TB3 -> What would you use it for?

[sammyman]

I'm specifically wondering what you would use TB3 for right now. As in, if the new iMac came out today?

I'm trying to hold out for a new iMac while my 2010 Mac Pro is showing signs of slowing. I am excited for TB3, but looking around for accessories there isn't much out there.

I'd like to buy a TB3 external drive array, but that product doesn't exist. So now I'm wondering if the whole TB3 port is even something I should worry/wait for.

What products will you be using when you get a TB3 iMac?

 

[Jack Burton]

I would use it for an external TB3 GPU box. Specifically, I would like to switch to an iMac for 2d and 3d animation and this would make the iMac a MUCH more sound investment in my eyes. I like working on the mac more, despite having become comfortable with Windows 7 and 10. The 5k screen is beautiful and in my limited experience, I haven't found that Windows handles hi-res displays as nicely as the mac.

For most of my software day to day use , a higher clock speed is king. The top of the line quad core chip in Apple's iMac is as good as it gets without building an overclocked PC.

But once I need to render in C4d, the quad core is not the best. Something with 6-8 cores and lower clock speed per core will result in significantly faster rendering for CPU bound rendering situations (Cinema 4d internal render, physical, and sketch and toon, for examples). I don't want to toast the inside of an ultra thin iMac with sustained rendering on my poor CPU.

As GPU renderers pop up left and right in 3d apps and most of them are Cuda based, it would make the iMac a viable work machine for me: high clock speed for after effects, photoshop, navigating the viewport and running basic physics sims. Then offload to an external GPU box for Cuda based fluid sims and GPU rendering, thus keeping my imac nice and cool. Heck, I might be able to still do work in other apps just fine considering an external box was doing all of the heavy lifting.

I could use this external TB3 GPU box from Razer, which supposedly comes out tomorrow. Other mac users have gotten more cobbled together TB2 enclosures to work for rendering. I'm hoping this TB3 solution will be the answer to my prayers.

http://www.razerzone.com/store/razer-core

 

[CWallace]

For me, I'd use it to drive a second 5K monitor, leaving the other port free to run my Drobo 5D (as I would need both ports on my current iMac 5K to drive a second 5K monitor).

 

[sammyman]

That's cool. I could see his being important for future upgrades if Apple, say, started working with VR.
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For me, I'd use it to drive a second 5K monitor, leaving the other port free to run my Drobo 5D (as I would need both ports on my current iMac 5K to drive a second 5K monitor).

2nd monitor... Miss that. You guys are successfully making me want to hold off on buying the current iMac.