Power Upwardly with a Thunderbolt Dock That Tin can Handle All the Devices Your MacBook Pro Needs

Truth is, about Thunderbolt 3 docks on the market are seriously underpowered. There may be a valid reason for this on an engineering level, but I don't retrieve so. More probable it's a instance of unwise price-cutting, apparently and simple.

For many of us who use a later-model MacBook Pro, the laptop requires 60–85W for charging at maximum charge per unit and efficiency. Connecting one or two Thunderbolt HDDs to an external dock typically requires about 15W of boosted power per device. Add a few usual USB peripherals similar a retentiveness menu reader and a photo scanner at 7.5W each, then an SSD high-speed drive for offloading original camera footage at 5W, and of a sudden nosotros are enervating 40-50W of additional ability. Clearly, nosotros need more than the 60W provided by nigh manufacturers' docks; this meager amount tin barely accuse a 15-inch MacBook Pro operating alone and unencumbered.

Click to enlarge.
Different almost Thunderbolt 3 docks, the CalDigit TS3 Plus provides ample 85W of power for properly charging a MacBook Pro or PC laptop. The TS3 provides seven (7) USB ports, the most of any dock available, including a high-speed USB iii.i Gen ii (10Gbps) port. Interestingly and most unusual, the TS3 can operate either horizontally or vertically, a pregnant reward given the lack of desktop real estate that many of usa must fence with.
CalDigit

example of power utilization

In total, peripheral devices similar hard drives, photograph scanners, and card readers can draw plenty of power.
CalDigit

The CalDigit TS3 Plus Thunderbolt iii dock is one of the few units on the market that supplies 85W of continuous ability for charging a host laptop. In all, the dock tin provide a generous 180W, more than enough to ability a panoply of devices on all 15 buses and connectors simultaneously. This is a unique reward of the CalDigit TS3 dock — information technology provides the power we need for a wide range of peripherals while providing full charging power in excess of the 60W typically provided by nigh dock manufacturers.

CalDigit TS3 power supply

The TS3 Plus features an unusually loftier-chapters 180W power supply (b), more than enough to simultaneously ability a range of devices on all 15 USB, Thunderbolt, and miscellaneous connections.
Barry Braverman

The CalDigit power supply (provided) is engineered and manufactured to back up the TS3'southward enhanced capabilities. The ability supply is a defended high-capacity unit of measurement, non a cheap off-the-shelf adapter repurposed from other less demanding uses and devices.

Apple USB SuperDrive

Worried about connecting a notoriously power hungry SuperDrive? Don't exist. The CalDigit TS3 Plus provides plenty of power for that too.
Apple

The TS3'due south 180W capacity means the two Thunderbolt 3 40Gbps connectors in the back of the unit may be used simultaneously (dissimilar some competing docks) to power a full complement of TB3 storage drives and accessories. The dock also features a USB 3.1 Gen 2 connector for connecting fast SSD storage at 10Gbps, a cardinal reward for offloading massive 4K camera files when Thunderbolt is not an option.

UHS-II SD card reader

The TS3 Plus+ features a latest-generation UHS-Two SD card reader useful for offloading 4K camera files from camcorders like the Panasonic EVA1. At 312MBps, the v4.0 card reader offers more than than twice the transfer speed of UHS-I readers found on other Thunderbolt 3 docks. Looking ahead, shooters volition run into increased apply of the SDXC UHS-2 carte in new 4K camcorders from Panasonic and others.

One of the overnice features of the TS3 Plus is the built-in UHS-II SD carte du jour reader. Many of u.s.a. are spending more than and more than time on sets and late at night in hotel rooms offloading data-heavy camera original footage from SDXC UHS-2 memory cards. My Panasonic EVA1 is an impressive camcorder in virtually every fashion, simply offloading cards via the on-board USB interface can be slow and frustrating. The v4.0 SD carte du jour reader can significantly reduce offload times by 75% or more than. This has to exist a good thing, especially every bit future firmware updates will enable fifty-fifty higher-chip-rate recording and concomitantly heavier data loads.

USB 3.1 Gen 2 port

The TS3 Plus is the first Thunderbolt 3 dock to offer a USB three.ane Gen 2 port (x Gbps) to take better advantage of high-speed SSD devices. Personally I look forrard to the solar day when the chaos of USB is behind u.s.a., and Thunderbolt iii rules the roost, moving data along quite merrily at 40Gbps.

The CalDigit TS3 sports the latest DisplayPort v1.two, supporting very-high-resolution monitors beyond 4K. Notably, there is no Apple Mini DisplayPort in the TS3. (Express to 4K resolution, the Mini DisplayPort appears now to be fading from the scene.) The TS3 v1.2 DisplayPort likewise eliminates the $30 adapter/dongle typically required by Apple laptops in club to connect a professional display.

At that place are many convenient aspects to the CalDigit TS3 Plus+ dock. For example, the dock includes a S/PDIF optical digital audio connector and analog connectors for a microphone and headset, which will exist specially useful for purveyors of podcasts.

Dual 4K monitor support

One of the many useful features of the TS3 is congenital-in back up for dual 4K monitors. Professional editors never had it this good – or as easy.

While the CalDigit TS3 is competent and versatile, there is one betoken worth mentioning when comparison the TS3 Plus to competing Thunderbolt 3 docks: There is no built-in support for certain legacy formats like FireWire.

You'll need the $30 dongle for that.