Suggestion for a docking station for MBPro 14M4

[Giuanniello]

I got a 14" MBPro and I am looking to hook it up to a few external devices like my Benq screen (now using the HDMI port), storage, chargers etc, wondering where should I look at for a dock to simplify the task and to eventually also host some kind of solid state storage, OWC?

Grazie

 

[PaulD-UK]

"...a dock to simplify the task and to eventually also host some kind of solid state storage..."

If you were intending that the storage (NVMe?) should be within the dock itself, then at the moment the TB4 specification only allows 10Gbps of data bandwidth to internal NVMe SSDs.
Full internal speeds may come with future TB 5 docks...

TB3 docks can house a full-speed NVMe SSD internally, but they can only support one 4K/60 DP/HDMI monitor.
Unless its a USB-C monitor connected to the second, downstream, TB3 port.

If you want to use an external SSD, plugged into the dock, then any TB3/TB4 dock will be fine, so just choose one with the ports you need.
Remembering that TB3/4's 40Gbps bandwidth (<32Gbps for data) is shared by all the ports.

An advantage of using an older TB 3 dock (not TB4...) is that it has its own USB 3.1 Gen2 controller in the dock, which can work much better than the Mac's own USB 3.* controller with SSDs that tend to disconnect randomly.
Plugged into the dock, these SSDs/encolosures are much more likely to be stable.

 

[dmccloud]

I use the Cal Digit Thunderbolt 4 Pro Dock with both my Mac Mini (M4) and my Macbook Pro. The dock has enough ports that I can connect my external HDDs and SSDs as well as my 4K monitor and use just the one TB4 cable to connect everything. The bonus is that the dock will also charge my laptop, so I can leave the laptop charger in its usual place when using my laptop at home.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I haven't tried one but I like options from Brydge like the ProDock. If I was going the way of using laptop as also desktop, I'd very likely give that one a try.

 

[Alameda]

I got a 14" MBPro and I am looking to hook it up to a few external devices like my Benq screen (now using the HDMI port), storage, chargers etc, wondering where should I look at for a dock to simplify the task and to eventually also host some kind of solid state storage, OWC?

Grazie

I bought this TB 4 dock from OWC for my M1 MacBook Pro. I’ve been using it for quite some time. Pluses and minuses:

1. Single cable connection for power, data and video.
2. It’s solid.
3. The DisplayPort video output works flawlessly and charging works flawlessly
4. Power works great
5. No problems with its gig Ethernet connection, though sometimes best to disable the WiFi to ensure the wired Ethernet is always used.
6. USB compatibility has been 100%
7. This leaves us with data. My Thunderbolt SSD works well but it is not as fast as when attached directly. Performance isn’t poor, but it’s slower when using the dock instead of connecting directly.
8. When I sleep the Mac, the drives often are disconnected, and the Mac displays a message about that. I don’t get these messages when my drives are directly attached.

It’s not surprising that the 40 gb/s gets slowed down when it’s broken into many connections. The dock doesn’t deliver peak drive performance but it is quite good and the convenience is worthwhile.

 

[Canadia69]

No problems with its gig Ethernet connection, though sometimes best to disable the WiFi to ensure the wired Ethernet is always used.

Dont understand why apple wont make it more obvious when using ethernet....really wish there was an ethernet icon instead of Wifi icon when u are clearly on ehternet...how is this still a thing in 2025

 

[Canadia69]

If you are willing to be a little patient, Caldigit are going to release their TS5 'Plus' dock which got exposed during the Apple Event earlier...

https://www.reddit.com/r/CalDigit/comments/1gg06z4/caldigit_ts5_thunderbolt_5_exposed_apple_event