Do not understand Thunderbolt boards

[ICIT2LOL]

Am looking ahead for the next build and saw this ASUS P8Z77-V-PRO Thunderbolt Motherboard and did some reading on what this Thunderbolt tech was all about. I know it is speed but does this mean I have to use compatible devices like monitor printer etc etc cos if that is the case then it would cost a fortune in peripherals.

So could someone one please tell me in real simple language what the Thunderbolt is all about and if there would be any advantage over having a non Thunderbolt board. Am not a great gamer or anything just want to build something with a few more features and grunt than the current Ivy build and would an i7 be a better choice over an i5 (K) for the new board.

 

[NoN]

Thunderbolt Basics

Technology Brief

Looks backward compatible for devices....

 

[kbrady1979]

Thunderbolt is an ultra-fast connection for display graphics, storage, etc......you do not need it for regular peripherals. Thunderbolt is up to 10Gbps and the upcoming rendition of Thunderbolt will be up to 20Gbps.....that's Gigabit per second Nothing most of us need to concern ourselves with now, in my opinion.

 

[NoN]

Could be useful for High Definition having up to 6 peripherals connected to the same port thunderbold without the need of a hub/switch, and with only an adapter.

Depends how hungry you are for HD techs.

 

[NoN]

BTW...why not wait a little for that Haswell Bridge and LGA1150 Z87 motherboards if you plan a next build.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Yeah well have a while to go yet so I ma not going to bother with the Thunderbolt as it seems overkill to even me and I tend to get carried away with the gear I get.

Have heard about Haswell but another board?? good grief and they tell us the PC is dying - someones having a laugh eh?

 

[Britton30]

It appears Thunderbolt is kind of like HDMI, but is a fit-all interface. I suppose devices will start coming with a Thunderbolt connection along with USB, HDMI, Firewire, etc.

No you don't need it John, save a few dollars and get a board without it.

Haswell doesn't look to have any bleeding eyeball performance increase except maybe the built in graphics. Most of us opt for a discrete GPU anyway.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

It appears Thunderbolt is kind of like HDMI, but is a fit-all interface. I suppose devices will start coming with a Thunderbolt connection along with USB, HDMI, Firewire, etc.

No you don't need it John, save a few dollars and get a board without it.

Haswell doesn't look to have any bleeding eyeball performance increase except maybe the built in graphics. Most of us opt for a discrete GPU anyway.

Yep Gary might just go for the straight ASUS P8Z77-V PRO as I don't know if even the De Luxe would be of any advantage after having another look for something what do you reckon??

These are the two - see if you can see something that I can't
ASUS P8Z77-V PRO Motherboard [P8Z77-V-PRO] - $223.00 : PC Case Gear

ASUS P8Z77-V DELUXE Motherboard [P8Z77-V-DELUXE] - $280.00 : PC Case Gear except for the hefty hike in price that is

 

[kbrady1979]

Are you building a new Z77 rig for something specific?

 

[Britton30]

I would go for the PRO version, the Deluxe has less USB ports and has more GPU support, which you don't use.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Are you building a new Z77 rig for something specific?

Yep - ADDICTION - seriously probably going to be the last build I'll ever do so i thought I would treat myself to something with a bit of grunt, finesse, try and settle down to some graphical and gaming stuff.

 

[kbrady1979]

Wait until there are major hardware advances lol........DDR4 RAM, SATA Express, and/or PCI based storage.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

I would go for the PRO version, the Deluxe has less USB ports and has more GPU support, which you don't use.

So does that mean I can't stick a decent GPU in it? I was planning to get something to match up with a good board - I mean nothing real fancy say a low - mid price range one say ASUS GeForce GTX 660 Ti DirectCU II 2GB OC [ENGTX660TI-DC2O-2GD5] - $339.00 : PC Case Gear

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 Ti 3GB OC [GV-N66TOC-3GD] - $369.00 : PC Case Gear

you blokes are more adept at this stuff than me I know that the RAM stuff is important and go by looking at the resolution figures

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Wait until there are major hardware advances lol........DDR4 RAM, SATA Express, and/or PCI based storage.

Yeah well I am looking at say around July as thats is when I hope to be fully retired but I'll have to do some reading on DDR4 as I really know nothing much at all about it in respect to how much difference there will be from DDR3.

 

[kbrady1979]

Also, when the new RAM and storage hardware is rolled out, there will be a new generation of video cards.......just something to think about.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Also, when the new RAM and storage hardware is rolled out, there will be a new generation of video cards.......just something to think about.

Cripes what have I let myself in for??

 

[kbrady1979]

Well, besides the CPU releases every so often, there have been no major new hardware releases in quite a while. SATA III has been out for awhile, and SSD's are bumping up against that cap. DDR4 will probably be coming out end of this year or early next year. SATA Express will probably be out around the same time. By that time, new AMD and Nvidia graphics cards will be out and probably worth looking at. But in the end it is your project and you will decide if you CAN wait or not lol.....I know how the upgrade bug bite itches. Just something to think about before you plunk down a bunch of money

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Well, besides the CPU releases every so often, there have been no major new hardware releases in quite a while. SATA III has been out for awhile, and SSD's are bumping up against that cap. DDR4 will probably be coming out end of this year or early next year. SATA Express will probably be out around the same time. By that time, new AMD and Nvidia graphics cards will be out and probably worth looking at. But in the end it is your project and you will decide if you CAN wait or not lol.....I know how the upgrade bug bite itches. Just something to think about before you plunk down a bunch of money

Yep KB I don't think I'll be waiting till the end of the year mate they are flying by as it is. My current set up is good but it is like you say the bug bites and it is SO addictive I just love the putting of it together and modding and hardware changes etc

Heck I even like doing fresh installs there is just something about it all that pulls me in like a black hole. I am just he same with flying from the minute I walk into the building the check in and all that stuff just mesmerising. Am to the UK next week and it is just ridiculous - my ex is just the same loves every bit about it.

Jeez when I think back to when I was kid well like yesterday really LOL!! how did we entertain ourselves??

 

[kbrady1979]

We had energy to go outdoors and have fun! lol

 

[ICIT2LOL]

We had energy to go outdoors and have fun! lol

SO TRUE!! effort to drink a cup of coffee while tapping the KB now LOL!!