Unboxing The Akitio Thunder3 Node Pro T3np-t3diy
I was fortunate enough to receive one of the very first units in the US. Here is my first impression of this highly anticipated Thunderbolt 3 enclosure for external graphics card setup. AKiTiO calls its Node a Thunderbolt 3 eGFX Box. The enclosure is nicely padded and arrived safely. It comes with everything one would need for an eGPU build except for the graphics card. Both the PCIe board and Thunderbolt 3 board are different than the boards in the.
The Node has a TPS65983 USB Type-C and USB Power Delivery Controller which has a High Speed mux for ThunderBolt and DisplayPort sideband data. The has the previous gen controller, TPS65982 (same with the ). Unfortunately there’s only one Thunderbolt 3 port. I was hoping for some hidden ports on this board.
As confirmed from earlier reports, Apple only has official support for the newer Texas Instrument controller, TPS65983. Unlike the “Unsupported” message when connecting the to a Late 2016 MacBook Pro, this connects immediately with full 40 Gb/s x1 Thunderbolt 3 speed right out of the box. There’s tons of room inside the to fit every full-length double-wide GPU ever made. The downside is that it’s larger than I imagined from pictures online. The silver enclosure is the next to the Node outer case.
Unboxing The Akitio Thunder 3 Node Pro T3np-t3diy
With an MSRP of $299 the is the best value Thunderbolt 3 eGPU enclosure on the market. It would be a perfect solution to expand the GPU options in the Mac lineup. The bad news is Apple has a software limitation in macOS to prevent such a setup. We are taking a closer look into macOS 10.12.2 to hopefully find a workaround soon.
At AKiTiO we believe in creating cutting-edge products that are both easy to use and also reliable. We believe that our products should last and that you should enjoy using them. We strive to create the most user-friendly experience possible with the most reliable and long lasting materials and parts available so that you will continue to enjoy using our great products for a long time to come. AKiTiO’s US headquarters are located in Brea, California. Since 1992, we have been designing, creating and marketing our storage solutions. We now have a full range of direct attached and network attached storage products to satisfy the needs of a wide range of customers.
We strive to create products that match our core values, products that are easy to use, reliable, innovative, environmentally friendly and also affordable. We believe that the future of storage products lies in network attached storage (NAS), and that NAS products need to be as easy to use as possible. For those reasons we have created our Cloud Hybrid and MyCloud lines of network attached storage solutions. Our web login portal, UPnP/DLNA support, free iPhone, iPad and Android apps, friendly and attractive user interface and 45 second setup are just a few of the features that set our products apart from traditional NAS units. We are committed to providing exceptional customer service and support. We believe in creating high quality, reliable products, but we also know that occasionally things can go wrong and we are dedicated to providing AKiTiO customers with the assistance and support necessary to keep our customers satisfied with our products.