Akitio's Thunder3 Dock Pro offers 10-gigabit Ethernet to MacBook Pro, iMac owners

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware
Akitio is now shipping the Thunder3 Dock Pro, a new Thunderbolt 3 dock for Macs promising an array of options, including a rare example of a 10-gigabit Ethernet port.

Akitio Thunder3 Dock Pro


The dock also includes a second Thunderbolt 3 port, which like the main connection can deliver up to 60 watts of power. If needed it can be used for USB 3.1 Gen 2 and DisplayPort peripherals.

The product also has a dedicated DisplayPort link, however, as well as an eSATA host port, and a USB 3.1 Gen 1 hub with three Type-A ports. Photographers and videographers can make use of a front-facing card reader that handles CFast 2.0 and SD 4.0 up to 370 megabytes per second.

The dock is the first one to offer a 10-Gigabit Ethernet port in conjunction with other ports. The company also has a standalone Thunderbolt 3 10-Gigabit Ethernet "dongle" as well.

Akitio Thunder3 Dock Pro


To keep heat under control the dock is equipped with its own cooling fan, but Akitio promises that it should run noiselessly in all conditions.

The Thunder3 Dock Pro is available through Amazon for $349.99.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    cmka~+cmka~+ Posts: 40member
    60 watts of PD is not pro. Almost an amazing dock but useless as a single cable solution for 15” MBP without 87watts. 
    mknelson
  • Reply 2 of 7
    polymniapolymnia Posts: 1,080member
    Impressive. Though, as pointed out above, not necessarily ideal for a MBP. I could see one of these on my desk next to the iMac. I'll hold tight until there is another 10Gbe device on my network.

    Maybe by then this device will be on Rev B, with the USB-A ports replaced by USB-C.
  • Reply 3 of 7
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,861administrator
    cmka~+ said:
    60 watts of PD is not pro. Almost an amazing dock but useless as a single cable solution for 15” MBP without 87watts. 
    60W is sufficient to keep even the i9 topped off and not draining. It's enough to actively charge if you're in clamshell mode.
  • Reply 4 of 7
    lordjohnwhorfinlordjohnwhorfin Posts: 851member
    They make really neat TB2 and TB3 accessories. I recently bought a TB2 to dual eSATA (with port multiplier support) and I have 10 SATA drives in an enclosure hooked up to my MacPro for a low cost, high capacity RAID array.
  • Reply 5 of 7
    onehunglowonehunglow Posts: 23member
    cmka~+ said:
    60 watts of PD is not pro. Almost an amazing dock but useless as a single cable solution for 15” MBP without 87watts. 

    Akitio claim that 87watts is only needed when bus powered thunderbolt peripherals are connected to the laptop. Without those, 60watts is sufficient.

    https://www.akitio.com/blog/articles/60w-power-delivery-macbook-pro

    edited October 2018
  • Reply 6 of 7
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,095member
    Mike Wuerthele said:
    cmka~+ said:
    60 watts of PD is not pro. Almost an amazing dock but useless as a single cable solution for 15” MBP without 87watts. 
    60W is sufficient to keep even the i9 topped off and not draining. It's enough to actively charge if you're in clamshell mode.
    I didn't realize 60W was enough in clamshell mode.  I think folks that use these will have it connected to an external monitor and keep the laptop in clamshell.  That's good to know.  95% of the time I use my laptop in clamshell with a monitor and keyboard.

    That being said, I still shake my head as to why these manufacturers do not include USBc ports on the front. It's nice to see the inclusion of SD cards, but lets start seeing those current ports up front too!
  • Reply 7 of 7
    sorryusernamesorryusername Posts: 8member
    It’s a bit strange. 
    They are feeding it with a 6-pin pcie connector yet they only support 60W PD. 

    And they also decided to go with CFast which is kind of sad instead of XQD and CFExpress. 
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