4 ms·

> I needed a docking station, and truth is most of those out there suck Ain't that the truth. The "top of the line" CalDigit docks are incredibly expensive an

> I needed a docking station, and truth is most of those out there suck Ain't that the truth. The "top of the line" CalDigit docks are incredibly expensive and buggy. ...and they're on their 3rd or 4th iteration. Plus not much competition, so not much choice either. If I could go back, I would have also gotten a single ultrawide monitor. Plus Macbook Pros multiple monitor support sucks relative to windows AFAIK.

loloquwowndueo 3y ago
Dell docking stations have been rock-solid for me (the laptop is also a Dell) and they can be had for quite cheap (about 50% retail) on eBay. I also balked at the price of caldigit units.
- bartvk 3y ago
  Be very careful about Dell docking stations. It's not always clear whether they're based on DisplayLink or real Thunderbolt/USB-C. The problem with DisplayLink is that a) you need a driver and b) after installing the driver, some websites don't show video (Udemy for example). This is on macOS, by the way.
  - loloquwowndueo 3y ago
    Mine worked great with the Dell laptop on Linux ;) no drivers and video shows just fine. (Anecdata, I know)
  - cduzz 3y ago
    At $work they had a variety of dell docking stations around the cube farm. I use an old intel macbook running macos, and found that the docking stations with usb-c didn't support secondary video, while those with thunderbolt (usb-c with lightning bolt) worked fine for all docking station needs (secondary video, charging, USB keyboard / mouse / camera / etc). A thunderbolt docking station and a 24 inch 19:10 monitor transformed my home office setup. Big monitor in portrait mode in front of me, macbook to left, old IBM M4-1 (trackpoint) keyboard, webcam perched on top right corner of macbook so I can have windows in either screen and it kinda looks like I'm still looking toward the camera instead of being rude. I've found the biggest problem with the big monitor is where to put the video call camera -- if you're looking anywhere but toward the camera it looks like you're not making eye contact with the people on the screen and it seems "rude" because there's the impression that you're not engaged.
- jrmg 3y ago
  Ditto for Belkin docks. A Belkin Thunderbolt 3 dock can sometimes be had from $20 on eBay if you’re prepared to get one with no cables.
bartvk 3y ago
What's buggy about them? They've been pretty good to me.
cdstamper 3y ago
In my experience CalDigit docks are really solid. The only issue I've ever encountered is caused by my laptop demanding more power than the dock will provide: when I hit a power usage spike sometimes my laptop will briefly drop connection with the dock, causing my display to momentarily lose signal. This is easily fixed by plugging my laptop into a separate USB C power supply.
- jwells89 3y ago
  Same. I’ve had great luck with both the TS3+ and TS4. What few minor gripes I’ve had with them have been resolved by firmware updates. It’s other brands, especially USB-C (rather than Thunderbolt) stuff that I find extraordinarily flaky.

loloquwowndueo 3y ago

Dell docking stations have been rock-solid for me (the laptop is also a Dell) and they can be had for quite cheap (about 50% retail) on eBay. I also balked at the price of caldigit units.

bartvk 3y ago
Be very careful about Dell docking stations. It's not always clear whether they're based on DisplayLink or real Thunderbolt/USB-C. The problem with DisplayLink is that a) you need a driver and b) after installing the driver, some websites don't show video (Udemy for example). This is on macOS, by the way.
- loloquwowndueo 3y ago
  Mine worked great with the Dell laptop on Linux ;) no drivers and video shows just fine. (Anecdata, I know)
- cduzz 3y ago
  At $work they had a variety of dell docking stations around the cube farm. I use an old intel macbook running macos, and found that the docking stations with usb-c didn't support secondary video, while those with thunderbolt (usb-c with lightning bolt) worked fine for all docking station needs (secondary video, charging, USB keyboard / mouse / camera / etc). A thunderbolt docking station and a 24 inch 19:10 monitor transformed my home office setup. Big monitor in portrait mode in front of me, macbook to left, old IBM M4-1 (trackpoint) keyboard, webcam perched on top right corner of macbook so I can have windows in either screen and it kinda looks like I'm still looking toward the camera instead of being rude. I've found the biggest problem with the big monitor is where to put the video call camera -- if you're looking anywhere but toward the camera it looks like you're not making eye contact with the people on the screen and it seems "rude" because there's the impression that you're not engaged.
jrmg 3y ago
Ditto for Belkin docks. A Belkin Thunderbolt 3 dock can sometimes be had from $20 on eBay if you’re prepared to get one with no cables.

bartvk 3y ago

What's buggy about them? They've been pretty good to me.

cdstamper 3y ago

In my experience CalDigit docks are really solid. The only issue I've ever encountered is caused by my laptop demanding more power than the dock will provide: when I hit a power usage spike sometimes my laptop will briefly drop connection with the dock, causing my display to momentarily lose signal. This is easily fixed by plugging my laptop into a separate USB C power supply.

jwells89 3y ago
Same. I’ve had great luck with both the TS3+ and TS4. What few minor gripes I’ve had with them have been resolved by firmware updates. It’s other brands, especially USB-C (rather than Thunderbolt) stuff that I find extraordinarily flaky.