Looking for a monitor stand...

[Alcyen]

Hey everyone. I looked at a couple of other threads but didn't find what I'm looking for. I recently sold my gaming PC and want to make the space it occupied more functional for my M1 MacBook Pro. Ideally what I'm after is a dual monitor stand that connects via USB type C and has data and power passthrough PLUS two USB-C ports or other connectors that can run two 4k monitors. I have no idea if such a thing exists (yet) and I don't want to rely on adapters and multiple connections. The ideal scenario is:

1. Come home and plug one cable into my MacBook
2. Monitors, wireless keyboard, and mouse are instantly recognized and working
3. The MacBook would be in a stand (closed) and not likely to be used as a third monitor

Basically I want a mix of the LANQ monitor stand with a Kensington SD47xx dock. I get that the accessories would easily pair to the laptop however if multiple devices were to be utilized, I'd like the connection to run through the dock so I don't have to un-pair and re-pair the devices. I'm just testing the waters to see if anyone has heard of such a device or if I'm left with buying a regular stand and running a dock.

 

[GumaRodak]

Try this one https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MWUG2LL/A/pro-stand

 

[Stephen.R]

I’ve never seen a stand (or even an arm) that has that kind of connectivity.

Some of the tb3 (and even plain USB-c) panels do have downstream ports though - USB type a are common, but I’ve also seen some with Ethernet, etc.

However that also means you have to find a display with the peripheral ports you specifically want.

personally I’d just buy a dock with the ports you want and displays you like.

you can likely still achieve a single-cable solution.

 

[Alcyen]

I’ve never seen a stand (or even an arm) that has that kind of connectivity.

Some of the tb3 (and even plain USB-c) panels do have downstream ports though - USB type a are common, but I’ve also seen some with Ethernet, etc.

However that also means you have to find a display with the peripheral ports you specifically want.

personally I’d just buy a dock with the ports you want and displays you like.

you can likely still achieve a single-cable solution.

That what I figured. The LANQ is interesting in that it has it's own bluetooth and wifi antenna's, plus a qi charger, fingerprint reader, and USB hub however that is basically what it is at heart; and no indication that it works with Mac. You're right regarding the dock and that's probably the route I'm going to go after I settle on which monitors I want.

 

[Stephen.R]

Do you know what other ports you need/want?

 

[Alcyen]

Do you know what other ports you need/want?

I like type-c/thunderbolt for monitors just to keep things clean and a couple type-a's for my usb sticks. Ethernet connectivity isn't that important to me although it could be helpful for file transfer when I get my NAS back up and running. Beyond that I don't really need much else but I realize when I ask for a dock that will power two 4k monitors, I'm likely to wind up with more features.

 

[Stephen.R]

I like type-c/thunderbolt for monitors just to keep things clean and a couple type-a's for my usb sticks. Ethernet connectivity isn't that important to me although it could be helpful for file transfer when I get my NAS back up and running. Beyond that I don't really need much else but I realize when I ask for a dock that will power two 4k monitors, I'm likely to wind up with more features.

USB hubs in displays is not uncommon so you may still find a solution without a dock; but then it’d likely need to be a tb3 (not just USB-c) display if you wanted to daisy chain and run two from one cable.

 

[Alcyen]

USB hubs in displays is not uncommon so you may still find a solution without a dock; but then it’d likely need to be a tb3 (not just USB-c) display if you wanted to daisy chain and run two from one cable.

That did cross my mind. Easy access to a built-in hub is another story though if I'm constantly taking my USB storage to and from work/school/wherever. Daisy-chain does appeal to me to really minimize visible cables and sorry for using type-c generically; a thunderbolt display is what I had in mind.

 

[Stephen.R]

You could probably daisy chain a couple of tb3 displays and then just hang a small USB hub from one of them (assuming they have a USB data ports) to make it easier to access however it also depends on the resolution of them, you may be throttling the speed of the USB devices if there’s two high resolution display streams in use.