Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

overengineer.dev

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

481–490 of 530 posts

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

#481

Post by [deleted] »

dpezet wrote: post #433
aivisol wrote: post #370

> I’m slightly concerned about the fact that some of the products use electrolytic capacitors. Those hubs get pretty warm, even if you’re not routing your laptop’s power through the hub, and electrolytic capacitors don’t like warm environments, and that’ll significantly shorten their life. However, that’s probably negligible, since lots of resistors are also designed just barely around their load ratings, all the chi…

> he just replaces all electrolytes without even looking at them. He must burn himself a lot. It's hard enough to solder components when you are looking at them.

[deleted]

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

#482

Post by Marsymars »

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 suspect the difference is more between manufacturers than between USB-C/Thunderbolt. I bought the old CalDigit USB-C dock years ago for my 2016 rMacBook (no Thunderbolt support), and it’s still working fine today with my M1 MBA.

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

#484

Post by lliamander »

rrix2 wrote: post #477
lliamander wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So both computers and all your peripherals are connected to the monitor, correct? And you can just swap between them by switching the active input source?

Yup, and I can swap between them by plugging my laptop in to the USB-C while it's turned in, input autodetection handles the rest.

That's awesome! That monitor is a 38" 3840 X 1600 display, right? What do you think of it overall?

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

#485

Post by smoldesu »

tempnow987 wrote: post #173
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

Haha... That's pretty perfect. And after 7 years I'm also still playing with stuff. I got a hub with an external power connector that plugs into wall and it charges my iphone at trickle charger rates. Meanwhile my "crappy" apple charger seems to blast my iphone up in no time. One cost me MORE (the hub/dock).

This just in! Accessory designed for use with phone works well with phone, while off-the-shelf generic accessory does not. More at 11.

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

#486

Post by dr_spicy »

kemayo wrote: post #263
cmckn wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.)

No post body was provided.

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

#487

Post by rdtwo »

thrwyoilarticle wrote: post #450
seanp2k2 wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Project Farm" on YouTube does really great tool reviews with zero BS. There are differences between major tool brands and it's not just a matter of same factory, different brand sticker like with a lot of electronics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpjBJ8aQ3NE is a good example. It's pretty hard to go wrong with any of the major players these days, more about what color you like or their tool ecosystem. I'm into Mi…

>It's nice not stripping Phillips head screws now that I've got really nice drivers with excellent sharp grippy tips in all the different sizes to properly fit. Life hack: use a better screw. Pozidriv is 60 years old!

Wera bits are so worth it

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

#488

Post by hadlock »

I bought a Lenovo "Thinkpad" branded Thunderbolt 3 dock, uh, in 2017 and it's been flawless since I got it. They even released a firmware update for it a couple months ago! Sure I paid an arm and a leg for it, about $220 five years ago, but I haven't had any issues with it so maybe the price was worth it.

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

#489

Post by slipheen »

lliamander wrote: post #484
rrix2 wrote: post #477

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup, and I can swap between them by plugging my laptop in to the USB-C while it's turned in, input autodetection handles the rest.

That's awesome! That monitor is a 38" 3840 X 1600 display, right? What do you think of it overall?

(I am not the poster you were replying to) - I wanted to add that I have the 40" 5K2K version (U4021QW) and I'd recommend it very highly.

I do the same input switching he mentioned, and it works very reliably.

It also has support for pbp mode, where it can display each computer on a portion of the screen.

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

#490

Post by dml2135 »

matthew-wegner wrote: post #205
dml2135 wrote: post #82

Does anyone know if it's possible to drive three HD/QHD monitors via a single thunderbolt port on an M1 Mac, and if any docks exist that would support this use case? Many of these docks and Apple support documents say they support dual displays at 4K resolutions, but it's difficult-to-impossible to find information on # of displays supported at lower resolutions.

The short answer is no, unfortunately. There is a limit of two monitors per Thunderbolt port. My understanding is that this limitation lives somewhere at the DisplayPort spec level, but I don't know the specifics. The longer answer is that you might be able to, depending on resolution/refresh. This will need both hardware and software for "DisplayLink". I've never kicked the tires on this setup, but I believe it's ba…

This is helpful and confirms my suspicions.

One question to clarify your setup -- So the 4k monitor is connected directly to your mac with a thunderbolt cable, one of the QHD monitors is connected directly to your mac through HDMI, and the second QHD monitor is connected through the CalDigit dock?

If you don't mind, can I ask why not just connect both QHD monitors through the CalDigit dock?

Post reply on HN