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CES 2019: Elgato Unveils Thunderbolt 3 Pro Dock With Dual USB-C, Dual USB-A, Gigabit Ethernet, DisplayPort, and More

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Elgato parent company Corsair at CES 2019 this week unveiled its new Thunderbolt 3 Pro Dock. The dock connects to the latest MacBook Pro and MacBook Air with a single Thunderbolt 3 cable and provides a wide variety of additional I/O connectivity options, eliminating the need for multiple adapters.

elgato-thunderbolt-3-pro-dock-800x550.jpg

The dock is equipped with two USB-C ports with transfer speeds up to 10Gb/s, two USB-A ports with transfer speeds up to 5 Gb/s, two Thunderbolt 3 ports with transfer speeds up to 40 Gb/s, one DisplayPort 1.2, one Gigabit Ethernet port, a 3.5mm headphone jack and audio output, and SD and microSD card readers.

The dock can drive a 5K external display at 60Hz over Thunderbolt, or two 4K external displays simultaneously, with one connected via DisplayPort and the other via Thunderbolt. 4K at 60Hz is also supported via HDMI 2.0 with an adapter.

The new Thunderbolt 3 Pro Dock is available now for $349.99 from Amazon, Corsair, and select other retailers and distributors around the world.

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Article Link: CES 2019: Elgato Unveils Thunderbolt 3 Pro Dock With Dual USB-C, Dual USB-A, Gigabit Ethernet, DisplayPort, and More
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/01/09/elgato-thunderbolt-3-pro-dock/
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Am I dreaming is this the first dock to offer 4 USB-C ports (since two TB3 ports can double as USB-C)? Well, not counting LG's 5K monitor?
 
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nutmac said:
Am I dreaming is this the first dock to offer 4 USB-C ports (since two TB3 ports can double as USB-C)? Well, not counting LG's 5K monitor?
Click to expand...

USB-C is merely the physical connector. TB3 is always USB-C.

Some USB-C ports carry USB 3.1 data, others TB3, others Displayport or HDMI, and many carry multiple modes. It's bit of a mess. The manufacturer says for this model, the two USB-C ports marked as TB3 support Thunderbolt 3 obviously, plus power, plus USB 3.1, plus DisplayPort (a common combination). Then there are the two other USB-C ports that are USB 3.1 only. So if you're interested in USB 3.1 Gen 2 data (10 Gb/s) you have 4 ports available total.



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mKizzo said:
Experts at pricing themselves out of the market... within 2 months Amazon will be flooded with knockoffs for $50
Click to expand...

Doubt it. Find me a knockoff TB3 dock for under $100, please. I'm not sure there are any under $200 actually. USB-C docks with no TB3 do not count.
 
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So wait. OWC has one, akitio has one and now this. They are all the same price point. I just want a dock so i dont have to reach behind my 5k monitor to plug in SD cards and everyone wants $300-350 to do it. And before you answer about the clip on one that looks stupid to me. Wouldnt mind having 2 tb3 ports for daisy reasons ,SDXC and charging for $200 or under
 
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This would directly compete with the Caldigit dock that is $309 has I believe the same number of TB3 and USB C ports but the Caldigit has more USB A ports and costs less, not to mention it is consistently reviewed as THE hands down best TB3 dock in the market. But we should pay more for this one???
 
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dukeblue219 said:
USB-C is merely the physical connector. TB3 is always USB-C.

Some USB-C ports carry USB 3.1 data, others TB3, others Displayport or HDMI, and many carry multiple modes. It's bit of a mess. The manufacturer says for this model, the two USB-C ports marked as TB3 support Thunderbolt 3 obviously, plus power, plus USB 3.1, plus DisplayPort (a common combination). Then there are the two other USB-C ports that are USB 3.1 only. So if you're interested in USB 3.1 Gen 2 data (10 Gb/s) you have 4 ports available total.
Click to expand...

I think the correct nomenclature is that USB-C describes a portion of the USB 3.1 and later specifications made by USB-IF that include both a physical connector and an interface for exchanging data. TB3 is another specification made by Intel that includes both an interface and physical requirements that are slightly different than USB-C. This is why not all USB-C cables support TB3.
 
nutmac said:
Am I dreaming is this the first dock to offer 4 USB-C ports (since two TB3 ports can double as USB-C)? Well, not counting LG's 5K monitor?
Click to expand...

Wouldn’t it be three ports, technically? One of the ports has to be used to connect the dock to the host computer.
 
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oneMadRssn said:
I think the correct nomenclature is that USB-C describes a portion of the USB 3.1 and later specifications made by USB-IF that include both a physical connector and an interface for exchanging data. TB3 is another specification made by Intel that includes both an interface and physical requirements that are slightly different than USB-C. This is why not all USB-C cables support TB3.
Click to expand...
No, this is not correct. USB Type-C is a physical connector, nothing more, which MUST support some version of the USB protocol. It may also support a number of other protocols including Thunderbolt 3. This is the correct way to look at it.

In fact, some early versions only supported USB 2.0. It has nothing to do with USB 3.1, as a lot of documentation has implied.

Although the specification defines power-only cables, I have yet to see such a thing.

EDIT: If anyone has any doubts, feel free to give this a read: https://www.usb.org/document-librar...ecification-revision-13-july-14-2017-and-ecns

Please take note of page 28.

Page 203 says this very well:

All hosts and devices (except chargers and clearly marked charge-through ports) using a

USB Type-C™ receptacle shall expose a USB interface (minimally USB 2.0). In the case where

the host or device optionally supports Alternate Modes:
Click to expand...

It then proceeds to list some requirements, which may bore the average reader.
 
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roland.g said:
This would directly compete with the Caldigit dock that is $309 has I believe the same number of TB3 and USB C ports but the Caldigit has more USB A ports and costs less, not to mention it is consistently reviewed as THE hands down best TB3 dock in the market. But we should pay more for this one???
Click to expand...

The Plus model is nice, but still overkill for someone like myself. I dont need to hook up a bunch of monitors and charge laptops. for the price I will reach behind my computer lol. Would rather save my money for a nice NMVe SSD exclosure that I can daisy chain from and boot from.
 
Does anyone know if it's possible to connect two LG UltraFine 4k to this bad boy and run a single cable to the MacBook Pro?
 
Are these products possible?

- Thunderbolt 3 male-to-female cables.
- Thunderbolt 3 splitters.
- Thunderbolt 3 docks-hubs with MORE than two Thunderbolt 3 ports.

If so, where to purchase them? If not, is there any technical or Intel limitation? Thanks.
 
Agent4797 said:
Does anyone know if it's possible to connect two LG UltraFine 4k to this bad boy and run a single cable to the MacBook Pro?
Click to expand...

According to Elgato’s site it can. Connect one to the DisplayPort and the other to a USB-C port.
 
xpxp2002 said:
There are already $99 docks that use USB-C. I could maybe see $149 given the ports it offers, but $349 is insane.
Click to expand...

USB-C is a connector type like USB-A and USB-B.

Sure you can find relatively inexpensive USB3 docks using USB-C connectors -- and they don't provide the functionality you find in the higher priced TB3 docks such as daisychaining TB3 ports and supporting dual 4K60 monitors.
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Marx55 said:
Are these products possible?

- Thunderbolt 3 male-to-female cables.
- Thunderbolt 3 splitters.
- Thunderbolt 3 docks-hubs with MORE than two Thunderbolt 3 ports.

If so, where to purchase them? If not, is there any technical or Intel limitation? Thanks.
Click to expand...

I don't believe so on any of the counts. TB3 requires an "active" cable as you get past a short length - see https://blog.startech.com/post/thunderbolt-3-the-basics/

For similar reasons you won't see a "splitter"

As for # of TB3 ports - remember it is designed as a bus style setup where devices daisy chain one to the other, rather than a hub/spoke setup.
 
Why aren't there any USB C (3.1) hubs that just add 3-4 additional USB C connections?! That's all I want/need. I don't need display port. I don't need HDMI. I don't need USB A.
 
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