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MBP 16" Compatible Docks with 96W/100W Power
- Thread starter bsbeamer
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There are no "great" solutions tailored to the MBP16,1 with 94W/96W/100W power delivery via TB3. Everything available currently are halfway decent solutions in some fashion.
Following thread closely myself. Hoping for a proper 100w dock that can ideally run 3x extended mode external screens (2xDP 1x HDMI @ 1080p) without the need for Displaylink drivers.
An eGPU may be better solution for driving that many monitors. It can be done without, but most eGPU can drive that over one TB3 cable easily without messing with unplugging and that garbage/mess of getting everything set correctly. Added benefit: macOS will remember positioning. Sonnet eGFX 650 OC provides 100W PD as well.
The problem that I have seen with most eGPU's that I've looked at are the lack of ports for expand-ability. For me that's the whole appeal of the dock is that I can leave the monitor's always hooked up, the speakers, keyboard, mouse, ethernet and a couple other USB devices. Some of the docks even offer sd card readers. I've yet to find an eGPU enclosure that offers all of that. I purchased a Razer Core V1 and AMD 5700 XT but have yet to be able to get it to work, so I am still using the Dell WD19TB at work and at home.
Since you're not looking for absolute maximum throughput for your GPU (just driving monitors), a dock with TB3 passthrough for eGPU would basically solve all your issues really easily.
The CalDigit TS3 Plus DOES offer TB3 passthrough and the Sonnet eGFX 650 OC does work to drive 3 monitors via TB3 downstream with an RX 5700 XT installed. Have tested that exact config on MBP16,1. The issue (for my needs) is it only has 87W PD via single cable.
ALL of the eGPU's with additional functionality built in (USB, ethernet, etc) have flaky support with macOS. Nearly every single review fails to focus on this aspect, except a few that recommend the Razer Core X Chroma for the "better" PSU in macOS. They explicitly note the USB/ethernet is useless in macOS. There are some newer models on the way, but unless they specifically advertise macOS support for additional port functionality, would not trust without extensive testing.
Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 650 OC (GPU-650WOC-TB3) is compatible with RX 5700 XT and using it with MBP16,1 without any physical issues. All issues are with the AMD 5XXX series drivers, mainly with METAL.
www.sonnetstore.com
Here's the exact compatibility list that they regularly update with exact vendor part numbers:
If your current GPU is NOT exactly listed on that, there may be an eGPU compatibility issue with macOS. At least worth checking.
Razer does NOT support anything other than their exact list for macOS. Other cards "work" but it's clear they have no intention of really beefing up their macOS offerings. I'd look at Sonnet moving forward. They are making Mac-specific centered products, offering advertised support with newest products and are constantly updating. It's a fresh approach compared to other vendors.
Razer's current GPU list:
AMD Radeon™ RX 580
AMD Radeon™ RX 570
AMD Radeon™ Pro WX 7100
AMD Radeon™ RX Vega 56
AMD Radeon™ RX Vega 64
AMD Vega Frontier Edition Air
AMD Radeon™ Pro WX 9100
AMD Radeon™ RX 470
AMD Radeon™ RX 480
The CalDigit TS3 Plus DOES offer TB3 passthrough and the Sonnet eGFX 650 OC does work to drive 3 monitors via TB3 downstream with an RX 5700 XT installed. Have tested that exact config on MBP16,1. The issue (for my needs) is it only has 87W PD via single cable.
ALL of the eGPU's with additional functionality built in (USB, ethernet, etc) have flaky support with macOS. Nearly every single review fails to focus on this aspect, except a few that recommend the Razer Core X Chroma for the "better" PSU in macOS. They explicitly note the USB/ethernet is useless in macOS. There are some newer models on the way, but unless they specifically advertise macOS support for additional port functionality, would not trust without extensive testing.
Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 650 OC (GPU-650WOC-TB3) is compatible with RX 5700 XT and using it with MBP16,1 without any physical issues. All issues are with the AMD 5XXX series drivers, mainly with METAL.
eGFX Breakaway Box 650 (eGPU Expansion System)
Desktop Thunderbolt 3 eGPU adapter box with one PCIe expansion slot for high-performance AMD and NVIDIA gaming video cards, and professional audio, video, fibre, RAID and ethernet PCIe cards.
www.sonnetstore.com
Here's the exact compatibility list that they regularly update with exact vendor part numbers:
If your current GPU is NOT exactly listed on that, there may be an eGPU compatibility issue with macOS. At least worth checking.
Razer does NOT support anything other than their exact list for macOS. Other cards "work" but it's clear they have no intention of really beefing up their macOS offerings. I'd look at Sonnet moving forward. They are making Mac-specific centered products, offering advertised support with newest products and are constantly updating. It's a fresh approach compared to other vendors.
Razer's current GPU list:
AMD Radeon™ RX 580
AMD Radeon™ RX 570
AMD Radeon™ Pro WX 7100
AMD Radeon™ RX Vega 56
AMD Radeon™ RX Vega 64
AMD Vega Frontier Edition Air
AMD Radeon™ Pro WX 9100
AMD Radeon™ RX 470
AMD Radeon™ RX 480
adrewwwww
macrumors newbie
HP is coming out with some docking monitors that can supply 100 watts. They have 24-inch 1080p and 27-inch 1440p models with gigabit ethernet and a second USB-C port for other devices.
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slicktor
macrumors regular
Does anyone know if Caldigit plans to update their TS3+ with Displayport 1.4? I am looking for a dock that can handle HDR!
[automerge]1579833739[/automerge]
Does anyone know if Caldigit plans to update their TS3+ with Displayport 1.4? I am looking for a dock that can handle HDR!
[automerge]1579833739[/automerge]
Does anyone know if Caldigit plans to update their TS3+ with Displayport 1.4? I am looking for a dock that can handle HDR!
When I asked them about a month ago, they said no new hardware but just firmware update.
CalDigit is continuing to push the TS3 Plus as "the" solution for all MBPs. As noted earlier in this thread, the controller generation is probably the limiting factor here for not supporting DP1.4.
Very few manufacturers have even announced Titan Ridge dock products and many of them are not physically available for purchase yet. Had heard the prices "as parts" were very high in comparison, which is probably why so few have even been announced.
From CalDigit's perspective, they need to clear inventory. Doubt we'll hear about any new products until they hit the specific target number. Their products "work" but just don't work with one cable for some/many users.
Very few manufacturers have even announced Titan Ridge dock products and many of them are not physically available for purchase yet. Had heard the prices "as parts" were very high in comparison, which is probably why so few have even been announced.
From CalDigit's perspective, they need to clear inventory. Doubt we'll hear about any new products until they hit the specific target number. Their products "work" but just don't work with one cable for some/many users.
Sonnet will be releasing the Echo Pro 10G Thunderbolt 3 Dock ECHO-DKPRO-T3 at some point "soon" in 2020. Another 87W PD dock option. With the number of USB-C 10Gbps ports available and TB3 daisy chain, should be an attractive option for many. Lack of audio might be a deal breaker for some. Even the MP7,1 tower needs an audio interface these days.
Ifti
macrumors 601
Ive been testing the Glyph Thunderbolt 3 Dock, which provides 87w of power. Ive had it connected to my MBP16 for a while now, and the battery has stayed at 100% while I work, even during editing and rendering in Final Cut Pro X, and hasn't dropped whatsoever. Very happy with this dock as I can use the NVMe storage for my Time Machine backups too!
hvfsl
macrumors 68000
When playing some games in Windows, the battery will slowly run down even if I have the power plugged into the laptop. So there is probably no way of completely stopping the laptop from running down if really maxing it out. But 87W will probably be fine for most things you do on the laptop.
Why Apple does not make a TB3 dock for the MBP 16" 2019 that can do the things we want?
[automerge]1579986972[/automerge]
Do you mean you have tried it under both Mac OS and Windows bootcamp?
[automerge]1579986972[/automerge]
Do you mean you have tried it under both Mac OS and Windows bootcamp?
MrTing
macrumors member
Hi folks! I've been following this thread for some time but it's my first post to it.
Just thought I'd let you know I went ahead and got the Caldigit T3 Plus today, works a treat. My tb3/usb-c monitor didn't work with it out of the box, but I did the firmware upgrade which included some fixes and now it's charging at 87w and the monitor (benq 32" 4K) are both working great.
I was previously using a cheaper dock from Amazon which was advertised as being 100w pass through, but of course it wasn't. However, what I did want you all to know, is that even though that dock was only registering as 75w, my battery never went below 100%, I've kept an eye on the cycles too and no extra cycles have been added to it either, now I'm no expert, but I reckon that if you're using your mac closed when connected to the dock so the built in screen isn't switched on, then you should be fine, even at 75w when the 5500m was working at full whack doing 4K video it never dropped below 100%.
Very happy so far with the Caldigit, just hope that it doesn't crap out like some of the reviews have said on Amazon! Amazingly, the cheapest place I could find it was at the Apple Store direct, picked it up today.
Just thought I'd let you know I went ahead and got the Caldigit T3 Plus today, works a treat. My tb3/usb-c monitor didn't work with it out of the box, but I did the firmware upgrade which included some fixes and now it's charging at 87w and the monitor (benq 32" 4K) are both working great.
I was previously using a cheaper dock from Amazon which was advertised as being 100w pass through, but of course it wasn't. However, what I did want you all to know, is that even though that dock was only registering as 75w, my battery never went below 100%, I've kept an eye on the cycles too and no extra cycles have been added to it either, now I'm no expert, but I reckon that if you're using your mac closed when connected to the dock so the built in screen isn't switched on, then you should be fine, even at 75w when the 5500m was working at full whack doing 4K video it never dropped below 100%.
Very happy so far with the Caldigit, just hope that it doesn't crap out like some of the reviews have said on Amazon! Amazingly, the cheapest place I could find it was at the Apple Store direct, picked it up today.
Can anyone with the CalDigit TS3+ please help me confirming this? I'm having a weird issue with blurry text, only when I connect the mac to the CalDigit TS3+ dock.
The notification center's widgets' text look blurry, like in this screenshot (you probably can only see it in your retina/4k displays I guess).
This happens:
- When I open the notification center in laptop's retina display. I have 2 FullHD monitors connected to the docks and of course they look fine there (they are not retina/4k anyway)
- Only with this CalDigit dock. I have another simpler Belkin dock (with 2 HDMI connected to 2 FullHD monitors, 2 USB-A, and an ethernet port) at work and this does not happen.
I would think this is a software (Catalina) issue, but am also confused that it's fine with the Belkin dock.
The notification center's widgets' text look blurry, like in this screenshot (you probably can only see it in your retina/4k displays I guess).
This happens:
- When I open the notification center in laptop's retina display. I have 2 FullHD monitors connected to the docks and of course they look fine there (they are not retina/4k anyway)
- Only with this CalDigit dock. I have another simpler Belkin dock (with 2 HDMI connected to 2 FullHD monitors, 2 USB-A, and an ethernet port) at work and this does not happen.
I would think this is a software (Catalina) issue, but am also confused that it's fine with the Belkin dock.
MrTing
macrumors member
I'm definitely not having this issue. I'm using it with just 1 4K monitor though. I can't work out how to do a selective screenshot of just the notification centre though, every time I click anywhere else it just vanishes and I don't really want to be sharing whole screenshots of my desktop with everyone!
How are you connected to this monitor via the dock? I'm using USB-C/Thunderbolt 3, the first time I tried it didn't work at all and doing the software update fixed this issue.
How are you connected to this monitor via the dock? I'm using USB-C/Thunderbolt 3, the first time I tried it didn't work at all and doing the software update fixed this issue.
I use a screenshot app that allows me to drag the cursor to take screenshot of whatever the area of the screens. I guess the default screenshot tool in Catalina should work similarly? (Cmd + Shift + 5)
I connect monitor with DisplayPort to Display Port cable, and the other one with USB-C to Display Port cable. They are 2 Dell 24" monitors.
Sorry if I wasn't being clear. It's the Today tab (top, on the left). Notifications are normal for me too.
Has anyone tried with the Dell WD19 ? The standard version, not the TB one... As I don't need to drive multiple monitors (Only 1 4k is enough ) I am thinking of saving some money and go for the cheaper one.
Just out of curiosity, I have a dell WD15, and besides not having enough power, it is not working properly on my 16" mbp... The screen blinks green every 10 or so seconds... Its annoying... And it is only a full HD not even a 4k...
Just out of curiosity, I have a dell WD15, and besides not having enough power, it is not working properly on my 16" mbp... The screen blinks green every 10 or so seconds... Its annoying... And it is only a full HD not even a 4k...
James Thompson
macrumors newbie
I also tried the WD15, and the screen blinked too. Unfortunate. Hopefully, someone releases a dock soon.
Certainly appears they're clearing out the CalDigit TS3 Plus models:
"Limited Time Deal" for anyone who's interested at $230.44
"Limited Time Deal" for anyone who's interested at $230.44
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hvfsl
macrumors 68000
Yes. When playing Cities Skylines (a Sim City type game), with 2 monitors connected, youtube playing on 1, the game on no.2 and Safari on the 3rd, the battery goes down to about 85% after 3 hours