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16 Macbook Pro - TB dock compatibility?

JappleUser25

JappleUser25

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 8, 2017
4
8
What Thunderblolt 3 (TB3) docks are compatible with the new 16 inch Macbook Pro? Have the power requirements for charging changed between the 15 and 16 inch MBP models?

For example, the Caldigit website (for the TS3 plus dock) states *The TS3 Plus provides up to 85W charging for Mac & Windows Thunderbolt 3 laptops. Will that work with the new 16-inch Macbook Pro? Or do we need to wait for a new round of updated docks?
 
I'm interested in this as well as I have an IOGear that only does 85W at home and a Dell dock at work that provides 130W to my Dell XPS laptop but only 90W to non-Dell machines. I'm thinking about going with an eGPU as there are a couple of them that provide 100W. It will also work as my dock as a few of them have additional USB ports.

IOGear USB-C Docking Station

Dell WD19TB
 
Short version: It runs perfectly fine at 85W. Note: I've run my 2016 15" MBP from 45W docks for whole months. But currently I've got the TS3 Plus for my 16" MBP and it works great.

Long version: If you are using the laptop to run software that puts the laptop on long periods of sustained load, then you need the full wattage. Otherwise you simply don't.

In other words, if you convert videos, do render jobs, compile huge piles of source code etc. for an hour or more, then 85W is fine. Hell, even 60W is probably fine because most of these jobs don't tax the CPU and GPU at the same time. However should there be any shortage in power, the laptop will dip slightly into the battery power, which you won't notice unless it happens for hours on end.

My question for these scenarios would be: why would you want to use a laptop for these kinds of things? Because the fans will be absolutely screaming for hours on end.
 
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