With the new Macs announced at WWDC this week, it solidifies the important roll that Thunderbolt will play for your next generation connectivity solutions. You may already know that with your Mac’s Thunderbolt port, you can connect your Mac to a display or an external device for high-speed data transfer. The Thunderbolt port on a Mac provides power, so many Thunderbolt devices directly connected to your Mac don’t need their own power cords. You can connect multiple Thunderbolt devices to each other, and then connect the chain of devices to the Thunderbolt port on your Mac.
This is all fine and dandy but as we also know, most all Thunderbolt enabled devices do not come with a Thunderbolt cable. Apple gives you a single choice, for $49 you receive a 2 meter long Thunderbolt cable. But as the technology spread across the Mac and PC communities, other companies have introduced alternative choices for your Thunderbolt cable needs. StarTech is one such company.
StarTech has many accessories for your Mac, tons of cables, adaptors, converters, splitters, switches, racks and docking stations. If you’re looking for any of these, make certain to stop into their Web site. They just released a new Thunderbolt cable in four different lengths, .5m, 1m, 2m, and a 3m cable. Their MSRP is the same as Apple’s, $48.99 for all but the 3m cable, the 3m cable will be $89.99. StarTech.com Thunderbolt cables will be available for purchase from technology resellers including CDW, Amazon.com, Newegg.com, Tiger Direct and PC Connection. The cables will also be distributed by Ingram Micro® and SYNNEX Corporation. Therefore, I feel that you’ll see some special sales on these cables and a general market drop in the near future.
Some of the features of the new StarTech Thunderbolt cables include:
· Support for dual-channel, simultaneous bi-directional data and video transfers up to 10 Gbps per channel
· Supports Power-over-cable, for bus-powered devices
· Dual Protocol support (PCI Express and DisplayPort®)
· Durable cable construction, with high quality Thunderbolt connectors
The StarTech cables also are backed with a two year warranty. The cable jacket type is a PVC-Polyvinyl Chloride, with the cable shield type being an Aluminum-Mylar Foil with braid. The connector is a Nickel plated, 20 pin Male on both ends.
Do yourself a favor and check out the Thunderbolt solutions available at StarTech along with all their other lines. I’ve found their products work as advertised and have been solid performers.
Tags: apple hardware., startech, thunderbolt
