Best Thunderbolt docks 2022: Extend your laptop’s capabilities

With Thunderbolt ports turning into extra frequent in laptops, a Thunderbolt dock is usually a crucial accent. Consider the Thunderbolt dock as a extra highly effective, high-speed different to a USB-C hub, including I/O enlargement to your laptop computer within the type of additional ports for mice, keyboards, exterior drives, SD playing cards, and, most significantly, shows. It will possibly even cost your laptop computer and smartphone!

Merely put, laptops are slimming down. And within the quest for a “cleaner” look, many laptop computer makers are forgoing the legacy ports (significantly within the premium fashions), leaving these duties to exterior units.

The most important distinction between Thunderbolt docks and USB-C hubs are worth and bandwidth. USB-C hubs or dongles are far cheaper, however they provide far much less bandwidth. That primarily issues the place show connectivity is worried, however may have an effect on the quantity and kind of exterior exhausting drives, SSDs, and different peripherals that your PC can connect with. Whereas a USB-C hub can assist a single 4K show, usually at an eye-wearying 30Hz refresh charge, Thunderbolt docks can assist as much as two 4K shows at a cushty 60Hz. You can too use Thunderbolt 3 to allow an exterior GPU in your PC. (There’s nothing stopping you from utilizing a USB-C hub with a Thunderbolt dock, both.)

In case your laptop computer features a Thunderbolt port, chances are high it helps the Thunderbolt 3 or Thunderbolt 4 commonplace, each of which offer 40Gbps. Intel helped launch the up to date Thunderbolt 4 specification in July 2020 as a part of its Eleventh-gen “Tiger Lake” Core laptops, and the specification has turn into extra standard on productiveness laptops. The bandwidth of Thunderbolt 4 is sufficient to drive high-resolution shows and shuttle knowledge backwards and forwards between peripherals with out inflicting your show to flicker or your video stream to stutter.

What’s the distinction between Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4, and USB4? The easy reply is that they’re all extraordinarily comparable. The longer reply, explaining the variations, could also be discovered inside our Thunderbolt shopping for information beneath our suggestions. If you wish to study extra about the advantages of a Thunderbolt dock, what to search for when shopping for one, or how you can know whether or not your laptop computer will assist one, you’ll find that in our purchasing information, too.

We outline a Thunderbolt dock as one which provides the ports you want for legacy units, like USB-A and HDMI. We outline a Thunderbolt hub as Thunderbolt-in, Thunderbolt-out. The latter is helpful should you’re among the many small variety of those that personal devoted Thunderbolt shows. (For those who don’t have one, that’s wonderful—simply purchase a Thunderbolt dock as a substitute.)

We outline the “greatest” Thunderbolt docks as a lot by availability as efficiency. If a dock goes out of inventory, it could be pulled from our listings. Why you possibly can’t purchase a Thunderbolt dock could also be as a lot to do with the easy (in)availability of elements as anything. The founding father of dock maker Plugable explains this in additional element in our story.

The most effective Thunderbolt docks

We lead off with our picks for greatest finances docks, which generally boast a compact kind issue and simply two show outputs. They’re normally bus-powered, which means they’ll require an exterior charger for energy and to energy any linked telephones.

Many of the “full-featured” Thunderbolt docks ship with the type of sizeable energy bricks usually related to gaming laptops. Not like our finances choices, these docks are actually desk-bound. Anticipate the 40Gbps bandwidth frequent to all Thunderbolt 3 docks to be shared amongst a surfeit of ports, together with a number of USB-A ports, a USB-C port or two, SD card slots, and extra. Audio jacks are frequent, and it’s possible you’ll even discover an exterior Thunderbolt 3 port as properly for daisy-chaining extra units. All of these ports take up house, so a mannequin that may be positioned on its edge or vertically is healthier for cramped work surfaces.

IOGear Quantum Twin Mode Thunderbolt 3 Dock Professional (GTD737) – Finest finances Thunderbolt dock

Execs

• Nice mixture of options
• Price range worth
• 60W of passthrough charging energy

Cons

• Two DisplayPort ports restrict show I/O choices
• Is likely to be troublesome to seek out in shops

About the one knock in opposition to IOgear’s GTD737 is its use of two DisplayPort 1.2 ports on the rear of the dock, which function the one devoted show outputs. (We suspect HDMI is extra standard.) In our testing, an HDMI-to-DisplayPort adapter didn’t work, both, which signifies that you’ll should personal a show with this port connection.

In any other case, this dock is great, offering virtually all of the options you’ll need at an inexpensive worth: a 10Gbps USB-A port on the entrance for 7.5W smartphone charging; on the rear, two 5Gbps USB-A ports for legacy mice and keyboards and two 10Gbps USB-C ports for additional enlargement. There’s additionally a gigabit ethernet port and a headphone jack. The two.3-foot Thunderbolt 3 cable provides 60W in your laptop computer through the related 135W energy brick.

The efficiency was rather less than we anticipated, dropping 1 p.c of the frames in our 4K YouTube take a look at—a little bit of jitter that was noticeable, although not annoying. The dock warmed beneath load, however by no means bought scorching. On one event, one of many USB-C ports didn’t acknowledge our take a look at SSD, however powering the dock on and off solved the issue.

If the DisplayPort difficulty isn’t a priority and also you don’t thoughts an influence brick, this IOgear dock is an excellent finances alternative. It’s truly our most well-liked Thunderbolt dock, although provide shortages and out-of-stock notifications have pushed costs sky-high — quickly, we hope.

Belkin Thunderbolt 3 Dock Core – Finest finances Thunderbolt dock runner-up

Execs

• Compact
• HDMI 2.0 + DisplayPort 1.4 port covers two shows

Cons

• Unlabeled USB-A ports look an identical
• Bus-powered

Belkin’s Thunderbolt 3 Dock Core arrived in bare-bones packaging, and the product is equally unadorned: It’s a well designed “powered” Thunderbolt 3 journey dock, and a cheap one as properly.

At an almost sq. 5.2 x 6.5 x 1.5 inches, the Thunderbolt Dock Core black doesn’t take up a lot room, and the included 8-inch Thunderbolt 3 twine supplies ample size for flexibility. Ports are adequately spaced out across the flat, black plastic dice, with HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4 ports offering a secure 4K/60Hz expertise to each of my 4K shows. There’s gigabit ethernet and a 3.5mm audio jack, however good luck telling the USB 3.1 and USB 2.0 Kind A ports aside—they’re not labeled.

Save for the irritating lack of labels on the USB-A ports, the Dock Core labored as anticipated, with stable efficiency. The plastic shell by no means warmed to worrisome ranges.

There’s one catch: The extra USB-C port on the Dock is a vanilla USB-C port that must be linked to a 60W charger to energy the dock—which isn’t equipped. That’s wonderful in case your laptop computer costs with a USB-C charger; if it doesn’t, you’ll want to purchase one. Which means additional expense and one thing else to hold. In any other case, the dearth of a charger definitely saves house whereas on the go.

Plugable TBT3-UDZ Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station – Finest total Thunderbolt dock

Execs

• Tons of ports
• Area-saving vertical stand

Plugable’s TBT3-UDZ is solely the most effective Thunderbolt 3 docks we’ve examined, although it’s additionally one of the vital costly, too. With a boatload of ports, together with choices for utilizing DisplayPort or HDMI for each shows, the TBT3-UDZ affords flexibility after which some. There’s even a sturdy stand to mount it vertically in your desk.

On the entrance, the TBT3-UDZ features a 10Gbps USB-C and a 10Gbps USB-A (USB 3.1) port, microSD and SD card slots, plus a headphone jack. On the rear, 5 USB-A (USB 3.0 ports) and gigabit ethernet complement a pair of DisplayPort 1.4 ports and HDMI 2.0 ports. (It’s all based mostly on Intel’s Titan Ridge chipset.) A 29-inch 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 cable connects the dock to your laptop computer, and is able to delivering 96W of energy over a 2.6-foot Thunderbolt 3 cable. Naturally, it is a powered dock, with a hefty 170W (!) charger.

Efficiency was wonderful, driving each 4K shows at 60Hz, and transferring our take a look at file at near peak speeds whereas concurrently taking part in again two 4K/60Hz movies on each shows over ethernet. The engaging gun-metal chassis by no means warmed uncomfortably, although it’s a whopping 4.1 kilos—in all probability heavier than the laptops it’s driving. The additional weight, plus the chassis stand, retains the TBT3-UDZ rock-solid whereas in its vertical, space-saving orientation. It measures about 8 inches lengthy/excessive by 3.75 inches vast, and an inch thick.

A two-year guarantee protecting restricted components and labor is included.

Plugable TBT3-UDC3 Thunderbolt Dock – Finest total Thunderbolt dock runner-up

Execs

• A cheaper model of the Plugable TBT3-UDZ
• Provides 96W of energy

Cons

• Simply two show ports, however an adapter dongle is included

Plugable’s TBT3-UDC3 is a smaller, less-expensive model of the TBT3-UDZ, with much less I/O flexibility however extra focus. The dock features a pair of USB-A 5Gbps ports on the entrance for a mouse and keyboard, after which a second USB-A (10Gbps) port on the again. A pair of two 10Gbps USB-C ports sit alongside it for additional enlargement. There’s gigabit ethernet, too. Neatly, Plugable contains one HDMI 2.0 port and a DisplayPort 1.4 port for show connections, plus an HDMI-to-DisplayPort dongle within the field in case you personal two HDMI shows.

A 2.6-foot Thunderbolt 3 cable provides 96W of energy to a laptop computer, which is great.

Efficiency was on par with the TBT-UDC3, with little or no warmth emitted from the dock. On one event the dock stopped working, however resumed working a second time after we plugged it in per week or so later. This looks as if an in any other case wonderful dock, however we’ve barely lowered the score due to this. Plugable features a two-year guarantee in case you obtain a nasty unit.

HP Thunderbolt Dock 120W G4 (4J0A2AA) – Finest Thunderbolt dock for enterprise

Execs

• Ports aplenty, plus charging
• Stable efficiency
• No thermal considerations

HP sells two variations of this Thunderbolt dock: the 4J0A2AA (this mannequin) and the 4J0G4AA, which we haven’t examined. The distinction is that the 4J0G4AA features a “combo cable” that provides as much as 280W of energy through the mix of a Thunderbolt 4 cable plus a barrel charger, for HP workstations. The 4J0A2AA provides as much as 100W to the host laptop computer through the Thunderbolt cable—nonetheless among the many highest we’ve seen. Even then, there have been no thermal points in any respect.

This squat little plastic dice feels much more stable than its rated 1.68lb would point out, and sprouts ports to all sides: a 10Gbps USB-C port able to 15W charging on the entrance, a 5Gbps USB-A port on both facet plus two extra on the again, all able to 7.5W out. The again additionally homes two DisplayPort 1.4 ports, an HDMI 2.0 port, and a USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port designed for video. We solely examined this dock with two 4K/60 exterior shows, nevertheless it’s able to driving three 4K/60 shows offered you will have a DisplayPort 1.4-capable laptop computer with Show Stream Compression, or DSC.

There’s additionally an ethernet port able to 2.5Gbps in addition to one other Thunderbolt 4 port outlet. The ports are crammed along with barely sufficient house for DisplayPort cables or USB keys, however a few the skin ports are barely skewed outwards to offer extra room, a pleasant contact.

This business-oriented dock contains vPro assist and the facility button/LED can be utilized to show itself on and off —however solely when linked to supported HP notebooks. The throughput is great, assembly expectations on the entire ports. The entrance USB-C port delivered 15W of energy, because the HP’s handbook says it ought to—though, weirdly, the dock misplaced reference to the shows for a couple of seconds when a smartphone was linked. We anticipate a firmware improve might remedy these points, and we don’t take into account them dealbreakers due to the charging capabilities of the opposite ports. When notified of our findings, HP reps stated they couldn’t reproduce our outcomes.

Kensington SD5700T Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station – Finest Thunderbolt 4 dock

Execs

• Meets the extra aggressive Thunderbolt 4 specification
• 90W of charging energy

Cons

• The priciest dock we have examined

We actually appreciated the construct of the SD5700T, however the worth is slightly daunting given the sturdy competitors.

Do you’ll want to purchase a Thunderbolt 4 dock over a Thunderbolt 3 dock? No, probably not. As we clarify in our purchaser’s information beneath, the capabilities of each are largely an identical. However that is the very best Thunderbolt 4 dock we’ve seen, if the spec issues to you.

The Kensington SD5700T Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station has one upstream Thunderbolt 4/USB4 port to connect with your pc, and three downstream Thunderbolt 4/USB4 ports to attach different units, together with exterior shows. As well as, the dock provides three USB-A ports (10Gbps, charging at 4.5W) and a single USB-A port (480Mbps) that may cost at 7.5W. As well as, the SD5700T supplies gigabit ethernet, a UHS-II SD card reader, and a 3.5mm audio jack. The dock is powered by a fairly highly effective 180W energy provide, amongst the best we’ve examined. This could present loads of energy (90W) for linked units.

We additionally love the lights that present energy and connectivity standing, plus the On/Off button that may relieve pressure in your linked laptop computer’s battery.

Plugable 5-in-1 Thunderbolt Hub (USB4-HUB3A) – Finest Thunderbolt 4 hub

Execs

• Extremely compact
• USB-C to HDMI adapter included
• 15W/60W of charging energy to telephones/PCs

Cons

• Restricted ports
• Finest for Thunderbolt-attached shows

The Mac world tends to emphasise Thunderbolt-connected shows excess of the Home windows world, so this is likely to be a distinct segment product for many of you. However this factor is tiny (4.75 x 2.88 x 0.5in.) even when, sadly, the related energy brick isn’t. It’s going to ship 15W of energy through the Thunderbolt/USB-C connections to cost smartphones, and 60W to the host PC.

We lack Thunderbolt-connected shows amongst our take a look at mattress, so we are able to’t absolutely take a look at this. However the field does embrace a USB-C to HDMI adapter, so you possibly can definitely join one show natively out of the field, then connect a USB-C hub to attach one other. There’s a standalone 10Gbps USB-A port, as properly. Positive, connecting a second system feels like a trouble—however for Plugable’s worth $180 or so, you may find yourself buying and selling saving some money for a bit of additional muddle.

Once more, we couldn’t take a look at this dock to its full capabilities. However when it comes to charging energy and throughput, it lived as much as its specs. The hub did get a bit heat, however its steel development dissipates warmth successfully.

Anker Apex 12-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Dock – Finest Thunderbolt dock for HDMI shows

Execs

• Two HDMI ports
• An additional 40Gbps downstream Thunderbolt 4 port
• Energy button

The Apex Thunderbolt 4 Dock options one 40Gbps upstream TB4 port (that connects to the pc with the included Thunderbolt 4 cable) and one 40Gbps downstream TB4 port for different units, equivalent to a quick SSD storage drive. The upstream Thunderbolt port can provide as much as 90W of energy to your laptop computer, whereas the downstream port can cost different units at 15W.

Anker’s inclusion of two HDMI ports means you don’t want any adapters to attach shows, offered you personal two with HDMI connections. In whole, the dock helps the 2 Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports (10Gbps, 4.5W of energy), one other two USB-A ports (480Mbps, 4.5W), and a USB-C port (10Gbps, 20W) alongside gigabit ethernet, a UHS-II SD card reader, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The dock is powered, with a 120W energy provide.

An additional plus is an influence button on the entrance in order that your laptop computer isn’t receiving a possible cost when it’s not wanted, and might preserve the dock’s temperature down at night time.

We predict the Anker Apex in addition to the Plugable TBT3-UDC each make wonderful options to our total decide for the very best Thunderbolt dock.

CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 3 Plus (CalDigit TS3 Plus) – Most versatile Thunderbolt dock for I/O

Execs

• Ports, ports, ports
• Vertical orientation, no stand obligatory

Cons

• Solely a single DisplayPort port

CalDigit’s Thunderbolt Station 3 Plus is without doubt one of the hottest Thunderbolt 3 docks obtainable, and it’s simple to see why: a space-saving vertical orientation, 87W charging, gobs of accessible ports, and even niceties like a S/PDIF optical connection and an exterior Thunderbolt jack for daisy-chaining units.

The TS3 Plus measures 5.15 x 3.87 x 1.57 inches, and weighs 1.04 kilos. Although it lacks a supporting stand, it rested simply in a vertical place. CalDigit contains small rubber toes for positioning the aluminum dock in an horizontal orientation.

Port choice contains: two Thunderbolt 3 ports (one from the laptop computer, and one for an exterior connection), and a single DisplayPort 1.2 port. That’s perfect for a single 4K show, however awkward for 2. The TS3 Plus contains one full-sized SD (SD 4.0 UHS-II) card reader, the S/PDIF port, gigabit ethernet, and two 3.5mm audio jacks—one in, one out. 5 USB Kind A ports are additionally included (all 5Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 1) and two USB-C ports (one 5Gbps port, and one 10Gbps port).

To allow two 4K/60 shows, you’ll want a second USB-C dongle working off both the Thunderbolt or USB-C dock—or a forward-looking show with a built-in Thunderbolt/USB-C connector. These are nonetheless uncommon within the Home windows world.

Daisy-chaining the Thunderbolt port to allow a second monitor labored wonderful, although the connection dropped momentarily on each shows when taking part in again video on each shows and transferring information. In any other case, high-bandwidth video playback went utterly easily. The exterior audio jack additionally didn’t work initially, however did on a subsequent retry. CalDigit’s TS3 Plus barely warmed beneath load.

Thunderbolt dock purchaser’s information

For those who’re on the fence about whether or not a Thunderbolt dock is best for you, understanding the solutions to the next questions might enable you to.

How do I do know if my laptop computer has Thunderbolt?

The quick reply: Take a look at the laptop computer’s revealed specs to make certain. A Thunderbolt port could look indistinguishable from a USB-C port, since they each use the identical bodily USB-C connection. Put one other manner, all Thunderbolt ports are USB-C, however not all USB-C ports are Thunderbolt-equipped.

Thunderbolt ports are supposed to have a small lightning-bolt icon to determine them. However some laptop computer makers use an identical lightning-bolt icon to point {that a} USB-C port can be utilized for charging your cellphone, and not for Thunderbolt. Laptop computer makers typically don’t wish to muddle the clear strains of their merchandise by including extra logos, it appears. 

Including to the confusion, you might also see USB-C hubs marketed as “Thunderbolt suitable.” That’s true. You possibly can plug a Thunderbolt dock right into a non-Thunderbolt, generic USB-C port. However it will likely be restricted by the obtainable bandwidth that the port supplies, so it’s considerably misleading in that regard. 

How briskly is Thunderbolt?

Most USB-C ports are constructed on the second-generation USB 3.1 data-transfer commonplace, which transfers knowledge at 10Gbps. Most Thunderbolt 3 ports, the most typical commonplace, switch knowledge at as much as 40Gbps. Thunderbolt 4 differs barely in that it helps a theoretical most of 32Gbps the place knowledge transfers are involved, particularly for exterior storage units.

There are considerably uncommon exceptions: A brand new USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 spec can pair two 10Gbps channels collectively, creating an combination 20Gbps hub. And whereas the overwhelming majority of Thunderbolt 3-equipped laptops are designed with 4 PCIe lanes for a complete of 40Gbps, some laptops solely ship with two PCIe lanes for a complete of 20Gbps. (A Dell assist web page, for instance, particulars its four-lane and two-lane laptops.) Basically, a 20Gbps connection ought to be sufficient for a single 4K monitor working at 60Hz, with a bit of additional bandwidth for different knowledge transfers amongst linked peripherals.

What’s the distinction between Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4, and USB4?

The quick reply: Not that a lot, and we take into account Thunderbolt 3 docks and Thunderbolt 4 docks to be functionally equal for many customers. The longer reply, which we’ll describe beneath, is that there are variations, and parsing the nuances will be complicated. Consider Thunderbolt 4 because the extra restrictive model of Thunderbolt 3, with little room for any gotchas.

Basically, Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 permit as much as 40Gbps most bandwidth, sufficient for 2 4K/60 shows. “As much as” is the important thing phrase: Thunderbolt 3 is simply required to assist a 10Gbps connection, permitting for a single exterior 4K show (a 16 Gbps PCIe connection, paired with USB3.2). Most producers transcend this, nevertheless, and our really helpful docks assist the complete specification (and two 4K shows) until famous. Thunderbolt 3 additionally helps a slower (16Gbps) PCIe connection for connecting to exterior storage. Except you’re enhancing video or utilizing an exterior GPU, this in all probability received’t matter.

Thunderbolt 4 doesn’t permit for any leeway—you’re getting a full-fledged 40Gbps connection (32 Gbps PCIe + USB 3.2), no questions requested. For exterior storage, Thunderbolt 4 helps 32 Gbps of knowledge switch — once more, this actually solely issues for video, exterior GPU connections, or probably video games. Thunderbolt 4 helps “wake on sleep” from an exterior keyboard or mouse, which lets you faucet your exterior keyboard or wiggle your mouse to wake your PC up, which is useful. Thunderbolt 4 permits for longer cables and extra Thunderbolt ports on laptops, too.

USB4 is basically a subset of Thunderbolt 4, primarily designed as an an I/O specification. USB4 can solely assist one show, and producers can select whether or not it helps a 20Gbps connection or a 40Gbps connection, in accordance with Thunderbolt dock designer Plugable. As a subset of Thunderbolt 4, a USB4 system will run simply wonderful plugged right into a Thunderbolt 4 port. However a Thunderbolt 4 system could not work as anticipated when plugged into what’s particularly a USB4 port. Don’t fear about this an excessive amount of, because it’s uncommon to see a USB4 hub. As an alternative, most hubs and docks are marketed as Thunderbolt 4, whereas most units (like an exterior SSD) are designed round USB4.

Notice that Thunderbolt 3 and 4 require at the least 15W to energy units plugged into the Thunderbolt port, equivalent to a bus-powered exhausting drive. USB4 requires simply half that.

Gadget maker Anker has a pleasant abstract of the entire technical options related to Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4, and USB4, should you actually wish to get into the wonderful distinctions.

Anker

Nearly each Thunderbolt system will ship with its personal cable. We’d advocate that you just use Thunderbolt 3 cables with Thunderbolt 3 merchandise, and Thunderbolt 4 cables with Thunderbolt 4 merchandise.

What to search for in a Thunderbolt dock

Ports, cables, peripherals: These are the three main issues when shopping for a Thunderbolt dock. 

We’re starting to see the Thunderbolt dock market break down into a couple of other ways. First, there’s the finances versus full-featured docks we’ve highlighted above. However you additionally may even see one thing just like the USB hubs of previous, too: Units that take Thunderbolt in after which present a number of USB-C (together with Thunderbolt) ports out. There are a small variety of shows with Thunderbolt inputs, which will be plugged straight into these hubs. Do you will have an present low-cost USB-C dongle? You possibly can definitely plug that in right into a Thunderbolt dock and add much more I/O performance.

Principally, take into account what you’ll wish to plug into the dock as a information for purchasing one. We favor units with ports inbuilt (equivalent to HDMI, USB-A, and so forth) because the USB-C system ecosystem remains to be in its infancy. However ask your self some questions. Would you like a fundamental Thunderbolt dock, with only a pair of HDMI ports for connecting two shows? Does an SD card slot matter? What number of USB Kind A peripherals do you propose to connect? Do you wish to use the Thunderbolt cable to cost your laptop computer, too?

Cables will be an unexpectedly necessary consideration, too. Nearly each dock ships with a Thunderbolt cable. However take into account the shows you personal (sometimes HDMI or DisplayPort) and take into account whether or not the dock will accommodate them.

Verify your laptop computer’s energy provide. Does it plug into your laptop computer through USB-C? In that case, a Thunderbolt dock will doubtless energy it. You’ll want to know how the dock provides energy, although. Verify your laptop computer’s charger to learn the way a lot energy it provides, and the way a lot the dock might want to provide to switch it. In case your laptop computer or units aren’t receiving sufficient energy, you may even see a warning pop up.

A “bus-powered” dock received’t include an exterior charger within the package deal, saving some price, house, and energy considerations. A dock with “energy supply” will provide its personal energy and cost your laptop computer and/or a cellphone through your laptop computer’s present USB-C charger. (Chances are high that it received’t supply the quick-charging capabilities premium smartphones supply, although.) The extra energy your dock provides, the larger the power to cost your laptop computer and any bus-powered units. It is a gotcha most individuals don’t take into consideration, so should you plan to attach a number of bus-powered exhausting drives or SSDs, purchase a dock with a hefty energy provide. (USB keys, alternatively, require tiny quantities of energy. Don’t fear about these.)

There’s another consideration: the size of the Thunderbolt cable between your laptop computer and the dock itself. You’ll have seen or heard about USB-C ports sporting out on smartphones; a unfastened or wobbly connector on Thunderbolt docks could cause screens to unexpectedly flicker or lose connection. Contemplate how a lot stress shall be placed on a cable. A Thunderbolt dock that’s dangling from a Thunderbolt port will stress the bodily connector. You don’t need that!

For those who’re a Mac consumer who has stumbled throughout this text, welcome. However please bear in mind that early Apple MacBook Execs powered by Intel silicon supported as much as two 4K shows. The primary MacBook Execs powered by the Apple M1 chip solely assist a single 4K show. Many Mac customers have just lately left detrimental critiques on Thunderbolt docks on procuring websites due to this. Purchase a PC!

How we examined

We’re working from the premise that you just’re shopping for a Thunderbolt dock for its distinctive capability to connect with two 4K screens at 60Hz. Decrease resolutions ought to be a lot simpler to run efficiently. Our first take a look at merely linked every dock to a pair of 4K/60Hz shows, every of which might settle for DisplayPort and HDMI cabling, and made certain there have been no visible artifacts at 60Hz decision.

Second, we checked to see whether or not the obtainable ports delivered the bandwidth we’d anticipate, connecting them to an exterior SSD and transferring a set of take a look at information over the Thunderbolt cable and port. We additionally used AJA’s System Check software to double-check our numbers and take a look at whether or not learn and write speeds had been constant. 

Lastly, we spot-checked the obtainable energy draw of the hubs and ports with a USB energy meter, in addition to merely connecting them to bus-powered units to see if they may ship sufficient energy to permit them to function. Right here, we found that one in every of our testing laptops didn’t provide sufficient energy working on battery to energy a bus-powered Thunderbolt dock, so we enlisted a second, completely different laptop computer as a backup.