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MBP M3 Thunderbolt 4 dock/hub options

M

mezzenen

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 5, 2024
6
0
Hi!
I need to buy a new MBPro. Looking at M3 14" 512SSD 16-24GB ram for my recording studio. Running Logic X.

On my old MBPro Late 2012 i am plugging a FW(also has USB2.0) sound card, 1 external HD just for recording, a powered USB 2.0 hub (Midi keyboard, keyboard, mouse, 2 external backup drives) and a HDMI for 2nd monitor.

How do I get all of this running on the new MBP M3 without sacrificing dataflow or power?

Thank you.
Best

Mezz

P.S. The 16"MBP would be ideal because it has 3 TB4 ports but is out of my price range.
 
Have you considered an M3 Pro 14" unit since those start with 16 GB of RAM? That would give you the same third Thunderbolt/USB port as the 16" and by the time you upgrade the base model's RAM to 16 GB you're not far off in price, and you'll get the CPU/GPU boost as well.

Does any of your gear currently support USB 3.0 or higher speeds (especially the hard drives)? If not, would you plan to upgrade them at any point?

You likely don't need Thunderbolt, you can likely replace your current USB 2 hub with a powered USB-C hub that has lots of downstream USB ports on it and that should have plenty of bandwidth for all of the peripherals connected to your current 2.0 hub. That would be substantially cheaper than a Thunderbolt dock, since price is a concern. Have you tested the sound card with a hub over USB 2.0 to see if it works?

My recommendation would be as follows:
M3 2-port model:
  1. Plug monitor directly into HDMI port
  2. Port #1: USB 3.2 hub with sound card, MIDI keyboard, peripherals, and backup drives
  3. Port #2: Primary work external drive direct connected
M3 Pro:
  1. Plug monitor directly into HDMI port
  2. Port #1: USB 3.2 hub with MIDI keyboard, peripherals, and backup drives
  3. Port #2: Primary work external drive direct connected
  4. Port #3: Sound card directly connected
 
bradman83 said:
Have you considered an M3 Pro 14" unit since those start with 16 GB of RAM? That would give you the same third Thunderbolt/USB port as the 16" and by the time you upgrade the base model's RAM to 16 GB you're not far off in price, and you'll get the CPU/GPU boost as well.

Does any of your gear currently support USB 3.0 or higher speeds (especially the hard drives)? If not, would you plan to upgrade them at any point?

You likely don't need Thunderbolt, you can likely replace your current USB 2 hub with a powered USB-C hub that has lots of downstream USB ports on it and that should have plenty of bandwidth for all of the peripherals connected to your current 2.0 hub. That would be substantially cheaper than a Thunderbolt dock, since price is a concern. Have you tested the sound card with a hub over USB 2.0 to see if it works?

My recommendation would be as follows:
M3 2-port model:
  1. Plug monitor directly into HDMI port
  2. Port #1: USB 3.2 hub with sound card, MIDI keyboard, peripherals, and backup drives
  3. Port #2: Primary work external drive direct connected
M3 Pro:
  1. Plug monitor directly into HDMI port
  2. Port #1: USB 3.2 hub with MIDI keyboard, peripherals, and backup drives
  3. Port #2: Primary work external drive direct connected
  4. Port #3: Sound card directly connected
Click to expand...
I haven't really thought about the pro. Would have to see with the local distributor what is the price difference. I would get a new external SSD because the one I have now just died. The current USB2.0 hub I have is powered and it's starts to glitch if I wanna run the 2 backup drives along with the midi key, key and mouse. So I'd have to change that too. I doubt the RME soundcard would run of this hub. To be frank , it is quite old!

Any recommendations on the hub you are talking about? Links?
I am in Europe.
Thank you
 
bradman83 said:
Have you considered an M3 Pro 14" unit since those start with 16 GB of RAM? That would give you the same third Thunderbolt/USB port as the 16" and by the time you upgrade the base model's RAM to 16 GB you're not far off in price, and you'll get the CPU/GPU boost as well.

Does any of your gear currently support USB 3.0 or higher speeds (especially the hard drives)? If not, would you plan to upgrade them at any point?

You likely don't need Thunderbolt, you can likely replace your current USB 2 hub with a powered USB-C hub that has lots of downstream USB ports on it and that should have plenty of bandwidth for all of the peripherals connected to your current 2.0 hub. That would be substantially cheaper than a Thunderbolt dock, since price is a concern. Have you tested the sound card with a hub over USB 2.0 to see if it works?

My recommendation would be as follows:
M3 2-port model:
  1. Plug monitor directly into HDMI port
  2. Port #1: USB 3.2 hub with sound card, MIDI keyboard, peripherals, and backup drives
  3. Port #2: Primary work external drive direct connected
M3 Pro:
  1. Plug monitor directly into HDMI port
  2. Port #1: USB 3.2 hub with MIDI keyboard, peripherals, and backup drives
  3. Port #2: Primary work external drive direct connected
  4. Port #3: Sound card directly connected
Click to expand...
In the end I got the MBP M3 Pro. 1TB 36GB RAM.
Still looking for the powered HUB/Dock.
I think your M3 option is good. What kind of USB 3.2.hub would you recommend?

I asked about this very setup on Logicpro help forum and they said there is no need to use dedicated ports for soundcard and SSD I would record to. I record 4 channels simultaneously max.
On the other hand I'd like to have maximum bandwidth for the SSD and the RME SCard.

RME is firewire and USB. Do I have to get apples otiginal TB4 to FW adapter or anyone can work?

Thanks
 
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