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Available Thunderbold 3 docks and upcoming ones

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bendrumin

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 23, 2009
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Minneapolis
I know there is a massive list of USB-C dongles and such, but this is a post that is set up as a wiki so people can add ones they have found that actually work and are available or coming soon. Lets try to stay on topic please :)
 
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Most of them are USB-C docks, which are different (and much slower) than the true Thunderbolt 3 docks, which can reach up to 40 gb throughput rate.

The only true Thunderbolt 3 docks I know of are upcoming ones from Belkin and OWC.
 
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Rafterman said:
Most of them are USB-C docks, which are different (and much slower) than the true Thunderbolt 3 docks, which can reach up to 40 gb throughput rate.

The only true Thunderbolt 3 docks I know of are upcoming ones from Belkin and OWC.
Click to expand...

And sadly even the OWC won't offer enough power to charge the 15". The only choice for the 15" owners will be the Belkin solution, and that's rumored to cost $400. So it seems that just like Thunderbolt 1/2, TB is DOA due to costs. Awaiting a USB-C dock solution that offers 85W.

I did bookmark this page in hopes that someone is able to find the 85W dock.
 
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Caldigit states they're coming out with a TB3 solution in Q1/2 of 2017 that'll output 90W to laptops. Man, woulda hoped things would move faster then that. But that's the pain of being on bleeding edge technology.
 
Garage Battle said:
best bet - be patient
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Thing is that I didn't want to buy a secondary charger for my home. Would rather invest that money into the docking solution. I guess I could use the included one everywhere I go. A bit inconvenient, but will deal with it until a proper solution for the 15" is out.
 
I was thinking of waiting for this one. Not too familiar with these but I like the idea of it. The cost seems really really high though. May be worth it if I keep it for the life of the laptop but man that is tough after forking out the cash for the laptop.

Guess I have plenty of time to think about it I guess. I may just get one of those portable multi port dongles for now, wait to see how the docks are looking in a few months when we have more options then just use the dongle for travel when I get a dock.

https://hengedocks.com/pages/horizontal-macbook-pro-2016
 
shareef777 said:
Caldigit states they're coming out with a TB3 solution in Q1/2 of 2017 that'll output 90W to laptops. Man, woulda hoped things would move faster then that. But that's the pain of being on bleeding edge technology.
Click to expand...

Pressed them again on their TB3 solution and was told that it'd only provide 60W. Very disappointing. So the only benefit to the TB3 solution vs their USB-C one (at a $130 price increase) is being able to push higher resolution monitors and having full speed USB-A ports.
 
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I use the Caldigit USB-C Dock with my 15 and so far its working very well. I plug in one cable and I'm docked and ready to work. I'm doing C++ (gcc) and C# Development on mid sized projects so my workflow includes numerous compiles in the 4-5 minute range and thats the only time I see over 20w or so. The laptop charges to 100% and stays there all day.

I'm sure for media production and video games it might be a problem but of other work the Caldigit is a good solution while I wait for the bugs to be worked out of the TB3 docks since I'm confident there will be some gotchas with them.
 
Rafterman said:
Most of them are USB-C docks, which are different (and much slower) than the true Thunderbolt 3 docks, which can reach up to 40 gb throughput rate.

The only true Thunderbolt 3 docks I know of are upcoming ones from Belkin and OWC.
Click to expand...

This is an interesting point I hadn't considered. My throughput needs are pretty modest – AV output to fairly basic projectors and external monitors, backup to Time Machine (only large-volume BU initial transfer), mostly moving around files no larger than a few 100 MBs. Any cases were true Thunderbolt 3 power would really help my usual workflow?

For my upcoming MBP 13 touch (85% sure I'll pull the trigger) I was planning to just get 3 sets (home/office/road) of USB-C dongles/hubs to stay connected. Tentative strategy:
Home – recycle USB-A Ethernet cable with a basic adapter (e.g. this one); hook up my aging but dependable Samsung monitor with a dvi converter (e.g. this one); above basic adapters for USB-A external hard drives for backup/storage and charging/syncing iPhone 5s; Apple stock charger that comes with MBP for power
Office – an all-in-one number (like this one on Japan Amazon or this one) for HDMI monitor connection, USB-A needs, Ethernet; this 3rd party charger for power
Road – again, a recycled Ethernet cable with adapter; an adapter like this one for VGA and HDMI projectors/displays, the two types of interfaces I can expect at Japanese universities, conference centers, company offices, etc., as well as for USB-A use; above 3rd party charger for power (although this pricey baby is quite svelte)

Any significant holes in that strategy?
 
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new Macbook Pros might kick the aftermarket into gear and start seeing $100-$200 egpu docks.

id rather wait a while and get a cost effective eGPU dock.
 
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