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Satechi Launches USB-C Stand and Hub for Mac Mini

Part of the problem with these devices is they decide to go single-cable, which is nice in terms of desk space but means that a) most of those ports are well-night useless as they'll likely flake out if you put more than one USB device on that needs any substantial power, and they don't have additional high-speed (>5GBps) I/O.

No one seems interested in the equivalent of a TB dock in this form factor + SSD, which is a shame, because that'd be a more expensive product but a much, much better one.
 
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crsh1976 said:
From Satechi's product page :

Code: 
USB-A ports will not charge iPads or support SD readers, including Apple SuperDrive. We recommend connecting one bus-powered device at a time.

SPEED
- USB-C data port - up to 5 Gbps, no charging/video
- 3 x USB-A data ports - up to 5 Gbps, does not support charging or CD readers, including Apple SuperDrive

It's a USB passthrough/splitter, still useful for connecting USB keys and what not, but still relatively limited because it's not a powered hub.
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It's garbage for that reason. I wasted my money on the previous model, and they bury that info on the site.
 
I can't imagine what kind of person needs ready access to 3 ports for USB thumb drives. I'd likely have something permanent connected to these ports, which would make the front of the device look very messy. I'd prefer the USB-A/USB-C ports on the side. The SD card slots on the front and the NVME slot underneath are very tempting though.
 
FasterQuieter said:
I can't imagine what kind of person needs ready access to 3 ports for USB thumb drives. I'd likely have something permanent connected to these ports, which would make the front of the device look very messy. I'd prefer the USB-A/USB-C ports on the side. The SD card slots on the front and the NVME slot underneath are very tempting though.
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Agreed. I have a hierarchy of ports, organized from faster to slower and "static" and dynamic. So really, the vast majority of ports "stick" to their cables/devices. I actually have a separate hub for hot plugging stuff which is further away from the M1 and closer to my seating position.
 
I don't understand why they opted for the m.2 form factor, especially on a sata interface. M.2 drives tend to run hot, both pcie nvme AND sata drives and I can't find any sata m.2 drives bigger than 2TB.
On a sata interface they should have chosen the classic 2.5" form factor. Those drives run cooler, consumer drives can be had in capacities up to 8TB and there's quite a lot more to choose from....
 
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lml591 said:
I don't understand why they opted for the m.2 form factor, especially on a sata interface. M.2 drives tend to run hot, both pcie nvme AND sata drives and I can't find any sata m.2 drives bigger than 2TB.
On a sata interface they should have chosen the classic 2.5" form factor. Those drives run cooler, consumer drives can be had in capacities up to 8TB and there's quite a lot more to choose from....
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M.2 SATA drives do not run hot. NVMe drives do because the controller chip on them get hot due to their extreme performance. I've not seen an m.2 SATA SSD that gets "hot".
 
loby said:
I don't think the unit is going to get the NVMe speeds (unless someone has one and can let us know), not worth buying a NVMe to put into the unit (unless you have an extra one hanging around). I have one of the AGPTEK (space grey) with my M1 mini and looks good (I like the contrast) and works good. Like the option of adding a 2.5 SSD instead of a NVMe. Gets good speeds on the SSD. Yes. the 2.0 ports are a bummer, but when using a USB drive with the 2.0 ports, cannot tell the difference between 2.0 and 3.0. I use the two 3.0 ports for external hard drives etc.

I only think personally it is better because of the option of the 2.5 SSD instead of a NVMe drive since it probably will not take advantage of the speed. Seems more practical to me. Again, just my option.
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There is no difference in speed between a 2.5" SATA SSD and a m.2 SATA SSD. SATA is SATA, regardless of form factor.
I guess it depends on your needs. I have a bunch of spare m.2 512GB SATA SSD's so that's good for me. Overall, I believe SATA will go the way of the do-do bird soon!
 
what is the use case of this? I imagine people with Mac Mini have light use (and enough ports on the back) and more serious ones are going to go for imac or Pro.
 
ajfahey said:
Like it for how it looks but won’t buy it because it lacks functionality. Fine for anyone that wants to use one of their 2 TB ports for less than USB-4 functionality with a slow SSD.

What is needed is a dock with this form factor that takes full advantage of TB3 or TB4. There should be at least 2 TB ports, one in and one pass through. Most, if not all, hub ports should be USB4 with PD support. Dare to be forward looking and drop USB type A support. SD card support good but should support SD Express, not UHS-III or slower. M.2 NVMe card support should be provided instead of a slow SATA SSD on A model that includes internal drive support.
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Oh seriously, I agree. I don’t see a lot of utility for this hub if you can’t provide high power charging via USB. It’s a glorified USB hub and USB 3.0 external drive that’s really only useful if you want an unpowered hub that fits the footprint of the Mac mini. Make something in roughly that footprint, give it a couple of Thunderbolt ports (and maybe a few more just USB-C, one or two just USB-A), NVMe SSD at Thunderbolt speed, and maybe space for an internal PCIe slot, and that would be an excellent upgrade for a Mac mini, might even make it into that legendary mid-range tower people have been begging for for years.
 
I feel like them using a sata m2 drive instead of nvme drive is a bad choice. It wouldn't have cost that much more for nvme support but they didn't include it. I will pass on this until someone gets it right.
 
apparatchik said:
Satechi has a fixation with usb-a, three ports? … So what I meant is that 2 additional usb-c and maybe 1 usb-a might be more forward looking than three usb-a, but to each it's own.
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I agree with you. I have that mini and would prefer extra -C ports on a hub.
 
Almost there but not duplicating the USB-C it occupies on the mini at the back is a bad choice, I for one need one for the 2nd display and another for storage (4-bay external). Reflected on the price, though.
 
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M.2 Sata SSDs are a pain to get and overpriced. 2.5" SSD support would have been far better or M.2 NVME. There's been a couple of docks around with 2.5" sata bays in for a year or two now, Hagbis and AGPTEK do them for sub $100. Also some USB-A ports on the back would have been nice.
 
dmylrea said:
M.2 SATA drives do not run hot. NVMe drives do because the controller chip on them get hot due to their extreme performance. I've not seen an m.2 SATA SSD that gets "hot".
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You might have crazy good cooling on your m.2 drives, but that won't be the case in this Satechi product.
I have an older mx300 m.2 lying around and it's a nice little but hot beast.
Please check this: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/crucial-mx500-m-2-1-tb/7.html

And with this I rest my case :)
 
lml591 said:
You might have crazy good cooling on your m.2 drives, but that won't be the case in this Satechi product.
I have an older mx300 m.2 lying around and it's a nice little but hot beast.
Please check this: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/crucial-mx500-m-2-1-tb/7.html

And with this I rest my case :)
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The MX500 is known to be a hot performer. Rare is the m.2 SATA review that discusses temperature or the use of a heatsink.

Regardless, I received my Satechi hub yesterday, and this morning, I popped in my Micron 1100 512GB m.2 SATA.
After 3 hours of power on use, using a laser thermometer, the Micron was registering 43C/110F. Not much more than any electronics would register (and that is in a room with at least 80F ambient). Ran a some loops of Blackmagic testing and the highest it got to was 53C/127F. Not HOT. Can easily keep my finger on the SSD during testing.

The SSD in the Satechi is not in need of any cooling.
 
dmylrea said:
The MX500 is known to be a hot performer. Rare is the m.2 SATA review that discusses temperature or the use of a heatsink.

Regardless, I received my Satechi hub yesterday, and this morning, I popped in my Micron 1100 512GB m.2 SATA.
After 3 hours of power on use, using a laser thermometer, the Micron was registering 43C/110F. Not much more than any electronics would register (and that is in a room with at least 80F ambient). Ran a some loops of Blackmagic testing and the highest it got to was 53C/127F. Not HOT. Can easily keep my finger on the SSD during testing.

The SSD in the Satechi is not in need of any cooling.
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Whats your feedback on the hub with the limited time you have used it? I am planning to buy 2 for 2 of my mac minis. I know SATA SSD speeds are a bummer but maybe a good backup solution.
 
tobiastimpe said:
I wish they‘d replace the USB-A ports with USB-C.
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Um, that‘d reduce the overall convenience of the device whose mission is to add convenience for quick connections without chasing down an adapter or fumbling to connect to the rear side. Would you also prefer the ports on the bottom? :)
 
Has anyone tried to plug this thing into an older Mac Mini? 2012 maybe? Would that work? Thank you.
 
Joel the Hun said:
Has anyone tried to plug this thing into an older Mac Mini? 2012 maybe? Would that work? Thank you.
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Almost certainly won’t work. This dock connects via USB-C. The 2012 Mac Mini doesn’t have USB-C connectors, and it’s not likely that the USB controller on it would support the signaling required for all of this dock’s features.
 
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