Blackmagic Multidock 10G with Mac Pro 2013 trashcan

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jmh1492

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  • Joined: Tue May 03, 2022 3:40 am
  • Real Name: MIles Hankins

Blackmagic Multidock 10G with Mac Pro 2013 trashcan

PostTue May 03, 2022 4:11 am

TL/DR - How do I connect two Multidock 10G's to a Mac Pro late 2013 to achieve minimum 20Gbps speed? Specific cable/adapter path appreciated.

Hi,

I am in the process of duplicating my rig for a second studio. In my original studio I have a Mac Pro late 2013 trashcan connected to 2 daisy-chained Blackmagic Multidock 2 (thunderbolt 2) units (the older, now discontinued Multidock model). These work brilliantly and deliver thunderbolt 2 speeds of 20Gbps (lightning fast) with NO ADAPTERS--just one single thunderbolt cable going into just one of 6 thunderbolt Mac ports for both daisy-chained Multidocks.

Unfortunately the Multidock 2 thunderbolt was discontinued and I literally can't find it anywhere in the world, not even eBay. As a result I was forced to buy 2 of the new Multidock 10G units (USB-C), and am having difficulty figuring out how to best connect them to the duplicate Mac Pro late 2013 trashcan in the second studio.

The problems with the new Multidock 10G are that it is MUCH slower than the older thunderbolt model and cannot be daisey-chained as far as I know--a downgrade in every respect. Please correct me if I'm missing something glaringly obvious and advise as per below if you can!

As you might know, the Mac Pro 2013 has 4 USB A ports and 6 Thunderbolt ports. I originally hoped and tried to connect the Multidocks via Apple's Thunderbolt 3 (USB C format) to Thunderbolt 2 adapter, then into the Thunderbolt ports on the Mac via standard thunderbolt 2 cables, hoping to get that sweet 20 Gbps Thunderbolt 2 speed, but no dice. Neither Multidock was even recognized and I learned the hard way that Thunderbolt 3, despite having the same format, is NOT USB C. More simply to the point, Thunderbolt is not USB. They are different animals, so hats off to the lobotomized sadist who decided they should look identical (probably the same guy who decided mini-display port and Thunderbolt 2 should look identical years before).

So I currently have the Multidocks speaking to the Mac Pro through USB C-to-USB A cables plugged into a USB 3.0 hub feeding to one of the Mac's USB A ports. As a result I assume I'm getting maximum 5 Gbps---75% SLOWER than the older model Multidock 2's! And boy do I feel it. It takes FOREVER to load anything. So you can imagine trying to load a 60GB scoring template at this jurassic speed.

So how do I maximize the speed here--I'm looking for at least 20 Gbps--baseline I need to at least get what I got with the older Multidock models. So, how do I connect two Multidock 10G's to a Mac Pro late 2013 to achieve minimum 20Gbps speed? Specific cable/adapter path appreciated.

Thanks!
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jmh1492

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  • Joined: Tue May 03, 2022 3:40 am
  • Real Name: MIles Hankins

Re: Blackmagic Multidock 10G with Mac Pro 2013 trashcan

PostWed May 04, 2022 11:28 pm

If it's useful to anyone reading this I did get a reply directly from Blackmagic tech support about this.

Basically I was correct that the Multidock 10G is limited to 10Gbps, and the older (discontinued) Multidock Thunderbolt 2 unit is twice as fast at 20 Gbps.

With regard to using the 10G Multidock with the 2013 Mac Pro, the Mac only has USB 3.0 ports which are limited to 5Gbps, so even if you cable into the mac using USB 3.1 or 3.2 cables or hubs, the Mac will bottleneck you down to 5Gbps maximum speed anyway.

I vented that it seemed ridiculous for Blackmagic to discontinue a product and replace it with one that is half as fast, but as the Thunderbolt 2 protocol was not being continued it made sense for Blackmagic to transition to USB-C format. They will however have to once again replace the current Multidock 10G with a new model that supports Thunderbolt 3 and 4 speeds if they want to stay current--currently the Multidock 10G would still be throttled at 10Gbps even if using Thunderbolt 3 or 4 cables into a new Mac Pro (in this case the Multidock would be the bottleneck, not the Mac).

So the short answer is that there's no way to get even close to the old Multidock Thunderbolt 2 speeds using the newer Multidock 10G with a 2013 Mac Pro (in fact you're bottlenecked at 75% SLOWER no matter what you try to do), so my best bet is to scour eBay, used electronics forums, and the internet for Multidock 2 Thunderbolt units.

Found one on ebay that looks like the dog tried to eat it, still need to find one more.
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Lauant

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  • Joined: Thu May 26, 2022 1:04 pm
  • Real Name: Anthony Lau

Re: Blackmagic Multidock 10G with Mac Pro 2013 trashcan

PostThu May 26, 2022 1:09 pm

Hey JMH,

I feel your problems and was the reason I purchased 3 of these 20Gbs bad boys when they were alive and in the market. I have one that’s still brand new in a box (used once for dit on commercial shoot). Happy to release this to a new home if you’re interested. The catch... I’m now based back in Australia (the unit was purchased in NYC. Box is still in glad wrap!

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