4 ms·

This is cool, but my main takeaway is that you can get around needing the thunderbolt enablement header by shorting two pins together and use it on any motherbo

This is cool, but my main takeaway is that you can get around needing the thunderbolt enablement header by shorting two pins together and use it on any motherboard? What the hell Intel...

unicornfinder 5y ago
If memory serves the main problem is some Thunderbolt cards don't ship with the necessary firmware on them, so would need to be used at least once in a supported motherboard before just used in any system.
- zhengyi13 5y ago
  That seems even more WTF, and puts me in mind of the old Winmodem setup. Not precisely analogous, but boy it seems weird.
  - genewitch 5y ago
    There's still benefits today to using actual modems instead of glorified sound cards or literal sound cards. I have a pactor modem for ham radio use, and it can do several modes other than pactor, like rtty. Compared to using something like fldigi, if I can hear the other side and they can hear me, the data will 100% go through correctly on the physical pactor modem. There's weird jank even when using the basic RF mail software, which can control a variety of modems, or just use your sound card, too. Every session is longer when using software based modems, for example. I'm aware that the pactor modem itself is probably a software defined device like an FPGA, but it is much better than the software on the PC - and I can use it with an anemic laptop from 2007 with no issues at all, since it just sends text back and forth over a serial port - via USB.
rsync 5y ago
"What the hell Intel... " I don't understand any of it ... If I wanted to add a LPT parallel port to my motherboard, I would find an appropriate add-in card with the physical port and plug it into the PCI bus and locate an appropriate driver. Thunderbolt is just another kind of port, right ? If you buy the add-in card to get the physical port and you have a driver to drive the card ... what in the world is "enablement" and why would it be required ?
- Teknoman117 5y ago
  The enablement header was a pretty what the hell thing to being with, I totally agree. I always saw it as them trying to avoid the development of thunderbolt add in cards for some reason. But to find out is does so little that shorting two pins together gets around it is just too funny.

This is cool, but my main takeaway is that you can get around needing the thunderbolt enablement header by shorting two pins together and use it on any motherboard? What the hell Intel...

unicornfinder 5y ago

If memory serves the main problem is some Thunderbolt cards don't ship with the necessary firmware on them, so would need to be used at least once in a supported motherboard before just used in any system.

zhengyi13 5y ago
That seems even more WTF, and puts me in mind of the old Winmodem setup. Not precisely analogous, but boy it seems weird.
- genewitch 5y ago
  There's still benefits today to using actual modems instead of glorified sound cards or literal sound cards. I have a pactor modem for ham radio use, and it can do several modes other than pactor, like rtty. Compared to using something like fldigi, if I can hear the other side and they can hear me, the data will 100% go through correctly on the physical pactor modem. There's weird jank even when using the basic RF mail software, which can control a variety of modems, or just use your sound card, too. Every session is longer when using software based modems, for example. I'm aware that the pactor modem itself is probably a software defined device like an FPGA, but it is much better than the software on the PC - and I can use it with an anemic laptop from 2007 with no issues at all, since it just sends text back and forth over a serial port - via USB.

rsync 5y ago

"What the hell Intel... " I don't understand any of it ... If I wanted to add a LPT parallel port to my motherboard, I would find an appropriate add-in card with the physical port and plug it into the PCI bus and locate an appropriate driver. Thunderbolt is just another kind of port, right ? If you buy the add-in card to get the physical port and you have a driver to drive the card ... what in the world is "enablement" and why would it be required ?

Teknoman117 5y ago
The enablement header was a pretty what the hell thing to being with, I totally agree. I always saw it as them trying to avoid the development of thunderbolt add in cards for some reason. But to find out is does so little that shorting two pins together gets around it is just too funny.