USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021) • Hacker News Board

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

#321

Post by tomatowurst » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 5:22 AM UTC

forgotmypw17 wrote: post #317

This article makes me feel very good about almost always being several years behind the edge when it comes to hardware. By the time I get around to using these devices, hopefully this kind of crap will get shaken out, and I'll have a nice stable of salvage accessories to choose from. For now, I'll stick to my (also salvaged) MBP with regular USB, audio jacks, MagSafe, HDMI, SD card reader, and an extra millimeter or…

the one problem is that when I look up the price of Caldigit and other brands that HN is vouching for they are $400~$500 range.

I would need to burn through 8~9 $50~60 range alternatives that allegedly "suck" before I see returns, and by that time we would have 3 to 4 iterations of macbook.

I guess if you like peace of mind then this makes sense but I hope nobody drops $500+ on a hub from reading HN comments, the "crappy" ones described work fine, it just that it won't last and creates waste but it would take quite a long time to do so.

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

#322

Post by Transisto » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 5:36 AM UTC

kaylynb wrote: post #245

Phrodo_00 wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While there certainly is something nice about plugging in a single cable, I just use a usb-c hub with a usb ethernet and a usb switch with my peripherals and then connect my screen directly This is cheaper in the same way I don't use a KVM and instead change the inputs in my monitor (Also, I'd have to figure out what DP KVM supports G-Sync and 1440p 165hz).

Same here. I can’t really use a monitor that’s less that 120Hz, even for engineering work. 60Hz monitors give me eye strain. It’s impossible to find any KVM at any price point that works with 120Hz, and certainly not 120Hz@3840x1600. Forget about G-Sync. I resorted to just keeping short USB and DP or TB->DP cable extenders plugged into the computer ports and have a “cable zone” where I just unplug and replug all the…

What kind of visual components are visually different between 60 and 120hz?

I do dev and browsing work at 30hz and the only thing I notice is the little gaps when moving the mouse fast.

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

#323

Post by roywashere » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 5:48 AM UTC

seanp2k2 wrote: post #217

TacticalCoder wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup when you see both the price and the size of these docks, you gotta wonder why even bother with buying a laptop in the first place. If the goal is to hook up two 4K monitors, I'd rather have, say, a desktop computer powered by a threadripper.

Yeah, the thing too about desktop vs laptop is not just core count but TDP. An Intel 12900K on an OC can draw like 400W ( https://wccftech.com/intel-core-i9-12900k-overclocked-to-5-3... ) vs a laptop that will get you a max of like 115w for turbo ( https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/132215/... ). And good luck getting anything close to RTX 3090Ti performance in a laptop. It'd basically be a toasted…

To be honest I see this as a win for laptops nowadays. I still work from home most days of the week and I prefer not to have a power hungry workstation turned on all day, especially with current electricity prices. Because of unfortunate timing of when my contract expired I already pay around 800 euros per month for energy

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

#324

Post by microtonal » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 5:51 AM UTC

chevman wrote: post #239

dogma1138 wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can get them on the cheap as you can buy enterprise Dell/HP USB-C/TB for like $50-70 on EBay… Do not waste your money on high end consumer stuff, the enterprise stuff is better and the market is flooded with disposed units…

I'd second this. Work in a large F50 and all the enterprise grade ones we've had are decent. This is the current model they are giving folks: https://us.targus.com/products/usb-c-universal-dv4k-docking-... I've been running an Intel MacBook Pro (last intel version I think) on it the last few months with 2 external HP displays, keyboard, mouse, and it is a solid performer.

Argh, DisplayLink :(.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/usb-graphics-adapter,30...

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

#325

Post by microtonal » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 5:56 AM UTC

xattt wrote: post #76

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 ended up getting a Lenovo USB-C Gen 2 hub a couple of years ago, and it’s still on sale. Also very satisfied. I’m able to switch my personal (Lenovo) and work (Dell) laptops, mostly without issue. I say without issue because the Dell/Intel only supports HBM2 so won’t do two monitors if one of them is more than 1080p. I settled on using the HDMI out from the laptop to split the difference in frustration and convenie…

I ended up getting a Lenovo USB-C Gen 2 hub a couple of years ago,

It works fine on ThinkPads. Unless you are using Linux, where 4k@60Hz does not work due to lane misconfiguration (maybe this is fixed by now?). On Macs, I have found this Dock to be a complete disaster. It would often not charge unless you plug/unplug the Dock several times. Also Ethernet often doesn't work (it uses a Realtek NIC). I had two and sold both of them, because they are practically unusable with Macs, and replaced them by Startech Thunderbolt 3 Docks, which work great.

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

#326

Post by mey » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 6:09 AM UTC

icelancer wrote: post #206

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…

Yeah, a perfect example are all the people in this thread recommending Thunderbolt devices while a bunch of us sit here and type away on our Ryzen or Threadripper powered machines. USB-C has been such a massive disappointment.

ASUS has Thunderbolt 4 motherboards for Ryzen.

https://www.asus.com/ProArt/Motherboards-Home/

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

#327

Post by microtonal » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 6:13 AM UTC

icelancer wrote: post #206

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…

Yeah, a perfect example are all the people in this thread recommending Thunderbolt devices while a bunch of us sit here and type away on our Ryzen or Threadripper powered machines. USB-C has been such a massive disappointment.

I have a laptop that is powerful as a Ryzen 5x00, which is quiet and uses very little power. I can take it with me in my backpack and hook it up to my three workspaces by plugging one Thunderbolt over USB-C cable. (I use a Startech Thunderbolt Dock, which hasn't had any issues, except the dislikable Realtek NIC.)

I don't want to go back to the workstation tower life. Unfortunately, I still have to keep around a Ryzen machine for CUDA. But it is loud (even with Noctua fans), eats large amounts of power, and is completely non-portable.

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

#328

Post by ruuda » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 6:18 AM UTC

arcticbull wrote: post #314

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'm a huge fan of the Dell WD19TB. Works great on my MacBook Pro M1 Pro (did I mention it's for Pros) and my gaming PC. The only issue I have with it is that the PC will only run video over Thunderbolt if I use YCbCr 4:2:2 with chroma subsampling - so instead I wired my PC monitor directly to the GPU and use the WD19TB for everything else (including video on my Mac laptop over HDMI). Gets a solid 980Mbits symmetric o…

I have been using this one for years, it used to drive two 4k displays at 60 Hz. But since half a year or so, I can't get the second display to run at 60 Hz any more. I think it's a regression in the Linux kernel, but it's basically impossible to debug. A few times it suddenly did recognize it can do two displays at 60 Hz, but it seems to depend on the phase of the moon :/

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

#329

Post by microtonal » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 6:20 AM UTC

nerdawson wrote: post #319

SnowflakeOnIce wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

What did you replace it with? Having the same problem with mine and looking for an alternative.

We have three StarTech docks since November or December. No coil whine so far, except for the Realtek NIC (which works out-of-the-box on Macs, but is meh otherwise), we didn't have any issues with it.

https://www.startech.com/en-eu/cards-adapters/tb3cdk2dpue

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

#330

Post by Dylan16807 » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 6:30 AM UTC

weq wrote: post #304

SOLAR_FIELDS wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m with you on this. I’m a FAANG software engineer who does hardware stuff too and I have a 2020 MacBook Air with 2 (two!) USB-C ports. One for charging, one for other stuff. In my two years of owning the device I have not once ever been frustrated needing the third port. I do quite often use both of the two ports, but even needing three seems to never happen in my use case. I don’t use external monitors with that d…

Im a non-FAANG developer so i cant comment on what all the sheep/ad devs are doing; but I can comment on what a polygot cross-platform cross-cloud software engineer who supports a plethora of native portable devices integrations require, and thats USB hubs with ports coming out the ye-ha - otherwise im constantly playing musical chairs.

The thing about a plain old USB hub is that it only costs $20-30.

It's a nice way to avoid the lunacy here.