I would like an external dock to connect power, up to two non 4K monitors, keyboard, mouse dongle and low speed external hard drive. I was going to buy a USB-C based drive for my new 2018 Macbook Pro model, but was told by a vendor that the port architecture is different on the 2018 model and only Thunderbolt docks can be used. Any suggestions on dock that can meet my needs? Would like to spend in the $100 range. Thanks.
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Least expensive dock option suggestions with 2018 MBP
- Thread starter automan98
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I don't think what you seek exists. You need a Thunderbolt dock, and I haven't seen any around $100 - unless you go on the used market.
- That doesn't sound right at all.
Didn't make sense to me either. Seemed like someone trying to upsell to the more expensive dock.
Can I use any USBC hub with the 2018 MBP?
But the 2018 MacBook Pro has four USB C/Thunderbolt 3 ports so it should be able to drive two displays using two ports. Basically you would have one port for the hub which would have an HDMI or (Mini) DisplayPort port on it, and another HDMI or (Mini) DisplayPort to USB C cord going into another port.
I would look at Satechi’s sleek little side dock. About $100. Only one HDMI so you could use a TB3 port on it to connect the second display and still only have to connect and disconnect the hub. You may have to run the second display straight from the laptop.
https://satechi.net/collections/hub...ging-sd-micro-card-reader-and-2-usb-3-0-ports
This Pluggable unit should be perfect but is $180.
https://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Cha...=pluggable&dpPl=1&dpID=41-WDH23btL&ref=plSrch
https://satechi.net/collections/hub...ging-sd-micro-card-reader-and-2-usb-3-0-ports
This Pluggable unit should be perfect but is $180.
https://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Cha...=pluggable&dpPl=1&dpID=41-WDH23btL&ref=plSrch
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
- Yes, of course. That defeats the purpose of a dock, though, and wasn't what the OP was looking for.
- That one doesn't have any TB3 ports. And yes, the second display would need to be connected directly to the MBP itself.
- Not macOS compatible according to the information. And macOS can't do multiple displays over USB-C anyway, no matter which dock is used.
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It has a usb c non charging port good for a 5gb/s transfer speed for your drive. If it had a TB3 port it would be a TB dock and cost $250-400.
- Exactly. And I don't think that second USB-C port on the hub supports display output.
(You suggested using a TB3 port on the hub for the second display, so I pointed out that the hub doesn't have a TB3 port. Or you didn't mean the hub but rather the MBP when you wrote "on it" in the same sentence as you were talking about the hub, in which case your post was a bit confusing.)
I wasn’t actually sure if the Satechi HuB USB-C port supported Display or only data. However the USB-C furthest from you does support a display or charging. You may actually be able to connect 2 displays using that and HDMI but then wouldn’t be able to charge it through the hub.
- macOS doesn't support multiple displays through USB-C, not matter what the hub supports. So it wouldn't work in any case.
Got it. It would work for me. I have a Dell 34” curved ultra wide instead of 2 displays.