The beautiful Silent ThunderBolt-3 PC • Hacker News Board

Re: The beautiful Silent ThunderBolt-3 PC

#11

Post by dijit » Wed, Dec 23, 2020, 1:51 PM UTC

Something I highly recommend avoiding (though it may look tempting) is the TB16 thunderbolt dock from dell.

There is something really screwy with the USB controller in that device, the ETH is on the USB hub and corrupts Ethernet frames, under Linux you can force disable hardware offloaded CRC checksumming as a workaround, but still the USB devices that are directly connected can just stop functioning.

It also has the annoying quirk that it enumerates the display ports differently each time, which means your operating system has almost no chance of redrawing your desktop when you plug it back in.

Looks good on the spec sheet though, and will probably be flooding the used market as companies try to offload them. I tried 5 different ones from different batches, they all had the same characteristics.

Didn’t try the WD19 yet, but I hope that’s better.

Re: The beautiful Silent ThunderBolt-3 PC

#12

Post by tomekowal » Wed, Dec 23, 2020, 1:56 PM UTC

I see standing desk and a monitor arm. My question is: does the arm wobble much when you adjust height? If not: what kind of arm are you using?

Re: The beautiful Silent ThunderBolt-3 PC

#13

Post by jrockway » Wed, Dec 23, 2020, 2:01 PM UTC

treve wrote: post #2

I just also started looking into Thunderbolt 3 docks after only getting 4k30hz. $400+ CAD is so much though! Im curious if anyone here has recommendations

I just plug both computers into the monitor, and switch the keyboard with a $5 USB switch. (Actually, I stopped using multiple computers a few years ago, but that's what I did back then.)

Re: The beautiful Silent ThunderBolt-3 PC

#14

Post by mikepurvis » Wed, Dec 23, 2020, 2:03 PM UTC

dijit wrote: post #11

Something I highly recommend avoiding (though it may look tempting) is the TB16 thunderbolt dock from dell. There is something really screwy with the USB controller in that device, the ETH is on the USB hub and corrupts Ethernet frames, under Linux you can force disable hardware offloaded CRC checksumming as a workaround, but still the USB devices that are directly connected can just stop functioning. It also has the…

That's a bummer to hear; I have the WD15 dock through work and it's been excellent; I have a bunch of complaints about the XPS itself (power management, for example), but that dock has been great.

Re: The beautiful Silent ThunderBolt-3 PC

#15

Post by orev » Wed, Dec 23, 2020, 2:03 PM UTC

tomekowal wrote: post #12

I see standing desk and a monitor arm. My question is: does the arm wobble much when you adjust height? If not: what kind of arm are you using?

As someone with a similar setup: yes, it can wobble a little; no, it’s not a big deal and the reviewers who make it into such a big issue are just inventing things to complain about.

Re: The beautiful Silent ThunderBolt-3 PC

#16

Post by ianai » Wed, Dec 23, 2020, 2:07 PM UTC

mikepurvis wrote: post #14

dijit wrote: post #11

Something I highly recommend avoiding (though it may look tempting) is the TB16 thunderbolt dock from dell. There is something really screwy with the USB controller in that device, the ETH is on the USB hub and corrupts Ethernet frames, under Linux you can force disable hardware offloaded CRC checksumming as a workaround, but still the USB devices that are directly connected can just stop functioning. It also has the…

That's a bummer to hear; I have the WD15 dock through work and it's been excellent; I have a bunch of complaints about the XPS itself (power management, for example), but that dock has been great.

For the prices, these docks have no excuse for bad behavior.

Re: The beautiful Silent ThunderBolt-3 PC

#17

Post by bluedino » Wed, Dec 23, 2020, 2:08 PM UTC

All the docks seem like they are bad in their own way. Almost every one has a flaw. I can understand why Apple didn't bother making one.

Re: The beautiful Silent ThunderBolt-3 PC

#18

Post by horsawlarway » Wed, Dec 23, 2020, 2:08 PM UTC

bootlooped wrote: post #6

There's something I don't understand: does switching between laptop and pc with that hub require unplugging one usb c cable from the back of the hub and plugging the other one in? I'm very interested in a similar setup. So far I don't think I've figured out an elegant solution. My current solution is to have both devices plugged into the monitor, and use a usb hub to share the peripherals, manually moving the cable t…

I had the same problem earlier this year - I settled on a similar approach, but I use a usb switch so I don't have to unplug/replug anything on swap.

Here's the exact model I ended up getting (I'm not affiliated in any way) https://www.amazon.com/UGREEN-Selector-Computers-Peripheral-...

Now I can plug my laptop into my dock, and just press a button to switch all my usb devices between machines.

It's actually a really nice workflow, nice enough that sometimes I'll leave the desktop up on my second monitor playing music or videos when I'm doing heavy processing on my work laptop, and just occasionally switch my mouse/keyboard between them with a button press.

Re: The beautiful Silent ThunderBolt-3 PC

#19

Post by Latty » Wed, Dec 23, 2020, 2:12 PM UTC

dijit wrote: post #8

tmakks wrote: post #5

Which CPU did he use? And why is there a Macbook on all drawings? How is it related to the actual silent PC?

Ryzen 5 2600 is the cpu listed on the original spec sheet. I don’t think it supports thunderbolt though.

The Thunderbolt in this case is coming from the chipset on the motherboard, not the CPU. He lists the motherboard as an X570 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB3 which supports 2nd gen Ryzen, and which has that support built in.

Re: The beautiful Silent ThunderBolt-3 PC

#20

Post by test1235 » Wed, Dec 23, 2020, 2:13 PM UTC

dijit wrote: post #11

Something I highly recommend avoiding (though it may look tempting) is the TB16 thunderbolt dock from dell. There is something really screwy with the USB controller in that device, the ETH is on the USB hub and corrupts Ethernet frames, under Linux you can force disable hardware offloaded CRC checksumming as a workaround, but still the USB devices that are directly connected can just stop functioning. It also has the…

I can echo this - our company runs off dell machines and our laptops came with these docks.

Despite (in happier times) having to leave my desk frequently for meetings, with my laptop, I'd rather faff about with plugging and unplugging multiple cables than have to deal with the frustration of peripherals randomly losing connection while you're in the middle of working.