CalDigit's new Element 5 hub brings more Thunderbolt 5 ports to the Mac

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The new Element 5 Hub from CalDigit won't give you a large array of different ports, but is perfect if you want more Thunderbolt 5 ports, and a few USB-A ones.

Silver electronic dock with multiple ports surrounded by various cables and a smartphone on a dark wooden surface.
The new Element 5 hub -- image credit: CalDigit



When CalDigit released its TS4 dock in February 2022, it rapidly became an AppleInsider favorite because of its speed, its number of ports, and how those ports could deliver plenty of power for charging devices. CalDigit also has a compact Element range and now that includes a Thunderbolt 5-enabled Element 5 hub.

Specifically, it comes with nine ports, of which three are Thunderbolt 5. Those ports are also backwards compatible with both Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4, plus they can deliver up to 15W of power each.

CalDigit claims that they are some of the highest bandwidth ports ever, and on the Mac can drive two monitors up to 8K 60Hz. Those same ports can also act as USB-C and USB-4 ports.

Separately The Element 5 Hub also comes with three USB-A ports and two USB-C ports. All five transfer data at 10 gigabytes per second, and can each supply up to 7.5 watts of power to attached USB devices.

That power comes from a compact 180W power supply unit. That is claimed to enable the hub to supply 90W to the host computer, plus 15W from the Thunderbolt 5 ports.

Two stacked electronic devices with various ports labeled Thunderbolt 5 and USB 3.2 Gen 2, against an orange background.
All the ports on the new Element 5 hub -- image credit: CalDigit



CalDigit claims that it consistently provides 90W to the host computer, where other hubs decrease the charging power as more devices are added.

The new Element 5 is available now in the US for $250.

So far, there haven't been very many Thunderbolt 5 hubs -- yet. We suspect that most vendors are awaiting a recently announced Intel controller chip to take maximum advantage of the new technology.

But Apple has helped popularize Thunderbolt 5 by including it in the M4 Pro Mac mini -- and selling a Thunderbolt 5 cable.



Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    No Ethernet port = waste of money. What were they thinking about? It’s not like it’s a small portable dock
    macxpress
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  • Reply 2 of 10
    Penzipenzi Posts: 29member
    I’ll keep waiting. I would like to replace my existing TB3 docks, not add to them… as Pdybman notes: no Ethernet port, no purchase.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 3 of 10
    Nice, but still too many USB-A ports! 

    I have the Element Thunderbolt 4 hub. It’s great, except that it has 4 USB-A ports. That’s four too many. 
    I wish it had ONLY USB-C ports, same for the Element Thunderbolt 5 hub.

    Honestly, what is it with companies still saddling devices with USB-A ports? 
    My keyboard and trackball use USB-A. My supposedly Thunderbolt 4 monitor has 4 USB-A ports. Huh?

    I’ve bought a bunch of cables that go from USB-Whatever to USB-C.

    When will USB-A go away?
    commentzillaskippingrock
     2Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 4 of 10
    Nice, but still too many USB-A ports! 

    I have the Element Thunderbolt 4 hub. It’s great, except that it has 4 USB-A ports. That’s four too many. 
    I wish it had ONLY USB-C ports, same for the Element Thunderbolt 5 hub.

    Honestly, what is it with companies still saddling devices with USB-A ports? 
    My keyboard and trackball use USB-A. My supposedly Thunderbolt 4 monitor has 4 USB-A ports. Huh?

    I’ve bought a bunch of cables that go from USB-Whatever to USB-C.

    When will USB-A go away?
    I agree. I have so little use for USB-A. All of my data cables would be USB-C if I had more USB-C ports. One USB-A on the front and one on the back is more than enough.

    The only thing I like about USB-A over USB-C is that the connection is more stable if the cable is wiggled.
    jeffharris
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 5 of 10
    The CalDigit and OWC docks both have uses with fast/large sustained data transfers 1TB / 2TB+, which cause the drives to be unmounted.  It was first noticed with SSDs but it also affects HDDs. Seems to have something to due with power management, even though SSD'd use very little power and self-powered HHDs are, well, self-powered.
    skippingrock
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  • Reply 6 of 10
    There is absolutely no use for a USB-A port. Just give me all Thunderbolt-C ports and maybe a few USC-C ports. 

    If I want to plug in something that actually needs USB-A then I can use my USB-C to USB-A adapters. Ethernet, maybe but why not just buy a Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter? That way when you go on the road you can take that with you and use it there? Any drives or other devices should have their connector cords upgraded to a USB-C host-side equivalent; in some cases you may even end up with a faster device because the old USB-A cord is the bottleneck. That happened for a couple of my external SSDs. 

    But yeah, ditch the USB-A ports entirely, use adapters or upgraded cords, and forward think. 
    jeffharris
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 7 of 10
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,150member
    I don't understand the need not just to place way too many USB-A ports, but to place non-TB-enabled USBc ports on the front.  I'm buying a Thunderbolt hub.  Make all USBc ports thunderbolt enabled, or don't put them on to begin with.

    Does this mean that I can't plug in my external Thunderbolt3 SSD drive in the front ports of this hub?
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 8 of 10
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,862member
    sflocal said:
    I don't understand the need not just to place way too many USB-A ports, but to place non-TB-enabled USBc ports on the front.  I'm buying a Thunderbolt hub.  Make all USBc ports thunderbolt enabled, or don't put them on to begin with.

    Does this mean that I can't plug in my external Thunderbolt3 SSD drive in the front ports of this hub?
    It looks like the front USB-C ports are USB 3.2 Gen 2 10GHz ports, not Thunderbolt. If your external Thunderbolt drive can fall back to using USB 3.2 Gen 2 for compatibility it would work, but it won't be using Thunderbolt protocol.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 9 of 10
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,150member
    dewme said:
    sflocal said:
    I don't understand the need not just to place way too many USB-A ports, but to place non-TB-enabled USBc ports on the front.  I'm buying a Thunderbolt hub.  Make all USBc ports thunderbolt enabled, or don't put them on to begin with.

    Does this mean that I can't plug in my external Thunderbolt3 SSD drive in the front ports of this hub?
    It looks like the front USB-C ports are USB 3.2 Gen 2 10GHz ports, not Thunderbolt. If your external Thunderbolt drive can fall back to using USB 3.2 Gen 2 for compatibility it would work, but it won't be using Thunderbolt protocol.
    I’ll take that as a “no”.  I have a TB3 SSD from OWC.  It does not fall back to USB.  

    Lame.  There’s zero excuse for Caldigit to not put a TB5 port in the front of their TB5 hub.  Just silly.
    jeffharris
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 10 of 10
    So, how does the built-in power supply work with a MacBook Pro that charges with the MagSafe cable and port, NOT Thunderbolt/USB-C port?

    I guess that’s a wasted power supply.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
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