Question re: Thunderbolt Dock

[bossmanjunior]

I have an M2 Pro MBP, and currently daisy chain an older Dell monitor via DP to a USB C monitor to my MBP. Obviously, it only duplicates the display. Mac’s website says that multiple monitors are only supported over TB. Does this mean that any dock that has a TB 3/4 output to the MBP will support extending displays, regardless of how the monitors are connected to the dock (i.e., HDMI, USB C, DP)? Or must the monitors also be TB? They really don’t make this clear. Any help is much appreciated.

Bonus for any reccs on docks. The TS4 is great but $$$$.

 

[Bigwaff]

Does this mean that any dock that has a TB 3/4 output to the MBP will support extending displays, regardless of how the monitors are connected to the dock (i.e., HDMI, USB C, DP)? Or must the monitors also be TB?

Yes. The external displays do not need to be TB.

 

[theluggage]

Mac’s website says that multiple monitors are only supported over TB.

Pretty sure you can connect two up-to-4k displays directly to the MBPs Thunderbolt ports using the approriate USB-C to DisplayPort cable- or one to Thunderbolt and one to HDMI (if your display has a HDMI input). It gets more complicated with 5k/6k displays...

You may want a dock for other reasons, but I don't think it's compulsory for dual displays.

Anyway, it's a lot cheaper to "try it and see" with a $20 USB-C to DP cable than a $300 dock!

Does this mean that any dock that has a TB 3/4 output to the MBP will support extending displays, regardless of how the monitors are connected to the dock (i.e., HDMI, USB C, DP)?

If you are talking about 4k@60Hz displays then mostly, yes.

That said, you should check the specs for the particular hub/dock you are considering - mostly there's a table on the product home page, and if that says it will support dual 4k displays on a M2 Pro Mac then you should be in business. Sometimes that will mean using the dock's HDMI connector for one display and a USB-C-to-whatever cable on the TB3 "downstream" port for the other. But do check - some "multi display" dock/hubs aimed at PCs rely on DisplayPort daisy-chaining (which can only 'mirror' on Mac), others use DisplayLink (useful with a non-pro M1/M2 but second-class) or might describe a non-TB hub as "Thunderbolt compatible".

If you don't need things like Ethernet, SD cards, HDMI, the CalDigit Elements hub, plus a USB-C to DisplayPort cable, should do the trick.

 

[wonderings]

This is a hub I got for my bosses M3 Pro

Plugable Thunderbolt 4 Dock with 100W Charging, Thunderbolt Certified, Laptop Docking Station Dual Monitor Single 8K or Dual 4K HDMI for Windows and Mac, 4X USB, Gigabit Ethernet (TBT4-UD5)

A “do-it-all” dock, the Thunderbolt Certified TBT4-UD5 Thunderbolt 4 hub stands out as a versatile and powerful hub for modern workspaces. Its robust design includes an array of 13 ports, catering to a wide range of connectivity needs. Starting with the 40Gbps Thunderbolt 4 host port, this TB4 do...

www.amazon.ca

 

[Alameda]

This is a hub I got for my bosses M3 Pro

Plugable Thunderbolt 4 Dock with 100W Charging, Thunderbolt Certified, Laptop Docking Station Dual Monitor Single 8K or Dual 4K HDMI for Windows and Mac, 4X USB, Gigabit Ethernet (TBT4-UD5)

A “do-it-all” dock, the Thunderbolt Certified TBT4-UD5 Thunderbolt 4 hub stands out as a versatile and powerful hub for modern workspaces. Its robust design includes an array of 13 ports, catering to a wide range of connectivity needs. Starting with the 40Gbps Thunderbolt 4 host port, this TB4 do...

www.amazon.ca

Understand that the maximum speed of Thunderbolt is 40 gbps, and a 4K60 10-bit display takes nearly half of that. So two 4K60 screens take up nearly all the bandwidth of one Thunderbolt link, leaving little else for stuff like Ethernet and USB. I definitely wouldn’t try two 4K60 displays plus an SSD drive.

 

[Mactagonist]

I have an M2 Pro MBP, and currently daisy chain an older Dell monitor via DP to a USB C monitor to my MBP. Obviously, it only duplicates the display. Mac’s website says that multiple monitors are only supported over TB. Does this mean that any dock that has a TB 3/4 output to the MBP will support extending displays, regardless of how the monitors are connected to the dock (i.e., HDMI, USB C, DP)? Or must the monitors also be TB? They really don’t make this clear. Any help is much appreciated.

Bonus for any reccs on docks. The TS4 is great but $$$$.

CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Pro Dock

CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Pro Dock

The CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Pro Dock will connect to your Mac’s Thunderbolt 4, or Thunderbolt 3 port to provide 18 ports of connectivity via a single Thunderbolt cable. Buy online now at apple.com.

store.apple.com

Get this instead. It is almost exactly the same as the TS4, but sold through Apple Stores at a discount. (Missing external SuperDrive support and it’s a slightly different color IIRC)

 

[AZhappyjack]

CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Pro Dock

Get this instead. It is almost exactly the same as the TS4, but sold through Apple Stores at a discount. (Missing external SuperDrive support and it’s a slightly different color IIRC)

Wow. I cannot imagine Apple selling anything at a discount.