ThunderBolt 4 Docks ... OWC or Caldigit?
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- Опубликовано: 25 июл 2024
- Which ThunderBolt 4 dock is best for You?
OWC ThunderBolt 4 Dock amzn.to/3O88sfF
OWC 14 Port ThunderBolt 3 Dock. amzn.to/3S6TgjS
OWC ThunderBolt Hub. amzn.to/3Hr5Vcs
CalDigit TS4 ThunderBolt 4 Dock amzn.to/3U7SHJu
CalDigit TS3+ Thunderbolt 3 Dock amzn.to/47EIzLd
CalDigit ThunderBolt 4 Element Hub amzn.to/3tYcRuF
CalDigit DisplayPort to HDMI Active adaptor amzn.to/3U6SDtl
DisplayPort to HDMI cable (active) amzn.to/3SpGApU
TB/USB C to DisplayPort Cable amzn.to/3u28uib
TB/USB C to HDMI Cable amzn.to/47Gaqur
TimeStamps:
00:00 beginning
00:21 Introduction
02:07 What’s In the Box
02:50 What Ports Does It Have?
04:39 ThunderBolt 3 vs ThunderBolt 4
08:12 Two Primary Ways Docks are Used
09:54 OWC ThunderBolt 4 Dock vs CalDigit TS4
14:28 Connecting Displays
16:44 Which One Is Right for You?
17:23 Main reason to Use a ThunderBolt 4 Dock
Great video, Wayne! You condensed the intricacies of Thunderbolt technology very well while being quick and to point.
We wanted to lend a little insight into the design processes that resulted in some of the decisions you mention throughout, as well as correct a bit of information that isn't quite accurate.
First, the front host port design that's so common on Thunderbolt docks! We're not fans of it either as you can probably tell. The reason it's so prolific is because this is what the Intel Reference Thunderbolt Dock uses, which is what every manufacturer looks at to some degree when designing their dock. Some manufacturers like to follow the reference design pretty closely for various reasons. Our approach has always been to make the dock we want with a port layout that makes sense and minimizes clutter.
You mostly nailed the Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 4 comparison. Thunderbolt 3 cables are a little bit more capable than you mention. You can reach full 40Gbps speeds with cables up to 0.8m no problem. And full speeds are possible up to 40Gbps with an "Active" cable, which uses some special repeating technology to strengthen the connection (this kind of thing can be found on longer video cables as well). Also, you can also get optical Thunderbolt 3 cables that reach up to and exceeding 50 meters, but those don't pass along power.
One other main thing to think about is charging capabilities. A lot of Thunderbolt docks use what they call "dynamic charging", where the power supply isn't powerful enough to fully charge every port at once, which can lead to situations where the host port isnt' able to provide the full advertised power. We opt for a dedicated charging design that always reserves enough power for every single port on our docks to use their full power budget at the same time all the time. This results in our power supply being a bit bigger than the competition, but we think the trade-off is worth it.
Regardless, great comparison, and we appreciate hearing your insight! We cater our docks to our users' needs and every opinion helps us make the next one even better.
Thanks for reviewing my video, and the great insights you added. I appreciate it. Love your products.
Nice review. I only drive one 32" monitor and just squeak by with the ports on my m1 mac mini. I'm not a big fan of hubs or thunderbolt but that might be because of my past bad experiences. For example I tried to get my 4k monitor to work with usb-c to display port cable. It introduced weird issues where after a few hours the screen would turn green and the computer would freeze. I switched to a hdmi to hdmi cable and never had an issue since. It also freed up a thunderbolt port leaving one for my external ssd and the other open. I never went back to try to solve it or find out if Apple fixed this issue through a software update, or it was a cable that wasn't fully compatible. Its very difficult to troubleshoot since Apple doesn't really give guidance or have standards that you could rely on. You have to read reviews and hope. The final thing that is related to that issue there are some devices that just don't like being plugged into a hub. These issue aren't easy to diagnose because they can cause intermittent problems. Naturally many computers today don't have many ports and you have to use a hub whether you like to or not. Btw, I agree owc putting the input port on the front doesn't make sense.
Hi Wayne,
Thanks for this review! I am deciding between the two at this moment. I would be grateful for your reply to this question: the power bank for both docks is 120\240 volt or only 120 v? Thanks!
Interesting video but why wouldn't you compare the OWC Thunderbolt Pro dock to the Caldigit TS4? They appear to be directly competitive.
The Pro dock is a TB 3 dock and the main thing it offers is a CF card reader as well as an SD card reader, and a 10gig Ethernet port. It does not function as a semi-TB Hub like the 2 in the review, it can only pass through the TB connection like the OWC 14 port dock or the CalDigit TS3+. To me it has limited use, the only appeal I can see is a video professional who needs a solid way to import from CF cards.
I use the OWC TB 4 Dock for a few month now to connect two 4K Screens (Eizo CS2740/Benq SW271) to my MacBook Pro and external Hard drives. I'm fine with the limited number of ports, because it's all I need.
But I totally agree to the two main issues you identified. Even in the scenario of connecting a notebook to the dock it does not make any sense at all to place the input on the front of the dock. That's totally weired. And the fact that the front usb is only USB2.0 does not make sense either. Why is USB 2.0 still a thing? The only things I would plug in would be dongles for keyboards or mice, or any other kind of dongle which do not need high data tranfer rates. But those things are mostly used kind or permanantly. So if you would like to have a USB 2.0 port at all, I would place this also on the back of the dock, But not on the front where you most likely would plug in USB memory sticks or hard drives occassionally.
Great review and comparison to the Caldigit!
Thx. Appreciate the comment.
Solid review. CalDigit's upstream port in the rear is a game changer for Thunderbolt 4. Having this port in the front is a recipe for disaster. Any disruption means disconnection, and memory loss if you have hard drives attached. It seems OWC, Plugable, and others are using the same vendor because they all have the hideous front upstream port and useless 2.0 USB port. CalDigit is the only one serious about engineering and improving on Intel's reference design. CalDigit also has consistent charging to the host, if you use any of OWC's ports (even when not charging) the 96 watts will drop. It'll drop below 60 watts if you are using the ports to charge your phone or iPad. The worse feeling after leaving the office is to find that your laptop is not fully charged.
Appreciate the comment and thoughts!
Is it possible to plug in 3 external monitors into the OWC?
Both docks specifications show they only support a max of 2 displays. So while the computer might support 3 displays (such as a current MacBook Pro), a 3rd display will require connecting it via another way to the computer (2nd thunderBolt bus if the computer has it like the MacBook Pro or an HDMI port)
USB2 is for the mouse or keyboard.
well, why doesn’t all of the other USB hubs worry about a USB-2 port? USB 3 is completely backwards compatible, USB 2 keyboard and mouse (for those still using a wired one) work just fine in a USB 3 port.
I assumed something to do with USB 2 was the reason. But to me the only justification would be it saves them a bunch of money, but considering there is already a USB 3 hub within the device, seems one more connection to that hub would be cheaper than adding a USB 2 hub.
Now I’m not an engineer, seems logical to me, maybe there is more to it than that. I did get a comment from CalDigit that the specs provided by intel for these devices is why their computer connection is on the front. maybe that’s the reason for the USB 2 port.
Personally just don’t see the logic
The TS4 can be problematic when it comes to displays. I had problems getting my monitor recognized using HDMI (Eizo CS2730), even with the CalDigit USB-C to HDMI and DisplayPort to HDMI it would not recognize it. It works fine using DisplayPort directly.
I do like my TS4 though.
Thanks for the feedback. I’ll have to do some more testing.
Sorry to hear about that, but glad to hear you resolved it! HDMI conversions can sometimes be finicky, especially from USB-C/ Thunderbolt . DisplayPort is built into Thunderbolt specification, so it's a very seamless experience when staying in that family, even when going from USB-C to DisplayPort.