Well Alan,

That's kinda like sayin.. hey the sky is blue what's going on?

So what have you heard that peaked your interest?
USB 3.1 is also around the corner too. (Yes I know it's getting crazy!)

For faster transfers, 4K video, two way connectivity etc. there are a lot of things that these newer technologies have to offer- along with extra expense. Not saying I know a lot about them- just what's being published and hardware tests. Professionals and early adopters, will get them as soon as they come out because it is worth it for them.

For the rest of us- we don't really need them until we have to do a hardware upgrade and the prices come down and things have been standardized a bit more.

Rob
PD 14 Ultimate Suite / Win10 Pro x64
1. Gigabyte Brix PRO / i7-4770R Intel Iris Pro 5200 / 16 GB / 1 TB SSD
2. Lenovo X230T / 8GB / Intel HD4000 + ViDock 4 Plus & ASUS Nvidia 660 Ti / Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIZw3GPwKMo&feature=youtu.be

Well Alan & Rob,

It so happens that the Lenovo W540 I just bought has a "Thunderbolt" port instead of an HDMI port. I was quite miffed when I saw this, not knowing what Thunderbolt was, but in due course I learned that I could plug in a "Display Port" (with which I was also previously unfamiliar) adapter to convert it to HDMI. Jeez!!

It works, though. Is it better than HDMI? I have no idea. All I know is it cost me an extra 26 bucks for the adapter. Dell Precision 7510 Laptop
Windows 7 Pro 64-bit | Intel(R) XEON(R) CPU E3-1505M v5 @2.80 GHz
RAM: 32 GB
Windows Experience Index 7.5

Sounds you guys are feeling swamped like me with the tchnology.

My XPS 420 has HDMI ports, and I added a USB 3.0 controller.

And I feel I am getting further behind the technology curve.

Alan

Gents,

I bought a Lenovo X230T touchscreen convertible laptop a couple years ago and was also ticked off it had a "Display Port" instead of an HDMI port. Well I soon learned the Display port was actually superior to the HDMI in terms of display- (I also went ahead and got an adapter that changed the Display Port to an HDMI) - which I have never used since I am now happily using the Display Port only.

Your Thunderbolt is faster than USB 3.0 and will allow a multiple Monitor set up, faster data rates. So it's also an unexpected "upgrade."

The heck of it is there is Thunderbolt version 2 already starting to come out! The PC manufacturer ASUS is starting to make an add-on card that you can plug into your desktop- though currently it looks like they are making it to be specifically compatible with their own newer motherboards initially. But this will change when other PC makers start their own add-on cards.

The USB 3.1 that is coming out is to compete with the Thunderbolt 2 in terms of throughput, speed- faster data rates for 4K Monitors etc. I expect to see Thunderbolt & USB 3.1 Hard drives shortly with blistering read/write performance. As well as multi-monitor setups for professional users, gamers / early adopters.

(I am currently researching and going to build a dedicated Workstation desktop later this year so I am keeping up on the latest and greatest... it's a full time job I tell ya!) My back account is already screaming... [Edit update "my back account" ?? ha- I meant of course my "bank" account.]

Rob
PD 14 Ultimate Suite / Win10 Pro x64
1. Gigabyte Brix PRO / i7-4770R Intel Iris Pro 5200 / 16 GB / 1 TB SSD
2. Lenovo X230T / 8GB / Intel HD4000 + ViDock 4 Plus & ASUS Nvidia 660 Ti / Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIZw3GPwKMo&feature=youtu.be

The video guys have some recommendations and configurations for DIY computers based on Thunderbolt technology.

You could build one for about $1,500

I have been considering building my own also.

Check out this link to the the vdeo guys. You may have to copy and paste to the URL.


https://www.videoguys.com/Guide/E/Videoguys+System+Recommendations+for+video+editing/0x4aebb06ba071d2b6a2cd784ce243a6c6.aspx

Alan

Alan,

Nice link. Here is my favorite: https://www.avadirect.com/Workstation-PC

Click on the "Silent Workstation" and go crazy with the options.
When the prices scare you and they will... click the "Desktop PC" or better yet "Gaming PC" tabs on top for a more sane build.

Note: For Desktop PCs the motherboard chipset architecture code named Z87 and the i7 Haswell processors are the current latest and greatest. For Workstation builds the LGA 2011 though an older architecture, with the E5 Xeon processors are still currently the best. (In my view anyway. The E7 Xeons are higher end but looks like only for commercial server applications currently.)

FYI- Later this year in the 2nd or 3rd Quarter, Intel is supposed to be releasing an update to the Desktop / Laptop i5 / i7 Hawell processor line (rumored to have 6 or even 8 core CPUs) as well as the E5 Xeon version 3 series Workstation processors.

So I am hanging on til then before deciding to do a build.

Rob
PD 14 Ultimate Suite / Win10 Pro x64
1. Gigabyte Brix PRO / i7-4770R Intel Iris Pro 5200 / 16 GB / 1 TB SSD
2. Lenovo X230T / 8GB / Intel HD4000 + ViDock 4 Plus & ASUS Nvidia 660 Ti / Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIZw3GPwKMo&feature=youtu.be