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OWC Opens Pre-Orders for New 12-Port Thunderbolt 2 Dock

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Other World Computing (OWC) today announced the upcoming availability of its new Thunderbolt 2 dock. The OWC Thunderbolt 2 dock includes twelve ports, allowing for the connectivity of up to 78 direct and daisy-chained devices through a single Thunderbolt connection.

owc-thunderbolt2-dock.jpg
Designed with Apple hardware aesthetics, the dock is compatible with Thunderbolt-equipped Macs in both form and function. Available expansion connections include two Thunderbolt 2 ports, five USB 3.0 ports, 3.5mm audio in/out and one port each for Firewire 800 devices, Gigabit Ethernet, and HDMI 1.4b with support for 4K displays.

belkin-thunderbolt2-dock-800x228.jpg
The OWC Thunderbolt 2 dock compares favorably with Belkin's Thunderbolt 2 Express Dock HD, which debuted earlier this year. Similar to OWC's latest offering, Belkin's $299 expansion dock includes two Thunderbolt 2 ports, one HDMI port and one Gigabit Ethernet connection. It also offers two audio out ports and three USB 3.0 ports as compared to five for OWC.

The OWC Thunderbolt 2 dock is available now for pre-order with a price tag of $249 and an expected ship date of early December.

Article Link: OWC Opens Pre-Orders for New 12-Port Thunderbolt 2 Dock
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/11/18/owc-thunderbolt-2-dock/
Why is there still no such thing as a 3-port MST DisplayPort hub? Couldn't one of these docks also do that, allowing up to three displays to be connected? This was supposed to be one of the benefits of DisplayPort but I suspect that the bandwidth available isn't actually enough for larger displays anyways.

[edit]
I guess there are such things now as MST DisplayPort hubs, but they seem to be quite limited in what they can connect. None are integrated into a Thunderbolt hub as far as I can tell, though.
 
Better than Belkin's Dock hopefully

I do hope OWC's TB-2 Dock does not occasionally lose power in the middle of the night like my Belkin Thunderbolt-1 Express Dock does at times. It's very annoying and leaves all of my Dock's connected disk volumes being reported as not properly ejected. Belkin now has a newer Dock with HDMI and I do not know if the power loss issue is still present with it as well... hopefully not.

One of the other annoying issues with my Belkin Dock is that sometimes its ethernet connection will die without me knowing leaving me with just Wi-Fi connectivity, if indeed I have AirPort enabled. Again, I hope OWC's Dock does not have the same issue.

I do like the 5 USB3s and assume they can be used to power iPad/iPhone for charging etc.

Belkin's Dock allows the connecting TB cable to route through a channel to the rear. I don't see this feature on the OWC's Dock.
 
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sweet dock. looks to have everything.

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FWRN said:
Looks nice, just wish it didn't have the ugly logo on the front...
Click to expand...

a cleaning solvent could likely remove the painted logo. Krud Cutter takes the painted labels off my stove.
 
I'm waiting on a dual function dock, that works for both Thunderbolt Macs and USB 3.0 PC's - Either one could be the host (not simultaneously, obviously). If that exists, I'm buying, immediately.
 
It is wrong to blithely assert that this was "[d]esigned with Apple hardware aesthetics." While the design has certain attributes in common with Apple's aesthetics, it has other attributes that differ fairly considerably from Apple's aesthetics.
 
Ooh... I had long lamented the lack of existence of a TB dock that had FW800, GigE, analog audio, and HDMI (you can't even get the first three on the list with TB2, in fact).

Thank you OWC for remedying that. No eSATA, but that'd just be getting greedy.
 
MacRumors said:
Available expansion connections include two Thunderbolt 2 ports, five USB 3.0 ports, 3.5mm audio in/out and one port each for Firewire 800 devices, Gigabit Ethernet, and HDMI 1.4b with support for 4K displays.
Click to expand...

Isnt it a bit misleading to claim two Thunderbolt 2 "expansion ports"? One of them is an input from your computer isn't it? So there is no expansion of thunderbolt at all, just one port out for one port in (daisy chaining).

With a number of single port small thunderbolt drives out there, what I want is a thunderbolt hub, so I can connect two of such drives to my Mac. Technically this may not be possible to split a thunderbolt signal the way you can with USB. I don't know.
 
Makosuke said:
Ooh... I had long lamented the lack of existence of a TB dock that had FW800, GigE, analog audio, and HDMI (you can't even get the first three on the list with TB2, in fact).

Thank you OWC for remedying that. No eSATA, but that'd just be getting greedy.
Click to expand...

Just add the Sonnet Tempo SATA Pro ExpressCard34 (eSATA Host Controller) and the Sonnet's Echo ExpressCard Pro Thunderbolt Adapter as the last daisy chained Thunderbolt device and you will have access to eSATA and eSATA Port Multiplier units. A bit spendy, but well worth it if you have legacy eSATA Port Multiplier units you want to continue using, like I do with my 5-bay MacGurus eSATA Port Multiplier Enclosure... getting long-in-the-tooth but still fully operational.
 
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Pre-order cost me a $10 deposit

FYI...
I've pre-ordered this product and found out that almost immediately OWC invoiced my AX $10 within the hour. It doesn't bother me too much, but OWC should have at least warned me about this and it should also be stated in their pre-ordering process.
 
bxs said:
I do hope OWC's TB-2 Dock does not occasionally lose power in the middle of the night like my Belkin Thunderbolt-1 Express Dock does at times. It's very annoying and leaves all of my Dock's connected disk volumes being reported as not properly ejected.
Click to expand...

I have the 1st Belkin dock and have never experienced this. could your power brick be the problem? Have you contacted Belkin about the issue ?
 
bxs said:
FYI...
I've pre-ordered this product and found out that almost immediately OWC invoiced my AX $10 within the hour. It doesn't bother me too much, but OWC should have at least warned me about this and it should also be stated in their pre-ordering process.
Click to expand...

I've also pre-ordered, and have the same $10 pre-charge

They did warn you before you hit 'confirm order' that there would be a 'small' charge to verify the payment method.

You could quibble with their characterization as 'small', of course. :p
 
applepuree said:
I have the 1st Belkin dock and have never experienced this. could your power brick be the problem? Have you contacted Belkin about the issue ?
Click to expand...

Yes, my Belkin Dock has been replaced by Belkin twice now. I'm on #3 at this time. The power brick was replaced each time.

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noodledog said:
I've also pre-ordered, and have the same $10 pre-charge

They did warn you before you hit 'confirm order' that there would be a 'small' charge to verify the payment method.

You could quibble with their characterization as 'small', of course. :p
Click to expand...

Yes... must have missed that fine print. I did call OWC and they did confirm the authorization fee of $10. The charge will not post as it's just a pre-authorization procedure. OWC webmaster indicated they would make the pre-authorization fee text larger. :)
 
cube said:
The Sonnet vaporware will have eSATA.
Click to expand...

Yes it will ... in our dreams. I've been waiting for the Echo for two years, and still nothing. I've given up. This OWC doesn't have the BluRay burner of the Echo, but it has everything else I need. And the price isn't bad.
 
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