Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Super Sticky Thread for USB-C Docks, Cables and Accessories [MERGED]
- Thread starter Truefan31
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I thought they all should have been released by now when I last checked, but it looks like this month per their pre-order pages. Personally I like the mini dock they have, as I finally ran hardwired ethernet over to my main computer (which shares a monitor with a rMB) but I would have to see if they restrict HMDI output to 1080p or not. That is the nice thing about the Apple adapter being that it supports 2560x1440.
Hi guys and girls,
any update or review on the above few mention docks and if its works? Is all available on sale in the market?
MINIX NEO C, USB-C Multiport Adapter with HDMI
http://www.caldigit.com/USB-C/
OWC USB C Dock
seems like production is slow.
Will appreciate if anyone had use any of this and work perfectly. Thank you
any update or review on the above few mention docks and if its works? Is all available on sale in the market?
MINIX NEO C, USB-C Multiport Adapter with HDMI
http://www.caldigit.com/USB-C/
OWC USB C Dock
seems like production is slow.
Will appreciate if anyone had use any of this and work perfectly. Thank you
I received my OWC USB-C dock around the 22d of February. It came while I was on a business trip (which figures, after waiting all that time). It's a pretty nifty device for which I believe a US$99 price would be appropriate. I paid US$129 for mine on pre-order which I placed in August 2015. Now they are charging US$159, which does seem a little high for something so basic. Hopefully as more docks become available and there is more robust competition — which does seem to be happening with the USB-C dongles — the price of these things will come down.
The OWC dock is a USB 3.1 "Gen 1" device, which means its total nominal bandwidth is the 5GBps of the USB 3.0 "SuperSpeed" pipe which we've known for about five years. In practice, a USB 3.0 connection has overhead which means that 3.2Gbps is the maximum realistic throughput. When I put two USB 3.0 storage devices on the bus and copy files between them, I'm getting about twice the speed of a USB 2.0 connection. If copying from the internal SSD on my Retina MacBook it's about four times faster than USB 2.0.
This dock has a total of five USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports. (Five is kind of a disappointment for a peripheral as expensive as this; why not seven?) Two of them are so-called "high power" ports for charging devices like an iPhone. Because there's an external power supply powering the OWC dock, I can charge the phone regardless of whether any computer is attached. So it does take the place of an external "wall wart" for charging the phone, and that saves space and about US$20.
The HDMI port allows the attachment of an external monitor. I use a Dell U3415W 34" 3440 x 1440 ultrawide 21:9 monitor with no particular problems. File copy operations do slow down to USB 2.0 speed but that's understandable given the total bandwidth limitation.
I haven't used the Ethernet port, the SD Card slot, or the external headphone jack.
Am I happy with it? Yes. It gives me a convenient "one-cable" docking solution for my Retina MacBook which more or less replaces the Thunderbolt Display with a wider display and faster file copying.
The OWC dock works well enough for now and definitely points the way to what's possible once the USB 3.0 "Gen 2" devices and Thunderbolt 3 are widely available. A Thunderbolt 3 Retina MacBook would be an amazing desktop replacement.
The OWC dock is a USB 3.1 "Gen 1" device, which means its total nominal bandwidth is the 5GBps of the USB 3.0 "SuperSpeed" pipe which we've known for about five years. In practice, a USB 3.0 connection has overhead which means that 3.2Gbps is the maximum realistic throughput. When I put two USB 3.0 storage devices on the bus and copy files between them, I'm getting about twice the speed of a USB 2.0 connection. If copying from the internal SSD on my Retina MacBook it's about four times faster than USB 2.0.
This dock has a total of five USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports. (Five is kind of a disappointment for a peripheral as expensive as this; why not seven?) Two of them are so-called "high power" ports for charging devices like an iPhone. Because there's an external power supply powering the OWC dock, I can charge the phone regardless of whether any computer is attached. So it does take the place of an external "wall wart" for charging the phone, and that saves space and about US$20.
The HDMI port allows the attachment of an external monitor. I use a Dell U3415W 34" 3440 x 1440 ultrawide 21:9 monitor with no particular problems. File copy operations do slow down to USB 2.0 speed but that's understandable given the total bandwidth limitation.
I haven't used the Ethernet port, the SD Card slot, or the external headphone jack.
Am I happy with it? Yes. It gives me a convenient "one-cable" docking solution for my Retina MacBook which more or less replaces the Thunderbolt Display with a wider display and faster file copying.
The OWC dock works well enough for now and definitely points the way to what's possible once the USB 3.0 "Gen 2" devices and Thunderbolt 3 are widely available. A Thunderbolt 3 Retina MacBook would be an amazing desktop replacement.
Last edited:
Thanks for the feedback on the OWC dock.
Good to hear that the dock does resolutions > 1080p without issue... if I were to get this it would be driving a 2560x1440 monitor. Are you getting 60Hz out of your monitor then?
Good to hear that the dock does resolutions > 1080p without issue... if I were to get this it would be driving a 2560x1440 monitor. Are you getting 60Hz out of your monitor then?
Works for me. I read somewhere else on this site that it can be finicky about the HDMI cable, and other people say that some other 34" Ultrawide monitors (the Samsung one?) require a DisplayPort connection. So everyone's experience seems to be different.
Yeah, I ended up buying a 2' HDMI 2.0 cable to get mine to work reliably. I was using another six foot cable I had lying around but kept getting screen drop outs (the six foot cable worked fine with a Mac Pro and 13" Retina Macbook though...).
The rMB adapter works great after the new cable though.
The rMB adapter works great after the new cable though.
I picked up a MINIX Neo C, all the colors are for sale on Amazon.
No problems with it at all, and flash keys and SD cards mount immediately. Someone had mentioned somewhere that it didn't plug in snugly into the USB-C port, they must have been using a pre-release as it works fine for me.
Haven't tested the HDMI on a 4K monitor, seems to work great on my crappy Asus 17" monitor though.
Ethernet works, but you have to install a third-party driver. Don't use the one in the Minix forums, get the latest one approved for El Capitan direct from the Ethernet chip vendor here:
http://www.asix.com.tw/download.php?sub=driverdetail&PItemID=131
The one in the Minix forums only supports up to Yosemite.
Only two concerns: it is somewhat heavy, and it does get hot, but never uncomfortable to the touch. Being a cheapass, I use it with Apple's 29W adapter and an Anker USB-C to USB-C cable, they certify it as a charge cable, and that Google engineer guy approved of the Anker cable. That cable seems thin to me but as long as it works..
$29 for a damn cable, Apple? Really? The Anker only cost me $10.
No problems with it at all, and flash keys and SD cards mount immediately. Someone had mentioned somewhere that it didn't plug in snugly into the USB-C port, they must have been using a pre-release as it works fine for me.
Haven't tested the HDMI on a 4K monitor, seems to work great on my crappy Asus 17" monitor though.
Ethernet works, but you have to install a third-party driver. Don't use the one in the Minix forums, get the latest one approved for El Capitan direct from the Ethernet chip vendor here:
http://www.asix.com.tw/download.php?sub=driverdetail&PItemID=131
The one in the Minix forums only supports up to Yosemite.
Only two concerns: it is somewhat heavy, and it does get hot, but never uncomfortable to the touch. Being a cheapass, I use it with Apple's 29W adapter and an Anker USB-C to USB-C cable, they certify it as a charge cable, and that Google engineer guy approved of the Anker cable. That cable seems thin to me but as long as it works..
$29 for a damn cable, Apple? Really? The Anker only cost me $10.
Anyone have experience with this one? Amazon reviews seem positive.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2437869742&pf_rd_i=desktop
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2437869742&pf_rd_i=desktop
I found this while searching around for USB-to-video dongles:
StarTech.com USB-C to VGA adapter - USB Type-C to VGA Video Converter
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00ZR1AETE
There's also an HDMI option on the Amazon page. I think this is a good alternative to Apple's video-out dongle if all you need is video and nothing more for presentations on the go.
StarTech.com USB-C to VGA adapter - USB Type-C to VGA Video Converter
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00ZR1AETE
There's also an HDMI option on the Amazon page. I think this is a good alternative to Apple's video-out dongle if all you need is video and nothing more for presentations on the go.
Anyone have experience with this one? Amazon reviews seem positive.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2437869742&pf_rd_i=desktop
Looks pretty good if you need a big dock.. I'm waiting on the second version of this LINK ... It really seemed like a product I would love - small enough to just put in the bag when I only need HDMI out (presenting around - no power needed) but also with USB and power to be used when I make my dock-desk with a monitor down the line... But no luck.. The MacBook doesn't even register that I plug it in (HDMI) and no picture obviously... They say they haven't heart about it before, and fingers crossed for the second version, but so far no luck...
Anyone have experience with this one? Amazon reviews seem positive.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2437869742&pf_rd_i=desktop
Just received it from Amazon!
I will test it a bit, I only checked connecting the USB-C passthru to the Apple AC Adapter: OSX Sytem Information does not recognize the charger as being the original, and the Mac reports 24watts received from it (so slighty lower than the 29w it usually gets when directly connected).
Will see if charging the laptop with it takes pretty much the same time though
Nice. Do you have anything you could connect the hdmi to? I just want to be able to use the macbook in clamshell mode, so I would have an hdmi going to my monitor, usb to keyboard, and then the charging port. Mouse connected wirelessly.Just received it from Amazon!
I will test it a bit, I only checked connecting the USB-C passthru to the Apple AC Adapter: OSX Sytem Information does not recognize the charger as being the original, and the Mac reports 24watts received from it (so slighty lower than the 29w it usually gets when directly connected).
Will see if charging the laptop with it takes pretty much the same time though
Think I'd have any problems with that and this hub?
Last edited:
I was not able to try the clamshell since I don't have a wireless keyboard and mouse to connect to it together with the power cable, but I tried the HDMI out to my 55 TV with no issues!
I tried charging the Macbook while turned off from 0 to 100, and it took about 2h30....I think it's in fact a bit slower than charging direct, need to find out if the hub is supposed to work this way or mine is broken
Great news! Can you pls share under System Information/Power what OSX is reporting when you connect the OEM adapter to the OEM USB-C/USB adapter?
The lack on the market of USB-C docks is becoming rather annoying, on top of the delay in upgrading RMB, MBA (or kill it once and forever) and RMBP.
I am the CIO/CEO/bottle washer of a small consultancy firm, we've some MBA 13" 2012 and 13" and 15" MBP 2015. The power users with the MBP are happy the non-power users aren't since the MBAs are quite old now and we are ready to pull the trigger to replace them, but...here is the cluster****:
1. we make great use of Cinema displays and bolt displays (24" and 27") so we have today Belkin bolt stations. Fine, but we can not move the roadrunners to RMBs because there is no one selling a (all getting preorders) USB-C dock with a Display Port or Mini DP for their desktop;
2. getting new MBA does not make any sense at this stage, I have some concerns on the RMB so I decided to buy an open box 1.2 Ghz 512 to see how it looks like. The MBA-people travel quite a lot so we can not carry a brick with us across three continents.
3. Buying iMacs and going cloudish with iPad pros is still not an option for a ton of reasons including connectivity restrictions ( a 10mbps symmetrical Wireless costs already a fortune because we're in the woods, no DSL or cable (which is not an option for the whole country ) and RMBP power users will accept it over their lying dead bodies...unfeasible.
At least a USB-C thunderbolt display will ease our pain, we replace MBAs with RMB, leave the cinema and bolt displays to power users and that's it, but now we're stuck...
I am the CIO/CEO/bottle washer of a small consultancy firm, we've some MBA 13" 2012 and 13" and 15" MBP 2015. The power users with the MBP are happy the non-power users aren't since the MBAs are quite old now and we are ready to pull the trigger to replace them, but...here is the cluster****:
1. we make great use of Cinema displays and bolt displays (24" and 27") so we have today Belkin bolt stations. Fine, but we can not move the roadrunners to RMBs because there is no one selling a (all getting preorders) USB-C dock with a Display Port or Mini DP for their desktop;
2. getting new MBA does not make any sense at this stage, I have some concerns on the RMB so I decided to buy an open box 1.2 Ghz 512 to see how it looks like. The MBA-people travel quite a lot so we can not carry a brick with us across three continents.
3. Buying iMacs and going cloudish with iPad pros is still not an option for a ton of reasons including connectivity restrictions ( a 10mbps symmetrical Wireless costs already a fortune because we're in the woods, no DSL or cable (which is not an option for the whole country ) and RMBP power users will accept it over their lying dead bodies...unfeasible.
At least a USB-C thunderbolt display will ease our pain, we replace MBAs with RMB, leave the cinema and bolt displays to power users and that's it, but now we're stuck...
Just dropped an email to the support, the product documentation is unclear about that...
It appears to be just a standard usb docking station of which there are literally dozens to choose from. Not designed to work with the MacBook though as there is no ability to put the necessary power through the usb port provided.
If it does not charge while connecting is totally worthless. Waiting for their confirmation. So in the end only caldigit or hydradock are valid options and both are backorders. I don't understand why.
I pretty seriously doubt it charges the MacBook; while I'm not an expert in such matters and don't have citations for the USB3 specifications handy, I don't believe there's any provision for charging the host end of the connection unless using USBC.
What are you needing that the HooToo Shuttle doesn't provide in one of their configurations?