Just curious. I will probably upgrade my DAW in 2016, but I've been so pleased with my FW-1884 (firewire, of course) that I'd rather wait until I can get a Thunderbolt instead of dealing with USB.
 
I did a quick search, and don't see any with Windows support, even though a lot of Windows motherboards have Thunderbolt on them these days.  
 
So people that went to NAMM, or those in the know: are Thunderbolt interfaces going to be available for Windows?

It seems not yet. I was just asking about this on Facebook as I was really hoping to get a UAD Apollo but it's not yet supported. They do have a new Apollo Twin USB for Windows so I'll likely pick that up soon.

The old FW-1884 STILL has better latency than a lot of USB units, and I had trouble with USB units at one point, so I'll just wait it out.

Most likely native support for Thunderbolt 3 devices in Windows 10 will arrive fairly soon. Presumably this will run new or existing Thunderbolt 3 devices if any, but support for versions 1 and 2 is not guaranteed. The thunderbolt 3 connector does not fit earlier sockets, but some connections can be made with adapters. Most of the existing computers and devices use earlier versions. It is pretty difficult to imagine how you would get any meaningful benefit in an audio interface using this connection over firewire, or USB for that matter. That said, in a few years, you will probably find devices that will keep your coffee warm if plugged into a Thunderbolt 3 connector. So if you want to future-proof your DAW (and keep your coffee warm without the kludgy USB cord) be sure to get a Thunderbolt 3 machine. Thunderbolt 2 is soooooo last year.
 
http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2016/01/29/microsoft-announces-plans-for-thunderbolt-support-in-windows-10/
 
http://www.zdnet.com/article/thunderbolt-3-beating-a-dead-horse/
 

Someone will always make peripherals, like they did with Firewire. Firewire, and now Thunderbolt, are better for media than USB ever will be IMO. As I've said, I've had that Tascam a solid 10 years, and latency-wise, it still matches up quite well against USB devices. That is kind of messed up when you think about it.

The advantage to Thunderbolt (if you're using Thunderbolt 3) is that we now have "PCIe via Thunderbolt" drivers.
You have to be running a Z170x motherboard (with USB-C connection) and Windows 10.
Performance will be similar to using a PCIe card.  
 
Regarding USB not being up-to-par for audio:
The RME Fireface UFX is a excellent performer when connected via USB2.

• 30 channels of I/O
• Can operate glitch-free at a 48-sample ASIO buffer size (as long as your machine can sustain the load)
• Round-trip latency at 48-sample ASIO buffer size/44.1k is 4.3ms

 
Running "PCIe via Thunderbolt" (or a PCIe card), you can take the ASIO buffer size down to 32 or even 16-samples.
That results in extremely low round-trip latency (in the 2ms range).  
This is the main advantage to Thunderbolt (or using PCIe card).
 
PCIe via Thunderbolt (or PCIe) does have many times the bandwith of USB2.
BUT... if your audio interface is nowhere close to saturating the USB2 bus, simply increasing bandwidth won't increase performance.
Liken the situation to your automobile.  Your car may have a top speed of 120mph.
Doesn't matter if you drive on a two lane highway or an eight lane freeway, your top speed is 120mph.

hockeyjx
Just curious. I will probably upgrade my DAW in 2016, but I've been so pleased with my FW-1884 (firewire, of course) that I'd rather wait until I can get a Thunderbolt instead of dealing with USB.
 
I did a quick search, and don't see any with Windows support, even though a lot of Windows motherboards have Thunderbolt on them these days.  
 
So people that went to NAMM, or those in the know: are Thunderbolt interfaces going to be available for Windows?

Here is one. http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/T2Thunderbolt
 
The price drop I've seen smells red flag to me.
 
 I often wondered why on consumer end audio interfaces companies like M-Audio and Echo never bothered with  pcie. It seems it went from PCI to USB2.  Even Creative made PCIe cards.

kitekrazy1
 I often wondered why on consumer end audio interfaces companies like M-Audio and Echo never bothered with  pcie. It seems it went from PCI to USB2.  Even Creative made PCIe cards.

USB peripherals are easy for a novice to install (no opening of the case)
 

My FW-1884 is getting a bit long-in-the-tooth as well. It works great in Win 10 (with either legacy or std driver w/TI chipset). It has a few scratchy pots,etc, though. I was hoping TASCAM would make a modern replacement but so far no dice. Like the OP I am keeping my eye out for a true T-bolt I/O. So far it seems that T-bolt to Firewire is about all that exists for PC.

this was linked in a sonar thread under computers
 
https://www.gearslutz.com...port-windows-10-a.html