Thoughts on new M/B with Thunderbolt

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  1. Posts : 2,585
    Win 11
       #1

    Thoughts on new M/B with Thunderbolt


    I'm in the "very early" process of upgrading my recording studio desktop. I'll probably go with an i7 6700 or 6700K and a Z170 motherboard. I see a couple (ASRock and ASUS) that have Z170 boards with Thunderbolt 3. I don't need thunderbolt, now, and may not in the future but there is some recording hardware with support for Win 10 available.

    Should I consider a Thunderbolt 3 board or just go with conventional for now?
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  2. Posts : 4,224
    Windows 10
       #2

    The Asrock Extreme7+ (which I have on the machine I'm typing on right now) has an add-in for Thunderbolt/USB typeC. It's the focus of a plethora of end-user driver issues and complaints. Methinks this technology isn't yet fully-baked. You can always add a PCIe device to support it anyway, and you may be better-served to purchase without and consider an add-in later on. IMHO, FWIW.
    HTH,
    --Ed--
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  3. Posts : 234
    8.1 / 10
       #3

    Thunderbolt is a waste of time.....I wouldn't even consider it a "feature" when deciding which motherboard to buy.
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  4. Posts : 2,585
    Win 11
    Thread Starter
       #4

    Thunderbolt recording interface units, which have been Apple only are now starting to have Windows 10 drivers, too. For those with recording studio systems it is a viable option. Other applications may be different.

    But, with what Ed says it looks like its not ready for "prime time" on Windows motherboards.
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  5. Posts : 4,224
    Windows 10
       #5

    Fireberd: It's one of those "early adopter" things. Laptops (and Apple stuff) are already pretty good with Thunderbolt, and you can buy stable PCIe interfaces for same, but the built-in Thunderbolt and USB 3.1/USB-C stuff still has a ways to go before it's rock solid. I'm guessing another generation of Intel processors and chipsets and the motherboard makers will have it all down pat.
    YMMV, babe!
    --Ed--
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  6. Posts : 2,585
    Win 11
    Thread Starter
       #6

    I marked this as "solved". From the comments here and on the Cakewalk Sonar forum, I've decided Thunderbolt will not be a part of my new build.

    Thanks/Jack

    EDIT/Update: I ordered an ASRock Z170 Extreme 6+ and a 6700K CPU.
    I have had good luck with the ASRock Z77 I now have (and bad luck with Gigabyte and ASUS).
    Last edited by fireberd; 11 Nov 2016 at 13:08.
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  7. Posts : 2,585
    Win 11
    Thread Starter
       #7

    Well, today is the day. I received all the parts from Newegg and Amazon. I will be taking the desktop down for the upgrade today. I'm reusing a relatively new (less than 1 year) BeQuiet 600 case and the Samsung SSD's and optical drives. The motherboard/CPU/GSkill TridentZ DDR4 3400 16GB memory, Corsair H100i liquid cooler and EVGA Supernova 750 G2 Gold power supply are the upgrade components.

    Also have my "grounding wrist strap" out to wear during the upgrading.

    I converted the Win 10 OS drive (Samsung 850 EVO SSD) to GPT last week, so I can use UEFI with the new motherboard.
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  8. Posts : 16,628
    Windows 11 Pro X64
       #8

    Nice, enjoy the new build
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  9. Posts : 2,585
    Win 11
    Thread Starter
       #9

    Well I hit a snag I can't install the H100i cooler in the existing case. I've ordered a new "quiet" case Will be here Monday so won't do anything until Tuesday.

    I had some install issues with the BeQuiet case when I first got it. I can't recommend them.

    I'm using my Laptop now.

    Its not a big issue with the new case. A friend with an old Vista machine wants to upgrade. It looks like he wants my old one. Will need new hard drive and Windows10.
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  10. Posts : 2,585
    Win 11
    Thread Starter
       #10

    After several "Murphy's Law" strikes, the new build is finished. The ASRock motherboard was a "DOA" and it was replaced with an ASUS. I'm not using a separate video card. The Intel CPU graphics are more than adequate for the recording studio software.

    Final system setup:
    ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero (I don't game, but it was selected for the number of rear USB ports).
    i7 6700K CPU
    GSkill 16 GB TridentZ DDR4 3400 memory
    1394 (Firewire) PCIe card with T.I. chipset
    Corsair H100i Liquid Cooler
    Corsair Carbide 330R "Quiet" case
    EVGA Supernova 750G2 Power Supply.

    I reused the Samsung 850 EVO SSD and optical drives from the old system.
      My Computers


 

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