conduit

Q: Thunderbolt PCIe for 2008 Mac Pro

Hi All,

Looking for a PCIe card that supports thunderbolt 2 for thunderbolt drives to put into my 2008 Mac Pro tower. Possible? Recommends?

 

Thanks,

bb

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Jun 28, 2016 4:54 PM

Close

Q: Thunderbolt PCIe for 2008 Mac Pro

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by Grant Bennet-Alder,

    Grant Bennet-Alder Grant Bennet-Alder Jun 28, 2016 6:25 PM in response to conduit
    Level 9 (60,976 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 28, 2016 6:25 PM in response to conduit

    There are not such cards, and as long as Intel controls the chips required to implement ThunderBolt, there never will be. You did not miss anything. They do not exist.

     

    To use ThunderBolt, a computer must have left the factory "ThunderBolt-ready". There are few such computer made by Acer -- but these are just ThunderBolt computers where the ThunderBolt Hardware was placed on an optional daughter card, then was made optional to save money.

  • by Allan Eckert,

    Allan Eckert Allan Eckert Jun 28, 2016 6:31 PM in response to conduit
    Level 9 (53,640 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 28, 2016 6:31 PM in response to conduit

    I wish to concur with Grant that your Mac, just like my Mac, will never have ThunderBolt.

     

    I would interested in why you think you might need ThunderBolt.

     

    What I did in my 2010 Mac Pro was to install a card to implement USB 3 which opened up access to a number of devices for me.

  • by ninnoichi,

    ninnoichi ninnoichi Jun 29, 2016 8:36 AM in response to Allan Eckert
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 29, 2016 8:36 AM in response to Allan Eckert

    You can also install E-Sata cards, since you explicitly mention external drives.