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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)

#261

Post by Roritharr »

djur wrote: post #200
Roritharr wrote: post #35

7 years ago I wrote a comment, dismayed about the coming USB-C insanity and was made fun of. Here we are. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9645013

The problem here isn't related to the standardized port and incompatibility between devices, though, is it? It's a matter of the functionality of the hardware in the peripheral, which has been an issue with USB hubs forever. Your comment is all about device compatibility, not devices being cheap and shitty.

One begets the other is my implied argument, if the standard wouldn't be this wide and allow for so much missing functionality, devices being this cheap and shitty would stick out more. Overall prices would be higher, but the quality per device would increase, even if just for economy of scale reasons.

How many bad USB 2 Hubs did you have to deal with?

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

#262

Post by toastal »

npunt wrote: post #134
Nextgrid wrote: post #83

I wonder how much e-waste this USB-C bullshit idea generated. It's not even a one-off, "early adopter" problem, considering that even now it's hard to buy something that actually works and you have to churn through many attempts before getting lucky. In contrast, I can't remember the last time I bought a USB-A, HDMI or Ethernet cable/peripheral that didn't work, partly because those specs are self-contained and simpl…

Big picture, USB-C is set to considerably reduce ewaste given that more and more consumer electronics products are standardizing on it as a charging solution, eliminating custom chargers and letting manufacturers get away with not including a charger. This is likely to be accelerated by regulations in the EU. The last time we had this level of standardization was probably the AA battery. Not saying things are perfect…

Meanwhile, so many USB-C hubs don't actually have any USB-C ports despite the writing on the wall and it only being a matter of time.

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

#263

Post by kemayo »

cmckn wrote: post #137
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…

I got a thunderbolt 4 dock from Razer[0] that has all the bits and bobs (and it looks really nice). Almost bankrupted me, but as the GP says, this is just the reality at this point. [0]: https://www.razer.com/gaming-pc-accessories/razer-thunderbol...

The port arrangement on the front/back of that looks identical to the Kensington and Sonnet docks mentioned upthread, so I'd suspect that Razer are another vendor of a skinned reference design. (Though they're on the cheaper end of the spectrum so far, unless someone turns up the Aliexpress version.)

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

#264

Post by CharlesW »

ben7799 wrote: post #259

This is a super junky product category. I notice plenty of people plugging the super expensive OWC and CalDigit Thunderbolt docks. These are also pretty junky, they just have big price tags. Luckily I have not actually spent my money on these.. but we have had hundreds at work. I have had a Thunderbolt dock at my desk at work for about 4 years now, and have had one at home for 2 years now that I was able to expense.…

> I notice plenty of people plugging the super expensive OWC and CalDigit Thunderbolt docks. These are also pretty junky, they just have big price tags.

Having used actually-junky docks, a good one is worth the money. My TS3+ is in year 3 of consistent, rock-solid performance. Most of its ports are used all the time, the host computer never sleeps (I've used it with both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs), and I've never had an issue that I couldn't attribute to a bad cable.

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

#265

Post by girvo »

I've been through all this as well.

I gave up and spent a couple hundred dollars on an ALogic dual-thunderbolt connection dock. Two wires, not one, but perfect for my MacBook. It's been flawless, even after a year (most of the cheap docks I used died after 6 months).

From what others I've spoken to, and myself have worked out, the only "solution" is to spend hundreds of dollars on the high end ones. They seem to be far more reliable (and have better support if something does go wrong).

CalDigit is what most have moved to. My ALogic one is still kicking, so I'll stick with it for now.

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

#266

Post by SnowflakeOnIce »

dervjd wrote: post #31

If you're purchasing something to use permanently at your desk, it's worth spending more for a Thunderbolt dock. Most USB-C hubs are total crap. You'll get far faster transfer speeds, more ports, charging (and at full speed), proper display output (dual 4K/60hz) and better components/reliability. The CalDigit TS3 Plus[1] is what I've used for several years - first with a 2019 Intel MBP and now with my new 2021 M1 Pro…

I went through 2 CalDigit TS3 docks previously, and returned both of them. They had a good number of ports and seemed reliable for the few weeks I had them. But both of them had audibly noisy capacitors, resulting in a tinnitus-like 16KHz tone that would get louder when moving the mouse or when connecting an external monitor to the dock.

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

#267

Post by ben7799 »

CharlesW wrote: post #264
ben7799 wrote: post #259

This is a super junky product category. I notice plenty of people plugging the super expensive OWC and CalDigit Thunderbolt docks. These are also pretty junky, they just have big price tags. Luckily I have not actually spent my money on these.. but we have had hundreds at work. I have had a Thunderbolt dock at my desk at work for about 4 years now, and have had one at home for 2 years now that I was able to expense.…

> I notice plenty of people plugging the super expensive OWC and CalDigit Thunderbolt docks. These are also pretty junky, they just have big price tags. Having used actually-junky docks, a good one is worth the money. My TS3+ is in year 3 of consistent, rock-solid performance. Most of its ports are used all the time, the host computer never sleeps (I've used it with both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs), and I've never…

Apparently you just missed me saying my CalDigit TS3+ failed last week and IT had a whole bin full of others that failed.

It's not the cables.. they handed me a new TS3+ and it immediately worked perfectly and it will probably continue to work for a year or two before starting the process of flaking out.

To be honest with the # of them I've seen break (almost everyone I know at work) the posts here seem like astro-turfing.

You might have a good one, but if you had 500 of them in an office you wouldn't think the product is "good" on average.

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

#268

Post by SnowflakeOnIce »

trauco wrote: post #61

The Satechi one creates "broadcast storms" [1] that messed up my home network if left it unplugged from the computer but powered on and with the ethernet cable connected. I have an Anker one now, I guess I should expect the same. I also have a Dell D6000, which is rarely reviewed but has been solid. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/an3nyf/pass_thoug...

I saw this too from a Satechi hub! When connected to power and Ethernet but not a computer, it would crash my home network switch, requiring a power cycle on that. Maddening.

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

#269

Post by c_o_n_v_e_x »

aendruk wrote: post #25
vinhboy wrote: post #13

> It honestly feels like no matter what you buy, you get more or less the same hardware, and you’re most likely getting a heavily overpriced product just because some company printed their logo on it. Isn't this like a known thing? Almost all peripherals on Amazon will have dozens of the exact same form-factor with different logos on it. You just buy the one that is the perfect intersection of costs, positive reviews…

The most frustrating part is that I want no logo. It’s the worst of both worlds; no brand reputation, yet still covered in ads.

Just curious.... why?

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

#270

Post by djur »

Roritharr wrote: post #261
djur wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem here isn't related to the standardized port and incompatibility between devices, though, is it? It's a matter of the functionality of the hardware in the peripheral, which has been an issue with USB hubs forever. Your comment is all about device compatibility, not devices being cheap and shitty.

One begets the other is my implied argument, if the standard wouldn't be this wide and allow for so much missing functionality, devices being this cheap and shitty would stick out more. Overall prices would be higher, but the quality per device would increase, even if just for economy of scale reasons. How many bad USB 2 Hubs did you have to deal with?

This has nothing to do with USB 3 or USB-C, though. The same shortcomings were true of previous USB standards, it just was rarely feasible to run so many different peripherals through a single hub.
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