Interface Cards & Controllers

What You Need to Know About Thunderbolt

The arrival of Apple's latest MacBook Pro models brings with it a brand-new connection technology called Thunderbolt. And by brand-new, we mean "just announced Thursday morning," which raises lots of questions about what, exactly, Thunderbolt is and why Apple has chosen to make it a flagship feature of the company's newest notebooks. Here's what you need to know about the industry's latest connection standard.

What is Thunderbolt?

Thunderbolt (previously called Light Peak) is a new peripheral-connection technology, developed by Intel with collaboration from Apple, that combines data, video, audio, and power in a single connection. Based on the PCI Express and DisplayPort architectures, Thunderbolt allows for high-speed connection of peripherals such as hard drives, RAID arrays, video-capture solutions, and network interfaces, and it can transmit high-definition video using the DisplayPort protocol. Each Thunderbolt port also provides up to 10 Watts of power to connected peripherals.

Is Thunderbolt any different from Light Peak?

Light Peak was simply Intel's codename for Thunderbolt while the technology was under development--they're names for the exact same technology. One thing to note, however, is that although Thunderbolt is designed to allow the use of either electrical or optical connections, Apple's current implementation uses only electrical circuitry, which allows the port to carry power, as well. (Intel expects most vendors to use electrical connections both for this advantage and because of the lower cost. Optical versions will likely be used only when cables longer than three meters are needed.)

So how does this involve PCI Express?

PCI Express is the high-speed architecture that's used to connect many of the components in your Mac, such as the processor, graphics card, and hard drive You can think of PCI Express as an expressway that lets data move quickly and efficiently between these "locations." Because Thunderbolt is based on PCI Express, it offers a direct connection to the PCI Express bus, which is part of the reason it can offer such impressive performance.

How fast is it really?

In theory, it's blazing fast. A Thunderbolt channel can provide up to 10 Gigabits per second (Gbps) of data throughput--and each Thunderbolt port includes two channels. Thunderbolt is also bi-directional, meaning it can transmit and receive data at the same time. Even with estimated real-world performance of around 8Gbps, Thunderbolt is many times faster than FireWire 800 and USB 3.0. It's also significantly faster than the eSATA connections available on many Windows PCs.

Of course, just as with previous high-speed interfaces, performance of each connected device will often be much lower thanks to the limitations of the device itself; for example, most SATA hard drives top out at 3Gbps, and even SATA 3.0 drives are limited to a theoretical 6Gbps. Similarly, an older, slower device placed in the middle of the chain can--if not connected properly--cripple throughput for higher-speed devices connected after it. (More on that below.)

What are Thunderbolt's advantages over current connections--FireWire, USB, eSATA, and the like?

The biggest advantage is obviously the aforementioned performance. But another big selling point is that, since Thunderbolt supports data, video, audio, and power, you can use a single Thunderbolt port--and thus a single cable--to connect many of your peripherals. Or at least you'll be able to once you've got enough Thunderbolt devices and adapters.

So Thunderbolt is kind of like Apple's old Apple Display Connector technology?

Not really, although the idea is similar to that of the Apple Display Connector (ADC). While Thunderbolt does carry video, audio, data, and power--thus reducing the number of cables sticking out of your computer--it doesn't provide enough power to run a large display. (ADC could provide up to 100 Watts of power, along with video, audio, and USB signals.) On the other hand, an ADC connection required a specialized--and expensive--video card, whereas Thunderbolt uses the Mini DisplayPort standard.

What type of physical connection does Thunderbolt use?

Conveniently enough, Thunderbolt uses a connector that fits the Mini DisplayPort port on all recent Macs. In fact, the newest MacBook models include only a Thunderbolt port--there's no separate Mini DisplayPort port.

But how do I connect my display if there's no Mini DisplayPort jack?

Because Thunderbolt handles both data and DisplayPort video, you connect your Mini DisplayPort-enabled display--or another display using a Mini DisplayPort adapter--to the Thunderbolt port, or you daisy-chain it to other Thunderbolt devices, as noted below.

How do Thunderbolt's video and audio capabilities compare to DisplayPort's?

Remember, every Thunderbolt port includes both DisplayPort and PCI Express connections. Which means a Thunderbolt port can handle the same types of video and audio--displays with greater than 1080p resolution and up to eight channels of audio--as a DisplayPort port. When it comes to video, the main limitation is your graphics card. For example, the new MacBooks support an external display up to 2560 by 1600 pixels at millions of colors, in addition to the built-in display in either mirroring or dual-display mode. On a desktop Mac, the Thunderbolt port would support two high-resolution displays. You can connect a Mini DisplayPort-enabled display directly, or a DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI, or VGA display using an adapter.

Is Thunderbolt backward-compatible with USB and FireWire?

Third-party vendors will sell adapters, available sometime this spring, that let you connect USB, FireWire 400, and FireWire 800 devices to Thunderbolt ports. Thunderbolt won't make these legacy devices any faster, however--they'll still be limited to the performance of their built-in components. For example, a FireWire 800 device still won't be able to transfer data faster than 800 Mbps.

What about other types of connections?

As noted above, Thunderport can carry data, video, audio, network data, and power, so we also expect to see adapters providing audio and Ethernet connections. Perhaps we'll even see cables that grab power from the Thunderbolt port--this could be useful, for example, for getting some extra juice for an external USB or FireWire peripheral.

Can I connect multiple devices to a single Thunderbolt port?

You can connect up to six devices to each Thunderbolt port by daisy-chaining them--connecting the first to the Thunderbolt port, connecting the second to the first, and so on. Of course, this requires that each device in the chain have two Thunderbolt ports (or two other types of data ports along with Thunderbolt adapters)--one to connect to the device in front of it and one to provide a connection for the device after it.

Does connecting multiple devices affect performance, as it can with USB 2.0?

Unlike with USB 2.0, where connecting a non-Hi-Speed device or a USB 1.0 device can affect the performance of the entire USB bus, Thunderbolt is designed to handle multiple devices of varying levels of performance without affecting the channel itself. Of course, those devices still share the total throughput of the Thunderbolt channel, which could limit the performance of a particular device if multiple devices are transferring lots of data at the same time, but the performance of the Thunderbolt channel itself shouldn't be affected.

How does connecting non-Thunderbolt devices affect performance?

It depends. If you connect those devices to the end of your Thunderbolt chain, they should't adversely affect the performance of faster "upstream" devices. If you connect non-Thunderbolt devices in the middle of a Thunderbolt daisy chain, the way you connect them matters.

For example, if you use two FireWire-to-Thunderbolt adapters to put a FireWire hard drive in the middle of a Thunderbolt daisy chain, the performance of the rest of the chain "downstream" from the computer will be limited by the FireWire drive's FireWire bus, which simply can't pass data as fast as Thunderbolt.

However, it's likely we'll see specialized adapters and hubs that preserve the Thunderbolt chain while branching off to provide USB, FireWire, Ethernet, video, or audio connections. These could range from simple, T-shaped adapters that provide Thunderbolt input and output along with a single legacy connection, to multi-device hubs that let you connect several legacy devices (docking station, anyone?). When using one of these specialized adapters, the higher performance of the rest of the Thunderbolt chain should be preserved.

Until such adapters are available, one of the biggest Thunderbolt challenges will be that your display must be the last device in the chain, because the new MacBooks have only a single Thunderbolt port and current displays--even those with DisplayPort connections--don't have a way to pass data on to another device. This will make it a hassle if you want to temporarily connect or disconnect, say, a Thunderbolt hard drive, as you'll need to disconnect your display in the process.

We suspect that, with the exception of displays, most people will choose to connect their existing peripherals to their computer's USB, FireWire, Ethernet, and audio ports.

Can you boot a Mac from a Thunderbolt drive?

We suspect so, but we haven't yet confirmed this capability. We'll update this answer when we know more. We're also looking into whether you can boot your Mac from a USB or FireWire drive connected to a Thunderbolt port using an adapter.

Does Thunderbolt support Target Disk Mode and Migration Assistant?

On the new MacBook Pro models, you can use Target Disk Mode over a computer-to-computer Thunderbolt connection. (We assume this will be the case with future Thunderbolt-equipped Macs, as well.) However, Mac OS X's Migration Assistant software doesn't currently support Thunderbolt connections.

Will all Macs get Thunderbolt?

Apple doesn't comment on future products, but it's telling that the company has made Thunderbolt a standard feature across the entire MacBook Pro line--even the entry-level model. The company has said it expects wide adoption of Thunderbolt, and for that to happen, its spread across the Mac line seems like a given. As Apple updates the company's other computer lines over the coming months, we expect to see Thunderbolt added to every Mac model. A more interesting question, though, is...

Will Thunderbolt eventually replace FireWire and USB on Macs?

Perhaps, although eventually could be a very long time. Thunderbolt is brand new, and as such it will be a while before it becomes anywhere near as commonplace as USB and FireWire. It's expected to be widely adopted by vendors and peripheral makers over the next few years, but until most popular peripherals are available with Thunderbolt connections, we don't expect these legacy connections to disappear entirely from the Mac lines.

That said, we all remember the original iMac, when Apple nixed legacy serial and ADB connectors in favor of USB--long before USB peripherals were commonplace and inexpensive--and we can imagine the idea of a single port and connector appealing to Apple and Steve Jobs. Just look at the dock-connector port that adorns the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Speaking of which...

Will iOS devices get Thunderbolt?

As noted above, Thunderbolt relies on PCI Express, the architecture that underpins Macs and most PCs. But iOS devices don't use a PCI Express architecture, which would presumably make it difficult to simply stick a Thunderbolt port on an iPhone. Plus the dock-connector port on iOS devices provides quite a bit of additional functionality--it's got 30 connection pins for a reason, after all. Finally, it's not clear what benefits Thunderbolt would provide that the dock-connector port is missing. We suspect it's far more likely that Apple will eventually sell an optional Thunderbolt-to-dock-connector cable for charging and syncing.

Are there any Thunderbolt peripherals available yet?

Thunderbolt just became official, and while a number of vendors have announced Thunderbolt-based peripherals, none are yet available. For example, Promise has announced the Pegasus Thunderbolt Technology DAS, a 4- or 6-bay external RAID array, and LaCie has announced a Thunderbolt version of the company's Little Big Disk portable drive that features dual hard drives or SSDs (solid-state drives). These and other Thunderbolt peripherals are expected to be available beginning this spring.

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HP Omni 200-5250 Review - An Invaluable Asset Clutterless PC!

Right just hate many of the hassles of obtaining a PC with all of those dang wires infiltrating your workspace. You aren't knowing best places put that bulky CPU unit that can't slot in the corner. And even looking to fit that monitor somewhere for your desk that already has enough stuff which is. I am aware the majority of us do.

Well, that where HP solves this major bottleneck those of you that need an all-in-one PC with lots of performance to get a reasonable price. This is why you are here HP Omni 200-5250 review. The HP Omni 200-5250 could make your lifestyle less stressful with it's banging features it includes. Towards the end on this review, you can be convinced enough to get this all-in-one desktop with complete confidence. Let's begin.

The Processor
Let's begin where any avid tech person would start, the processor. So what on earth types of processor does the HP Omni 200-5250 have? This desktop PC comes with a Intel Pentium E5500 Processor. It runs at 2.8GHz, 2MB Cache, and 800MHz front side bus. Now, many of you who aren't computer savvy are probably just a little confuse here. I'll break this down a lot more. When any spec sheet mentions '2.8 GHz', we're preaching about the processor's speed. GHz represents Gigahertz, and that is one billion cycles per second, the hands of time speed of your processor. The more GHz your personal computer has, the faster it runs.

Cache is employed to keep loaded, ready-to-use programs that'll be needed later inside the initial startup in the computer. The microprocessor will in most cases provide an extra quantity of really quick 'cache' memory constructed in, which again, can be a set of instructions the pc will used if it is started or aroused.

Cache memory makes programs using the pc improve your performance, whilst a bonus, the processor it unnecessary around it will normally has to be, which is why some computers run more slowly.

Front side bus is often a band of signals, known as a 'bus', which connects the processor on the memory controller, or maybe the slot. Simply put, the front side bus determines the speed of memory access. The larger the speed in the front side bus, the faster the processor can access information.

RAM/Memory
Another important factor with the HP Omni 200-5250 is it's RAM or random access memory. RAM is yet another contributing factor behind the interest rate in the PC. The 200-5250 has 2 slots of 4GB(gigabytes) of PC3-6400 DDR3 SDRAM memory, and this can be upgraded to 8GB total if you decide to purchase 2 more RAM cards. Okay, what did I simply say, you ask? Let's use it basically, again.

SDRAM symbolizes synchronous dynamic random access memory. They run at more expensive clock speeds than regular memory. SDRAM will synchronize itself together with the cpu's bus thus rendering it manage a lot faster. And DDR3 is simply the Double Data Rate 3. It is just another factor to generate laptop computer faster. It is already replacing the majority of the original DDR and DDR2 memory RAMs.

Hard Drive
To be honest people. It's a new decade inside the computer world. Most computers these days require a great deal of disk drive space to keep movie files, numerous pictures, movies, and masses of other large files. That measly 32 gigabyte harddrive that had been 'enough' extremely popular past won't work anymore. That may be where HP keeps on top of today's demanded hard disk standards.

The HP Omni 200-5250 has a 750GB, 7200 RPM, Serial ATA harddrive. I realize, another mouthful. I'll break that on to bit size chunks. By now, I'd personally assume you are sure that the larger the quality of disk drive space, better it is possible to fit files into one drive. 750 gigabytes of harddisk space is pretty massive, even for today's standards. Most PCs feature the standard volume of 250GB of hard disk drive space, this means you are getting an adequate amount here.

The 7200 revolutions for each minute is simply the speed of the disk from the hard drive's case. The faster it spins, the harder data it usually is transferred to the project being carried out. But observe, the faster a hardcore drives speed, a lot more heat has produce. If it's the first thing that should kill an arduous drive the fastest possible way, it will be heat. Nevertheless the air conditioning of many modern computers assist to dissipate this issue.

Serial ATA means Serial Advanced Technology Attachment. Oahu is the faster strategy for transferring data relating to the disk drive as well as motherboard of your computer. New computers today come with SATA wires.

Operating-system
You can't run your HP Omni 200-5250 lacking any computer. The Omni 200-5250 contains Windows 7 64-bit preinstalled. Let's not stop topic using this type of one. Windows 7 is probably the most recommended and praised main system inside Windows world. Simply do specific search terms web you will get why more and more people love this main system.

The Monitor
The HP Omni 200-5250 comes with a respectable 21.5 inch full HD 1080p widescreen monitor with LED backlighting. 1080p(p method for progressive scan) is more preferable above the old 1080i(i opportinity for interlacing), the image on the screen will be a much bigger rich, sharp, and detailed. The sole distinction between this monitor and it will be this who's weighs twice as much. The reason being that many of the cpu's components are situated to the monitor.

The Graphics
Another fact of computer own life is that you must have good graphics. Now I'm going to be honest for the HP Omni 200-5250. It only has an internal graphic card, known as Intel GMA X4500 HD. Normally, integrated graphics are usually not practically the ones familiar with fire up the PCI slot in the CPU. However for just the 200-5250, will still be excellent. Besides, this is not a gaming PC, it's an all-in-one. In addition, an integrated graphics card can be a graphics card integrated the motherboard of a computer, if some get you started there was clearly wondering.

Internal DVD Drive
The HP Omni 200-5250 has a slot-load SuperMulti DVD Burner DVD drive with LightScribe ability. This is a good disk drive, pretty reliable in the majority of computers that use it. LightScribe is really a program which allows one to perform custom laser burn design on any CD or DVD disk that is etch. So, if you'd like to come up with a cool design or perhaps a custom label, you may with this particular feature.

High Performance Speakers
When you get the HP Omni 200-5250, the all-in-one desktop PC comes with high performing 2.0 speakers. These speakers are crisp and has some bass effect. They aren't a top end sound system, but they do a pretty good job at audio levels in any room.

Other Features
To bring this review to a close, let's give you the other features the HP Omni 200-5250 comes with. This desktop comes with a wireless keyboard and optical mouse. There is also an integrated webcam and a built-in microphone. It comes with 7 USB ports because you can never have enough USB ports.

Some Other Specs
The size of the unit is 21.5 inches in length, 8.7 inches in width, and 16.8 inches in height. The total weight of the desktop is 19.8 pounds. And that is basically it in this review. Well, hopefully this review has convinced you to go ahead and purchase this fine machine.

SATA PCI Host Card Recognition Issues?

Hey

Im running Vista Ultimate 64 bit, and I recently purchased a Vantec SATA PCI Host Card Int/Ext SATA Ports (http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/ … u=V13-8002). I have it installed, but vista doesn't recognize it and the driver disk I was provided with seems utterly useless. Basically this (http://www.vantecusa.com/front/product/view_detail/29) is all the information they give me. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

When you installed Vista it didnt load the sata controller driver because it didnt detect any sata drives or devices.Even if it did ,service pack 1 dumps them if no sata is detected.

You can reinstall Vista now that you have the pci adapter and it should install the Microsoft Advanced Host Controller Interface (MSAHCI) driver.
If not you have to tell it to during install.

You may be able to install it without reloading vista

http://kbalertz.com/954703/Error-message-update-controller-driver-MSAHCI-driver-after-install-Windows-Vista-Service.aspx

COM Express Module operates from -40 to 85°C. (Thomasnet)

Equipped with Intel Atom N455 CPU, ICH8M chipset, and Intel GMA 3150 graphics
engine, Model COM-746E offers 2 GB DDR3 soldered memory, 3 SATA ports, and 1
ATA port supporting 2 IDE devices. Through carrier board, module can connect
with other I/O interfaces such as COM ports, USB ports, PCIe, PCI, and LPC.
Fanless, Type 2 form factor module supports VGA, 18-bit LVDS, and dual
independent displays, making it suitable for bank systems and multimedia
displays such as digital signage and kiosks.

**This story is related to the following:**

Computer Hardware and Peripherals

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Thomasnet

RunCore 64gb Pro IV Light 50mm mini-SATA PCI-e SSD in my eeepc 901 Crystal diskmark