Lenovo Thunderbolt 3 Dock now shipping!

[MrX8503]

Eh? I have provided the SYSTEM INFO panel, which clearly shows they are all running at full native resolutions.

Like I said in my previous post, system report may be deceiving you. You can read more about it below. The Mac Pro is reporting 5K as well, but we all know that's impossible.

@yaosiang "...we cannot rely on System Report to show the actual output resolution from the GPU"
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ng-in-display-preferences-is-it-30hz.2034429/

Download SwitchResX, which will give you the resolution AND the refresh rate.

 

[jimthing]

Exactly. This is a display that supports older TB2 Macs where it'll run at 3840x2160 or 3200x1800. TB2 only supports 1 DisplayPort stream. So either this display drops in resolution so it only uses up 1 DisplayPort stream or Apple has done a different way of wiring the ports where it is able to circumvent the TB3 controller and go into the GPU directly. The former seems more plausible than the latter.

@jimthing: last time: it isn't about whether or not it is working; as explained above this is a display that even works over a single DisplayPort stream (but it can't do 5k then) so it works even on older Macs that do not have TB3. What I requested from you and still am requesting is the technical explanation of it all since you claim to have knowledge of Thunderbolt because you own Thunderbolt products. It is not about proofing it works, it is about explaining how it works. Showing that something works is not showing you have actual knowledge of the technology.

Like I said in my previous post, system report may be deceiving you. You can read more about it below. The Mac Pro is reporting 5K as well, but we all know that's impossible.

@yaosiang "...we cannot rely on System Report to show the actual output resolution from the GPU"
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ng-in-display-preferences-is-it-30hz.2034429/

Download SwitchResX, which will give you the resolution AND the refresh rate.

I've done that, and the results clearly show all four displays running at 60Hz. The LG #2 drops to 4K resolution then scales up to 5K pixel size:

1. MBP screen:

2. Samsung 1080p screen:

3. LG 5K #1 screen:

4. LG 5K #2 screen:

So that's how it manages it, and now we all know! Hope this helps people wondering. Thanks.

One wonders what happens if you used a 4K UHD screen instead of just 1080p/1440p ones? I don't have one to test, so will have to leave that one, haha!

 

[dyn]

Yep, the devil is in the (very little) details here. Still great to see that it keeps one of them at 5k though.

 

[MrX8503]

So there's your proof right there. You can't run dual true 5K @ 60 hz if you connect a third external monitor.

 

[jimthing]

But you can actually run four displays though.

So effectively one can do a maximum resolution of:
5K + 4K + 4K + MBP.

...or in clamshell mode, instead of the MBP screen, one could use up to another 4K instead – perhaps maybe, haha!

 

[MrX8503]

But you can actually run four displays though.

So effectively one can do a maximum resolution of:
5K + 4K + 4K + MBP.

...or in clamshell mode, instead of the MBP screen, one could use up to another 4K instead – perhaps maybe, haha!

From an external monitor stand point you can run:

1. 5K + 5K
2. 4K + 4K + 4K + 4K
3. 5K + 4K + 4K

It doesn't matter if you're in clamshell mode or not. That's the physical limitation of the I/O. If you have dual 5K with a 3rd external monitor, one of your 5K's resolution will be reduced, which is what happened as I predicted.

 

[dyn]

Big note on that: that's only when you connect displays directly to the Thunderbolt 3 ports of the MBP.

If you need more displays you can do so (the GPU will be the limiting factor) but it would require connecting it via a USB adapter (DisplayLink) or an additional Thunderbolt device (you daisychain the display). Of course this will have a big impact on performance so this is not really recommended.

 

[jimthing]

Two points:

1. It's good how they designed it to drop the resolution down, rather than the frame rate. As otherwise you'd be stuck in crappy feedback on great res, rather than the preferable lower res with good feedback.

2. One could use an external GPU box too, at great extra expense (and hassle!), for more displays. I think I saw one on 9to5mac being tested by Jeff Benjamin there (can't find link! ;-).

EDIT: link... https://9to5mac.com/2017/01/18/hand...ge-apple-2016-macbook-pro-thunderbolt-3-video

 

[CTYankee]

Btw, the dock is no longer listed on the website, maybe temporarily.

Still not listed. What happened? This looked promising, hit the market, and then days later is gone.

 

[dyn]

There are many TB3 docks stuck at the certification process at the moment so I'm guessing Lenovo is running into the same problem.

 

[lenovo_guy]

There are many TB3 docks stuck at the certification process at the moment so I'm guessing Lenovo is running into the same problem.

Any updates on this? I'm eagerly awaiting this dock.

 

[CTYankee]

What is odd about Lenovo is the web page is broken and stripped of all content. If the product were real I'd expect a working page if some sort.

 

[lenovo_guy]

What is odd about Lenovo is the web page is broken and stripped of all content. If the product were real I'd expect a working page if some sort.

Google the part number and you can see that a lot of places carry it... one place in Canada is even selling it:

https://www.pccanada.com/viewitem.asp?id=542809

They say they still have one in stock. Last week it was around a dozen. And they even list a date when more are supposed to hit the warehouse! Hopeful!

And this place also lists dates of when they will come in:

http://www.shopblt.com/cgi-bin/shop...100200500187_B8E2567P.shtml&order_id=!ORDERID!

 

[jimthing]

Google the part number and you can see that a lot of places carry it... one place in Canada is even selling it:

https://www.pccanada.com/viewitem.asp?id=542809

They say they still have one in stock. Last week it was around a dozen. And they even list a date when more are supposed to hit the warehouse! Hopeful!

And this place also lists dates of when they will come in:

http://www.shopblt.com/cgi-bin/shop...100200500187_B8E2567P.shtml&order_id=!ORDERID!

And in UK/EU?

Haven't seen it at all.

 

[CTYankee]

It looks like this may be a dud for Macs:
https://forums.appleinsider.com/dis...-full-size-usb-hdmi-more-to-new-macbook-pr/p2

The three display ports only support one video stream. They plugged two monitors into the display ports and got mirrored video. Only way to get dual screen support is to use one DP and the front TB3 port with a video adapter.

 

[Tornado71]

I received today the new MBP 15" 2017 model and connected it with an Apple Thunderbolt cable to the Lenovo Thunderbolt 3 dock, but the MBP is not discovering anything, just charging the batterie. Has someone already tried this?

thanks
Volker

 

[TheoryX]

Hey, has anyone tested the mentioned dock? For me everything but the Ethernet connection is working. Is anyone having the same problems? Any solutions?

 

[jimthing]

Hey, has anyone tested the mentioned dock? For me everything but the Ethernet connection is working. Is anyone having the same problems? Any solutions?

Do you need the updated Realtek drivers for ethernet to work? Apparently some devices/hosts need them. Dunno their download location off hand; Google it.

 

[Tornado71]

Do you need the updated Reatek drivers for ethernet to work? Apparently some devices/hosts need them. Dunno their download location off hand; Google it.

Hi,

for me I couldn't get it working on my MBP 2017. MacOS hasn't discovered the connection, no MacOS driver from Lenovo of course. Send it back and ordered the Elgato Thunderbolt 3 dock https://www.elgato.com/en/dock/thunderbolt - fantastic, drivers for MacOS and Windows.

Paid 45,- EUR more and it looks better, has an additional Thunderbolt 3 port and works like a German Auto Engine (does not consume Diesel and does not exhaust)

cheers