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USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)

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Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)

#111

Post by CharlesW »

TheNewAndy wrote: post #38
moritonal wrote: post #7

If you want a decent dock you have to spend a bit of money. I went through this pain before accepting the cost and buying a CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Element Hub[1]. Run's two 4k displays at 60Hz, any peripheral and charges my laptop. So good I bought a second. 1. https://www.caldigit.com/thunderbolt-4-element-hub/

It is missing Ethernet, which seems to be important to the author. Having heard positive things about caldigit, I got their USB-C Pro Dock and I get frequent screen blanking with my M1 Mac, and often some of the USB ports fail to work. I don't use the ethernet port, but I think it is a Realtek (so likely the same thing the author is complaining about) I have spoken to caldigit support and so far they have replaced th…

> It is missing Ethernet, which seems to be important to the author.

CalDigit's TS4 has Ethernet (2.5 GbE). I've been a happy TS3 user for years.

https://www.caldigit.com/thunderbolt-station-4/

Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)

#112

Post by bayindirh »

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #107
bayindirh wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually they have a simple USB-C break-out adapter which has a USB-A port, an HDMI port and power-in. It works extremely well. You can connect it to a USB3.0 hub to get a lot of ports. I leave it at my office desk for day to day operation. If you want a proper docking station, a higher end Dell monitor [0] will do with USB-C, display daisy chain and USB-PD. It'll enable single cable connectivity to anything you care…

There's nothing like having to do Johnny Mnemonic cosplay because a manufacturer won't let their product be sullied with holes.

I don't think a MacBook Air M1 has a lot places to add ports [0]. The latest generation of MacBook Pros bring a lot of the ports back [1], so that point doesn't hold anymore.

Also, of all the MacBook Air users I know, I'm the heaviest user in terms of processor load, and given that it's the company computer, it wouldn't be my first choice for a personal MacBook (in fact, I have a personal MacBook Pro).

At the end of the day, having a featherweight computer which can do all my work related tasks and some heavier stuff and doesn't needs its charger and ports most of the time is really a spoiling thing. However, for heavy development and photographic work, nothing beats on board ports and a bigger screen.

[0]: https://www.apple.com/v/macbook-air/n/images/specs/mba_charg...

[1]: https://images.macrumors.com/t/MsiVifkTbdhdqh2z2tvJZXIuH80=/...

Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)

#113

Post by iends »

CharlesW wrote: post #111
TheNewAndy wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is missing Ethernet, which seems to be important to the author. Having heard positive things about caldigit, I got their USB-C Pro Dock and I get frequent screen blanking with my M1 Mac, and often some of the USB ports fail to work. I don't use the ethernet port, but I think it is a Realtek (so likely the same thing the author is complaining about) I have spoken to caldigit support and so far they have replaced th…

> It is missing Ethernet, which seems to be important to the author. CalDigit's TS4 has Ethernet (2.5 GbE). I've been a happy TS3 user for years. https://www.caldigit.com/thunderbolt-station-4/

I have a TS3, but it’s been hard to get a second or a TS4 lately.

Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)

#114

Post by conradev »

moritonal wrote: post #7

If you want a decent dock you have to spend a bit of money. I went through this pain before accepting the cost and buying a CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Element Hub[1]. Run's two 4k displays at 60Hz, any peripheral and charges my laptop. So good I bought a second. 1. https://www.caldigit.com/thunderbolt-4-element-hub/

CalDigit's TS3, TS3 Plus, and now the TS4 are all incredible products.

I have used them with my MacBooks over the years as well as my gaming PC (ASUS ProArt B550 motherboard), and they are the most reliable part of my desktop setup. They are not just reliable, but reliably fast. I get full gigabit ethernet speed, fast USB transfer speeds, and fast SD card reading, without fail, every time.

Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)

#115

Post by conradev »

watermelon0 wrote: post #95
TheNewAndy wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is missing Ethernet, which seems to be important to the author. Having heard positive things about caldigit, I got their USB-C Pro Dock and I get frequent screen blanking with my M1 Mac, and often some of the USB ports fail to work. I don't use the ethernet port, but I think it is a Realtek (so likely the same thing the author is complaining about) I have spoken to caldigit support and so far they have replaced th…

Does it have an audible coil whine? I've tested 5+ TS3 Plus docks, and all of them have a coil whine, which can be heard in a quiet room, without playing any music. Sometimes I like to work in silence, and the coil whine really bothers me.

I usually can detect coil whines to an annoying degree, but I don't hear one in my TS3 Plus. Maybe your ears are more sensitive than mine!

Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)

#116

Post by physhster »

I have one of those Anker x-in-one hubs and it works well, minus the Ethernet which it capped at 300Mbps due to [checks notes] a USB 2.0 interconnection.

Why?!? I ended up getting a separate sub $20 USB-C to Ethernet adapter from a random Amazon brand called Uni. Get full gig, every time despite it having a Realtek 8153 chip in it. So, there might be more to it.

Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)

#117

Post by [deleted] »

LocalPCGuy wrote: post #102
moritonal wrote: post #7

If you want a decent dock you have to spend a bit of money. I went through this pain before accepting the cost and buying a CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Element Hub[1]. Run's two 4k displays at 60Hz, any peripheral and charges my laptop. So good I bought a second. 1. https://www.caldigit.com/thunderbolt-4-element-hub/

I don't like the idea of having to chain multiple dongles(I know the advantages, being able to choose a good network adapter, etc.) but I'd still pay decent money for a single device that I can leave on my desk with everything plugged in without the need for additional interconnects. (I do see that they make actual hubs as well, might check those out.)

[deleted]

Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)

#118

Post by rcthompson »

tristor wrote: post #104

I've been through this rodeo myself. I've been happily using for years docks made by Hyper over USB-C (and now over TB4). When on the go, I use the official Apple dongle for HDMI and USB. If I need more ports, Hyper and Anker both make USB-C hubs that are very solid and actually work. I totally agree with the author, most of the products on the market are garbage, and many are the same garbage with different names. T…

I've found the Macbook hubs from Hyper to be quite reliable over the years. And in addition, they're the only ones that can output to 2 monitors at once (one TB3 port, one HDMI) with a reasonable resolution and refresh rate, AND allow you to plug a charger into the non-TB3 Type C port. I haven't found anything else with similar specs in the same form factor.

Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)

#119

Post by rhinoceraptor »

somethoughts wrote: post #9

It feels like Apple should have done/should do an official in-house docking system instead of outsourcing such a critical component in the overall system/value proposition.

Technically they have one, it's built into the displays. Obviously it's not a great solution if you want to use your existing monitors.

Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)

#120

Post by iends »

bsder wrote: post #79
moritonal wrote: post #7

If you want a decent dock you have to spend a bit of money. I went through this pain before accepting the cost and buying a CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Element Hub[1]. Run's two 4k displays at 60Hz, any peripheral and charges my laptop. So good I bought a second. 1. https://www.caldigit.com/thunderbolt-4-element-hub/

For the sake of anecdata, I found that even the Caldigit docks fail to work on the Intel Macbook Pros (I only have a single data point about the M1s and they didn't work there either). When I hook even basic things like my keyboard and mouse up to the USB A ports, things work for about 20 minutes or so (varies widely) and then the USB A ports go dead requiring a reboot to restore. This is a known failure mode, but it…

My entire team and a few other developers I work with have had zero issues with CalDigit TS3 on Intel Macs. At least 10 TS3s over the period of several years.
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