WD®INTRODUCES ITS FASTEST MY BOOK® EXTERNAL HDD SYSTEM EVER

My Book VelociRaptor™ Duo CombinesExtreme Speed of Two 1 TB 10,000 RPM Hard Drives with Revolutionary Thunderbolt™Technology

SINGAPORE – Sep. 4, 2012 – WD®, a subsidiary of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC), and a world leader in external storage andconnectedhome solutions, is combining two high-speedtechnologies to produce one of the fastest and most robust dual-storage systemsever offered. Supported by the Mac OS Xoperating system, the new MyBook® VelociRaptor™ Duo dual-drivestorage system becomes the ultimate storage drive for performance hungry Mac computerusers and creative professionals.

MyBook VelociRaptor Duo provides ultimate speed and performance with two 1 TB10,000 RPM WD VelociRaptor drives along with two Thunderbolt™ ports. The 2 TB dual-drivestorage system is ideal for editing high resolution video, 3D rendering,graphic design, and other demanding digital media applications. This boost inperformance delivers solid state drive (SSD) -like data transfer rates of up to400 MB/s for greater work-flow productivity. The dual-drive storage systemoffers RAID 0 for performance or RAID 1 for protection; and the twinThunderbolt ports offer daisy-chaining multiple My Book VelociRaptor Duo drivesand other high performance peripherals without impacting data transfer speedsor performance. The My Book VelociRaptor Duo also comes complete with aThunderbolt cable in the box and is user-serviceable.

Photographers, graphic designers andpost-production professionals can conduct several high intensity tasks such asvideo editing and 3D rendering, while completing other graphics-intensiveprojects. My Book VelociRaptor Duo customerswill now have the ability to transfer 22 GB full-length HD movies in less than65 seconds, 2000 5 MB pictures in less than 33 seconds and over 500 5 MB songsin less than 8 seconds.

“The My Book VelociRaptor Duo is the fastest and most reliable highperformance consumer storage device on the market today,” explains Craig Davis,Director, Sales & Marketing, Branded Product Group, Western Digital AsiaPacific Region. “Creative professionalsnow have access to a super-charged storage drive that will keep pace with eventhe most demanding projects. Daisy-chaining multiple My Book VelociRaptor Duodevices together offers even greater speed, more capacity and flexibility.”

WhileRAID 0 maximizes the drive’s speed and capacity, RAID 1 support allows users tocreate a second copy of their digital content on the drive for added protection,security and peace of mind. The drive also provides a JBOD (just a bunch ofdisks) option for users running a Windows®operating system on a Mac.

Additionalfeatures found on the My Book VelociRaptor Duo dual-drive storage system includeout-of-the-box compatibility with Apple Time Machine and HFS + Journaled forMac computers; capability for multi-stream workflows; and a 3-year limitedwarranty.

Price and Availability

The My Book VelociRaptor Duo dual-drivestorage system is distributed by Eternal Asia (S) Pte Ltd and SiS TechnologyPte Ltd in Singapore and will be available at select retailers. Manufacturer’ssuggested retail price is $1,299 SGD.

ASUS P8Z77-V PRO Thunderbolt Thunderbolt speed test benchmark

We have received the ASUS P8Z77-V Pro Thunderbolt motherboard and did a quick test on it’s thunderbolt speed.

Using the Seagate Thunderbolt Adapter with Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB with Apple Thunderbolt cable. The device is connected to the single port on the ASUS motherboard.

From ATTO Disk Benchmark, the performance is similar to what we did for Gigabyte thunderbolt board Z77X-UP5TH. The performance is better than USB 3.0 but slower than SATA 6Gbps (if drive is connected using a USB docking station / direct connection to SATA port). Below are the results.

Thunderbolt vs USB 3 performance tested on Gigabyte Z77X-UP5 TH
Bt 1 Aug 2012

Intel Z77 chipset has made inroads these days with USB 3.0 connectivity. Unfortunately, the USB 3.0 is still an extension of USB 2.0, providing a channel for data storage. Although USB 3.0 is fast, it still runs slower than eSATA which is practically extending the on board SATA to the external housing of the PC.

Welcome Thunderbolt, the next generation connectivity option already available on the MAC last year. It is beginning to show up on PC Desktop motherboards.

Today, we take a look at the first Thunderbolt capable PC motherboard – Gigabyte Z77X-UP5 TH. This board has all the bells and whistles of the Z77X-UD5H WIFI plus 2 Thunderbolt ports. We won’t be going into the details of the motherboard as we are interested to check out the performance of Thunderbolt using a SSD.

In our experiment, we will use the Gigabyte Z77X-UP5 TH motherboard with the Apple Thunderbolt cable provided by the distributor. As for the device itself, current market options are limited and are costly.

Instead, we pair up our old Kingston SSD Nov V series 64GB SNV425/64GB with the Seagate GoFlex Thunderbolt adaptor. The USB 3 test is done with the same SSD mounted onto the Sunbeamtech HDDPAL USB 3 docking station.

On the next page, we will examine the performance usnig two simple utility, SiSoft Sandra Disk Benchmark and CrystalDIskMark.

Thunderbolt is the next big thing that most manufacturers are incorporating onto their motherboards. Today, we received the latest version of ASUS Intel Z77 motherboard – ASUS P8Z77-V Pro/Thunderbolt motherboard.

Below is a video preview unboxing the board + package. Watch out for our review in the near term.

Discuss

– GIGABYTE Launches World’s First Fully Certified Dual Port Thunderbolt™ Motherboards –

– Connects a Massive Twelve Thunderbolt™ Devices on the Fastest Connection to Your PC Ever –

Taipei, Taiwan, July 5th, 2012 – GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards,today announced the latest GIGABYTE 7 series motherboards, the very first to offer fully certified dual onboard Thunderbolt™ ports. Capable of connecting up to 12 devices plus 3 digital displays simultaneously, with breathtaking data transfer speeds that can transfer 1TB of data in only five minutes, GIGABYTE Thunderbolt™ motherboards offer the fastest connection interface ever on the desktop PC.

GIGABYTE Thunderbolt™ motherboards allow users to daisy chain up to 12 devices simultaneously via an incredible bi-directional 10Gbps data pipeline that includes both PCIe and DisplayPort traffic. GIGABYTE Thunderbolt™ motherboards redefine desktop PC connectivity to make it far easier to connect multiple high speed storage devices and HD displays to your PC than ever before.

“It’s easy to see how our unique dual port Thunderbolt implementation simply offers more,” commented Henry Kao, Vice President of GIGABYTE Motherboard Business Unit. “We’re the only motherboard vendor currently offering DIY PC builders the absolute maximum in terms of device connectivity.”

“Thunderbolt technology represents a leap in performance and simplicity for media creators and entertainment enthusiasts,” says Jason Ziller, Intel’s director of Thunderbolt marketing. “We are pleased to be working with GIGABYTE as they bring the first dual Thunderbolt port motherboard to market. It’s a great example of what Thunderbolt makes possible.”

GIGABYTE Dual Thunderbolt™ motherboards open up a wealth of new possibilities regarding high-performance storage devices. GIGABYTE has worked closely with several leading device partners, including Promise® Technology, LaCie, BlackMagic, Western Digital, Seagate, Elgato, CalDigit and cable manufacturer Sumitomo:

“Working with GIGABYTE has been very exciting,” said Kosta Panagos, Director of Creative Marketing, at CalDigit. “GIGABYTE’s new line of Intel 7 series motherboards featuring dual Thunderbolt ports, will usher in a new era of flexibility to the PC platform. It is also a perfect match with CalDigit’s new T1 and T2 Thunderbolt drives which provide professional level performance on all platforms at consumer prices, a feat that was previously unattainable, thanks to GIGABYTE and Thunderbolt technology.”

“GIGABYTE’s new dual port Thunderbolt motherboards are an exciting innovation, giving incredible performance and are perfect for video and film professionals using Thunderbolt and the PC,” said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. “Customers using our wide range of Thunderbolt devices will now be able to choose to work in whatever format they need, giving them the flexibility to build whatever production and post production workflow they need.”

“In line with GIGABYTE and its dual on board Thunderbolt ports, WD’s My Book® Thunderbolt™ Duo offers dual Thunderbolt ports for amazing creative flexibility while allowing daisy-chaining of up to six My Book Thunderbolt Duo drives or other high performance peripherals for fast and efficient workflow,” said Craig Davis, Director Sales & Marketing, Retail Division, Western Digital Asia Pacific & Japan Region.

“Thunderbolt technology is a fantastic way to deliver both data and display via one interface. It provides unparalleled performance and plenty of flexibility,” said Leo Paskin, Product Marketing Manager at Seagate. “With the ability to daisy chain up to 12 devices on GIGABYTE’s new dual port Thunderbolt motherboards, you can turn a desktop PC into a central device hub by plugging in a single cable!”

“As the first Intel certified cable vendor, Sumitomo is delighted to see GIGABYTE bring the first dual port Thunderbolt motherboard to market, creating the ultimate connectivity for desktop PCs, commented Motoi Matsuo. “These new Thunderbolt motherboards are also the perfect fit for Sumitomo’s exclusive high speed 20m optical cables.”

“Thanks to their dual Thunderbolt™ ports, Gigabyte’s new 7 series motherboards deliver unbeatable flexibility”, says Adam Steinberg, Vice President Marketing at Elgato. “The unique dual port feature enables users to combine multiple portable Thunderbolt™ devices like the powerful Elgato Thunderbolt™ SSD.”

“LaCie is pleased to see GIGABYTE announce Thunderbolt technology on their lasted motherboards,” said Erwan Girard, Professional Business Unit Manager, LaCie. “The time is now for demanding PC users, especially digital content creators, to experience the unprecedented speeds and advantages enabled by Thunderbolt Technology. The desire for computers and peripherals to keep up with their work flow is a concern of the past.”

Dual Thunderbolt™ – Fast, Flexible and Simple Connectivity for your Motherboard

GIGABYTE Thunderbolt™ motherboards are the first to be certified by Intel featuring dual Thunderbolt™ ports directly on the motherboard back panel I/O, with each Thunderbolt™ port supporting a maximum data transfer speeds with simultaneous bi-directional data transfer at speeds of up to 10Gbps – this means you can transfer a full HD 1080p movie in under 30 seconds.

GIGABYTE’s dual port Thunderbolt™ implementation ensures the absolute maximum potential connectivity, with support to connect up to 12 individual devices simultaneously, with each port offering full 10Gbps bandwidth.

Thunderbolt™ combines both DisplayPort and PCI Express protocols over a single cable so that users can connect a multitude of device types in tandem with HD streaming video and 8-channel audio, simultaneously in one specially developed cable. Users can also enjoy improved flexibility by ‘daisy-chaining’ several devices while still enjoying low latency and industry-leading data transfer speeds.

GIGABYTE Thunderbolt™ Motherboards Models

Dual Thunderbolt™ Ports are featured on the following GIGABYTE motherboard models:

GIGABYTE Z77X-UP5 TH

GIGABYTE Z77X-UP4 TH

GIGABYTE Z77MX-D3H TH

If you remember, we posted a story sometime ago about this add on card. This card will fit on a number of ASUS Z77 models that has the TB header on it e.g. ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77. (News link)

This card is a dual protocol with PCI Express and DisplayPort. It supports 10 Gbps per channel in both directions. 

The card has two connectors, one is for the Thunderbolt connector and the other is the DisplayPort IN port.

This solution is kind of hybrid as you would need to connect the existing DisplayPort with the card with the cable provided. The card can support a daisy chain of up to 6 Thunderbolt devices.

Here are some pictures of the package and product.

ASRock will showcase some of their new product line up at the Computex 2012 trade show.

(1) Record-breaking OC machine :Z77 OC Formula.

(2) World’s 1st 4-channel Thunderbolt mobo :Z77 Extreme6/TB4

(3) World’s most luxurious X79 mobo :X79 Extreme11

(4) AMD FM2 Socket Series

Motherboard Emperor : X79 Extreme11

The X79 Extreme11 is a premium motherboard using luxury material, applying high-class specification. Adding credits to overclocking, ASRock X79 Extreme11 adopts hefty 24 + 2 Power Phase Design which features tough components and smooth power deliver to the CPU. Unprecedentedly equipped with LSI™ SAS2308 chip, this feature-rich mobo provides maximum 10 sets of SATA3 connectors and 8 of the 10 can be used as SAS. Enthusiasts will also appreciate the onboard two PLX PEX 8747 bridges. Via PLX PEX bridges, ASRock X79 Extreme11 can run multi-GPU 4-Way SLI/CrossFireX at PCIe Gen3 x16/x16/x16/x16 mode without sacrificing anything.

For audio aspect, the onboardCreative Sound Core3Dquad-core sound and voice processor offers true-to-life sound experience, supports THX TruStudio PRO™ superior technology, CrystalVoice, EAX 1.0 to EAX 5.0 and Scout Mode™.

All-Rounder : Z77 Extreme9

The top-of-the-line Z77 Extreme9 motherboard combines luxury materials and overclockable configurations. The fancy LED designwas clad in air-channeling heatsink and south bridge, delivering effective heat dissipation.PLX PEX 8747 bridge allows this board to run 4-Way SLI / CrossFireX at full PCIe Gen3 x8 / x8 / x8 / x8 mode. The exclusive2T2R Dual Band WiFi802.11 a/b/g/n + BT v4.0 Module offers support for WiFi802.11 a/b/g/n connectivity standards and Bluetooth v4.0 and provide Dual Band frequency up to 2.4 / 5 GHz as well.Wi-SB BOXbrings superior WiFi and Bluetooth signal quality and even provides 2 front USB 3.0 ports.

Record-breaking OC Machine : Z77 OC Formula

In addition to a wide range of premium motherboard solutions, a must-see product at ASRock COMPUTEX 2012 isZ77 OC Formula. This is an overclocking-oriented motherboard which was developed by the world’s OC legacy performer, Nick Shih. The board opens up overclocking possibilities and gives you control opportunities in every way, featuring the most detailed and considerate design of any overclocking motherboard.

The soon-to-be-launched Z77 OC Formula provides serious compute power and shows off the true potential of a stock-clocked Z77 chipset. Nick Shih, ASRock’s exclusive OC master, just submitted several record-breaking overclocking results which are raked No.1 position at HWBOT. The unbeatable OC performance includes following:

World’s 1st 4-Channel Thunderbolt Mobo: Z77 Extreme6/TB4

This year, Thunderbolt™ should be the hottest topic at COMPUTEX. ASRock Z77 Extreme6/TB4 adopts 2 Thunderbolt ports which is first motherboard supporting 4-Channel Thunderbolt technology in the world. Compared to other Thunderbolt-ready motherboards with only 1 port, the unprecedented Z77 Extreme6/TB4 provides 2 ports. Based on ASRock exclusive hardware design, this board allows one port to be connected to the onboard graphics and the other one can be used for discrete graphics card.

What’s Hot : AMD FM2 Series

At ASRock’s powerhouse, visitors can also get a fresh look of AMD’s new FM2 socket motherboards. For the imminent launch of the next generation of AMD FM2 platform, ASRock will present its most powerful APU motherboard series based on the upcoming FM2 socket. New lineup includes one ATX and two micro ATX mobos – FM2A75 Pro4, FM2A75 Pro4-M and FM2A75M-DGS.

SERVER/WORKSTATION

Build Up The Best Server/WorkStation

Dedicated to your business! ASRock make its debut of Server/Workstation motherboards at COMPUTEX 2012. New mobos include EN2C602-4L, E3C204-V, E3C204-4L and H77WS-DL.

Server segment is nothing new – but ASRock takes this seriously. Our comprehensive motherboard packages support 24/7 hours/days non-stop operation and 24-month life cycle guarantee supply. The premium quality is assured by rigorous testing during development as well. Creating the ultimate server/workstation is more than running a box of hard drives – it’s about the software, how the hardware is configured, and how the box is connected and accessed. ASRock Server/Workstation motherboard series include everything essential that will surely serve pretty much all your needs!

IPC MOTHERBOARD

Productivity, Stability, Reliability

ASRock IPC Motherboard Series can be widely used for any kind of industrial usages. From KIOSK, gaming machine panel PC, retail & POS to surveillance…, getting more from the motherboard has never been easier. Coupled with top-end hardware components, premium software utilities and APIs, ASRock IPC Motherboard Series are surely the best solution to build up a successful business. More to the point, ASRock provides long-term and stable supply, even bundles 2 year warranties, we are confident to deliver high performance after-sales service as well.

HTPC

Sweet Home Starts Here : VisionX, Vision HT, MINI Series

ASRock new HTPC series is a combination of primo materials, overwhelming performance and sophisticated design that will turn your living room into the center of attraction and enhance family bonds.

Small in stature, theASRock VisionX Series packs a very hefty punch. Supporting Intel’s 3rd Generation Core Processors, AMD Radeon™ HD7850M graphics and AMD HD3D Technology, VisionX Series offers the incredible performance that every user deserves. It’s also equipped with BD Combo, 2T2R Dual-Band WiFi a/g/b/n/ design, THX TruStudio and Bistream audio, VisionX Series delivers 3D entertainment in stunning HD quality effortlessly.

Ultra-thin, ultra-silent and ultra-powerful,Vision HT Series supports Intel Mobile Ivy Bridge Processor, Bistream, THX TruStudio, BT v4.0, Dual-Band WiFi and Intel HD Graphics that will take center stage at your home! Based on AMD E2-1800 APU with AMD Radeon™ HD7340 graphics, ASRock MINI Series can let users get a richer and more immersive HD enjoyment.

If you want home theater furniture that performs as good as it looks, and the choice is obvious. Only ASRock HTPC Series combines stunning beauty and thoughtfully engineered features like MCE remote-friendly controller, superior WiFi and BT 4.0 design and excellent graphics solutions to create furniture that perfectly integrates technology into you home.

ASUS Launches First Intel® Thunderbolt™ Certified Motherboard

P8Z77-V PREMIUM the first Intel certified and Windows optimized motherboard in the industry to feature Thunderbolt technology

Singapore (May 21, 2012) — Further demonstrating its market leading innovation, ASUS has announced the launch of its P8Z77-V PREMIUM motherboard — the flagship of the P8Z77 Series and the first Intel certified motherboard in the market to offer the latest Thunderbolt connection interface. The PREMIUM designation has been reserved for only the best motherboards with the latest technologies, and the P8Z77-V PREMIUM maintains this standard. In addition to the onboard Thunderbolt connection on the P8Z77-V PREMIUM, ASUS also offers the same technology on the P8Z77-V PRO/THUNDERBOLT to give consumers a wider range of choices.

“Intel and Asus have worked closely on the implementation of Thunderbolt™ technology onto Asus motherboards”, said Jason Ziller, Intel’s Director of Thunderbolt Marketing.  “The P8Z77-V PREMIUM is the first Thunderbolt certified motherboard in the industry, a testament to its solid design and compatibility.”

Thunderbolt and the latest technologies on board

The ASUS P8Z77-V PREMIUM is the first Thunderbolt motherboard to be certified by Intel, showing its strength in the industry. Thunderbolt is a new, high-speed I/O technology designed for performance, simplicity and flexibility, with lightning fast transfer speeds that are twice that of USB 3.0 and up to 20 times faster than USB 2.0. It offers simultaneous bi-directional, 10 Gbps transfer speeds over a single cable, with the flexibility to daisy-chain up to six Thunderbolt devices with a single connection for a clutter-free computing experience. Users can connect multiple Thunderbolt-enabled external storage drives to a Thunderbolt-enabled display and transfer files while watching HD movies, all without experiencing any lag.

Strength through cooperation

With its long history of working with high tech vendors, ASUS is able to show its strength and commitment to innovation with a close relationship to three of the leading brands currently producing products with Thunderbolt technology, Elgato, LaCie, and PROMISE.

“Elgato is delighted to work with ASUS to bring the world’s first portable Thunderbolt drive to Windows,” says Markus Fest, Elgato’s CEO. “The powerful combination of ASUS’ new PREMIUM board technology and the Elgato Thunderbolt SSD dramatically outperforms state-of-the-art portable USB 3.0 or eSATA drives.”

“LaCie is pleased to work with ASUS to showcase the power of Thunderbolt technology in a Windows environment,” said Erwan Girard, Business Unit Manager for Professional Solutions, LaCie. “Our solutions will deliver the unprecedented speeds and advantages of this technology to PC demanding users, especially those working in digital media applications who continually strive for more performance.”

PROMISE is a leading supplier of sophisticated RAID storage solutions catering to customers from the enterprise to SMB, as well as SOHO and digital home applications. They currently offer the world’s first Thunderbolt enabled RAID storage solutions and have previously worked with ASUS to develop a diversified portfolio to meet customer’s requirements.

Premium features for a premium motherboard

The title of PREMIUM carries certain expectations, and as such, the P8Z77-V PREMIUM motherboard boasts several new features, such as true 4-way NVIDIA® SLI™ and 4-way AMD CrossFireX™ on the latest PCIe Gen 3.0 slots for maximum graphics performance. Also introduced is advanced SSD Caching II, allowing users to cache additional frequently used programs and files using multiple SSDs to instantly upgrade system performance. A 32GB mSATA based SSD is also onboard, enabling Intel® Smart Response and Rapid Start Technology™ for super-fast boot up and resume times. Network traffic is expertly handled by a pair of Gigabit Intel LAN ports, ensuring lag free transfers and streaming entertainment.

Dedicated to providing the latest innovations, the P8Z77-V PREMIUM and P8Z77-V PRO/THUNDERBOLT provides users with the best and most complete solutions available, such as DIP3 with SMART DIGI+ Power Control, Wi-Fi GO! and Fan Xpert 2.

Available Models

Although Intel Z77 board was released a couple of weeks ago, most were disappointed that Thunderbolt wasn’t integrated into the chipset although this technology has been on the Mac.

PC users wait is over as Intel’s DZ77RE-75K motherboard comes with the Thunderbolt interconnect, allowing faster transfer than before. USB 3.0 has transmission speeds of up to 5 Gbit/s, which is 10 times faster than USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/s) and Thunderbolt is up to 10 Gbit/s.

The board’s Thunderbolt Technology Interface is supported by an Intel® L3310L CIO 10 Gb Controller.

The Thunderbolt controller connects a PC and other devices, transmitting and receiving information for both PCI Express and DisplayPort* protocols. The Thunderbolt controller switches between the two protocols to support communications over a single cable.
Thunderbolt technology is implemented on Intel Desktop Board DZ77RE-75K as a plug and play interface. No software drivers are required. A PCI Express x4 is linked from the Intel Z77 PCH to support the high bandwidth transfer of Thunderbolt.

Below is a picture of the box and motherboard.

Gigabyte will release 3 new models of motherboard supporting new TB technology

http://forums.ocworkbench.com/forumdisplay.php?f=23

Gigabyte Plug Fest Z77 2012 Kuala Lumpur at Park Royal Hotel

Similar to the last event held in late November last year, Gigabyte invited the media and renown overclockers from Singapore and Malaysia to attend the 1 day event held at Park Royal Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.

This event is held in conjunction with the newly launched Intel Z77 chipset. Testers are able to test and feedback their findings for stability of their boards in normal and extreme conditions.

At the event, NVIDIA was also there to show case their products and we have the opportunity to test out 4 way 680 GTX SLI on the G1 Sniper 3 under overclocked condition.

Reports indicate that ASUS Z77/H77 boards have Intel Thunderbolt header to support upcoming new Intel thunderbolt devices. These header will require an external add on expansion card that is sold separately.

Although Z77 and H77 chipset, Intel hasn’t integrated this technology into the chipset. To date, it seems that ASUS is leading the industry with an exclusive Thunderbolt support using an external add on card. The card will be connected via the TB_Header as seen in the picture below

It is rumoured that it will be available on mid range and high end models. Stay tuned for more updates.

A few weeks ago, we attended an event by Promise technology, showing off it’s Thunderbolt NAS devices. As Apple is the only company that builds Thunderbolt capable notebooks, PC which is based on Intel processors and chipsets do not have motherboards which cater to this new transmission standard. According to Digitimes, Intel has recently notified its partners that the company will fully release its Thunderbolt technology in April of 2012 with several first-tier PC players already preparing to launch Thunderbolt-supported motherboards, notebooks and desktop PCs, according to sources from PC players.

Most board makers are still using third party USB 3.0 solutions while the Apple has it adopted into its products such as monitor, MacBook Pro, iMac, MacBook Air and MacBook Mini, it has strongly boosted demand. With the price of Thunderbolt technology dropping in 2H 2012, it is expected that board makers and notebook makers will adopt this technology onto to PC platform.

Currently Sony is expected to adopt Thunderbolt technology into its product lines with players such as Asustek Computer also expected to adopt the technology into their high-end notebook products. Gigabyte Technology, which has been aggressively adopting new transmission technology into its product line, is also expected to launch Thunderbolt-featured motherboard by April 2012 to compete against other brands.

Here is a link to the Promise SmartStor products which feature the Thunderbolt technology.