especially when daisy chained (above find 780MB/s read, 600+MB/s write). Today, Macrumors notes that Western Digital is making the drives available for $599 (4TB) and $699 (6TB).  While those prices are steep, they fall in line with new Thunderbolt parts across the line.

We’ve reviewed the much slower Firewire/USB Western Digital Studio 6TB drives and came away impressed. Those retail for around $430 currently ($270 less than the Thunderbolt version) but use energy efficient (read: slower) internal drives and slower Firewire 800 connectivity options.

Notably B&H Photo and Video is selling the Western Digital MyBook Thunderbolt Duo already with $50 discounts (6TB – $649, 4TB- $549) and tax only in New York but without solid shipping dates.
Expand
Expanding
Close