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- Mac Studio, M1 Max, 32 GB RAM, 2 TB SSD
I recently upgraded to a new Mac Studio. As you may know, for a recent Mac, the Mac Studio is blessed with a veritable cornucopia of external ports - USB 3.0, USB-C, HDMI and RJ-45, all on the back, as well as two incredibly convenient USB-C ports on the front (and a camera card reader slot as well!).
Let's go back in time now to 2011. I had just purchased a then state of the art iMac 27", and it came with two of the then new fangled Thunderbolt 2 ports, along with 4 USB 2.0 ports and a single FW800 port. I purchased a Thunderbolt 2 hard drive to use as a backup drive, and then extended that with an Akitio Thunder Dock, which added USB 3, eSATA and another FW800 port.
The problem with that Thunderbolt 2 backup drive was that it was only usable on that one iMac. Nothing else was plug compatible. I ended up not using it all that much, preferring to make my backups on a G-Drive external hard drive - it featured eSATA (fast!), USB3.0 and FW800 external ports, equally accessible from any one of them. So, I was never worried that in the event that my iMac died, my backup drive would become inaccessible.
Back to the current day, and my "daily driver" is now the Mac Studio, and guess what, it too does not support Thunderbolt 2 or eSATA. But it DOES support USB-C, which is every bit as fast as those two, and so I went hunting for an adapter. I found one from Apple of all places, typically dramatically overpriced, but as it turns out, a great investment nonetheless.
This is an Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 adapter cable, and it works like a charm. I plugged the USB-C end into my Mac Studio and my old Thunderbolt 2 backup drive into the other end and the backup drive popped right up on my Monterey desktop.
Better still, when I plugged in my Akitio Thunder Dock, and then plugged a USB stick into it, that USB stick popped right up on my desktop too! Both devices effectively rescued by a $45 adapter cable. That does make it a pretty good investment. Of course the Thunder Dock provides also another Thunderbolt 2 interface, USB 3 interfaces, a FW800 interface and finally, an eSATA interface. All of this nicely compliments and extends the already generous set of ports on the Mac Studio, and of course it should work with any recent USB-C equipped Mac, not just a Mac Studio.
SO... if you have some orphaned Thunderbolt 2, eSATA or FW800 external hard drives you would like to regain access to, I cannot recommend the above two items (the Thunderbolt adapter and the Akitio Thunder Dock) strongly enough. I used my Thunder Dock for years with that iMac, and it is a solid product, and fast too - all ports run at full speed.
The only "fly in the ointment" is that the Thunder Dock is no longer sold. This is not the kiss of death however. I am quite certain that you can find one on eBay without too much effort.
Submitted for your consideration!
Let's go back in time now to 2011. I had just purchased a then state of the art iMac 27", and it came with two of the then new fangled Thunderbolt 2 ports, along with 4 USB 2.0 ports and a single FW800 port. I purchased a Thunderbolt 2 hard drive to use as a backup drive, and then extended that with an Akitio Thunder Dock, which added USB 3, eSATA and another FW800 port.
The problem with that Thunderbolt 2 backup drive was that it was only usable on that one iMac. Nothing else was plug compatible. I ended up not using it all that much, preferring to make my backups on a G-Drive external hard drive - it featured eSATA (fast!), USB3.0 and FW800 external ports, equally accessible from any one of them. So, I was never worried that in the event that my iMac died, my backup drive would become inaccessible.
Back to the current day, and my "daily driver" is now the Mac Studio, and guess what, it too does not support Thunderbolt 2 or eSATA. But it DOES support USB-C, which is every bit as fast as those two, and so I went hunting for an adapter. I found one from Apple of all places, typically dramatically overpriced, but as it turns out, a great investment nonetheless.
This is an Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 adapter cable, and it works like a charm. I plugged the USB-C end into my Mac Studio and my old Thunderbolt 2 backup drive into the other end and the backup drive popped right up on my Monterey desktop.
Better still, when I plugged in my Akitio Thunder Dock, and then plugged a USB stick into it, that USB stick popped right up on my desktop too! Both devices effectively rescued by a $45 adapter cable. That does make it a pretty good investment. Of course the Thunder Dock provides also another Thunderbolt 2 interface, USB 3 interfaces, a FW800 interface and finally, an eSATA interface. All of this nicely compliments and extends the already generous set of ports on the Mac Studio, and of course it should work with any recent USB-C equipped Mac, not just a Mac Studio.
SO... if you have some orphaned Thunderbolt 2, eSATA or FW800 external hard drives you would like to regain access to, I cannot recommend the above two items (the Thunderbolt adapter and the Akitio Thunder Dock) strongly enough. I used my Thunder Dock for years with that iMac, and it is a solid product, and fast too - all ports run at full speed.
The only "fly in the ointment" is that the Thunder Dock is no longer sold. This is not the kiss of death however. I am quite certain that you can find one on eBay without too much effort.
Submitted for your consideration!
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