@Doris Latimore Johnson Laptops are laptops, tablets are tablets. Laptops are meant to work, tablets to be light and pretty therefore, buy a tablet. People want laptops to be like tablets and the result is shitty, portless and expensive piece of brushed aluminum. They're "lap-tops": you don't hold it all the day with your hands, it sits on the table or on your lap. Get a tablet.
Don't forget the LPT and COM ports, must haves even though ports themselves are thicker than some of the modern laptops. In all seriousness though, I also had a mindset that a laptop should have many ports until I actually realized the use case for dongles. Basically the idea is that when you have a single cable going into the laptop, the laptop remains portable - you unplug one thing, move to another place, plug in one thing. And then you have multiple "stations" kitted out with big monitors and nice mechanical keyboards: office, meeting rooms, co-working space, home office; and you move between those stations on a whim - your work in progress, data and applications go with you. When you go to a coffee shop, you don't need any of the ports anyway, because it's a laptop and it already has everything built in.
This dock have issue with displayport. It's advertised as DP 1.4, but it's firmware locked to 4K 60Hz, and no HDR..... Just be aware of that since I find it the hard way after purchasing it. HP G2 doesn't have such limitation but works very wonky sometime.
One missing port that I think this dock should have (because of it's large size) is VGA port. Yeah I know it's outdated, but few monitors or projectors out there are still using these port for connection instead of HDMI. Btw, very very nice review sir.
Ouch! Nice dock, but $300 normally, although currently $239 Cyber Monday deal, and another $50 off, so $189. That's still a lot though. 4:30 Those "higher powered gaming laptops" almost certainly won't use USB-C for charging anyway, since USB Power Delivery (currently) is limited to 100W.
Great review, very clear and comprehensive. Some rough pricing guide would be helpful, because your affiliate link says not available so doesn't show a price.
240 dollars is just too much for this type of product, and this comes from somebody who has been using docking stations for decades (IBM, HP, Dell and now USB)
Can you compare this to the CalDigit TS3? It seems that one has Thunderbolt pass through which this does not or I could be confused by some of the differences in icons on the back.specifically, I want to know which dock I would want to run two 5K displays. Not just two 4K's. Would I need an eGPU?
Nice dock overall. But it's a real shame the dock makers haven't switched to multi-gig Ethernet chips yet. 10g will never see wide adoption for home use, but 2.5g is now quite affordable and stands to become the "new normal" for home Ethernet over the next few years.. And from the bit where you showed the USB topology, they are using a Realtek USB Ethernet controller. So it would have been very simple to swap in the newer part and get 2.5g support. Maybe docks in 2021 will finally start doing this...
I am really into Thunderbolt-3 and USB-C docks. I own many. The best one I have at the moment is my elgato TB3 pro dock (only flaw is the DP is a DP1.2 instead of 1.4 - so I use the secondary TB3 port and a DP1.4/USBc cable supporting AMD free sync and 144hz at 1080p). The new Western Digital Black D50 is a really awesome up and coming dock. I hope you are able to get your hands on one for review!
This product is a disappointment for me (using a 2020 Macbook Pro M1). It will not support dual 4K monitor. Only one monitor will run. Tried both HDMI or DP combo but it will not work. Will be returning it and find a better solution...
Sorry Lon, without TB pass thru it’s a NO BUY for me. I went with the new OWC TB/USB 4 Dock and now I have 4 TB ports available on my M1 Mac Mini. That works much better for me.
Although it will connect and work fine, the lack of Thunderbolt pass thru is thumbs down for me. The M1 Mini only has 2 Thunderbolt 3/USB 4 ports, and connecting this dock will only leave one thunderbolt port available. The new OWC Thunderbolt Dock has 4 Thunderbolt ports thus giving you 4 usable Thunderbolt ports after connecting it (3 on the dock and 1 on the Mini). I only use 1 HDMI monitor so I don’t need the extra display ports on the Plugable dock. My 2 cents. BTW, if you are looking for a fast (near the speed of the internal SSD on the Mini) the SABRENT XTRM-Q drive is a winner. $199 for a 1TB at Amazon. $349 for the 2TB. Way faster than the Samsung T7. Must connect to a Thunderbolt port to achieve the fastest results.
Hey Lon! I bought this contraption thanks to your recommendation and its GREAT, everything works better. But now I've purchased this amazing.... questions arising: 1- I mostly use my MacBook Pro 15" full specs at home-office, so I have to plug it to this Dock. . . . but the questions, my laptop is ALWAYS charging with it. . . . 1: is this going to mess up the battery? 2: do I have to unplug the Dock when not in use? (that would be cumbersome) 3: what about external Samsung portable SSD T5, do I have to always eject it and then unplug it from the dock.....? .... and do it all again 3 or 4 times a day. . . .
I'm waiting to see more Docks using the Goshen Ridge JHL8440 Thunderbolt 4/USB4 Controller. I can imagine this dock with 3 more Thunderbolt/USB4 ports for both multiport accessory architecture and daisy chaining accessory architecture. I would also love to see a move to a 10G Ethernet NIC with support for AVB. AVB would be great for both MACs and Windows. The move to PCIe 4.0 for Thunderbolt is what I'm really waiting for.
Would this work with a Surface Pro 7 or X? These support 2 4K displays at 60 Hz over type C (DisplayPort 1.4 alt mode). The Surface Laptop Go only supports DisplayPort 1.2 alternate mode.
Good luck using those USB ports while running 2 4K 60hz monitors.... with only 10 gbps. lol. I’m glad I did not wait for this dock when it was announced a millennia ago.
7Gbps I think you ment mbps a Gbps is 1000mbps so a 10Gbps theoretical thruput means that when we get up to 10,000mbps drives we will still be able to use those cables.
Good explanation. It's like the old "no chain is stronger than its weakest link". Data speed, video services, etc are limited by the lowest spec'd component; computer, OS, dock, & cable.
Nice Review! I have been waiting for the dock manufacturers to start making docks with the ability to power the 16” MBP that requires 96W. I will have to check this out.
Having regrets about disposing of my old Mac iicx and plus after seeing the background. One thing I’ve noticed is that various docks can get quite warm suggesting they are dissipating significant heat over a day
Yes, that is technically possible. If you have TB, you can get one of these docks and a USB display adapter like the Pluggable USB to HDMI or the Startech.com USB to VGA (I'm sure Pluggable has a USB to VGA as well). I can't vouch for the quality of the USB video adapter as it is acting like a pseudo video card instead of just passing video from the laptop to the screen.
I am pretty sure the XPS 15 has a 130 watt power supply so it's likely not enough for that. In some cases you might have it not charge the battery but still power the system.
Thank you for clearly explaining the concept of Thunderbolt passthrough. That is important to MacBook users who want to run two external monitors in extended mode which requires Thunderbolt passthrough.
Excellent review. Once thing maybe can be considered in future review of docks and adapters is their operational temperature. I found some adapters get really hot when driving external monitors. Thank you.
I don't know how anyone could rate this video negatively. This covered everything I needed to know and made me feel a lot more confident in my purchase. Concise and informative.
@VideoMix Fantasy having to unplug your monitor from the wall and wait for the light to turn off makes me contemplate switching back to the white connector
@VideoMix Fantasy my monitor has a glitch in the software of it where sometimes when it goes to sleep it won't wake back up unless you completely unplug it wait for it to lose complete power and then plug it back in also I googled my issue and my exact monitor was the first one that showed up so it's a very common thing on my middle of monitor
Thunderbolt and lightning very, very frightening me.
🤣🤣🤣
Galileo!
Thanks Rob, after all, I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me!
@@PaulBakewell oh yeah...He’s just a poor boy from a poor family.
Imagine 10 years ago all these ports already build in on your laptop. Now you need buying a bulky dongle
@Doris Latimore Johnson Laptops are laptops, tablets are tablets. Laptops are meant to work, tablets to be light and pretty therefore, buy a tablet.
People want laptops to be like tablets and the result is shitty, portless and expensive piece of brushed aluminum.
They're "lap-tops": you don't hold it all the day with your hands, it sits on the table or on your lap.
Get a tablet.
Don't forget the LPT and COM ports, must haves even though ports themselves are thicker than some of the modern laptops. In all seriousness though, I also had a mindset that a laptop should have many ports until I actually realized the use case for dongles. Basically the idea is that when you have a single cable going into the laptop, the laptop remains portable - you unplug one thing, move to another place, plug in one thing. And then you have multiple "stations" kitted out with big monitors and nice mechanical keyboards: office, meeting rooms, co-working space, home office; and you move between those stations on a whim - your work in progress, data and applications go with you. When you go to a coffee shop, you don't need any of the ports anyway, because it's a laptop and it already has everything built in.
Will this work for 2 external displays for extended desktop (not mirror desktop) for the Macbook Pro 16 in clamshell mode?
This dock have issue with displayport. It's advertised as DP 1.4, but it's firmware locked to 4K 60Hz, and no HDR.....
Just be aware of that since I find it the hard way after purchasing it. HP G2 doesn't have such limitation but works very wonky sometime.
One missing port that I think this dock should have (because of it's large size) is VGA port. Yeah I know it's outdated, but few monitors or projectors out there are still using these port for connection instead of HDMI.
Btw, very very nice review sir.
Ouch! Nice dock, but $300 normally, although currently $239 Cyber Monday deal, and another $50 off, so $189. That's still a lot though.
4:30 Those "higher powered gaming laptops" almost certainly won't use USB-C for charging anyway, since USB Power Delivery (currently) is limited to 100W.
Great review, very clear and comprehensive. Some rough pricing guide would be helpful, because your affiliate link says not available so doesn't show a price.
$299.99
240 dollars is just too much for this type of product, and this comes from somebody who has been using docking stations for decades (IBM, HP, Dell and now USB)
pretty much every thunderbolt dock is $200-$300. Good luck on your search, or really, good luck on your waiting
Can you compare this to the CalDigit TS3? It seems that one has Thunderbolt pass through which this does not or I could be confused by some of the differences in icons on the back.specifically, I want to know which dock I would want to run two 5K displays. Not just two 4K's. Would I need an eGPU?
Nice dock overall. But it's a real shame the dock makers haven't switched to multi-gig Ethernet chips yet. 10g will never see wide adoption for home use, but 2.5g is now quite affordable and stands to become the "new normal" for home Ethernet over the next few years.. And from the bit where you showed the USB topology, they are using a Realtek USB Ethernet controller. So it would have been very simple to swap in the newer part and get 2.5g support. Maybe docks in 2021 will finally start doing this...
I agree 100%!
I am really into Thunderbolt-3 and USB-C docks. I own many. The best one I have at the moment is my elgato TB3 pro dock (only flaw is the DP is a DP1.2 instead of 1.4 - so I use the secondary TB3 port and a DP1.4/USBc cable supporting AMD free sync and 144hz at 1080p). The new Western Digital Black D50 is a really awesome up and coming dock. I hope you are able to get your hands on one for review!
This product is a disappointment for me (using a 2020 Macbook Pro M1). It will not support dual 4K monitor. Only one monitor will run. Tried both HDMI or DP combo but it will not work. Will be returning it and find a better solution...
I installed my TBT4 UDZ , but it is not responding, the screens do not receive a signal from the TBT4_UZD, I have an HP windows 10, can you help me?
Surface laptop Go should support a single 4K60Hz display over usb-c dp alt. mode but maybe not with this hub.
Sorry Lon, without TB pass thru it’s a NO BUY for me. I went with the new OWC TB/USB 4 Dock and now I have 4 TB ports available on my M1 Mac Mini. That works much better for me.
Is it just me or is this USB-x really confusing.
Why doesn't it work with my windows pc? I tried thunderbolt type c and non thunderbolt
hi there was wondering if this would work on my new m1 Mac mini thanks stu
Although it will connect and work fine, the lack of Thunderbolt pass thru is thumbs down for me. The M1 Mini only has 2 Thunderbolt 3/USB 4 ports, and connecting this dock will only leave one thunderbolt port available.
The new OWC Thunderbolt Dock has 4 Thunderbolt ports thus giving you 4 usable Thunderbolt ports after connecting it (3 on the dock and 1 on the Mini). I only use 1 HDMI monitor so I don’t need the extra display ports on the Plugable dock.
My 2 cents. BTW, if you are looking for a fast (near the speed of the internal SSD on the Mini) the SABRENT XTRM-Q drive is a winner. $199 for a 1TB at Amazon. $349 for the 2TB. Way faster than the Samsung T7. Must connect to a Thunderbolt port to achieve the fastest results.
No second Thunderbolt 3 port for daisy chaining 😩
Hope USB 4 will make this kind of dock cheaper and more popular, $299 is hard to swallow.
It's on sale for $189 today!
@@LonSeidman reminds me of beats headphones way to expensive for what you get
@@LonSeidman Cool! The link in the description is still $299, where did you find the sale? (I don’t live in the US btw)
@@LonSeidman Where is this deal at?
@@jmsmusic On Amazon, there's a coupon link but it looks like US only.
Can you check is it possible to power Type-C monitor via dock station?
Hey Lon! I bought this contraption thanks to your recommendation and its GREAT, everything works better. But now I've purchased this amazing.... questions arising: 1- I mostly use my MacBook Pro 15" full specs at home-office, so I have to plug it to this Dock. . . . but the questions, my laptop is ALWAYS charging with it. . . . 1: is this going to mess up the battery? 2: do I have to unplug the Dock when not in use? (that would be cumbersome) 3: what about external Samsung portable SSD T5, do I have to always eject it and then unplug it from the dock.....? .... and do it all again 3 or 4 times a day. . . .
Very expensive!!!!. Thanks for the review
I'm waiting to see more Docks using the Goshen Ridge JHL8440 Thunderbolt 4/USB4 Controller. I can imagine this dock with 3 more Thunderbolt/USB4 ports for both multiport accessory architecture and daisy chaining accessory architecture. I would also love to see a move to a 10G Ethernet NIC with support for AVB. AVB would be great for both MACs and Windows. The move to PCIe 4.0 for Thunderbolt is what I'm really waiting for.
Jeez... we got the same identical phone but your S8+ feels way more snappy while browsing the web in DeX mode.
I will NEVER buy an Exynos again.
Will this work on iPad Pro 12.5
Would this work with a Surface Pro 7 or X? These support 2 4K displays at 60 Hz over type C (DisplayPort 1.4 alt mode). The Surface Laptop Go only supports DisplayPort 1.2 alternate mode.
Good luck using those USB ports while running 2 4K 60hz monitors.... with only 10 gbps. lol. I’m glad I did not wait for this dock when it was announced a millennia ago.
This would be perfect except for the lack of thunderbolt pass through for drive bay expansion. So close.
Hey Lon, make the top 5 of those cans !
incredibly thorough!
I think you mean "USB 3.1" when you say USB-C. USB 3.1 and Thunderbolt 3 both use a USB-C plug.
Great video, I have a question. Will it work with usb c 3.1 gen 2 port (which doesn't have Power deliver, display alt mode, and not thunderbolt)?
Sent a free dock for review sent from a company called "pluggable". Major truth in advertising 😀
7Gbps I think you ment mbps a Gbps is 1000mbps so a 10Gbps theoretical thruput means that when we get up to 10,000mbps drives we will still be able to use those cables.
Can this dock be used to have two external monitors in extended mode for Macs?
This dock costs $250. Is there a dock that can do this that costs less?
and what would it do with the charging side cos my Mac mini is mains powered thanks stu
Good explanation. It's like the old "no chain is stronger than its weakest link". Data speed, video services, etc are limited by the lowest spec'd component; computer, OS, dock, & cable.
Nice Review! I have been waiting for the dock manufacturers to start making docks with the ability to power the 16” MBP that requires 96W. I will have to check this out.
Nice review. Good to know if it will have dual display output on an iMac 2020. Thanks
I got the Rreaka USB type C for sixteen ninety nine with Ethernet plug in. Good deal and I am happy.
Having regrets about disposing of my old Mac iicx and plus after seeing the background.
One thing I’ve noticed is that various docks can get quite warm suggesting they are dissipating significant heat over a day
thank you
more docks reviews, please!!!
Lost me at no pass thur thunderbolt
What would be the best solution to connect 3x external monitors to my laptop? Would even more be possible?
Yes, that is technically possible. If you have TB, you can get one of these docks and a USB display adapter like the Pluggable USB to HDMI or the Startech.com USB to VGA (I'm sure Pluggable has a USB to VGA as well). I can't vouch for the quality of the USB video adapter as it is acting like a pseudo video card instead of just passing video from the laptop to the screen.
Your reviews are excellent!
Is this backwards compatible with Thunderbolt 1 on the late 2012 MacBook Pro? (Using a thunderbolt 2 to USB c adapter)
Negative 3 and up
@@LonSeidman thanks, Lon !
Excellent review and educational video!
Can it space dock
Do you know if this can power a dell new XPS 9500 15”?
I am pretty sure the XPS 15 has a 130 watt power supply so it's likely not enough for that. In some cases you might have it not charge the battery but still power the system.
@@LonSeidman thanks!!
Like to see you try out the new atsc 3.0 tv tuner from home run
Unfortunately there are not ATSC 3.0 broadcasters near me just yet.
Hiiiii.... im early 🥺
Thank you for clearly explaining the concept of Thunderbolt passthrough. That is important to MacBook users who want to run two external monitors in extended mode which requires Thunderbolt passthrough.
Excellent review. Once thing maybe can be considered in future review of docks and adapters is their operational temperature. I found some adapters get really hot when driving external monitors. Thank you.
I don't know how anyone could rate this video negatively. This covered everything I needed to know and made me feel a lot more confident in my purchase. Concise and informative.
Man ask these guys will make this as an eGpu.
if* they* will make
Which is better to use...DisplayPort or HDMI.
VGA
@VideoMix Fantasy having to unplug your monitor from the wall and wait for the light to turn off makes me contemplate switching back to the white connector
@VideoMix Fantasy my monitor has a glitch in the software of it where sometimes when it goes to sleep it won't wake back up unless you completely unplug it wait for it to lose complete power and then plug it back in also I googled my issue and my exact monitor was the first one that showed up so it's a very common thing on my middle of monitor
What LG monitor do you own?
Looks very similar to mine. My model is ‘LG 27UD58 27 inch 4K UHD IPS Monitor’.
@@RobertWood042 Thanks!