Is Thunderbolt Ever Going to Take Off for Windows Machines?

Apple, HP and ASUS(?) so far adopting in, but for how long? I'm noticing the latest HP laptops are not having this feature any more(?), this laptop does however:
http://h20386.www2.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/Product.aspx?id=ECC_BUNDLE_4183168&opt=&sel=PCNB
 
Intel I think made a massive mistake, as part of the ultrabook standard they could have insisted on thunderbold with manufacturers, but they didn't. Seeing it on more desktops than laptops perhaps?
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/enterprise/379594/intel-defends-omitting-thunderbolt-from-ultrabook-spec
 

Saffire Pro 40s can use thunderbolt.

RME have released the MADIface XT that is USB 3.0 and can handle 196 Input and 198 Output channels which is the only USB 3.0 interface I've seen. 
 
I'm interested in thunderbolt mainly because it will mean I will be able to still use my Fireface 400 with the converter cable.   

+1
 
Unless if something is adopted mainstream, its chances drop dramatically, especially if its price point is higher. 8-tracks, Betamax, LaserDisc, etc... without 3rd party support they fly like lead balloons even when "cutting edge."

In the upper mid to lower motherboards, USB3 has at least 2 ports with USB2 completing the mix.  I had to buy a Firewire PCIe card so that I could run my video using a nifty setup that has worked very well in the past.  Yes, the camera will output thru USB, but Vegas Pro likes the Firewire bus. 
 
What does that say to Firewire, let alone TB?
 
My motherboard is only 9 months old.

One thing to note, Thunderbolt + Saffire will not be faster than firewire + Saffire. I emailed Focusrite about that months back.
Cheers..

I just asked them if there was a performance benefit with thunderbolt and they said no, it's just compatibility. They didn't get into the detail but one assumes the Safire interface itself (I/O) is only capable of processing firewire speeds.

I just don't understand why makers stick to Firewire or USB2.0 interfaces when they can get a LOT better bandwidth with USB3.0.
 
They are waiting to see what is going to become mainstream. Firewire is superior to USB 2 when it comes to bandwidth so that's why that is still around.


The reality is people who have firewire boxes are praying that thunderbolt will be mainstream (so they can keep their firewire devices) as well as liking USB3, Apple is promoting thunderbolt like the clappers, and people with USB 2 devices could not care less about thunderbolt for the reasons you've already explained.
 
And they want to shift a lot more USB2 and Firewire boxes first so they can sell you the same product again later with a different interface. Funny how they are all doing it though? (Cartel?)

Thunderbolt was pretty clearly envisioned as a way to move real-time video data. As others have pointed out, there is little benefit to audio data over cheaper and more widely supported protocols, and for the average computer user no benefit at all. The other possible utility would be in linking multiple computers for parallel processing, but users who need that kind of power are more likely to go for the cheaper and certainly easier alternative of buying an equivalent parallel processing computer, rather than trying to get all the desktops in the building working together.
 
Still given the history of computer technology being marketed the way muscle cars used to be promoted, I would have expected the manufacturer's to have jumped on the bandwagon just so they could sell to the power mad. Unfortunately, thunderbolt has come along at a time when most users are realizing they do not need a real computer at all to decorate their FaceBook wall or follow the tweets of their favorite celebrity. When the most popular computer does not even have a USB port, there is little reason to hope to sell an expensive and useless idea to the masses. And given the troubled history, and doubtful future, of Firewire I think it is not too likely that Thunderbolt will ever appear in most general purpose Windows machines. 
 
Although motherboard manufacturer's might be tempted to market a few products to the crazy gamer community, the future of purpose built computers based on a small market for specialized motherboards is itself in doubt. Many off-the-shelf gamer machines will now satisfy the needs of that community. The serious video editing community is a still smaller market. The occasional very high priced specialty workstation may be available with thunderbolt, but the general market will probably not support its adoption as any kind of standard component. And without a general implementation of Thunderbolt, the return on investment in peripherals to connect to the few machines using it will create a death spiral.

Anderton
there don't seem to be a lot of peripherals, and some of these are "faux Thunderbolt"...basically FireWire with a Thunderbolt connector.

 
I use one of these http://store.apple.com/ca/product/HA676ZM/A/lacie-256gb-rugged-usb-30-thunderbolt-series-ssd-hard-drive
 
It's connected to my Mac T-Bolt, but can also be used if a PC has the port. It is stupid fast, and I use it for my larger sample libraries when I'm on the road (ie; EW Hollywood Strings). Compared with FW 800 and USB3, it is lightning fast.

Originally, it was called LightPeak and it was supposed to be an optical link. When it became Thunderbolt it became copper-based.
 
The interconnects are active, not passive == dollars and heat.
 
A posting at Tom's hardware showed some pretty hot thermal maps. 140 F if I recall.
 

CakeAlexS
> Yes, but will it be adapted by Windows?
 
It doesn't matter. Intel do the motherboard/laptop standards not MS so Intel is the player. All you need is an Intel driver (MS may even do a generic one for all I know).
 
No wonder M$ is buying up hardware companies

Well Intel certainly does the Thunderbolt standard (they own it), but if there is a standard motherboard, I suspect it is not made by Intel. At last check Thunderbolt is not a feature even of every Intel motherboard. Microsoft is not going to refuse to write or license drivers. But the question is whether the motley crew of diverse MB makers (collectively known as Windows computers) will decide to incorporate the technology on a large enough proportion of machines to make it worthwhile for the even less predictable peripheral builders to turn out enough units to make the price reasonable.

For a new interface to be a hit, there has to be a must-have device which uses it. Enough computers with the device drives down chip prices.
 
USB works great and everything from mice to keyboards can use it.  It handles a number of audio channels quite nicely - everybody has it and so the cost of USB is amortized easily.
 
Apple has Thunderbolt, nice from a technical standpoint, bit Apple is the only one using it. Also, Apple doesn't care much about cost in relation to its PC competition. The majority of its customers won't make much use of Thunderbolt excepting techie types, i.e. DAW and Video editors, who are a smaller market than they seem to think.

> but if there is a standard motherboard, I suspect it is not made by Intel.
 
No they control the standards, check post #2 for instance.
 
> Intel can make all the standards they want. If people don't use it,????
 
Actually they enforce basic standards with their licensed kit. Again #2.
 
> Is Thunderbolt Ever Going to Take Off for Windows Machines? No
 
I'm not sure what you mean by a "windows machine" as I can install Linux on a PC for instance. If you are specifically talking about Microsoft hardware such as Surface, well so far that has been a dead duck and the the tablets are being used as door stops all over Redmond, and they've bought Nokia to get into the game. M$ and hardware is a scenario yet to be proven, the only real success they've had is XBOX (and yes chances of Thunderbolt on an XBOX is zero). And like I say all that is required with Windows OS's is a driver to support it so what MS thinks really doesn't matter. I don't remember Microsoft pushing USB massively for instance, and initially the drivers had to be installed before Microsoft eventually issued generic versions in their next OS. The situation is slightly different with Apple as their business model is much the same as XBox (total control). Generally software follows the hardware, not the other way around.
 
Cheers.

Well you might have to do some tweaking of win 7 or 8...I suppose....wink link...but here is a PC BOARD SPORTING TB2
 
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7230/