PT HD Native on new iMac

[ianmiller]

Been looking at combining the new i7 based iMac, the OWC Helios (for the PCI Native card) and a thunderbolt RAID storage set up, rather than wait for the promised new Mac Pro. Has anyone implemented this rig and have any comment on it?

I am particularly interested in track count, latency, noise and any other relevant comments.

Also, is there a "hit" with daisy chaining thunderbolt devices like the Helios and storage on the same port. I know you can technically daisy chain up to 6 or so Thunderbolt devices but any feedback on the real world impact?

Thanks very much and happy new year to all.......

[nst7]

If you're getting the 27" Imac, it has two Thunderbolt ports, and each one is on a different buss (assuming it's the same as the previous version). So you could use one for HD Native and one for your drives.

Do you already have the HD Native PCIe card? If not, you might just look into the Thunderbolt HD Native version. However, if you do get the chassis, it seems to be working great for those who have used it.

One other thing, if you're getting the Thunderbolt drive for audio, it's kind of overkill. Audio doesn't need that kind of bandwidth, and you'd do just as well to get a USB 3.0 drive and use that. If it's for sample libraries, than Thunderbolt might be the way to go.