A Bug and the Demise of Thunderbolt 2

[Axtremus]

I found a bug in my Thunderbolt 2 dual-drive bay.

It has been emitting some screechy high-pitched noise whenever it is turned on. So I opened it up to see if there is anything I can fix, that's when I found the (dead) bug.

Not sure if the bug caused the high-pitched to start, but the noise remains after I got rid of the bug. I also suspect chemical leakage from some of the capacitors. So it's time to throw away that drive bay.

After that, I tried to buy a replacement, and found that even Other World Computing (OWC) stopped selling Thunderbolt 2 drive bays. OWC is typically the most die-hard shop that supports Apple/MAC peripherals. When even OWC stopped carrying Thunderbolt 2 drive bays, you know support for Thunderbolt 2 is really on its way out.

I had to switch over to a USB connected drive bay, which is significantly slower than Thunderbolt 2. Disk access speed seems to top out at around 300 MB/s. I hope this thing lasts at least until I switch over to an Apple silicon based server and just standardize on USB C + Thunderbolt 3.

[George K]

@axtremus said in A Bug and the Demise of Thunderbolt 2:

Thunderbolt 2 drive bays

Presumably you mean "Thunderbolt version 2 drive bays" and not "Thunderbolt two-drive bays."

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TB3DKP2D/

And here's a "Thunderbolt version 2 drive bay"

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TB2U3MED0GB/

[Axtremus]

Thanks, @George-K. I mean "Thunderbolt 2 dual-drive dock", something like https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TCDRVDCK/ , but with "Thunderbolt 2" interface -- that's what I used to have.

It's a simple "dock" that lets you plug two SATA drives into it and costs less than $100.

This one that you linked to, https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TB2U3MED0GB/ , it does have "Thunderbolt 2" and I did miss it in my search, though it's a hardware RAID unit that won't fit the available space on my desk anyway. It also has a fan which will make noise, something I try to avoid (and the "dock" does not have).

Thanks for the links, though, I do appreciate seeing them.

[George K]

@axtremus said in A Bug and the Demise of Thunderbolt 2:

It's a simple "dock" that lets you plug two SATA drives into it and costs less than $100.

Here's what I'm using right now. I have a 2TB SATA drive plugged in, and that's what I boot from.

Link to video

[taiwan_girl]

based on your guys recommendation, I did by the docking station like in Axtremus's link. I just checked and it is a "Thunderbolt2 connector". Working good so far and makes my mid-2014 iMac work well, improving the performance alot! Hopeing to get the new iMac maybe later this year.

[George K]

@taiwan_girl said in A Bug and the Demise of Thunderbolt 2:

Hopeing to get the new iMac maybe later this year.

Same here.

I think the 24" would be adequate for my needs, but I drool at the potential of a 30" or 32" inch machine.

My current 2014 27" machine is working just fine, but at the end of the year, it'll be 7 years old, and since I can afford it, I'm thinking an upgrade would be something I'd give a long, hard look at.

[taiwan_girl]

@george-k said in A Bug and the Demise of Thunderbolt 2:

@taiwan_girl said in A Bug and the Demise of Thunderbolt 2:

Hopeing to get the new iMac maybe later this year.

Same here.

I think the 24" would be adequate for my needs, but I drool at the potential of a 30" or 32" inch machine.

My current 2014 27" machine is working just fine, but at the end of the year, it'll be 7 years old, and since I can afford it, I'm thinking an upgrade would be something I'd give a long, hard look at.

+1 My thinking exactly!!! (Great minds think alike, or idiots runs in twos!!! 555)