Looking for a hub or dock

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Looking for a hub or dock

Just got a shiny new MBP 15", so I'm stumbling into the world of Thunderbolt for the first time. I also posted this same question in the MBP forum hoping to catch a different audience...apologies for that if it offends.

I need to keep my esata drives working (too many to abandon-and really still good for video editing), so I am shopping for a hub or docking solution that can handle these. Knowing that even though the ports may be there, the throughput may not be, so any recommendations or warnings about specific devices?

MacBook Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3), fingertips still flat

Posted on May 30, 2015 4:23 PM

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Answer 1

Apr 29, 2017 1:13 AM in response to Paul Cuciti

I have a Caldigit usb-c dock - http://www.caldigit.com/usb-3-1-usb-c-dock/

for my late 2016 touchbar 15" MBP.

Beware.

On the plus side it drives my 4K monitor at 3840x2160. The display is stunning and in portrait mode has three visible windows all higher res than the retina display.

Big minuses:

. Only one screen (as mentioned elsewhere)

. No usb devices using significant power (like hard disks).

Their web page only hints at this in small print at the bottom.

Their support said:

" ..... the USB-C Dock was originally designed with the 12” MacBooks in mind which use a much smaller amount of power compared to the new 2016 MacBook Pros that were introduced later."

I have pre-ordered an OWC TB3 dock: http://tinyurl.com/n2rd59g

This has a better spec that the forthcoming Belkin TB3 doc and is cheaper:

2 Thunderbolt 3 ports (downstream port can support USB 3.1 Gen 2 devices)
1 mini DisplayPort
4 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Standard-A ports (rear) - 1 compliant with Battery Charging 1.2 spec
1 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Standard-A port (front) - compliant with Battery Charging 1.2 spec
1 Gigabit Ethernet port
1 S/PDIF digital audio port
1 SD 3.0 media card reader
1 Hybrid 3.5 mm headphone / mic jack
1 FireWire 800 port