The quest for a single cable USB-C hub to charge + 4K + USB-A

[packeted]

Hey folks,

I've been searching far and wide and so far haven't come up with a solution - I was wondering if anyone else out there has.

So I want to dock my nTB MBP through one single USB-C cable. Through this cable I want to provide power/charge, drive one (or possibly two) Dell P2715Q 4K monitor at 60Hz (through DisplayPort - I currently have a USB-C to DisplayPort that works for this purpose), and connect a bunch of USB-A peripherals (keyboard, SD reader, webcam, etc).

I've come across hubs that have a USB-C charge pass through but none have more than one USB-C port on the hub and none I've come across will drive a 4K monitor at 60Hz. Even just a hub with say three USB-C ports would allow me to connect my USB-C -> display port cable, a USB-A hub and the power in, but I haven't found one.

I'm wondering whether it's a limitation of USB-C/TB3 or whether there is genuinely a gap in the market from the hub providers?

Cheers,
Francis

 

[dyn]

Caldigit and Kensington one can drive 4k @60Hz but it comes at a cost: the USB ports will be reduced in speed, they go from USB3.0 to USB2.0 speeds (there simply isn't enough bandwidth to do USB3 and 4k @60Hz at the same time). Thunderbolt 3 docks and USB docks that will use USB3.1 Gen 2 will not have this issue because they do have enough bandwidth. The only problem with those: they are not available (USB3.1 Gen 2 doesn't even seem to exist).

In other words, you either buy one now and accept that the USB ports will run it USB2.0 speeds or you wait for a proper dock (Belkin and OWC have announced their TB3 docks to be available in Q1 2017). This is just market needing to catch up since previously we've only had smartphones and low power notebooks (MacBook) that wouldn't benefit from things like 4k@60Hz (hardware would have trouble driving it).

 

[packeted]

Thanks - I guess I'll just suck it up for now... I had the TB model initially but returned it for the many reasons that have already been discussed on here. With only two ports on the nTB model I can no longer plug in my monitor, USB hub and power at the same time so hope they come quickly with these new hubs!

 

[Creep89]

The joy of being an early adaptor. Belkin dock is coming soon. Since one and a half months. Just ridiculous.

 

[packeted]

Ah the Belkin Thunderbolt 3 HD dock does indeed look like the perfect solution, although possibly priced at $400?! Hopefully there'll be lots of fast & cheaper followers!