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New MacBook Pro and USB-C Dock?

T

TS2019

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 21, 2019
2
0
Sorry if this is a total newbie question. My Google searches are coming up fruitless.

I'm getting ready to purchase a new Macbook Pro. I understand they all come with thunderbolt 3 ports standard now.

I want to set up a docking station for both my work laptop (an pretty basic Dell Latitude) and my new MacBook Pro. Will a usb-c docking station suffice for the MacBook? My work laptop doesn't support thunderbolt 3 so I want to get a single dock that will work for both.

I'm also open to a thunderbolt 3 dock that will work for the USB-C port on my work laptop if that's an option.

I just want a single monitor and external keyboard and mouse in my home office. The computing needs on both are fairly minor. Web stuff, email, etc.

Anything else I'm not considering?

Thanks in advance.
 
TS2019 said:
...
I just want a single monitor and external keyboard and mouse in my home office. The computing needs on both are fairly minor. Web stuff, email, etc.

Anything else I'm not considering?
Click to expand...

You'll probably want to connect a thumb drive or external drive to the dock at some point, but if you'll only be using a single monitor, mouse, keyoard, and single external drive, a good USB-C dock/hub should be fine. If you will be connecting external drives, I would recommend that you get either a self-powered dock or a hub that supports USB-PD (Power Delivery). With the latter you would connect your charger to the hub to power both the hub and its connected devices and the MBp. The Dell may well demand more power than either the dock or hub can provide and need its own separate charger.

I use a Cable Matters USB-C hub (PD, VGA, 2-USB3, Gigabit Ethernet) with my Surface Go daily. I usually only connect a 24" monitor, Ethernet, and Logitech mouse dongle along with a PD charger. I occasionally add a thumb drive, ebook reader, or HDD to the hub. My Go will power that setup find without the PD charger, but the charger is handy as I often use the setup for many hours at a stretch.

UPDATED: added the mention of the Gigabit Ethernet on my CM hub.
 
Last edited:
dwig said:
You'll probably want to connect a thumb drive or external drive to the dock at some point, but if you'll only be using a single monitor, mouse, keyoard, and single external drive, a good USB-C dock/hub should be fine. If you will be connecting external drives, I would recommend that you get either a self-powered dock or a hub that supports USB-PD (Power Delivery). With the latter you would connect your charger to the hub to power both the hub and its connected devices and the MBp. The Dell may well demand more power than either the dock or hub can provide and need its own separate charger.

I use a Cable Matters USB-C hub (PD, VGA, 2-USB3) with my Surface Go daily. I usually only connect a 24" monitor and Logitech mouse dongle along with a PD charger. I occasionally add a thumb drive, ebook reader, or HDD to the hub. My Go will power that setup find without the PD charger, but the charger is handy as I often use the setup for many hours at a stretch.
Click to expand...
Thanks! Super helpful
 
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