Can’t believe half the comments are about the way the dude says silicon, just shows how social media generation loves to pick faults rather than looking at the positives. Thanks for the excellent video.
At last, someone that understands the difference between hubs and docks. Should be a no-brainer, but unfortunately, 95% of youtubers call docks hubs - which makes it really tough to find a review on hubs (not docks). Thank you!
Just Picked up The M2 Pro MacMini 💨 Upgraded from my 2020 M1 which read my large recording studio like butter I run a full private studio Apollo X6 Heritage edition Thunderbolt, three audio interface with 6 SHARC DSP chips for UAD unison processing even though universal audio. Just announce their plug-ins will run natively without the hardware 😏 but I’ve been running Logic Pro as my main DAW Akai MPC 2.3 Software with my MPC Live 2 & MPC Key61 also OZONE isotope and Native instruments Maschine Software I.E Komplete Kontrol and Kontakt just to name a few Now I had a Choice lastnight to Spend 2K$ on the Mac Studio M1 Ultra or M2 Pro Mini I went with the Mini as it Beat out the M1 Ultra in many test and came Seconds Behind in other test! I’m not editing Videos I record and Mix” But I still have a 16 Core GPU with the M2 Pro if I want to Edit 4K 8K Also 4 TB 4 Ports and HDMI 2.1 2 USB A ports 10Gigabit ethernet port, that I will never use but nice to have those speeds” I also Have the new TB4 SATECHI Stand&Hub with SSD enclosure assist enclosure give me Sd and mini sd up front and and 4 Extra USB A 3.0 ports and 1 USB C port Im still installing all my software on it Apple nailed it with the M2Pro 😎
Good Video A couple of things that I noticed. 1 - the tracker you tried to place on the 150W power supply tracked back to the OWC power supply. 2 - You showed 100W on the anker power supply, but then you said it was a 110W power supply. Thus confusion will happen with some people. have a great day
I'm sure it was mentioned by someone else, but saying sili-CONE (the implant substance) instead of sili-CON (the chip element), just makes your video SEEM bad, which it is NOT! I hate to see a GREAT VIDEO MAKER shooting himself in the foot! Saying silicone is also one of my "buttons", when people do that (as I live in Silicon Valley ;-). You actually covered something that NO ONE ELSE HAS (that I've see): computers having THUNDERBOLT ports vs. USB-C ports! I've always had a Mac, so I'm not 100% sure of the difference myself, so I'm looking forward to your video on that! I just saw the date of THIS VIDEO, so I probably just need to catch up on your other videos. Thanks a lot for making these!
Enjoyed the review, and wanted to say that audio is *on point*. After suffering through a year of cracking, whining, buzzing, and otherwise frequently tortuous audio from my university on Zoom, this is like a warm bath of happiness and relaxation.
Good vid. Covered a lot promptly. Excellent audio. Just for the sake of accuracy, it's worth pointing out that the USB C ports on the Mi Mini, Pro or Air are all TB3/USB4, not TB4. Apple do not insert the number 3 after the TB description leading to much confusion. They simply describe the ports as TB/USB4 One could wonder why. The fact that they only support one additional monitor on TB clearly demonstrates that they do not meet TB4 specification. Also, to be clear, it's not a speed issue. TB4 is no faster than TB3
Thanks for that, I thought I implied the only difference between tb3/tb4 was more PC compatibility but I may have edited that out but yes you are correct. Apple has implied the limitation was kinda forced because of their Apple Pro XDR Display compatibility. but that's a longer conversation
Great review. Just one tiny nag: 05:48 "The Anker comes with a 100 Watt power supply." 06:24 "In third place the Anker. ..... but it only comes with a 110 Watt power supply."
Sorry it’s 100W, it supports 85W to charge a laptop so if you plug a heavy device in it it may slow down charging if more than 15W needed. Not a big deal
I use a Anker Docking Station, PowerExpand Elite 13-in-1 Thunderbolt 3 Dock. It has everything I need and more. Kinda pricey at $249 but it's comprehensive!
Agree that CalDigit wins with placement of upsteam port on side. Wish they would have gone with 2xUSBA and 2xUSBC ports for USB3 connectivity, instead of 4xUSBA ports. Just say'in :)
They are basically all the same price $199 for Caldigit and Ankur and $179 for OWC, if the $20 makes or breaks it for you Yu prolly shouldn’t buy one because you obviously have better things to spend money on. Never shop purely based on price that is a losing fight for sure. But it right or buy it twice!
@@DocRock 20 bucks is no problem. Having to search prices is annoying. Especially when you’re already comparing everything else. I ordered the highest spec’d iPad Pro m1 12 inches through Verizon. Won’t come in till June 21st tho. Tryin to get my ducks in a row. I’m actually not certain if it has thunderbolt 3 or 4. Hear conflicting reports on it.
Thank you for such a clear, and useful video. I’ve just bought an M1 Mac Mini. I’m waiting for my monitor which is on back order. However, I’ve been buying bits and bobs for the Mac mini and I’m looking at a TB4 hub. Now I know which one to go for. Thank you for explaining it clearly.
The primary difference between a USB hub and a docking station is that the latter comes with its own power supply, whereas a USB hub doesn't, making it larger than hubs as there is a power adapter inside the device. Hope this helps.
Informative video. Just for reference, the TB port that connects to the computer is called the "Host" port. Also worth noting, Thunderbolt is an Intel technology so it is commonly found on non-Apple computers as well.
Yes, you are right as far as the connection/charging port on the side goes. DC Power In = 150W 19V 7.89A 4x USB-A @ 7.5W 1.5A = 30W 3x TB3/USB4 @ 15W 3.0A = 45W 1x TB3/USB4 PD @ 60W 3.0A = 60W Grand Total = 135W 7.5A + room for safety
@@DocRock I think the video misleads people to believe you can get up to 150W from a single port to charge something like a MacBook which (AFAK ) needs 85/90 watts. But that's not the case. The max this hub can provide for a single device on the charging port is 60W. I went ahead and bought this hub instead of the Anker straight after I watched your review. Later I found out the Anker can actually charge upto 85W. I know you have every bit of good intention to inform and help your viewers, but that bit of info was definitely not accurate. Respect.
This is a couple yrs old at this point (4/28/23), but it was def useful. I wanted to correct a point for any noobs, Doc meant to say 10 gigaBITS per second, NOT 10 gigabytes. Bytes are 8X Bits.
Yeah, very nice the CalDigit one. But - you just cannot buy it anywhere! I have the OWC One but I am afraid I need a 2nd one. Hopefully Apple will release a mac mini with 4 TB4 Ports. Ill immediately buy it!
What a GREAT Video. I learn so much from it and YOU answered so many questions that I had. I with so many of USB-C Hubs out there, I was getting Frustrated. I did not want to buy something that I did not feel comfortable with. I just purchased the New MacBook Pro. I am not into the Double Monitors and all stuff, I do have External Hard Drives I want to have access to along with charging a few as well. I was looking at the Anker but, I heard that CalDigit (although expensive) is more versatile and more power. I am going with that. Thank YOU Doc Rock. I hit "like" and i subscribed to your channel. Thank YOU Very Much Brother!
Aloha Doc! I have a 13” 2020 MacBook Pro running Catalina (10.15.7). How would I connect 27” monitors if I purchased the Caldigit Element you mentioned in the video? (eCamm setup is 🔥🔥🔥)
You cannot. You will need a DisplayLink adaptor too. This is HDMI version: amzn.to/3wZbg3T This is DisplayPort version: amzn.to/35TsyU6 These will plug into a USB-A (flat blue) port so it will go into the hub or you need a usb-usbc adapter too.
Thank you so much for laying this out simply for us! I kept trying to find the “best” one…the most *powerful* one….you know…like a good Apple Geek. 🤓 I just didn’t want so *waste* money on something that didn’t actually *use* the power of the M1 chip. I want to be fully powered and efficient! Thanks, Doc! Cheers!
serves me no GOOD!! I would like to see a 3 monitor setup hub or dock! I like my M1 to stay closed while I use 3 monitors like I had with my 2013 macbook pro.
Great walkthrough Doc! I've since then ordered an OWC Thunderbolt Dock because of the additional ports as well as the Ethernet port. Estimated delivery is end of June... Reading through the comments here as well as following your link to the OWC blog with an explanation of the Th. busses in M1 Mac mini and the Intel MacBook Pro (which I own) was an eye opener. This dock (or any of the ones you showed here) will save my streaming a... while I'm waiting for the M1X or M2 later in the fall. My 2018 MacBook Pro 15" 32GB RAM is on it's knees and fans going 150% every time I stream but I've gained some performance by connecting my 3 cameras to the Atem Mini Pro and then through one USB-C cable to the laptop. I have a very good 12South STayGo USB-C hub but no matter, I'm still on the USB-C only. My idea with the OWC Th Dock is to connect it to one of the Th ports on my laptop, leave the other one next to it unused, thus having the full bandwidth for this. On the other side of the laptop, I'll use one port for the charger and the other one may be for one of the cameras. Hopefully this will make it possible to use Ecamm again which is, for the moment, too much strain for the system. Not to throw any (Doc) Rock(s) on Ecamm, I can use it to stream directly to RUclips and record locally in 4K, still with the current configuration, but if I want to use Ecamm+ZOOM+Audio Hijack+... it's becoming choppy and it's lagging. Cheers Doc!
Good details, especially with explaining the ports. I've kept things super basic because of the endless options. I've bought things only to find I didn't research enough and it wasn't what I needed. This explains what it is and how it works best 👍🏼🌟
FYI siliCON is the element used in making computer chips. SiliCONE is a synthetic substance that contains some silicon, and is used to make things lke breast implants.
Doc, How do I connect My Cam Link and my Black Magic Ultra Studio to the Dock . My Cameras are not showing up in Ecamm when I connect them to the Dock right now.
OWC has an 11 port Thunderbolt 4 dock (i think it's new), and a 14 port Thunderbolt Dock. I'm trying to figure out what to order ahead of the arrival of my 16" Macbook Pro M1 Max.
From a labelling standpoint, yes it is Thunderbolt 3. However, the only excluded Thunderbolt 4 feature is the display requirement of two 4K external or one 8K external requirement. Excluding the display requirements, all other features are supported. Hopefully the M1X or M2 will support multiple displays as required for TB4.
@@BootStrapTurnerVideography Have you Tested whether You are able to Daisy Chain right from The Port on the M1 Macbook Air and/or Pro Models ? I would appreciate your Feedback on that feature which also is the Difference between TB 3 & 4, isn't it ?
@@jasubha229 yes I have the OWC hub. Testing with multiple NVMe SSD drives connected by TB3 cases to all the ports on the hub. Works great. M1 MacBook Air. Need another display as a USB HDMI adapter will also work but it is not 4K display nor is TB3 adapter.
The only issue with the Caldigit is that it only charges latptops at 60W compared to 85W for the Anker. I use a Macbook Pro 16inch and the Caldigit can't charge my laptop properlly, which is quite annoying. I didn't think it would be an issue but it is.
The Caldigit definitely falls short when it comes to it's ability to charge a Macbook Pro M1 Max...way short. Such a shame! There is no such thing as a "perfect device"! ;(
I still don’t get the difference between a hub and a dock. By your description a dock is a device with one port for the computer and one more to replace it… so what would be the point then if you just duplicate the one port you used? Just to have a plastic box plugged in? To be useful it has to have something else going on. So a hub has more ports obv., then what is a dock for?
A hub takes a single TB port and makes it 3 more ports gaining two more ports, hubs due to hubbuing nature can be daisy-chained. a Dock is dort of designed to take that tb port and turn it into SD Card, Ethernet, USB Audio, Mic Headphone, HDMI, Displayport and and addition TB port as well as some USB ports
Great video. I have a question. Can I boot MacOS from a Thunderbolt 3 external SSD enclosure through this hub? Will the iMac recognise the external SSD when I press the option key during booting?
Great overview! Quick correction, the Macs are Apple M1 Silicon (pronounced Si-la-cun). Silicone (Si-la-cone) is a springy rubber used in breast implants and adult toys. :P
I know I know. You are like the twentieth person to catch that. I worked at Apple so yeas I Know. I hade titties on the brain maybe. Hey, I live in Hawaii so the later is more coming than the former 😂🤣😂🤣
Thanks Doc - you're great to listen to - I'm almost setup BUT how do I connect my stereo jacks to any hub? I used to plug into the imac audio input but the M1 doesn't have one!!!
8:54 you start to talk about external monitors and being able to have up to 6 of them, but you said thats a separate video. Do you already have a video explaining this ?
Doc! Great vid and information. I need a new computer (currently have a 21 inch iMac 2015) and was looking to upgrade to a faster processor to handle streaming, music and video programs. I’ve looked at a lot of M1 Mac Minis with a hub of some sort. Since no one knows when the 16 inch M1 MBP will be out, would it be wise to get the M1 Mini 512/16gb? I’d just hate to grab one and get everything set up and then 🍎 drops the new MBP a month later lol.
First notebook can stream but they don’t manage heat well so you will fight Fam noise. My mini is dedicated just for streaming. My MBP is for other stuff. As cheap as minis are your better off saving up, holding a bake sale, eBay-Ing the garage or attic and buying one for streaming only.
@@DocRock that’s hilarious 😂 thank god I don’t have to bake anything lol I’ll just scoop up the mini for streaming and buy a MBP when they offer more ports and ram. Appreciate the humor !
Simple question. I have a laptop with 2 TB4 ports, but my monitors only have hdmi and display ports. Should I go with an older TB3 docking station with HDMI/DP, or a TB4 dock? I assume I can buy some TB/usb-c to HDMI/DP cables to connect a TB4 dock to my monitor? Thoughts.
USB C is the name of the physical port. Their are various digital protocols that can run over that physical port including USB 2, USB 3, USB 4 and Thunderbolt. So Yes a Thunderbolt port is a USB C port as the name thunderbolt only denotes the digital protocol that runs over USB C. USB C itself is just a physical interface.
Sorta but you are blurring a few key details Thunderbolt was released commercially in 2011 USB-C was released in 2014 Thunderbolt Alternate Mode basically came to the party in 2016 but was introduce last 2015 and only then was it moved into the USB-C shape connector we see today. some say the "C" wasn't to superceed the "B" but to stand for Connector because it has all the USB interface specs plus HDMI, DisplayPort Alternate Mode, HDMI Alternate Mode, MHL Alternate Mode and Thunderbolt Alternate Mode.
I made this before the mid-gen M1s came out. My OG M1 Mini handles it with no issues. Oddly enough, my Mac Studio Max has no issues too. I assume they are hedging tech support for those who would know to put the dock first and hub second, I guess.
Are you sure you had tested all of these 3 Thunderbolt Hub ? Have you check the power delivery ability ? I believe only Anker can support PD85W which is very important for MacBook Pro even they are just Thunderbolt 3 laptop, and you can also try these 3 Thunderbolt 4 hub for M1 , you can find Anker's charging speed will be the higheset one then OWC and Caldigit becuase both of them only support 60W charging . And you also can try to connect USB-A 10G SSD to the front USB-A port , you can find the transfer speed for Anker and OWC is much higher then Caldigit .
My SSD is TB and it the transfer speeds were negligible from dock to dock. The PD is indeed 85w for Laptops but the brick is 100W this matters because if you sensing 85 to the Mac you only have 15W for the other devices that need power like Cam Link Capture cards or portable drives
@@DocRockFor power delivery , In fact , that's the best part . If you connect lots of TB device to Anker's Hub , like total 40W , you will find Anker still can charge laptop at 60W , but you know if you just connect TB SSD , maybe just reading , no writing , the power needed for TB SSD maybe just 5W or less , at this moment , charging to laptop will automaticaly increase from 60W to 85W , that's the best part from Intel's most latest new technology , you do not need to buy a huge heavy power adapter but find most of your time will use only less of 50%
CalDigit Element 4 Hub: www.caldigit.com/thunderbolt-4-element-hub/
OWC Hub: eshop.macsales.com/shop/owc-thunderbolt-hub
Anker TB4 Hub: amzn.to/39Ih6gv
CalDigit T3 Plus: amzn.to/3mpPWjF
Thanks bro !
But you can’t buy them anywhere
@@john-lenin UPDATE (August 3rd 2021): Element Hub stock is shipping to Amazon US this week, and will be available as soon as it has been processed.
@@john-leninOWC is in stock on their site
The Anker dock you link to says it doesn't support M1 macbooks on its Amazon page?
Can’t believe half the comments are about the way the dude says silicon, just shows how social media generation loves to pick faults rather than looking at the positives. Thanks for the excellent video.
At last, someone that understands the difference between hubs and docks. Should be a no-brainer, but unfortunately, 95% of youtubers call docks hubs - which makes it really tough to find a review on hubs (not docks). Thank you!
Just Picked up The M2 Pro MacMini 💨 Upgraded from my 2020 M1 which read my large recording studio like butter I run a full private studio Apollo X6 Heritage edition Thunderbolt, three audio interface with 6 SHARC DSP chips for UAD unison processing even though universal audio. Just announce their plug-ins will run natively without the hardware 😏 but I’ve been running Logic Pro as my main DAW Akai MPC 2.3 Software with my MPC Live 2 & MPC Key61 also OZONE isotope and Native instruments Maschine Software I.E Komplete Kontrol and Kontakt just to name a few Now I had a Choice lastnight to Spend 2K$ on the Mac Studio M1 Ultra or M2 Pro Mini I went with the Mini as it Beat out the M1 Ultra in many test and came Seconds Behind in other test! I’m not editing Videos I record and Mix” But I still have a 16 Core GPU with the M2 Pro if I want to Edit 4K 8K Also 4 TB 4 Ports and HDMI 2.1 2 USB A ports 10Gigabit ethernet port, that I will never use but nice to have those speeds” I also Have the new TB4 SATECHI Stand&Hub with SSD enclosure assist enclosure give me Sd and mini sd up front and and 4 Extra USB A 3.0 ports and 1 USB C port Im still installing all my software on it Apple nailed it with the M2Pro 😎
Noticed everybody is worried about silicon and silicone but never seem bothered by people using "your" instead of "you're", just wondering..
Good Video
A couple of things that I noticed.
1 - the tracker you tried to place on the 150W power supply tracked back to the OWC power supply.
2 - You showed 100W on the anker power supply, but then you said it was a 110W power supply. Thus confusion will happen with some people.
have a great day
I'm sure it was mentioned by someone else, but saying sili-CONE (the implant substance) instead of sili-CON (the chip element), just makes your video SEEM bad, which it is NOT! I hate to see a GREAT VIDEO MAKER shooting himself in the foot! Saying silicone is also one of my "buttons", when people do that (as I live in Silicon Valley ;-). You actually covered something that NO ONE ELSE HAS (that I've see): computers having THUNDERBOLT ports vs. USB-C ports! I've always had a Mac, so I'm not 100% sure of the difference myself, so I'm looking forward to your video on that!
I just saw the date of THIS VIDEO, so I probably just need to catch up on your other videos. Thanks a lot for making these!
Enjoyed the review, and wanted to say that audio is *on point*. After suffering through a year of cracking, whining, buzzing, and otherwise frequently tortuous audio from my university on Zoom, this is like a warm bath of happiness and relaxation.
hahahaha I appreciate this #Aloha
I just realized lightning and thunder are different 🤣🤦🏽♀️ . Great video and super clear explanation… but I think I’m ahead of myself already 😂.
Great explanation, very approachable! This is the "missing manual" for Thunderbolt 4 Hubs.
Mahalo Sir
seems messy kind of like the old docking station on a not so portable laptop. 😎 thanks and thunderbolt 4 is fantastic.
A new "sili-a-cone" Mac! I am not alone! Super helpful video too!
Hey Doc, been catching you often on Mac Break. Nice putting a face on the voice. Love listening to you, love your video.
Mahalo Sir
Thanks for the video. Just ordered the Caldigit Element 4 on your reco and I have a TB3 Hub with them. Easy decision! Thanks again.
Finally! A comparison video of these hubs! MaxTech are WAY TOO LATE on this comparison! Your video needs to be more known to the tech community!
Good vid. Covered a lot promptly. Excellent audio. Just for the sake of accuracy, it's worth pointing out that the USB C ports on the Mi Mini, Pro or Air are all TB3/USB4, not TB4. Apple do not insert the number 3 after the TB description leading to much confusion. They simply describe the ports as TB/USB4 One could wonder why. The fact that they only support one additional monitor on TB clearly demonstrates that they do not meet TB4 specification. Also, to be clear, it's not a speed issue. TB4 is no faster than TB3
Thanks for that, I thought I implied the only difference between tb3/tb4 was more PC compatibility but I may have edited that out but yes you are correct.
Apple has implied the limitation was kinda forced because of their Apple Pro XDR Display compatibility. but that's a longer conversation
@@DocRock is the XDR 4 compatible? Can you tether off the display for another ? Or connect directly to my Mac Pro? Thanks for your content!
@@HippyCheez11 according to the manual yes.
Keep up the great content, only discovering you now, but subscribed right away..
Mahalo
Great review. Just one tiny nag:
05:48 "The Anker comes with a 100 Watt power supply."
06:24 "In third place the Anker. ..... but it only comes with a 110 Watt power supply."
Sorry it’s 100W, it supports 85W to charge a laptop so if you plug a heavy device in it it may slow down charging if more than 15W needed. Not a big deal
Good catch doe
@@DocRock Yes it’s not a biggie. I looked it up at the Anker website, after watching the review. Thanks for explaining the 85W+15W though.
Thanks Doc! What is the difference between CalDigit T3 and Element 4? Looks like Element 4 isn't available on Amazon.
One is a hub and one is a dock. Dock converts to other legacy ports and sd cards.
I use a Anker Docking Station, PowerExpand Elite 13-in-1 Thunderbolt 3 Dock. It has everything I need and more. Kinda pricey at $249 but it's comprehensive!
Thanks for showing the power supplies. All these cute little "toss in your bag" hubs, and nobody shows the enormous bricks it takes to run them.
First video I see from you and I gotta say I love the quality! :)
Keep it up :P
Great review !! I’d love to see a Thunderbolt 4 “DOCK” review.
Great review, and excellent presentation skills. New subscriber. Excellent video and audio quality as well! Thank you.
absolutely
Agree that CalDigit wins with placement of upsteam port on side. Wish they would have gone with 2xUSBA and 2xUSBC ports for USB3 connectivity, instead of 4xUSBA ports. Just say'in :)
Awesome comparison and details. Looking forward to seeing your other videos. Thanks!
WHAT UP DOC ?? Thanks for the Knowledge .... Buying the CalDigit
Woulda been nice to hear some prices. Price is just as motivating as features.
They are basically all the same price $199 for Caldigit and Ankur and $179 for OWC, if the $20 makes or breaks it for you Yu prolly shouldn’t buy one because you obviously have better things to spend money on. Never shop purely based on price that is a losing fight for sure. But it right or buy it twice!
@@DocRock 20 bucks is no problem. Having to search prices is annoying. Especially when you’re already comparing everything else. I ordered the highest spec’d iPad Pro m1 12 inches through Verizon. Won’t come in till June 21st tho. Tryin to get my ducks in a row. I’m actually not certain if it has thunderbolt 3 or 4. Hear conflicting reports on it.
Thank you for such a clear, and useful video. I’ve just bought an M1 Mac Mini. I’m waiting for my monitor which is on back order. However, I’ve been buying bits and bobs for the Mac mini and I’m looking at a TB4 hub. Now I know which one to go for. Thank you for explaining it clearly.
The primary difference between a USB hub and a docking station is that the latter comes with its own power supply, whereas a USB hub doesn't, making it larger than hubs as there is a power adapter inside the device. Hope this helps.
Really good video, my friend. Solid advice 👌
Brother, i love your videos. You're amazing hit me up i'd love to chat doc at ecamm dot com #Aloha
@@DocRock thanks! Sure man, let's chat. You can also DM me on Twitter or Instagram. I'm not familiar with eCamm but I'm sure I can figure it out 😅
Thanks fore this video!
Informative video.
Just for reference, the TB port that connects to the computer is called the "Host" port.
Also worth noting, Thunderbolt is an Intel technology so it is commonly found on non-Apple computers as well.
yes I know. In fact the main reason we got a TB4/USB4 designation to make it more friendly for PCs
Very good informative video. One detail though, the Cal Digit doesn't provide 150w. It's maximum power output is 60 W.
Yes, you are right as far as the connection/charging port on the side goes.
DC Power In = 150W 19V 7.89A
4x USB-A @ 7.5W 1.5A = 30W
3x TB3/USB4 @ 15W 3.0A = 45W
1x TB3/USB4 PD @ 60W 3.0A = 60W
Grand Total = 135W 7.5A + room for safety
@@DocRock I think the video misleads people to believe you can get up to 150W from a single port to charge something like a MacBook which (AFAK ) needs 85/90 watts. But that's not the case. The max this hub can provide for a single device on the charging port is 60W. I went ahead and bought this hub instead of the Anker straight after I watched your review. Later I found out the Anker can actually charge upto 85W. I know you have every bit of good intention to inform and help your viewers, but that bit of info was definitely not accurate. Respect.
Very helpful; thanks for the info. Going with the M1 Mini as it seems to be the best bang for the buck. This provides the connections I needed.
Question: Keyboard.
What's the brand and name of your computer keyboard?
This is a couple yrs old at this point (4/28/23), but it was def useful. I wanted to correct a point for any noobs, Doc meant to say 10 gigaBITS per second, NOT 10 gigabytes. Bytes are 8X Bits.
Yeah, very nice the CalDigit one. But - you just cannot buy it anywhere!
I have the OWC One but I am afraid I need a 2nd one. Hopefully Apple will release a mac mini with 4 TB4 Ports. Ill immediately buy it!
The chip shortage is killing everything. hopefully, it will be sorted soon. I currently run one element hu8ba and one TB3 Dock
You have become my go to guide in all things Mac! Thanks so much!
Mahalo Sir
What a GREAT Video. I learn so much from it and YOU answered so many questions that I had. I with so many of USB-C Hubs out there, I was getting Frustrated. I did not want to buy something that I did not feel comfortable with. I just purchased the New MacBook Pro. I am not into the Double Monitors and all stuff, I do have External Hard Drives I want to have access to along with charging a few as well. I was looking at the Anker but, I heard that CalDigit (although expensive) is more versatile and more power. I am going with that. Thank YOU Doc Rock. I hit "like" and i subscribed to your channel. Thank YOU Very Much Brother!
Can you drop a links to the products. Thanks 🙏🏽!
In the description as stated
I see the description didn’t update. My bad. On it
Aloha Doc! I have a 13” 2020 MacBook Pro running Catalina (10.15.7). How would I connect 27” monitors if I purchased the Caldigit Element you mentioned in the video? (eCamm setup is 🔥🔥🔥)
You cannot. You will need a DisplayLink adaptor too.
This is HDMI version: amzn.to/3wZbg3T
This is DisplayPort version: amzn.to/35TsyU6
These will plug into a USB-A (flat blue) port so it will go into the hub or you need a usb-usbc adapter too.
@@DocRock Thank you so much?
My OWC has many more ports. I think you are reviewing the previous model.
Nope this is the hub not the dock. I know its confusing but there is a difference on how they preform
@@DocRock I have them both and they perform the same, the difference is one has more ports.
So if you want to power 3 monitors to connect to your laptop you're gonna have to go with a hub that has external power to power those extra monitors?
Thank you so much for laying this out simply for us! I kept trying to find the “best” one…the most *powerful* one….you know…like a good Apple Geek. 🤓
I just didn’t want so *waste* money on something that didn’t actually *use* the power of the M1 chip. I want to be fully powered and efficient!
Thanks, Doc! Cheers!
Thanks!!! Perfect! You answered the exact questions I had. You got a subscriber!
What's up Doc! Didn't know you had a channel, but you popped up in my suggestions. Hope you are well bro!
Thanks, you too! Gigs coming back slowly you must be excited
Can I daisychain two old school Apple Thunderbolt Displays to each other using a Thunderbolt 2 cable?
i want to by an M1 iMac...will this product enable to attach two extra monitors? great content thank you.
serves me no GOOD!! I would like to see a 3 monitor setup hub or dock! I like my M1 to stay closed while I use 3 monitors like I had with my 2013 macbook pro.
This was so helpful and to the point.
Great review! Can’t find the Caldigit in stock anywhere! Regardless, subbed!
Great walkthrough Doc! I've since then ordered an OWC Thunderbolt Dock because of the additional ports as well as the Ethernet port. Estimated delivery is end of June... Reading through the comments here as well as following your link to the OWC blog with an explanation of the Th. busses in M1 Mac mini and the Intel MacBook Pro (which I own) was an eye opener.
This dock (or any of the ones you showed here) will save my streaming a... while I'm waiting for the M1X or M2 later in the fall. My 2018 MacBook Pro 15" 32GB RAM is on it's knees and fans going 150% every time I stream but I've gained some performance by connecting my 3 cameras to the Atem Mini Pro and then through one USB-C cable to the laptop. I have a very good 12South STayGo USB-C hub but no matter, I'm still on the USB-C only. My idea with the OWC Th Dock is to connect it to one of the Th ports on my laptop, leave the other one next to it unused, thus having the full bandwidth for this. On the other side of the laptop, I'll use one port for the charger and the other one may be for one of the cameras. Hopefully this will make it possible to use Ecamm again which is, for the moment, too much strain for the system.
Not to throw any (Doc) Rock(s) on Ecamm, I can use it to stream directly to RUclips and record locally in 4K, still with the current configuration, but if I want to use Ecamm+ZOOM+Audio Hijack+... it's becoming choppy and it's lagging. Cheers Doc!
it should help. You are most likely having a through put issue --
Unfortunately, OWC hub does not work with BMD UltraStudio Mini Recorder/Monitor 3G. Does one of the others work?
Good details, especially with explaining the ports. I've kept things super basic because of the endless options. I've bought things only to find I didn't research enough and it wasn't what I needed. This explains what it is and how it works best 👍🏼🌟
where do u find to buy the THUNDERBOLT 4 ELEMENT HUB in UK ?
I was told by the company that the OWC is not backwards compat with TB3 devices.
Somebody lied. I interviewed OWC CEO Larry O'Connor yesterday. ruclips.net/video/sBJ0YXFTEI0/видео.html
@@DocRock maaaan I canceled my order over it. Went with the element tho and have been happy with it. Ended up needing the extra juice too
FYI siliCON is the element used in making computer chips. SiliCONE is a synthetic substance that contains some silicon, and is used to make things lke breast implants.
Doc, How do I connect My Cam Link and my Black Magic Ultra Studio to the Dock . My Cameras are not showing up in Ecamm when I connect them to the Dock right now.
OWC has an 11 port Thunderbolt 4 dock (i think it's new), and a 14 port Thunderbolt Dock. I'm trying to figure out what to order ahead of the arrival of my 16" Macbook Pro M1 Max.
They are both good and will get the job done
These are, NOT, Thunderbolt 4 Ports, on The new M1 Macs. They are USB-C 4 and Thunderbolt 3.
From a labelling standpoint, yes it is Thunderbolt 3. However, the only excluded Thunderbolt 4 feature is the display requirement of two 4K external or one 8K external requirement. Excluding the display requirements, all other features are supported. Hopefully the M1X or M2 will support multiple displays as required for TB4.
@@BootStrapTurnerVideography Have you Tested whether You are able to Daisy Chain right from The Port on the M1 Macbook Air and/or Pro Models ? I would appreciate your Feedback on that feature which also is the Difference between TB 3 & 4, isn't it ?
@@jasubha229 yes I have the OWC hub. Testing with multiple NVMe SSD drives connected by TB3 cases to all the ports on the hub. Works great. M1 MacBook Air. Need another display as a USB HDMI adapter will also work but it is not 4K display nor is TB3 adapter.
@@BootStrapTurnerVideographyI appreciate your specific feedback and getting back to me so promptly. Thank you very much !
Don't forget these hubs also can support USB4 , so when you connect it to MacBook M1, it can become USB4 hub .
This Doc Rocks...!
Yo!
DocRock in the house.
Congrats… this is the first time you came up on my feed bro.
Quality video. Peace brother.
wassup Stevo how are you
This is very concise. I appreciate this video. Thank you.
I'm looking for a solution to hook up a 3rd monitor on an M1 2020 Mac Mini
Plugable 4K DisplayPort and HDMI Dual Monitor Adapter for USB 3.0 and USB-C, Compatible with Windows and Mac.
geni.us/KYEnyc
The only issue with the Caldigit is that it only charges latptops at 60W compared to 85W for the Anker. I use a Macbook Pro 16inch and the Caldigit can't charge my laptop properlly, which is quite annoying. I didn't think it would be an issue but it is.
The Caldigit definitely falls short when it comes to it's ability to charge a Macbook Pro M1 Max...way short. Such a shame! There is no such thing as a "perfect device"! ;(
Great video. Can I connect 2 external monitors to my MacBook M1 by using these hubs? Thank you in advance.
Not without a display port adaptor. Those are crusicl
@@DocRock could explain a bit more, please? Should I buy extra hdmi adapter for that?
Something like this “ Dell USB C to DisplayPort Adapter” ?
@@vlad-qq as long as it says displaylink or DisplayLink DL-6950. that's the key
amzn.to/3xcryX2
Thank you for explaining this in detail, now if only CalDigit would get them back in stock.
I spoke to OWC CEO today an he said it is a global issue, it will be a few months more with trickle production
@@DocRock Thank you! So will the caldigit TS3 Plus work?
Solid video! Thanks for the info
You bet!
I still don’t get the difference between a hub and a dock. By your description a dock is a device with one port for the computer and one more to replace it… so what would be the point then if you just duplicate the one port you used? Just to have a plastic box plugged in? To be useful it has to have something else going on. So a hub has more ports obv., then what is a dock for?
A hub takes a single TB port and makes it 3 more ports gaining two more ports, hubs due to hubbuing nature can be daisy-chained.
a Dock is dort of designed to take that tb port and turn it into SD Card, Ethernet, USB Audio, Mic Headphone, HDMI, Displayport and and addition TB port as well as some USB ports
Great video. I have a question. Can I boot MacOS from a Thunderbolt 3 external SSD enclosure through this hub? Will the iMac recognise the external SSD when I press the option key during booting?
The quick answer is I don't think so, I read somewhere changes in macOS may have made this harder. I will test it out and let you know
Great overview! Quick correction, the Macs are Apple M1 Silicon (pronounced Si-la-cun). Silicone (Si-la-cone) is a springy rubber used in breast implants and adult toys. :P
I know I know. You are like the twentieth person to catch that. I worked at Apple so yeas I Know. I hade titties on the brain maybe. Hey, I live in Hawaii so the later is more coming than the former 😂🤣😂🤣
@@DocRock "Titties on the brain"
Thanks Doc - you're great to listen to - I'm almost setup BUT how do I connect my stereo jacks to any hub? I used to plug into the imac audio input but the M1 doesn't have one!!!
Love the fresh style of content Doc Roc. Very refreshing. Even the subscribe and notify animations. Brilliant sir! 🤠
Welcome aboard! Mahalo 🤙🏽
I would like to feed the hub via a power bank. Which Power Connecters are used? My power bank delivers 100 watts.
Thanks Doc Rock, you rock brother.
Why do you needs more ports if you can daisey chain? Because they only put one port on devices
Hey, Doc how can I connect multiple Monitors to my iMac 24 M1? thanks!
8:54 you start to talk about external monitors and being able to have up to 6 of them, but you said thats a separate video. Do you already have a video explaining this ?
Great presentation. Very well organized and nice speaking voice, too.
Mahalo
The M1 Mac mini says it has Thunderbolt 3 USB4 ports, where do you see they have Thunderbolt4
Thanks for being fast and informative.
Doc! Great vid and information. I need a new computer (currently have a 21 inch iMac 2015) and was looking to upgrade to a faster processor to handle streaming, music and video programs. I’ve looked at a lot of M1 Mac Minis with a hub of some sort. Since no one knows when the 16 inch M1 MBP will be out, would it be wise to get the M1 Mini 512/16gb? I’d just hate to grab one and get everything set up and then 🍎 drops the new MBP a month later lol.
First notebook can stream but they don’t manage heat well so you will fight Fam noise. My mini is dedicated just for streaming. My MBP is for other stuff. As cheap as minis are your better off saving up, holding a bake sale, eBay-Ing the garage or attic and buying one for streaming only.
@@DocRock that’s hilarious 😂 thank god I don’t have to bake anything lol I’ll just scoop up the mini for streaming and buy a MBP when they offer more ports and ram. Appreciate the humor !
Do you have links Doc? I don't see on your Kit site
In the description Champion
Use usbc4 cabels on all ports. Then you are covered on all port formats. A quality cable is imperative!
Great overview! Thanks so much.
Simple question. I have a laptop with 2 TB4 ports, but my monitors only have hdmi and display ports. Should I go with an older TB3 docking station with HDMI/DP, or a TB4 dock? I assume I can buy some TB/usb-c to HDMI/DP cables to connect a TB4 dock to my monitor? Thoughts.
What’s the best set up for a PCIe as external SSD on an thunderbolt enclosure to give over 1600mb/s
USB C is the name of the physical port. Their are various digital protocols that can run over that physical port including USB 2, USB 3, USB 4 and Thunderbolt. So Yes a Thunderbolt port is a USB C port as the name thunderbolt only denotes the digital protocol that runs over USB C. USB C itself is just a physical interface.
Sorta but you are blurring a few key details
Thunderbolt was released commercially in 2011
USB-C was released in 2014
Thunderbolt Alternate Mode basically came to the party in 2016 but was introduce last 2015 and only then was it moved into the USB-C shape connector we see today. some say the "C" wasn't to superceed the "B" but to stand for Connector because it has all the USB interface specs plus HDMI, DisplayPort Alternate Mode, HDMI Alternate Mode, MHL Alternate Mode and Thunderbolt Alternate Mode.
Hey Doc, our latest TB4 docking station is waiting for you! Interested?
So digging the Manchester United hoodie!!
GGMU!
Best video on this subject so far!! well done sub'd !!
Great video. Thanks for taking the time to put it together.
Glad it was helpful!
Why do they call you Doc Rock? Where did that name come from? Do you have a video that talks about that at all?
Very informative video, Doc!!!!!
Thanks for the breakout
Interestingly, Anker lists M1 Macs as incompatible with the TB4 hub.
I made this before the mid-gen M1s came out. My OG M1 Mini handles it with no issues. Oddly enough, my Mac Studio Max has no issues too. I assume they are hedging tech support for those who would know to put the dock first and hub second, I guess.
Does this work with usb c port of ipad pro M1 2021?
Are you sure you had tested all of these 3 Thunderbolt Hub ? Have you check the power delivery ability ? I believe only Anker can support PD85W which is very important for MacBook Pro even they are just Thunderbolt 3 laptop, and you can also try these 3 Thunderbolt 4 hub for M1 , you can find Anker's charging speed will be the higheset one then OWC and Caldigit becuase both of them only support 60W charging .
And you also can try to connect USB-A 10G SSD to the front USB-A port , you can find the transfer speed for Anker and OWC is much higher then Caldigit .
My SSD is TB and it the transfer speeds were negligible from dock to dock. The PD is indeed 85w for Laptops but the brick is 100W this matters because if you sensing 85 to the Mac you only have 15W for the other devices that need power like Cam Link Capture cards or portable drives
@@DocRockFor power delivery , In fact , that's the best part . If you connect lots of TB device to Anker's Hub , like total 40W , you will find Anker still can charge laptop at 60W , but you know if you just connect TB SSD , maybe just reading , no writing , the power needed for TB SSD maybe just 5W or less , at this moment , charging to laptop will automaticaly increase from 60W to 85W , that's the best part from Intel's most latest new technology , you do not need to buy a huge heavy power adapter but find most of your time will use only less of 50%
My studio is staying on Catalina on an iMac 2019. So this wouldn’t work without a MacOS update?