5 ms·

I'm in the market for a dock/hub for my 16" MBP and I'm completely baffled by the lack of decent options. I just want the following 3 capabilities: - 100W PD

by tn890 7y ago

I'm in the market for a dock/hub for my 16" MBP and I'm completely baffled by the lack of decent options. I just want the following 3 capabilities: - 100W PD - 4k60Hz (preferably through USB-C) - Gigabit ethernet I have not been able to find a _single_ docking station or hub that can check these 3 boxes :(

joshmgross 7y ago
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CZPV8DF/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_.PFlEbR25HGF5 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CZPV8DF/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_.P... Is pretty close at 87W
- tn890 7y ago
  I would've compromised for this dock if it were cheaper. A lot cheaper. I'd pay $300 for a dock with 100W PD, 4k60 and gigabit. But this ain't it.
- jdbernard 7y ago
  The power brick for the newest MacBook Pro delivers 96Ws and it will use all of it at high workloads. I've seen mine drain the battery (slowly) when plugged into the 87W power brick from the last-generation MBPs.
nfriedly 7y ago
4k60 + gigabit is not possible without going up to Thunderbolt 3 - there isn't enough bandwidth otherwise. The best you can do is 4k60 + USB 2.0 (so a gigabit Ethernet connection would cap out at ~300mbps in practice.) See https://www.bigmessowires.com/2019/05/19/explaining-4k-60hz-video-through-usb-c-hub/ https://www.bigmessowires.com/2019/05/19/explaining-4k-60hz-... DisplayPort 1.4 changes this, but everything seems to be stuck on 1.2 100W is, of course, possible. I use a CalDigit USB-C Pro Dock with my MBP: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07VL675DT https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07VL675DT - it's TB3, but it can fall back to USC-C (with reduced capabilities, of course). It uses Intel's newer Titan Ridge chipset. The older and more common Alpine Ridge chipset is TB3 only.
- tn890 7y ago
  How does the CalDigit TS3 Plus do it then? Too bad about the 85W.
  - nfriedly 7y ago
    It uses Thunderbolt 3. Same connector, but different protocol with 2-4x the bandwidth.
    - tn890 7y ago
      I fail to see why you assumed I wouldn't want a thunderbolt 3 dock.
      - nfriedly 7y ago
        Because you said "preferably through USB-C".
        tn890 7y ago
        I meant the actual physical connection? Man this whole Type C thing is confusing. Wasn't it supposed to simplify USB?
        nfriedly 7y ago
        Oh, I see. Sorry about that. This stuff is stupidly confusing. For what it's worth, unless you're doing a constant full load on your CPU and GPU, 85 watts is probably enough.
        crooked-v 7y ago
        Thunderbolt 3 is the same form factor as USB-C, but there's different hardware in the cables themselves to enable higher data throughput. If you want to use Thunderbolt 3, the devices on either end need to specifically support it. Note that in the future, Thunderbolt 3 is getting de facto rebranded as USB4 (no space). https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/09/usb4-is-coming-soon-and-will-mostly-unify-usb-and-thunderbolt/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/09/usb4-is-coming-soon-...
leipert 7y ago
Personally I am CalDigit fan and if 85 W are good enough: https://www.caldigit.com/ts3-plus/ https://www.caldigit.com/ts3-plus/
- tn890 7y ago
  I'm reluctant to spend that much if it can't even fully power my laptop.
  - jcheng 7y ago
    I was surprised how little difference using a 60W instead of 87W charger mattered for MBP15, at least according to this article the actual power draw and recharge rate were pretty close: https://9to5mac.com/2018/09/25/60w-usb-c-charger-good-for-all-macbooks/ https://9to5mac.com/2018/09/25/60w-usb-c-charger-good-for-al...
    - hocuspocus 7y ago
      Even plugged to my 45W PD monitor, it's fine in practice. The MBP16 gets so hot and loud when you draw this kind of power anyway, you probably don't want to do that for longer periods of time.

by tn890 7y ago

joshmgross 7y ago

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CZPV8DF/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_.PFlEbR25HGF5 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CZPV8DF/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_.P... Is pretty close at 87W

tn890 7y ago
I would've compromised for this dock if it were cheaper. A lot cheaper. I'd pay $300 for a dock with 100W PD, 4k60 and gigabit. But this ain't it.
jdbernard 7y ago
The power brick for the newest MacBook Pro delivers 96Ws and it will use all of it at high workloads. I've seen mine drain the battery (slowly) when plugged into the 87W power brick from the last-generation MBPs.

nfriedly 7y ago

4k60 + gigabit is not possible without going up to Thunderbolt 3 - there isn't enough bandwidth otherwise. The best you can do is 4k60 + USB 2.0 (so a gigabit Ethernet connection would cap out at ~300mbps in practice.) See https://www.bigmessowires.com/2019/05/19/explaining-4k-60hz-video-through-usb-c-hub/ https://www.bigmessowires.com/2019/05/19/explaining-4k-60hz-... DisplayPort 1.4 changes this, but everything seems to be stuck on 1.2 100W is, of course, possible. I use a CalDigit USB-C Pro Dock with my MBP: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07VL675DT https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07VL675DT - it's TB3, but it can fall back to USC-C (with reduced capabilities, of course). It uses Intel's newer Titan Ridge chipset. The older and more common Alpine Ridge chipset is TB3 only.

tn890 7y ago
How does the CalDigit TS3 Plus do it then? Too bad about the 85W.
- nfriedly 7y ago
  It uses Thunderbolt 3. Same connector, but different protocol with 2-4x the bandwidth.
  - tn890 7y ago
    I fail to see why you assumed I wouldn't want a thunderbolt 3 dock.
    - nfriedly 7y ago
      Because you said "preferably through USB-C".
      - tn890 7y ago
        I meant the actual physical connection? Man this whole Type C thing is confusing. Wasn't it supposed to simplify USB?
        nfriedly 7y ago
        Oh, I see. Sorry about that. This stuff is stupidly confusing. For what it's worth, unless you're doing a constant full load on your CPU and GPU, 85 watts is probably enough.
        crooked-v 7y ago
        Thunderbolt 3 is the same form factor as USB-C, but there's different hardware in the cables themselves to enable higher data throughput. If you want to use Thunderbolt 3, the devices on either end need to specifically support it. Note that in the future, Thunderbolt 3 is getting de facto rebranded as USB4 (no space). https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/09/usb4-is-coming-soon-and-will-mostly-unify-usb-and-thunderbolt/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/09/usb4-is-coming-soon-...

leipert 7y ago

Personally I am CalDigit fan and if 85 W are good enough: https://www.caldigit.com/ts3-plus/ https://www.caldigit.com/ts3-plus/

tn890 7y ago
I'm reluctant to spend that much if it can't even fully power my laptop.
- jcheng 7y ago
  I was surprised how little difference using a 60W instead of 87W charger mattered for MBP15, at least according to this article the actual power draw and recharge rate were pretty close: https://9to5mac.com/2018/09/25/60w-usb-c-charger-good-for-all-macbooks/ https://9to5mac.com/2018/09/25/60w-usb-c-charger-good-for-al...
  - hocuspocus 7y ago
    Even plugged to my 45W PD monitor, it's fine in practice. The MBP16 gets so hot and loud when you draw this kind of power anyway, you probably don't want to do that for longer periods of time.