Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

The Reasonable One

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 31, 2016
198
207
Secret Bunker Testing 2018 17" MBP
Personally I am considering either the yet unreleased Asus or maybe the razer core if they asus does not release theirs by December. I'm favoring the Asus because it is supposed to be under 300 dollars and promises only a 5% hit to the GPU's performance.

I'm hoping this thread can be a place to discuss the various enclosures on the market and the pros and cons of each of them.
 

killawat

macrumors 68000
Sep 11, 2014
1,961
3,609
Akitio Node whenever they get around to releasing it. The node will be an evolutionary step past the homebrew Thunder2 box that everyone loves.
 
  • Like
Reactions: sd70mac

The Reasonable One

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 31, 2016
198
207
Secret Bunker Testing 2018 17" MBP
Akitio Node whenever they get around to releasing it. The node will be an evolutionary step past the homebrew Thunder2 box that everyone loves.
I want to use it for gaming, you think it will be good for that? Akitio said their node loses 10-25% performance of GPU. Compared to the Asus one that is a pretty big deal for gaming
 
  • Like
Reactions: MotionxxUSxx

bootz

macrumors regular
Jan 7, 2014
129
20
Are there any adapters available that will allow us to connect Thunderbolt 3 devices, such as this one, to older Thunderbolt 2/1 ports? I realize it would be an even larger reduction in performance, but I have no interest in getting the new 2016 MBP (I'm still rocking an i7 mid-2012 rMBP).
 

mikeo007

macrumors 65816
Mar 18, 2010
1,373
122
I'd probably wait to see what powercolor or msi come up with. The core sounds like it's got a few growing pains, and comes with Razers notorious support.
 

The Reasonable One

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 31, 2016
198
207
Secret Bunker Testing 2018 17" MBP
Are there any adapters available that will allow us to connect Thunderbolt 3 devices, such as this one, to older Thunderbolt 2/1 ports? I realize it would be an even larger reduction in performance, but I have no interest in getting the new 2016 MBP (I'm still rocking an i7 mid-2012 rMBP).
I think apple sells the opposite of what you are looking for. The sell the male TB3 to Female TB2. Other than that I don't know of anything else
[doublepost=1477695633][/doublepost]
I'd probably wait to see what powercolor or msi come up with. The core sounds like it's got a few growing pains, and comes with Razers notorious support.
Yah, I don't like the core much, but I haven't looked at powercooler yet, mainly because their box isn't that good looking. But I really should look at it. And I definitely have to look at MSI's since I haven't even heard of it. Do you know of anything that would be wrong with the Asus XG Station 2 that is supposed to be coming out later this year? It is quite cheap so I am really considering it.
 

JTToft

macrumors 68040
Apr 27, 2010
3,447
796
Aarhus, Denmark
Are there any adapters available that will allow us to connect Thunderbolt 3 devices, such as this one, to older Thunderbolt 2/1 ports? I realize it would be an even larger reduction in performance, but I have no interest in getting the new 2016 MBP (I'm still rocking an i7 mid-2012 rMBP).

I think apple sells the opposite of what you are looking for. The sell the male TB3 to Female TB2. Other than that I don't know of anything else
- That Apple adaptor actually goes both ways. It's pretty cool.

http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MMEL2/thunderbolt-3-usb-c-to-thunderbolt-2-adapter
 

The Reasonable One

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 31, 2016
198
207
Secret Bunker Testing 2018 17" MBP
Are there any adapters available that will allow us to connect Thunderbolt 3 devices, such as this one, to older Thunderbolt 2/1 ports? I realize it would be an even larger reduction in performance, but I have no interest in getting the new 2016 MBP (I'm still rocking an i7 mid-2012 rMBP).
I just realized that they make TB2 enclosures as well, so you could always get one of those
 

bootz

macrumors regular
Jan 7, 2014
129
20

Oh snap you are correct! I just assumed it wouldn't work because all the other adapters I've seen have only been to connect TB1/2 devices to TB3 inputs.

Does say Sierra is required for bi-directional support. I wonder if they'll implement support for Bootcamp. Would be awesome...
[doublepost=1477699269][/doublepost]
I just realized that they make TB2 enclosures as well, so you could always get one of those

I don't think the TB2 enclosures can compete with TB3 options, including price. The Akitio TB3 enclosure shows an MSRP of 299.
 
  • Like
Reactions: sd70mac

theitsage

Suspended
Aug 28, 2005
795
862
...

Does say Sierra is required for bi-directional support. I wonder if they'll implement support for Bootcamp. Would be awesome...

...

The Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 works both ways in Windows 10. Non-apple computers also work with this adapter as long as the Thunderbolt NVM firmware has version 18 or newer.
 
  • Like
Reactions: sd70mac

jjjoseph

macrumors 6502a
Sep 16, 2013
504
643
I would love to see a real TB3 enclosure that works at full TB3 bus speeds, no down convert to TB2. We use a CUBIX Xpander and it is a great product for CUDA rendering but for Premiere or Gaming your GPU's have to be connected to the display. In the case of using TB3 on a laptop, best to loop through your TB3 to eGPU to your external display, is the best option for gaming or CUDA/Mercury whatever but the TB2 maxes the bus and we saw little hiccups watching on a large resolution external monitor doing any CUDA or GPU intensive tasks. My assumption is that Akitio will have to update the Akitio Node to be compatible with OS X and TB3, either via a new revision or some sort of internal firmware update. As of now, i feel like its to limiting to go TB3 to TB2.
 

sd70mac

macrumors member
Jul 22, 2015
58
38
  • Like
Reactions: theitsage
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.