High cost of TB4 hubs/docks consideration for M2 Pro vs M2?

[millekj]

I have a 2018 Mac Mini and am looking to upgrade to a new 2023 mini. I am amazed at the cost of a quality TB4 hub/dock and for the M2 mini I am looking at (16Gb/1TB), it may be more beneficial to opt for the M2 Pro to gain the two additional TB4 ports that would negate the need for the hub/dock.

Has anyone else opted for the M2 Pro to avoid TB4 port exhaustion or having to purchase a TB4 hub or dock?

 

[russell_314]

I have a 2018 Mac Mini and am looking to upgrade to a new 2023 mini. I am amazed at the cost of a quality TB4 hub/dock and for the M2 mini I am looking at (16Gb/1TB), it may be more beneficial to opt for the M2 Pro to gain the two additional TB4 ports that would negate the need for the hub/dock.

Has anyone else opted for the M2 Pro to avoid TB4 port exhaustion or having to purchase a TB4 hub or dock?

That's a $320 for two more ports. A hub would give you more than two extra TB4 ports and I'm sure you could find one cheaper than $320.

 

[now i see it]

Plugging directly into the mini is much more preferable than using a hub. The extra cost of the M2 Pro for two more ports is worth it to me. The M2 mini port situation reminds me of the single USB C port situation on the early Mac book air - COURAGE.
Basically it’s intentionally crippled to create a more unpleasant user experience to entice users to upgrade to a more expensive model.

(I have a 2016 Mac book with one port — it’s freaking annoying)

 

[russell_314]

Here's one I found from OWC that's not very expensive. It's the same connection speed and most of your devices are probably not going to be TB4 unless it's a very nice external SSD. Maybe what you need is a USB-C hub and that's dirt cheap.

Having a hub is better because you'll have the ports right there instead of having to reach behind the Mac mini. Maybe in the future they will add ports to the front like on the Mac Studio.

OWC Thunderbolt Hub at MacSales.com

TB4HUB5PM OWC Thunderbolt Hub. Triple your Thunderbolt ports plus add USB to any Thunderbolt (USB-C) Mac or Thunderbolt 4 PC.

eshop.macsales.com

 

[velocityg4]

I’d get the Pro. Since it has more cores and supports an additional monitor. You’re unlikely to need a bunch of TB4 ports for high speed devices. So, you can always add more USB ports with a cheap hub.

With a MacBook I’d want a Dock to simplify connections. With a Mini it isn’t necessary. You can hide stuff under the desk if you want to clean things up.

 

[bradman83]

Do you need Thunderbolt specifically? Would your needs be met with a standard USB4 hub instead? Those can be significantly cheaper and if you don't need specific TB4 functionality that could be the way to go to save on costs.

 

[tstafford]

I have a 2018 Mac Mini and am looking to upgrade to a new 2023 mini. I am amazed at the cost of a quality TB4 hub/dock and for the M2 mini I am looking at (16Gb/1TB), it may be more beneficial to opt for the M2 Pro to gain the two additional TB4 ports that would negate the need for the hub/dock.

Has anyone else opted for the M2 Pro to avoid TB4 port exhaustion or having to purchase a TB4 hub or dock?

Honestly the cost of the Caldigit TS4 factored in to my purchase of a base Studio at $1799. At the time the TS4 was hard to get and about $400. Made the Studio *feel* cheaper because of all the I/O.