The best Thunderbolt 3 docks for Apple's 2019 13-inch MacBook Pro

24

Comments

  • Reply 21 of 64
    I keep trying to imagine what a current Apple aesthetic Duo 2300c + Duo Dock might look like?
    Perhaps that will phase in with eGPU options thorough 2018? Is an appendage approach Applesque?
  • Reply 22 of 64
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    I keep trying to imagine what a current Apple aesthetic Duo 2300c + Duo Dock might look like?
    Perhaps that will phase in with eGPU options thorough 2018? Is an appendage approach Applesque?
    The port on the back of the Duo to facilitate the mini-dock that you connected, and the full-on dock that sucked in the machine like a VHS tape was pretty beefy, and not at all like the tiny USB-C connectors we've got now.

    It's an interesting idea, but I think the time is past.
    chia
  • Reply 23 of 64
    Table above does not show in full on iMac 47-inch 5K 2017 using Safari in Sierra. Caldigit is the best if you have eSATA disks. It works great! On the other hand, what is the speed of SD card readers? 624MB/s Full Duplex as shown here? https://www.sdcard.org/developers/overview/bus_speed/index.html
    edited December 2017
  • Reply 24 of 64
    I have the Monoprice USB-C Travel Dock and while I suppose its not technically TB3, it sure would be nice to see some of these travel options compared. The TB3 Docks are great if you have a permanent desk setup you're connecting to, I don't, but realize I am probably in the minority.

    BTW, so far the Monoprice unit has performed perfectly, HDMI, VGA and Ethernet work great. Especially nice given how finicky VGA can be with projectors in conference rooms.
  • Reply 25 of 64
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    Maxter said:
    Table above does not show in full on iMac 47-inch 5K 2017 using Safari in Sierra. Caldigit is the best if you have eSATA disks. It works great! On the other hand, what is the speed of SD card readers? 624MB/s Full Duplex as shown here? https://www.sdcard.org/developers/overview/bus_speed/index.html
    As you're aware, since you commented on the reviews, we've discussed speed of the SD card reader in the relevant reviews.
  • Reply 26 of 64
    cgWerkscgWerks Posts: 2,952member
    piersd said:
    I have the Monoprice USB-C Travel Dock and while I suppose its not technically TB3, it sure would be nice to see some of these travel options compared. The TB3 Docks are great if you have a permanent desk setup you're connecting to, I don't, but realize I am probably in the minority.
    What? A laptop user that works away from their desk!? :smile: Yes, I think you're actually in the minority, but I don't think that means mobile devices shouldn't be designed for mobile use. :neutral: Until USB-C becomes more widely used (if it does), this is kind of an unfriendly compromise situation for truly mobile users. (i.e.: it's aimed at the desk-to-desk user.)
  • Reply 27 of 64
    Nearly three years after the release of the Retina Macbook and you still can't buy a hub or dock with a meaningful number of USB-C ports. It's as if the whole industry wants the standard to fail.
  • Reply 28 of 64
    cgWerkscgWerks Posts: 2,952member
    Eric_WVGG said:
    Nearly three years after the release of the Retina Macbook and you still can't buy a hub or dock with a meaningful number of USB-C ports. It's as if the whole industry wants the standard to fail.
    No doubt.... though is there anything to plug into a USB-C hub? Every device I have to plugin is still USB-A. It seems like a chicken and egg problem.

    But, certainly, if it is going to succeed, we're going to need some manufacturers making good quality stuff.
  • Reply 29 of 64
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    If you can't see your comment, please check out the Commenting Guidelines.
  • Reply 30 of 64
    biofloatbiofloat Posts: 1unconfirmed, member
    After reading this and going to at least five vendor websites, it appears that it's not straightforward to connect even two 4K monitors at 60 Hz refresh on a 2017 (or any) Macbook Pro.  Some vendors require you to use a USB-C (or TB3) port with a DisplayPort adapter for one monitor, then connect the other with a DisplayPort output.   Even when that works, there are popular 4K monitors (e.g., Dell P2715Q) that are only supported at 30 Hz.

    My question here is simple:  Can someone name one or more 27"-27" 4K monitors that are supported @ 60Hz in dual config on 2017 MacBook Pro 13"/15" with one or more of the docks listed here?

    Thanks for your help.

    edited May 2018
  • Reply 31 of 64
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    biofloat said:
    After reading this and going to at least five vendor websites, it appears that it's not straightforward to connect even two 4K monitors at 60 Hz refresh on a 2017 (or any) Macbook Pro.  Some vendors require you to use a USB-C (or TB3) port with a DisplayPort adapter for one monitor, then connect the other with a DisplayPort output.   Even when that works, there are popular 4K monitors (e.g., Dell P2715Q) that are only supported at 30 Hz.

    My question here is simple:  Can someone name one or more 27"-27" 4K monitors that are supported @ 60Hz in dual config on 2017 MacBook Pro 13"/15" with one or more of the docks listed here?

    Thanks for your help.

    I’ve used a pair of Acer displays for all of my testing. One connected with the DisplayPort, and the other with a usb c cable to DisplayPort. 

    Both are 4k60
  • Reply 32 of 64
    neilmneilm Posts: 985member
    Surprised the comparo omitted the Promise TB3 dock. We have two or three of them at work and have found them very satisfactory for a reasonable $249. 60W of charging power, support two 4K displays, five USB 3.0 Type A ports, one GigE, card reader. Available at B&H or Amazon.
  • Reply 33 of 64
    cgWerkscgWerks Posts: 2,952member
    As I've been thinking about this a bit more... a new dilemma has become apparent...

    If I were going to get a 13" MBP (my current target, if I go laptop), I'd want an eGPU. The Black Magic one, while a bit expensive, fits the bill nicely, as it is quiet and has some ports. But, if I'm putting storage or other things off the USB 3 ports and others then they have to compete for bandwidth with the bandwidth-hungry GPU.

    So, maybe in real-world, this isn't a huge deal?... but it might also mean I'd need to consider a dock (which for Ethernet, it looks like I'd have to). But, then that means multiple cords from eGPU/dock to the MBP. Pretty soon, the whole unplug laptop and go becomes unplug multiple cables. At least I could use 2 on the same side, but this seems to be quickly turning from a 'neat' solution to cables everywhere. :)

    Maybe once TB4 or TB5 comes along, we'll truly get to a single-cable solution? But, bandwidth requirements will also go up... so unless we're willing to give up performance, it will always be a dream just out of reach? So... then I keep going back to... maybe I'm just a desktop guy. But, what does Apple have for that?
  • Reply 34 of 64
    Thing were better when that shit was just built into the machine, now get of my lawn. 
    cgWerksentropys
  • Reply 35 of 64
    nhtnht Posts: 4,522member
    neilm said:
    Surprised the comparo omitted the Promise TB3 dock. We have two or three of them at work and have found them very satisfactory for a reasonable $249. 60W of charging power, support two 4K displays, five USB 3.0 Type A ports, one GigE, card reader. Available at B&H or Amazon.
    Depending on when it came out it might have been after when the review was published.

    I have the Caldigit TB3+ with USB-C ports and I think it's the best given we've got nearly one of each around here.
    cgWerks
  • Reply 36 of 64
    nhtnht Posts: 4,522member

    cgWerks said:
    As I've been thinking about this a bit more... a new dilemma has become apparent...

    If I were going to get a 13" MBP (my current target, if I go laptop), I'd want an eGPU. The Black Magic one, while a bit expensive, fits the bill nicely, as it is quiet and has some ports. But, if I'm putting storage or other things off the USB 3 ports and others then they have to compete for bandwidth with the bandwidth-hungry GPU.

    So, maybe in real-world, this isn't a huge deal?... but it might also mean I'd need to consider a dock (which for Ethernet, it looks like I'd have to). But, then that means multiple cords from eGPU/dock to the MBP. Pretty soon, the whole unplug laptop and go becomes unplug multiple cables. At least I could use 2 on the same side, but this seems to be quickly turning from a 'neat' solution to cables everywhere. :)

    Maybe once TB4 or TB5 comes along, we'll truly get to a single-cable solution? But, bandwidth requirements will also go up... so unless we're willing to give up performance, it will always be a dream just out of reach? So... then I keep going back to... maybe I'm just a desktop guy. But, what does Apple have for that?
    At most it's 2 cables which is hardly "cables everywhere".

    Whether having a couple USB3 drives on the eGPU will significantly impact performance depends on what you're doing. 
  • Reply 37 of 64
    cgWerkscgWerks Posts: 2,952member
    nht said:
    At most it's 2 cables which is hardly "cables everywhere".

    Whether having a couple USB3 drives on the eGPU will significantly impact performance depends on what you're doing. 
    Sorry, yeah, I'm kind of comparing it to something like a Mac Pro in terms of cables, compared to.... laptop, eGPU, dock, etc. I'm just thinking about desk-space and layout... and how it is becoming less neat than I had originally anticipated.

    For what I'm doing, I suppose I could get by with just the eGPU and everything off of that... are USB 3 Ethernet adapters any good? Otherwise, if I don't need to extend the TB3 chain, I suppose there are better ones for that. I guess my heavy network and external data use is sporadic (and probably not when I need the most GPU demand). Maybe it would all just work together pretty well.
  • Reply 38 of 64
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    cgWerks said:
    nht said:
    At most it's 2 cables which is hardly "cables everywhere".

    Whether having a couple USB3 drives on the eGPU will significantly impact performance depends on what you're doing. 
    Sorry, yeah, I'm kind of comparing it to something like a Mac Pro in terms of cables, compared to.... laptop, eGPU, dock, etc. I'm just thinking about desk-space and layout... and how it is becoming less neat than I had originally anticipated.

    For what I'm doing, I suppose I could get by with just the eGPU and everything off of that... are USB 3 Ethernet adapters any good? Otherwise, if I don't need to extend the TB3 chain, I suppose there are better ones for that. I guess my heavy network and external data use is sporadic (and probably not when I need the most GPU demand). Maybe it would all just work together pretty well.
    I have two cables.

    One to a Caldigit TS3+ with ethernet and my second 4K, and one to my eGPU with my main 4K. 

    When I want, I move my eGPU TB3 connection to my NUC.
    edited July 2018
  • Reply 39 of 64
    cgWerkscgWerks Posts: 2,952member
    Mike Wuerthele said:
    I have two cables.

    One to a Caldigit TS3+ with ethernet and my second 4K, and one to my eGPU with my main 4K. 

    When I want, I move my eGPU TB3 connection to my NUC.
    Oh, that's kind of cool... so then the NUC gets eGPU and monitor, but no disruption to your Mac.
    Do you happen to know if running a MBP in clamshell... maybe even in one of those vertical stands... has any negative impacts? (that's probably how I'd have to realistically set it up for desk space... as I'm pretty limited in that regard.)
  • Reply 40 of 64
    anomeanome Posts: 1,533member
    I keep trying to imagine what a current Apple aesthetic Duo 2300c + Duo Dock might look like?
    Perhaps that will phase in with eGPU options thorough 2018? Is an appendage approach Applesque?
    The port on the back of the Duo to facilitate the mini-dock that you connected, and the full-on dock that sucked in the machine like a VHS tape was pretty beefy, and not at all like the tiny USB-C connectors we've got now.

    It's an interesting idea, but I think the time is past.
    The dock is another one of those Apple things that everyone seemed to pick up on, and then Apple abandoned for other reasons. I don't recall any docking PC laptops before the Duo, but pretty much all my work Windows laptops since then, up until this one, have had docks (and massive dock connectors to attach them). Apple, meanwhile, have moved away from having a massive ingress point for moisture and dust, as well as wasted space. I prefer the single cable approach, and to an extent, it's annoying it's taken this long to get here.
Sign In or Register to comment.