Thunderbolt Docks, which one to pick?

[wonderful]

I would like to get a docking station for Retina Macbook Pro. I have 4-5 USB drives that will be hooked up to the doc, eventually two external monitors and a key board. I would like to use this set up when at home and then be able to easily disconnect it for easy portability. I was looking at OWC thunderbolt dock. I also noticed some connectivity/hanging up issues on the net about OWC docks.

The reviews I found online are pretty generic and as well as the complaints? Is there a clear winner here, is something new is on the horizon?

Appreciate any advise from the group.

Thanks

 

[pjny]

I have the Caldigit tbolt v1 dock. worked flawless. best accessory i got for my old macbook 2011. also allowed me to make dual monitor setup using seagate thunderbolt drive dock.

 

[wonderful]

I have the Caldigit tbolt v1 dock. worked flawless. best accessory i got for my old macbook 2011. also allowed me to make dual monitor setup using seagate thunderbolt drive dock.

Can I attach a USB hub with additional devices attached to the hub

Thanks

 

[Richdmoore]

Can I attach a USB hub with additional devices attached to the hub

Thanks

Yes. I also have the same caldiget thunderbolr let station (1st edition tb1 model.)

 

[wonderful]

Ap

Yes. I also have the same caldiget thunderbolr let station (1st edition tb1 model.)

Great! Before I started the thread I was thinking about Belkin and OWC docks. Will review Caldiget docks as well.

 

[chrfr]

Ap

Great! Before I started the thread I was thinking about Belkin and OWC docks. Will review Caldiget docks as well.

I'll echo the positive comments on the Caldigit hub. I'm still using the v1 version, and it's been great.

 

[ColdCase]

The startech docks are great performers, no audio pops and seamless sleep. High performance, reasonable prices considering that they come with a TB cable and power adapters for many different countries.

There was a thread here awhile ago that listed all the available docks, but for best results you need to find at least a second generation one with the interfaces you need. The OWC unit is still in its first generation and can overheat.

If you would like to someday throw two SSDs or 2.5 inch drives on the bus as well a DVD/BR drive, the Sonnet echo 15 is now on the market and performs as well or better than others. It has a nice menu feature, which ejects all drives connected to it with a single click. Useful when to want to cut and run as you won't be annoyed by all those disk ejected improperly notifications

Oh, sure you are aware that two monitors on a single TB port works only if one monitor is driven by is HDMI and the other DP/TB.

 

[noodle654]

I'll echo the positive comments on the Caldigit hub. I'm still using the v1 version, and it's been great.

Still using one too. Works great...was tempted to get the new OWC one for TB2 but I think I won't upgrade anything until TB3 and we see the future of USB C/TB3 connectivity.