I feel like if you need ethernet, hdmi, DP, etc you should buy a laptop that has those ports on it in the first place.
USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)
81–90 of 530 posts
Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)
#82Does 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.
Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)
#83I 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 simple enough that even the cheapest manufacturer will typically do a good enough job.
Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)
#84I have never trusted one of these hubs to pass power through after feeling how hot mine got. That seems to have prolonged the life on mine.
The decision of Amazon to allow foreign sellers directly on their platform really degraded the quality of their offerings overall. While I understand they had to to stay competitive with other retailers, the race to the bottom on some of these offerings is making me care about brand names more than I ever expected to.
Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)
#85I never saw a multifunctional USB 3 hub (that has anything more than USB 3 sockets) where all the features worked on Windows. One could blame: Windows, crap hardware from Dell, and crap hub hardware. I think it is all three.
I'm currently using a Lenovo Hybrid USB-C dock in Windows. Dual displays, ethernet, USB-3, USB-C, USB 2.0, audio, all working fine and have been for >2 years. Its worked with several different models of laptops without having to manually install any additional drivers and software.
As a note though, its a DisplayLink dock. There's definitely performance implications on using a DisplayLink device versus USB-C alternate mode, but on the other hand its never had problems with the several Windows devices I've used it with.
https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/accessories-and-software/dock...
Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)
#86How much of the ethernet problems are due to these hubs and how much is due to ethernet autoneg just sucking? On my mac mini with whatever ethernet hardware they use, the link randomly negotiates 10, 100, full duplex, half duplex, flow control on or sometimes off. It's all coin tosses.
A good NIC doesn't have any of those issues. It all comes down to their poor choices in what ethernet IC to use.
Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)
#87If 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/
My kid wanted a USB hub, so I got this at the local $5 store. Have not heard any complaints. I am sooo lucky. https://www.fivebelow.com/products/4-port-type-c-charging-hu...
That's USB 2 though - it's literally a USB-A hub with the connector swapped for a USB-C one. This speaks volumes about the beauty of USB 2.0 and the USB-A specs that they withstood decades of unscrupulous manufacturers; they're so simple that it's literally more effort to screw it up than to do it properly, so even the cheapest option will typically work.
Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)
#88> 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…
Just to expand on this: I suspect and have been told that almost all powertools follow this model. The markup for most tools in the same class is essentially branding only.
It’s _mostly_ kinda sorta like that. There are broad groups that are basically the same; Craftsman and Dewalt being owned by Black and Decker, for instance. But it’s a crazy web depending on particular tools or features it goes from a couple root manufacturers to a dozen or so. But there’s a lot of BS.
Pro Tool Reviews did a big break down [0] a while ago that was very eye opening for me. It could easily be out of date by now but I had no clue how deep the groupings went at the time.
[0] https://www.protoolreviews.com/power-tool-manufacturers-who-...
Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)
#89When work from home started, I went down this road of madness, and have a drawer full of docks that didn't work properly for my Macbook (properly is defined as works as a USB hub, connection to wired network, charges my Macbook, and lets me connect an external 4k display @ 60Hz). A Plugable Thunderbolt 3 Dock has carried me for 2 years so far.
My understanding is that the problem with high bandwidth/resolution setups over displayport (which may not be your use case) is in your mac , not in your hub. Older comment thread here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29214726
I'm totally not suprised by this. I'm using USB-C between the hub and the monitor, and that seems to be working fine, so I basically haven't thought too much about it.
Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)
#90I must be some USB-C unicorn as I can't think of ever having any issues. I have had a couple of USB-C hubs and they have worked for both me and my partner. All my work machines are USB-C only and literally the only issue I can remember is where in one conference room the USB-C to HDMI output only went to 2 of the 3 screens on the walls but I think that was something unrelated to the USB-C connection. Now I don't push…
The author's main complaint is that the network was being downgraded to 100baseTX. If you aren't doing a lot of heavy local network activity, you might not notice if you are being downgraded.
Since much of my USB-C hub usage was during COVID and work at home, I did do a ton of speed tests and don't remember seeing any issues with being downgraded but if it was random then I might not have noticed.