[dante01]

Originally Posted by Jase Winter

I really want one of those belkin hubs mainly to add USB 3 to my 2011 iMac but isn't the RRP $399? that's an awful lot of money for what is essentially just a hub for additional ports, I know it's thunderbolt but that just seems like a crazy price, plus then there's the cost of the cable on top. I guess realistically it would be overkill for my needs as I don't need any of the other ports.

There's also a cheaper matrox hub if you only want to add a USB 3 port. The Matrox DS1 Thunderbolt Docking Station features gigabit Ethernet, a single USB 3.0 port, two USB 2.0 ports, audio in and out, and a DVI display connection. Unlike Belkin’s product, it does not include FireWire 800, eSata or an additional Thunderbolt port.

Thunderbolt Docking Station for MacBook and Ultrabook

Price is about £170

[dante01]

Going a bit off topic here but …

LaCie also manufacture a Thunderblt to eSata hub:

LaCie’s “Thunderbolt Hub” allows you to connect two eSATA drives to a Thunderbolt equipped Mac. The hub is more cost effective than buying big Thunderbolt storage solutions, or you can connect eSATA equipped drives you’ve already got to the hub that will work in the same TB chain as your display. There’s an abundance of eSATA drives on the market that can readily take advantage of a Thunderbolt pipe. LaCie’s hub also gives you the opportunity to daisy chain more Thunderbolt hubs and connect a compatible display. Each Hub comes with 2 eSata ports and 2 Thunderbolt ports:

LaCie - LaCie eSATA Hub

Costs about £140:
LaCie eSATA Hub Storage controller- eSATA-300- 300 MBps

[dante01]

Originally Posted by the colonel

Thanks for this info, does this mean at last you can get an hdmi source into Thunderbolt? On the website it says 'input and output' devices but no specifics.

Originally Posted by dante01

The HDMI port is for output only. HDMI would require separate individual input and output ports and HDMI cannot both input and output data via the one same port. One minor exception to this would be the Audio Return Channel associated with HDMI v1.4, but this requires that both connected devices are HDMI 1.4 and ARC compliant. HDMI is generally not a two way interface.

The revised spec for the Hub removes the inclusion of an HDMI port so this is a mute point. Belkin will now include a Mini DisplayPort adapter with the product instead of including an HDMI port.

If you want to check the current revised spec for the hub then use the last link (Belkin).

If wanting HDMI input then you may be interested in this:

Blackmagic Design: Intensity

Intensity Shuttle for Thunderbolt has: HDMI, analog component, composite and S-Video inputs and outputs for recording compressed or uncompressed video from a variety of sources including camcorders, video game consoles, projectors, and big screen televisions. Requiring no external power, the Intensity Shuttle can record up to 1080p. The Intensity Shuttle is compatible with tools like Adobe Premiere and Apple’s Final Cut Pro.

Costs about £180

There is one drawback though:

Blackmagic Design Intensity Shuttle Thunderbolt functionality maimed by HDCP - YouTube

Due to HDCP restrictions, copying or transfering data via HDMI to a PC or a Mac is a no no Any similar device to the Intensity Shuttle will be likewise compromised by HDCP restrictions.



Again, sorry for going off topic.

[pixelpixel]

Originally Posted by Stuart Wright

Only installed Windows 7 from scratch about a month ago. Now with corrupted Windows 7 drivers, I have to do it all over again.

Can I be the first person to say how did you do that ?

[bpsmith]

So is it cheaper to buy one of these hubs and a non TB drive, or to just grab a TB drive to start with?

[Trollslayer]

So Stuart, a tenner for the PC?
If you don't ask you don't get!

[bpsmith]

That's a bargain to pay for it to be taken away... ;-)

[Stuart Wright]

Originally Posted by pixelpixel

Can I be the first person to say how did you do that ?

Not a clue. My money is on the remaining Crucial 128 Gb solid state drive. Initially Raid 1. One failed causing a from-scratch install about 3 months ago. Then I think a Windows update caused the next from-scratch install about 1 month ago. Now I think this remaining Crucial is on the way out. Had a few chkdsks run on boot up with problems.
I'll need my current PC as a paperweight.

[dante01]

Originally Posted by Stuart Wright

I'll need my current PC as a paperweight.

I'd invest in a proper paperwight if i were you, just in case

[pixelpixel]

Originally Posted by Stuart Wright

Not a clue. My money is on the remaining Crucial 128 Gb solid state drive. Initially Raid 1. One failed causing a from-scratch install about 3 months ago. Then I think a Windows update caused the next from-scratch install about 1 month ago. Now I think this remaining Crucial is on the way out. Had a few chkdsks run on boot up with problems.
I'll need my current PC as a paperweight.

SSD is really hit and miss. I would post here > SSD Discussion Part 1 I know its the PC Gaming section but some of those boys really know the stuff when it comes to SSD.

[maddogb]

lol I just wonder if Stuart would dare to risk the wrath of Apple had the situation been reversed and he had upgraded a mac to SSD and had the same thing happen to him?

[pixelpixel]

Originally Posted by maddogb

lol I just wonder if Stuart would dare to risk the wrath of Apple had the situation been reversed and he had upgraded a mac to SSD and had the same thing happen to him?

Surely Apple have now stopped that happening. The Retina Macbook Pro's don't have a HD version.

[dante01]

Originally Posted by pixelpixel

Surely Apple have now stopped that happening. The Retina Macbook Pro's don't have a HD version.

and you'd need an advanced degree in engineering to just get inside it

[maddogb]

gents,, i was just musing over the fact that possibly(likely) some previous model macs may have suffered the same fate after owners tinkering with upgrades yet we see no threads with "I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER MAC"

[dejongj]

I'm pretty certain one long standing mac user who appears on here is close to that point Or at least so do his/her posts suggest...

[EndlessWaves]

Originally Posted by Stuart Wright

Not a clue.

Apple use the same hardware designs and manufacturers as other PC OEMs so I wouldn't expect the MBP to be any more reliable in general. If reliability is your requirement then workstation systems might be a more sensible buy as they'll be better supported and less tolerant of errors.

[bpsmith]

Just because the manufacturers supply Apple and PC Makers generally, doesn't mean the kit is of the same standard though. It depends on the spec requested by each party as to how reliable it is. There are various grades of quality by each and every supplier remember.

[RobM]

Originally Posted by EndlessWaves

Apple use the same hardware designs and manufacturers as other PC OEMs so I wouldn't expect the MBP to be any more reliable in general. If reliability is your requirement then workstation systems might be a more sensible buy as they'll be better supported and less tolerant of errors.

Reliability is bound to improve when every component is selected alongside each other specifically and then the OS is built around them, without the overhead of having to support every other hardware item known to man. Keep it simple is the old saying, which is the case in OSX where hardware support is concerned.

[Steven]

I think this highlights the usefulness of using disk image backup software