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Super Sticky Thread for USB-C Docks, Cables and Accessories [MERGED]
- Thread starter Truefan31
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I have a 15 inch MBP on the way, moving from a 2013 iMac to the MBP with either 2 x 4k displays or 1 single 5k display.
I have a lot of USB drives, speakers, a printer, etc. that I'd like to continue to use and I'm completely lost about the extra bits to pick up in order to have the cleanest possible set up. Ideally it would be great to only have to plugin in one cable to the MBP. Something with an SD card reader would also be good.
I'm looking at usb-c hubs, thunderbolt hubs, and powered docks. I'm trying to work out if I can get by with something like a Hyperdrive hub or if I need to go down the route of something like the much more expensive CalDigit dock and I'm not really sure what the advantages are.
Any advice is appreciated and what do you guys use?
I have a lot of USB drives, speakers, a printer, etc. that I'd like to continue to use and I'm completely lost about the extra bits to pick up in order to have the cleanest possible set up. Ideally it would be great to only have to plugin in one cable to the MBP. Something with an SD card reader would also be good.
I'm looking at usb-c hubs, thunderbolt hubs, and powered docks. I'm trying to work out if I can get by with something like a Hyperdrive hub or if I need to go down the route of something like the much more expensive CalDigit dock and I'm not really sure what the advantages are.
Any advice is appreciated and what do you guys use?
I have mid 2012 15in MacBookPro Retina and pretty sure I will be upgrading to 2018 MBP it is the best laptop I have had.
As far as adapters for USB C. In practice should I stick to the ones made by Apple to ensure they will work. All I have seen are pricey and internet reviews range from 5 star to 1 star for many I have researched.
Will need reg USB, HDMI and external monitor connection (VGA).
Joe
As far as adapters for USB C. In practice should I stick to the ones made by Apple to ensure they will work. All I have seen are pricey and internet reviews range from 5 star to 1 star for many I have researched.
Will need reg USB, HDMI and external monitor connection (VGA).
Joe
Buying an Apple one will gaurantee it will work. But, many doggles sold on Amazon work just fine. I thought I would need many but all I have is the USB-A and Network adapters. I remember thinking I could not live without USB-A but all is good without.
You can buy a USB-C dock that pretty well does it all. Not cheap but an all in one solution. I was going to buy one but to tell you the truth, after getting my new MBP set up, there is little need for anything except my USB-A doggle for using a jumpdrive.
You can buy a USB-C dock that pretty well does it all. Not cheap but an all in one solution. I was going to buy one but to tell you the truth, after getting my new MBP set up, there is little need for anything except my USB-A doggle for using a jumpdrive.
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I moved from a Retina 15" 2012 MacBook Pro to a 2016 Touch Bar 15" MacBook Pro, to be honest I regretted the move (Not enough to want to move back to the 2012 though) as I hate the Touch Bar, and no MagSafe and don't like the new butterfly mechanism keyboard, although I gather that the 2018 versions are much better as far as the keyboard is concerned. However I manage with a USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter, which has:
HDMI
USB
USB-C
I find that it covers most of my needs. I am amazed that VGA is still going and I still find some conference facilities only have VGA capable projectors still so understand why you need one of those as well.
HDMI
USB
USB-C
I find that it covers most of my needs. I am amazed that VGA is still going and I still find some conference facilities only have VGA capable projectors still so understand why you need one of those as well.
Attachments
Not necessarily. There are plenty of good third party adapters with more functionality than Apple OEM options.
I bought a RMB12 a couple years ago and have a total of two adapters. One is a basic USBA to USBC plug adapter which lives attached to an SD card reader. The other is a StarTech adapter with power-passthru, HDMI, and USBA. I rarely use it, but it's handy to have on occasion.
I use Satechi Aluminum Type-C Multimedia Adapter with 4K HDMI, mini DisplayPort, USB-C PD, Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0, Micro/SD Card
It gets toasty, which was surprising, but I am driving USB and my Apple Cinema Display off of it.
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It gets toasty, which was surprising, but I am driving USB and my Apple Cinema Display off of it.
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I have a few of the multi function hubs found on amazon. They all seemingly have the same flaw. I prefer a mouse, whether it be a Logitech or a Microsoft 4000. With the hubs the mouse movement lags, both in windows and OS. The Apple adapters do no exhibit that behavior, they work flawlessly.
Depending on my needs I may use the multi port Apple adapter, the USBC TO USB adapter, the hub or a combo.
Personally I’ve grown to like the adapters. On thing I love about MBP is the one port concept and being able to power on either side.
I would recommend the amazon and Apple adapters.
Depending on my needs I may use the multi port Apple adapter, the USBC TO USB adapter, the hub or a combo.
Personally I’ve grown to like the adapters. On thing I love about MBP is the one port concept and being able to power on either side.
I would recommend the amazon and Apple adapters.
Unfortunately 3rd party adapters can be a bit of a lottery, my office had to buy 3 different 3rd party adaptors as the IT Manager 'knew best' before we found a 3rd party one that worked with my 2016 15" to drive the conference room projector.
I have a Satechi as well. Not quite that model, but similar. I purchased it in 2016 and it has been working well.
Yes, which is why it's important to research here and elsewhere as to which are known to work well.
I needed mini-displayport and I struggled at finding something. Someone recommend the Satechi and I've been happy with it since.
Thanks for all the great feedback. For my initial need I think the USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter would be the best bet. I have read about the Satechi on Amazon but found a lot of complaints about it getting hot. I find the trouble with Amazon reviews is that there are so many 1 star comments about how horrible a device was. Because of cost it is hard to take a chance.
I find Amazon reviews often need a few grains of salt. Read the actual reviews and read between the lines.
As for taking a chance, I've never had any issue getting a refund on defective / doesn't-work-as-described items from Amazon so long as I ensured that it was shipped from Amazon. Typically with no shipping cost to return the device. It does unfortunately take time though, so I still make my best effort to choose well.
I did have a Belkin Hub with my 2012 MacBok Pro - this is the Thunderbolt 3 equivalent for the USB C MacBook Pro - Belkin Thunderbolt 3 Express Docking Station. It's not cheap but beware some 3rd Party hubs that don't deliver sufficient power to charge a 15" MacBook Pro - a lot of the cheaper ones can't. The new Belkin delivers 85W, the same as the charger that ships with the 15" MBP. As for Adaptors I stick with Apple or Belkin.
Unfortunately I had already purchased the Apple USB-C to mini-DisplayPort at time of order, but also needed HDMI and a couple USB type A, so went with the slim model.
If I had to do it over again, I would definitely have purchased the one you did.
I still question why these docks and even my JumpDrive get so warm when in use. None of my USB-A devices do this but even my JumDrive gets hot when I use it with my MBPro with the USB-C to USB-A adapter. Even when not in use it makes my device very warm. If I were on battery only, the heat created has got to be taking a hit on the battery.
I grabbed this Anker 'dock' for my 2018 MBP... and have used it some... I also grabbed a few USB-A > USB-C adapters and they work with everything that I've tried so far... my issue is that I still need to move stuff between this MBP and other devices - and cloud solutions are not always available... so the adapters are a necessary evil... the USB-A > USB-C adapters are small enough that I just leave them connected to the USB cables... makes using external drives easy-peasy.
New MBP 15" TB. Having scoured reviews for CalDigit CS3+, OWC 12 Port, Startech, Kensington 5200, Elgato TB3 HD - can anyone recommend an option out of these?
I'm driving two Dell u2715h screens (hoping to daisy chain DP), ethernet, I need 3 USB ports minimum and would prefer line-out on the rear (but if CalDigit is the fav. I would sacrifice!). SD card functionality a bonus but not a deal breaker.
A huge number of negative comments for OWC (wake from sleep issues, ports not working after a few months, no support) but it's certainly the best looking.
Any feedback?
I'm driving two Dell u2715h screens (hoping to daisy chain DP), ethernet, I need 3 USB ports minimum and would prefer line-out on the rear (but if CalDigit is the fav. I would sacrifice!). SD card functionality a bonus but not a deal breaker.
A huge number of negative comments for OWC (wake from sleep issues, ports not working after a few months, no support) but it's certainly the best looking.
Any feedback?
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I bought the CallDigit TS3 as it’s the perfect solution for me - I've connected all my cables to it and I just need to connect/disconnect 1 cable to/from the MBP when I'm at home. It's solidly made and can be either on it's side or upright. It's neatly slotted away and does not look out of place (see below).
In addiiton, multiple independent testing revealed it's currently the fastest dock available. There is a 10Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 standard port on the back and rest of the USB ports are 5 Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 1. I used the 10Gb port with my Samsung T3 and I was able to quickly transfer my large collection of VM's very quickly.
It's too early to comment on reliability but so far I'm happy with my purchase.
In addiiton, multiple independent testing revealed it's currently the fastest dock available. There is a 10Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 standard port on the back and rest of the USB ports are 5 Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 1. I used the 10Gb port with my Samsung T3 and I was able to quickly transfer my large collection of VM's very quickly.
It's too early to comment on reliability but so far I'm happy with my purchase.