Should you get a Thunderbolt Dock for Mac? Also, Hub vs Docking Station!
I’ve covered Thunderbolt docks and hubs for a while, and use and recommend them, but many of you have questions. Here are the common ones, to help you decide whether to get one, and my pick for the best Thunderbolt dock.
Do you even need a dock?
A dock expands your computer’s connectivity. Macs range from severely limited ports (the M1 MacBook Air) to about 11 on the Mac Studio, with the iMac and MacBook Pro in between. If you need extra USB ports for drives and accessories, a card reader for camera gear, more audio options, or Ethernet for more reliable internet, a dock may be what you need.
I use one at my desk for my MacBook Pro, connecting my external displays, SSDs and Ethernet. I use the SD slot on my CalDigit TS4 along with the MacBook’s, because I pull from multiple cards at once, and the dock’s is faster. A dock lets me disconnect everything quickly to go mobile, with a one-cable solution when I’m back. There are many options: Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4, different ports, and some with internal SSD slots.
ShockFlo sponsored this video, with its G1 Level 2 EV charger (J1772, in 32 A or 40 A versions, up to about 36 miles of range per hour, IP67-rated, with a wall mount for the garage or portable use for road trips). With the 32 A version, I added 60 miles to my EV in just over two hours.
Dock versus hub
The line is blurry these days. Generally, hubs are smaller with fewer ports and mostly unpowered (some pass power through if you connect your laptop charger to the hub), and I find them better for a laptop bag, like connecting to a conference room projector. Docks are larger, with more ports, and powered, better for a regular desk setup, and can power a laptop with up to 98 W.
Thunderbolt versus USB-C
It’s confusing because Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4 and USB all use the same USB-C connector. To keep it simple: USB-C is generally up to 10 Gb/s, while Thunderbolt 3 and 4 are up to 40 Gb/s. Some USB specs reach 20 Gb/s, and USB4 reaches 40 Gb/s. Match the dock’s connection to what your computer supports, or choose a Thunderbolt 4 dock, the most compatible, since it handles all the USB specs.
Charging questions
- If the power adapter that came with your computer charges faster than the dock, you can connect both. Your computer negotiates for power, asking “how much can you give me?” and pulls only from the higher-power source, not both. A 60 W dock and a 67 W or 140 W MagSafe charger: it pulls from the higher one.
- On desktop Macs like the iMac or Mac mini, the computer only pulls power from its own supply.
- A display with power delivery connected to a dock won’t send power to the dock.
Displays
How many displays you can use depends on how many the dock supports and how many the Mac supports.
- Most docks and many hubs have one or two outputs (DisplayPort, HDMI, or DisplayPort over USB-C or Thunderbolt). Check resolution and refresh rates in the dock’s documentation.
- Most Intel Macs allow two displays on a Thunderbolt dock.
- The base M1 and M2 (like the MacBook Air) allow a single external display, except the Mac mini, which can do HDMI plus one over USB-C or Thunderbolt.
- Pro and Max chips allow 2 or 4 external displays on MacBooks, or up to 5 on a Mac Studio with M1 Ultra, but only two through a dock.
The curveball is DisplayLink, a chip inside some docks that lets you use additional monitors even if your computer doesn’t support them. You install a driver and it creates virtual displays sent through the dock. I haven’t used them in over ten years, so I have no recommendations, and performance may be lower than native displays, since your computer emulates graphics with the regular processor. If you have recommendations, comment below.
Daisy chaining
If you need a massive number of ports, you can daisy-chain docks and keep one cable. But if you need that many, I’d use another port on the Mac for the second dock: one port gets up to 40 Gb/s, and displays and SSDs can hit that limit. With two ports, each dock gets a full 40 Gb/s.
The best Thunderbolt dock
Surprise: the CalDigit TS4. It has everything I need with the right number of ports, a clean design, a rear-facing host port, 2.5 GbE, and fast-charging front ports for other devices. It’s not cheap, but it’s usually on sale. Everyone’s needs differ: the TS3 Plus may suit you for its optical audio port, or maybe a hub for a couple of USB ports. I compared three Thunderbolt 4 docks in a separate video.
Links
- https://bit.ly/3mQqLv9
- Best Thunderbolt 4 Docks for Mac Compared!
- Get the TS4
- Get the TS3+
- USB-C Docks
- Casekoo Magic Stand Case
- My iPhone Art
- UNLIMITED Cloud Backup for your Mac with Backblaze
- Best Laptop
- Best iPad
- Mac Studio
- Studio Display
- Bamboo Monitor Stand
- CalDigit TS4
- Synology NAS
- RocketQ NVME SSD
- ACASIS NVME enclosure
- OWC Envoy Pro FX SSD
- Logitech MX Keys Mini
- Apple Magic Trackpad
- Logitech MX Master 3
- AirPods Max
- AirPods Max Stand (ETSY)
- Kanto YU2 Speakers
- Satechi Magnetic Charger 2-in-1
- My Camera
- Secondary Lens
- Sennheiser MKH-416 mic
- Zoom F6 recorder
- Rode VideoMic NTG
- Used DJI OSMO 3 Gimbal for some shots
- Tascam DR-10L Audio Recorder with Lav
In this video
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