Any Else Anxiously Awaiting Thunderbolt 2 External Western Digital HDs? Need Soon!

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Any Else Anxiously Awaiting Thunderbolt 2 External Western Digital HDs? Need Soon!

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a minute ago

Hi all. Like many of you, I’ve been anxiously awaiting the release of the new Mac Pro. Now that the new Mac Pros have been released I find myself baffled by the lack of external Thunderbolt 2 drives to mate with the Mac Pro. I had decided to purchase two WDBUSK0080JSL-NESN “WD 8TB My Thunderbolt Duo Dual-Drive Storage System” Hard Drives before I realized that the new Mac Pros would support the faster Thunderbolt 2. If I’m going to upgrade to the new Mac Pro now is the time to jump from Thunderbolt to Thunderbolt 2 (T2), right? Why would I want anything slower if I’m going to make the switch? I also embraced the idea of using my hoped for WD T2 in the JOBD mode (“Just A Bunch of Discs”) which the first gen of Thunderbolt drives by WD supported. The WDBUSK0080JSL-NESN model according to B&H Photo is discontinued. I took that as a great sign that WD would rapidly replace this model with a T2 version but nothing yet.

My desire - given that 1) I need more file space very soon anyway and, 2) Apple has abandoned FireWire 400 and 800 (which is what I use with current external drives) is to get the latest Thunderbolt 2 technology (and not be behind a generation already!) to help me start standardizing around Thunderbolt 2. I know I could/can limp along for a while using my existing external drives with Thunderbolt adapters or I can use the USB 2.0 ports, again, to just limp along, but none of this solves my “running out of space” issue. 

I had fully expected two things in early January 2014: That Apple would have had a good number of third parties such as Western Digital (and new Apple display options too!) lined up with new products supporting T2 and that Western Digital (like LaCie) would have made some T2 announcements at CES. Neither happened. 

I hate to delay my Mac Pro purchase whilst waiting for T2 external drives of large capacity but that is where I sit. I truly hope WD comes through with a solution which helps me and others and soon!

Thanks,

SNazz123

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I am looking for Thunderbolt 2 also.  Just purchased  2 Velosiraptor duo for Mac Pro 2013.  I am hoping to be able to upgrade both units to Thunderbolt 2 so that I will not have to buy all new units.  Motherboard swap or be able to buy the cabinet only to transfer the drives that I already have into a new cabinet with Tbolt 2.

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Really bobfra? Do you think your Velosiraptor Duo will be upgradable to a Thunderbolt 2 box? I’m at a loss as to why there aren’t more external drive manufacturers who have immediately jumped on the T2 bandwagon with their product lines for Macintosh. The new Mac Pro 2013, I thought, would have much more industry support at its launch. Thanks for weighing in.

SNazz123

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Our product team is aware of this. It may be considered in the future.