At what point will Thunderbolt be able to support external graphics cards? I thought Thunderbolt 2 was already close to or equivalent to PCI-E 16? Correct me if I'm wrong. If so then won't Thunderbolt 3 be more than fast enough to support an external high-end graphics card? My laptop only appears to use 8 lane PCI so the potential advantage would be even greater?
At what point will Thunderbolt be able to support external graphics cards?
It appears that Intel will officially support this sort of usage in TB 3. That doesn't mean Apple will though.
I thought Thunderbolt 2 was already close to or equivalent to PCI-E 16? Correct me if I'm wrong.
Not even close really. I believe current TB chips are feed with 4 PCI-E lanes.
If so then won't Thunderbolt 3 be more than fast enough to support an external high-end graphics card? My laptop only appears to use 8 lane PCI so the potential advantage would be even greater?
I'm still of the opinion of Why! That is why would you want to go with an external card, the minute you walk away from the desktop your GPU acceleration is gone. It really makes no sense to me and thus I really don't know why people obsess over such a capability.
Given that driving a GPU over TB - 3 will result in a performance drop that will vary widely based upon what the GPU is being up used for at the time. You won't know how bad until you can actually test with the apps of your choice.
At what point will Thunderbolt be able to support external graphics cards? I thought Thunderbolt 2 was already close to or equivalent to PCI-E 16? Correct me if I'm wrong.
Which version? It's not PCIE 3.0 at 16 lanes. I think the chips are meant to drive 4. Some people have obtained okay performance from these solutions, but any of the semi affordable enclosures come with weak power supplies. You're likely to spring for an enclosure, possibly make modifications to it, then run an external power supply to get this thing working. Most don't support hot plugging, so you have to ensure it's only plugged or unplugged when your machine is fully powered down.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wizard69
It appears that Intel will officially support this sort of usage in TB 3. That doesn't mean Apple will though.
Apple won't, but you might see third party options. I'm skeptical though. You don't see a lot of third party gpus make it to OSX, so it's somewhat of a risk for any company that attempts it.
Thinking you don’t know what touchscreens and laptops are designed to be.
There are exceptions to every rule but in the end Touch screens on laptops are not ergonomic. The problem is for those that are exceptions to the rule touch screens can be useful.
As a side note there was a complete lack of hardware introductions at the WWDC keynote. On the other hand it was a rather long Keynote but well done in the usual Apple manner. This makes me think that the only really opportunity for Apple to reveal innovative new hardware this year (until SkyLake arrives) is with the fall iOS devices. It will be very interesting to see what Apple has up its sleeves new processor wise. It just looks like significantly new Macs are a ways off.
It just looks like significantly new Macs are a ways off.
I think we’re two years, minimum, away from OS XI and any touchscreen computers that would bring. Simply because I think it’s poetic to have iOS 9, iOS 10, and then “iOS 11” released alongside OS XI.
There’ll be updates to Macs in the interim, of course. I expect a 27” Retina Display, standalone, alongside a Mac Pro with six dual-purpose Thunderbolt 3/USB C ports. And then that display will be turned into a touchscreen (with a corresponding change to the stand).
I think we’re two years, minimum, away from OS XI and any touchscreen computers that would bring. Simply because I think it’s poetic to have iOS 9, iOS 10, and then “iOS 11” released alongside OS XI.
Comments
At what point will Thunderbolt be able to support external graphics cards? I thought Thunderbolt 2 was already close to or equivalent to PCI-E 16? Correct me if I'm wrong. If so then won't Thunderbolt 3 be more than fast enough to support an external high-end graphics card? My laptop only appears to use 8 lane PCI so the potential advantage would be even greater?
I'm still of the opinion of Why! That is why would you want to go with an external card, the minute you walk away from the desktop your GPU acceleration is gone. It really makes no sense to me and thus I really don't know why people obsess over such a capability.
Given that driving a GPU over TB - 3 will result in a performance drop that will vary widely based upon what the GPU is being up used for at the time. You won't know how bad until you can actually test with the apps of your choice.
At what point will Thunderbolt be able to support external graphics cards? I thought Thunderbolt 2 was already close to or equivalent to PCI-E 16? Correct me if I'm wrong.
Which version? It's not PCIE 3.0 at 16 lanes. I think the chips are meant to drive 4. Some people have obtained okay performance from these solutions, but any of the semi affordable enclosures come with weak power supplies. You're likely to spring for an enclosure, possibly make modifications to it, then run an external power supply to get this thing working. Most don't support hot plugging, so you have to ensure it's only plugged or unplugged when your machine is fully powered down.
It appears that Intel will officially support this sort of usage in TB 3. That doesn't mean Apple will though.
Apple won't, but you might see third party options. I'm skeptical though. You don't see a lot of third party gpus make it to OSX, so it's somewhat of a risk for any company that attempts it.
Thinking you don’t know what touchscreens and laptops are designed to be.
There are exceptions to every rule but in the end Touch screens on laptops are not ergonomic. The problem is for those that are exceptions to the rule touch screens can be useful.
As a side note there was a complete lack of hardware introductions at the WWDC keynote. On the other hand it was a rather long Keynote but well done in the usual Apple manner. This makes me think that the only really opportunity for Apple to reveal innovative new hardware this year (until SkyLake arrives) is with the fall iOS devices. It will be very interesting to see what Apple has up its sleeves new processor wise. It just looks like significantly new Macs are a ways off.
I think we’re two years, minimum, away from OS XI and any touchscreen computers that would bring. Simply because I think it’s poetic to have iOS 9, iOS 10, and then “iOS 11” released alongside OS XI.
There’ll be updates to Macs in the interim, of course. I expect a 27” Retina Display, standalone, alongside a Mac Pro with six dual-purpose Thunderbolt 3/USB C ports. And then that display will be turned into a touchscreen (with a corresponding change to the stand).
I think we’re two years, minimum, away from OS XI and any touchscreen computers that would bring. Simply because I think it’s poetic to have iOS 9, iOS 10, and then “iOS 11” released alongside OS XI.
Hmm. Now there's a thought...
Lemon Bon Bon.