Thunderbolt cable $50? What a rip-off...

That's why we buy from cablewholesale.com or monoprice.com
Great quality, way cheaper. Just a matter of time before they have thunderbolt cables.
 
Archer75 said:
That's why we buy from cablewholesale.com or monoprice.com
Great quality, way cheaper. Just a matter of time before they have thunderbolt cables.
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My thing wasn't a complaint about the price, it was about how I though they were overpriced until I saw this:

QBZvGuXR2nRD64NM.medium


I don't see a "budget" version of that magic being much cheaper.
 
zomg microchips. it's like the gamecube component cable! but with more microchipchips! and the gamecube component cable costs $100 on eBay. this is a bargain at $50.
 
MartinX said:
My thing wasn't a complaint about the price, it was about how I though they were overpriced until I saw this:

QBZvGuXR2nRD64NM.medium


I don't see a "budget" version of that magic being much cheaper.
Click to expand...

I build computer chips for a living. We make many that sell for 1/4 of 1 cent. And while I don't know the exact cost of those chips I bet it's quite low.

Just because there's a chip in it don't assume it's expensive. And apple always has a large markup on these things.
 
I'd drop $50 without thinking twice on that cable if I could buy Thunderbolt peripherals....
 
I'm suprised you would want something like that in the cables, and not inside the internal computer port itself. Unless it's needed for future convertion to fiber optic.
 
Archer75 said:
I build computer chips for a living. We make many that sell for 1/4 of 1 cent. And while I don't know the exact cost of those chips I bet it's quite low.

Just because there's a chip in it don't assume it's expensive. And apple always has a large markup on these things.
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Oh I'm sure there's an element of apple tax there, but they've got to be more expensive to manufacture than simple crimped copper.
 
The article I read indicated that the chip is specifically configured for the length and composition of the cable. The idea being that super long fiber cables could be used also.
 
that's how they said they will be able to migrate to optical based thunderbolt in the future without needing to change the port on the computer. Because the circuitry is in the cable plug itself in the future they can make optical fiber TB cables that plug into the same TB port as today, with different chips in the cable to handle the faster optical throughput.
 
If Apple is selling it for $50, then it probably costs a LOT less. Bulk cable manufacturers will be able to get the components needed even cheaper. $10-$20 should be doable.
 
Here are copper interconnects for servers that are also 10 Gbps, but unlike Thunderbolt they are not bi-directional, they are only good for transmitting storage data, and they cost $70-$150 instead of $50.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...r+cable&x=7&y=20&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=at055-20

Unfortunately this seems to be a pretty standard price for copper cables.

The other thing to consider is that the people who would buy Thunderbolt gear are in the pro AV market, and they are willing to pay for this level of performance that very little outside of fiber would get you. Of course, fiber doesn't offer bi-directionality, doesn't allow for the daisy-chaining of storage and displays, there is the cost of the card itself, etc etc.

BOM is also a terrible way to judge value when it comes to high-end low-volume gear aimed at a niche professional market. Utility and scarcity drives cost in the market at this point. If you want speed and utility, especially for bleeding edge technology such as this, you pay for it. If it is a problem for you, just wait for the tech to go mainstream and buy it on Monoprice.
 
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Guys, as with ALL other new technology, there is always a price premium! You keep arguing that this cost way lesser than $50. Why not complain about the prices of GPUs, CPUs, etc.??? I bet they are as overpriced as most electronic devices. Do you think that an i7 2600K really cost $300 to make? Of course most of it is just marketing too!
 
darkhorse said:
that's how they said they will be able to migrate to optical based thunderbolt in the future without needing to change the port on the computer. Because the circuitry is in the cable plug itself in the future they can make optical fiber TB cables that plug into the same TB port as today, with different chips in the cable to handle the faster optical throughput.
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I like this idea, because it means we don't have to wait for future hardware to be produced to take advantage of the newer FO cables, but rather just use the same port.

I've seen tons of posts around the net complaining about "when's this going to get USB 3.0" and "whens that gonna get it!?"

This would solve that. Imagine if USB 1.1 ports were compatible with USB 3.0 devices and speeds now? No waiting for updated hardware, just get new cables.
 
Lets not forget Apple still charges $20 for a USB Ipod cable - so I'm sure by that markup you will still be able to get one of these for under $10 in the coming months from Monoprice.
 
So has anyone seen a setup that used thunderbolt yet, other than a apple demo?

It would be kinda cool if you could get a thunderbolt nas, switch/router, wired to the computer. I mean even cat6 is 10gb rated though, so its not like this is something new.
 
Haiku214 said:
Guys, as with ALL other new technology, there is always a price premium! You keep arguing that this cost way lesser than $50. Why not complain about the prices of GPUs, CPUs, etc.??? I bet they are as overpriced as most electronic devices. Do you think that an i7 2600K really cost $300 to make? Of course most of it is just marketing too!
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This.

Do people think that SATA, USB, and HDMI cables have *always* cost $2 at Monoprice? Even when they were brand new tech, and especially name-brand retail-packaged ones? I seem to recall, for example, DVI cables being really expensive at introduction. Expensive as in *at least* $50 for quality non-name-brand product at discount mail order places (i.e. not the Best Buy rape-a-thon pricing).

If a year from now, you still can't decent quality no-name cables for fairly cheap (say <$15), then I think people will have a point. But from everything I've read, Apple/Intel want broad adoption for this, not keep it as a boutique high-end interface.
 
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