![2011 macbook pro thunderbolt port 2011 macbook pro thunderbolt port](https://images.anandtech.com/reviews/mac/MacBookPro2011/DSC_1638_sm.jpg)
- #2011 MACBOOK PRO THUNDERBOLT PORT UPGRADE#
- #2011 MACBOOK PRO THUNDERBOLT PORT FULL#
- #2011 MACBOOK PRO THUNDERBOLT PORT SOFTWARE#
- #2011 MACBOOK PRO THUNDERBOLT PORT PC#
That said, Western Digital, LaCie, Promise, and other external storage manufacturers have stated that drives will arrive shortly, which we will surely take a look at. We can't test and see whether Thunderbolt works or does anything right now, because there aren't any devices on the market with support. Optical cabling will be compatible with this electrical version through the use of electro-optical transceivers on the cable ends.īottom: 2011 MBP with Thunderbolt port, Top: 2010 MBP Initially, Thunderbolt is electrical only, though the optical version of Thunderbolt is coming later this year. The controller is actually of appreciable size on the 2011 MBP: In addition, there's no per-port licensing fee or royalty for peripheral manufactuers wanting to use the port or controller, which are entirely Intel's.
#2011 MACBOOK PRO THUNDERBOLT PORT PC#
Intel reports that we just likely won't see adoption in the PC space until 2012. Thunderbolt launches with Apple, but isn't Apple exclusive. Originally I speculated that the other 4x lane was being used for another PCIe interface device in the MBP (the SDXC card reader and BCM7765 are both 1xPCIe devices), but it appears they're unused. It's surprising, but this configuration is totally supported. So where do the remaining 8 lanes get used for? They're split into 2 x 4x ports, one of which is for Thunderbolt. Interestingly enough, the discrete GPU on the 2011 MBPs uses just 8 PCIe lanes: Sandy Bridge brings 16 lanes of PCIe really purposed for running a GPU. However, you can connect a standard DisplayPort monitor to the jack on the MBP and use it natively as well. Just PCIe and DisplayPort are tunneled over Thunderbolt links. Thunderbolt can supply 10 watts of power and support up to 7 devices, up to two of which can be DisplayPort 1.1a devices. One of the interesting things is where those 4 lanes come from on the 2011 MacBook Pro.
![2011 macbook pro thunderbolt port 2011 macbook pro thunderbolt port](https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1C45iQpXXXXaPXVXXq6xXFXXXv/Thunderbolt-2-hub-Multi-port-Mini-DisplayPort-to-VGA-HDMI-DVI-4in1-Audio-adapter-cable-converter.jpg)
Thunderbolt requires a controller on the host and peripheral, uses 4 PCIe lanes, and connects to Display Port internally on the MBP's discrete GPU.
#2011 MACBOOK PRO THUNDERBOLT PORT FULL#
The short version of the story is that Thunderbolt is Light Peak sans light in this initial form (electrical right now), uses the mini DisplayPort connector on the MBP, and is capable of two channels of full duplex 10 Gbps traffic, for a theoretical 20 Gbps up and down.
![2011 macbook pro thunderbolt port 2011 macbook pro thunderbolt port](https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/IMG_7819.jpg)
Thunderbolt differs technically and in practice in a number of ways.
![2011 macbook pro thunderbolt port 2011 macbook pro thunderbolt port](http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2f50df5ba56aecc767b00b4cf938db90-1200-80.jpg)
#2011 MACBOOK PRO THUNDERBOLT PORT SOFTWARE#
Be advised, at the moment you need to use a piece of software to enable trim, called Trim Enabler-this involves some risk.
#2011 MACBOOK PRO THUNDERBOLT PORT UPGRADE#
For a full list of available upgrade options, check out our selection of MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Early 2011 hard drives. You can easily upgrade the drive to 750 GB, 1 TB or a lightning-fast solid state drive.