Caldigit TS4 Dock

[joevt]

So you say pci bandwith is allocated whether there's a TS4 hub or not? I was under the impression that a TB4 hub (which is also in the TS4) splits the full PCIe 3x4 anytime. Apologies if I misunderstood that badly. My thoughts on that 2,5GB port still hold up.

With PCIe or Thunderbolt or USB or DisplayPort, bandwidth is not divided into each branch. Bandwidth is shared. If no data is being transmitted to any other device then a device can get near max bandwidth for itself (up to the minimum of the max allowed by all parent devices).

For example, you can connect any number of USB 10 Gbps devices using 10 Gbps USB hubs. All the devices will be able to do ≈10 Gbps if no other device is using any bandwidth at the same time. There is a slight drop for each hub in the chain but it's only a fraction of the 10 Gbps.

2.5 GbE is better than 1 GbE. A 10 GbE PCIe controller would be limited to 8 Gbps in the TS4 since there's only one PCIe gen 3 lane to use. I suppose in this case a 10 GbE USB adapter could be slightly faster but I would avoid USB Ethernet adapters if PCIe is an option. Another option would be for the TS4 to include a Thunderbolt 3 controller attached to the Thunderbolt 4 controller but that adds cost. There are some eGPU enclosures that contain two Thunderbolt 3 controllers to improve USB performance. This indicates that a single Thunderbolt 3 controller has a design flaw regarding doing both USB and PCIe gen 3 x4 at the same time, at least when the PCIe gen 3 x4 link is connected to a GPU. The most flexible option is to connect a separate Thunderbolt 3 10 GbE device.

 

[rickeames]

Rather than retype my message....has anyone run into this?

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/caldigit-ts4-lg-ultrafine-4k-locked-to-30hz.2362306/

Also, I keep noticing a red box that flashes around the permitter of the screen...almost like the one that you get when you click the "identify" button in displays. In general, I just don't think the TS4 likes thunderbolt displays very much. Maybe just the LG ones. It doesn't work the way they try to sell in the brochure....

 

[Pippi]

Been trying to follow this thread for a while, but can't seem to understand - with a MacBook Pro 14" + this dock - can I run 2 XDR Pro Displays with 1 single Thunderbolt cable (mac->dock=>2x XRD Displays)?

 

[DrCC]

Yes. Plus other peripherals connected to the dock. Or any Thunderbolt 3 or Thunderbolt 4 dock; the purchase decision is made on the number and type of ports available and the total power it can deliver to the laptop so it can also quickly charge with the same 1 single Thunderbolt cable.

 

[macphoto861]

I can't believe that almost FOUR MONTHS after the TS4 updater for Windows was released, the Mac version is still not available.

 

[project_2501]

I can't believe that almost FOUR MONTHS after the TS4 updater for Windows was released, the Mac version is still not available.

I've been trying to talk to Caldigit almost every week since then.

They're behaving badly. Standard copy-paste replies. No transparency into the problem. Disingenuous messaging.

That is not how a reputable trustworthy brand behaves.

 

[Hrothgar]

Am I correct that I can't use Parallels to run the windows firmware update on my Mac?
It's .bin file, and I can't figure out how to open it.

 

[tigo013]

I've been trying to talk to Caldigit almost every week since then.

They're behaving badly. Standard copy-paste replies. No transparency into the problem. Disingenuous messaging.

That is not how a reputable trustworthy brand behaves.

I would assume that they're simply understaffed. They need firmware developers, and then loads of hardware & testers - people with some time on their hands to test things out for them. I assisted with troubleshooting a couple of issues that I had and some alpha/beta firmware add-ins, but then I couldn't continue helping out more as other priorities kicked-in.

The copy/paste approach is just overworked staff, with too many of the same issues being reported. The Mac firmware update will resolve a lot more issues than the current windows firmware update which will be updated at the same time.

The Windows firmware release was a quick fix for some really glaring issues that were reported.

I just check their firmware download page every Saturday to see if there's an update or not yet. I've reported my issues a few months ago, and I know their fixes are on the pipeline. So, just report your issues and let things be. They'll be resolved at some point.

 

[tigo013]

Am I correct that I can't use Parallels to run the windows firmware update on my Mac?
It's .bin file, and I can't figure out how to open it.

I think you're correct that you can't use parallels to run the update. I loaded up bootcamp and ran it from there. If you know anyone with a windows machine that has a USB-C port, - ask for their help - it'll be easeier - a 2 mins job.

 

[Hrothgar]

Apparently, my 2021 M1 Pro Macbook Pro doesn't support boot camp.

 

[chrfr]

Apparently, my 2021 M1 Pro Macbook Pro doesn't support boot camp.

No Apple Silicon Mac supports Boot Camp.

 

[macphoto861]

I think you're correct that you can't use parallels to run the update. I loaded up bootcamp and ran it from there. If you know anyone with a windows machine that has a USB-C port, - ask for their help - it'll be easeier - a 2 mins job.

I keep a small PC (for camera updates and other such tasks), but honestly I'm too lazy to disconnect all the stuff connected to my TS4, cut the cable ties to free up the power cable, and then redo all that!

 

[tigo013]

I keep a small PC (for camera updates and other such tasks), but honestly I'm too lazy to disconnect all the stuff connected to my TS4, cut the cable ties to free up the power cable, and then redo all that!

I hear ya. I had to load up bootcamp & run a trial version of windows to do the update myself, and other beta testing updates. I'm crossing my fingers that they release a mac version update by year end, and would have ironed out the issues.

 

[thomasparra]

I am looking to buy a PD dock because I am tired of having to plug countless cables when plugging my Mac (Power Cable, Display USBC, mouse, keyboard, headphones, Ethernet cable, cable to charge my iPhone/AirPods etc) so I thought I would just buy this TS4 so I only one cable to plug on my MAC and be able to charge various devices.

How is the Ethernet 2.5Gbps Intel controller performance on the TS4? I heard there were some issues with this i225 Intel controller. Also, besides the PD port, the other USB C ports only output 15W which is a bit of a shame considering that so many devices today can take 20 to 30W of charging power.

Any thoughts?

 

[dstyp]

I am looking to buy a PD dock because I am tired of having to plug countless cables when plugging my Mac (Power Cable, Display USBC, mouse, keyboard, headphones, Ethernet cable, cable to charge my iPhone/AirPods etc) so I thought I would just buy this TS4 so I only one cable to plug on my MAC and be able to charge various devices.

How is the Ethernet 2.5Gbps Intel controller performance on the TS4? I heard there were some issues with this i225 Intel controller. Also, besides the PD port, the other USB C ports only output 15W which is a bit of a shame considering that so many devices today can take 20 to 30W of charging power.

Any thoughts?

I'm unable to recommend this dock. Day one issues are still not resolved. Caldigit TS3+ was the top tier dock a couple of years for sure but the TS4 hasn't been it. I'm sure there are better alternatives.

 

[thomasparra]

I'm unable to recommend this dock. Day one issues are still not resolved. Caldigit TS3+ was the top tier dock a couple of years for sure but the TS4 hasn't been it. I'm sure there are better alternatives.

Thanks for the input. Yes I saw some of your previous comments a few pages before and it's crazy that nothing has changed since your February 2022 purchase. Have you found alternatives yet?

 

[dstyp]

Thanks for the input. Yes I saw some of your previous comments a few pages before and it's crazy that nothing has changed since your February 2022 purchase. Have you found alternatives yet?

Haven't really been looking tbh but if I got one today I'd probably get the OWC Thunderbolt dock.

Still running the TS4 and have disabled sleep when connected (with the Amphetamine app) on the MBP M1 Max so it doesn't crash.

Still issues with sleep, ethernet etc but does charging ok and can endure a day of work. My SO got a new HP PC laptop at work and it has all kinds of headaches when connecting and doesn't support sleep properly.

Also did the firmware update but the quirks and issues continues.

 

[thomasparra]

Haven't really been looking tbh but if I got one today I'd probably get the OWC Thunderbolt dock.

Still running the TS4 and have disabled sleep when connected (with the Amphetamine app) on the MBP M1 Max so it doesn't crash.

Still issues with sleep, ethernet etc but does charging ok and can endure a day of work. My SO got a new HP PC laptop at work and it has all kinds of headaches when connecting and doesn't support sleep properly.

Also did the firmware update but the quirks and issues continues.

This is a shame...

The OWC dock only has 1000 Ethernet, not 2.5 like the TS4. How does your ethernet work? Do you get latency by the way by pinging you local router? That's a good way to see if the controller is good or not...

It seems there is no option our there for a dock that does at least 2.5G besides the TS4.

Honestly plugging a MacBook to Ethernet is a pain

 

[dstyp]

This is a shame...

The OWC dock only has 1000 Ethernet, not 2.5 like the TS4. How does your ethernet work? Do you get latency by the way by pinging you local router? That's a good way to see if the controller is good or not...

It seems there is no option our there for a dock that does at least 2.5G besides the TS4.

Honestly plugging a MacBook to Ethernet is a pain

It's unstable in my experience. Same stability issues as the dock has overall with lost connection connected to sleep, vpn disconnect etc.

I often revert to wifi although the dock has ethernet plugged in. Haven't tested it much but in all honesty I have never experienced a user case where I needed the full bandwidth.

I can try and test for you if I remember during the weekend But I do believe when it works it's all ok, stability issues are connected to sleep, reconnection, new devices etc.

Given the new pd compatibility that has been accepted and overall roadmap of thunderbolt I'm sure next iterations of docks will be better and have interesting features - like well over 100W power.

 

[thomasparra]

It's unstable in my experience. Same stability issues as the dock has overall with lost connection connected to sleep, vpn disconnect etc.

I often revert to wifi although the dock has ethernet plugged in. Haven't tested it much but in all honesty I have never experienced a user case where I needed the full bandwidth.

I can try and test for you if I remember during the weekend But I do believe when it works it's all ok, stability issues are connected to sleep, reconnection, new devices etc.

Given the new pd compatibility that has been accepted and overall roadmap of thunderbolt I'm sure next iterations of docks will be better and have interesting features - like well over 100W power.

you can do a ping test (in the Mac terminal) to your local router. Unless you have a faulty Ethernet cable, any latency above 1ms should be a red flag that there is too much latency being created on the Intel Ethernet card within the TS4.

The TS4 cost over $430 in my country which makes these issues not acceptable to me even more so

I could almost buy a used Mac mini for that price.

I was thinking of maybe getting a simple USB C dock (without power) but I am not sure the Ethernet connection will be as good as on a regular PCIe card.

 

[dstyp]

you can do a ping test (in the Mac terminal) to your local router. Unless you have a faulty Ethernet cable, any latency above 1ms should be a red flag that there is too much latency being created on the Intel Ethernet card within the TS4.

The TS4 cost over $430 in my country which makes these issues not acceptable to me even more so

I could almost buy a used Mac mini for that price.

I was thinking of maybe getting a simple USB C dock (without power) but I am not sure the Ethernet connection will be as good as on a regular PCIe card.

Works fine - in the .5-ish range.
The new networkQuality command also is successful and caps out the internet speed (500/500).

Not sure how to test the max bandwidth internally, seems capped at 1000 when connecting to my server but might be other things interfering.

If you know a good command I can run in macOS I'm happy to try. networkQuality -r <internalserveriphere> did not work.

 

[thomasparra]

Works fine - in the .5-ish range.
The new networkQuality command also is successful and caps out the internet speed (500/500).

Not sure how to test the max bandwidth internally, seems capped at 1000 when connecting to my server but might be other things interfering.

If you know a good command I can run in macOS I'm happy to try. networkQuality -r <internalserveriphere> did not work.

I guess 0.5ms is good. A Belkin USB C to Ethernet adapter generally is around the 0.8ms to 1.2ms mark.

Not sure how to test max bandwidth. Can you try to transfer a large file between two Macs on the same network? (both connected to Ethernet if possible)?

 

[dstyp]

I guess 0.5ms is good. A Belkin USB C to Ethernet adapter generally is around the 0.8ms to 1.2ms mark.

Not sure how to test max bandwidth. Can you try to transfer a large file between two Macs on the same network? (both connected to Ethernet if possible)?

Played around a bit after work.

Used iperf3 on my Unifi Dream Machine SE that should have no limits. Still couldn't get more than gigabit speeds.

Checked network settings in macos for the tb connection - speed is reported as set automatically and 1000baseT.

Interesting...dock certainly has issues with this as well.

Will look into to it more eventually. But yeah, my buying recommendation continues to be a "no" for this unstable and unrealiable piece of hardware.

 

[N9JIG]

I have had my TS4 since March and haven't had a big issue with it just a couple little ones. I do not use the Sleep function with my Mac's, never have so that is not a problem with me.

It would occasionally lose track of the speakers I have plugged into the rear jack on the dock, on the couple of times this has occurred I just unplug the speaker and plug it back in and it works fine again.

In addition I noticed some video glitching when doing livestreams when the 4K Brio camera was plugged in to either of the TB ports or the USB-C data port. I suspect that bandwidth issues causes that, it is trying to push my audio, Internet, video and 2 HD monitors thru a single TB4 cable. I connected the camera to one of the MacBook Pro's other TB ports and it worked just fine. The video was just fine connected to the dock in less demanding situations like FaceTime or Zoom.

All in all I am happy with it. I also have the OWC Thunderbolt Dock but needed the extra ports and preferred the "Always connected" ones tot he rear. The OWC sits in my travel bag...

 

[thomasparra]

Played around a bit after work.

Used iperf3 on my Unifi Dream Machine SE that should have no limits. Still couldn't get more than gigabit speeds.

Checked network settings in macos for the tb connection - speed is reported as set automatically and 1000baseT.

Interesting...dock certainly has issues with this as well.

Will look into to it more eventually. But yeah, my buying recommendation continues to be a "no" for this unstable and unrealiable piece of hardware.

Can you go into that hardware tab in your network settings > Select Manual > Toggle 2.5G/2500 on > Select the other option below that does not have energy saving in the setting (this might fix your Ethernet loss after your computer goes to sleep).