Thunderbolt 3 Dock

[auero]

OWC just announced and started taking preorders for their Thunderbolt 3 dock. For some of us, this is great because it might be the same price, or less than buying a bunch of dongles.

https://eshop.macsales.com/preorder/owc-thunderbolt-3-dock/

Bad news is that it's an additional cost to the new MacBook Pro.

 

[jjlannoo]

Looks nice for someone that has a lot of gear when at home. Just one cable to connect it all and charge.

 

[therealseebs]

Nothing on that page says whether it can provide power to the machine, or how much. (And over in the dongle thread, I believe a previous OWC dock was getting poor reviews, but that may have been a fluke.)

 

[auero]

Nothing on that page says whether it can provide power to the machine, or how much. (And over in the dongle thread, I believe a previous OWC dock was getting poor reviews, but that may have been a fluke.)

Literally in the first sentence...

"With the 13 ports you need, OWC’s new Thunderbolt 3 Dock brings unbelievable connectivity to your laptop through an included Thunderbolt 3 cable, and, delivers charging power to your laptop and other devices, all at the fastest speeds possible."

 

[therealseebs]

... Yeah, apparently I missed that. Although it still doesn't say how much power it can provide. I'm going to be sort of unsurprised if the answer is "60W, same as all the others".

I was thrown off by reading another article about it elsewhere which said that the dock needed more power than the laptop could provide, and thus needed its own power source, which is something I wouldn't have associated with something that provides power.

 

[jjlannoo]

... Yeah, apparently I missed that. Although it still doesn't say how much power it can provide. I'm going to be sort of unsurprised if the answer is "60W, same as all the others".

I was thrown off by reading another article about it elsewhere which said that the dock needed more power than the laptop could provide, and thus needed its own power source, which is something I wouldn't have associated with something that provides power.

Well that really wouldn't make any sense. Though I would be hesitant to preorder something like this I would just wait until it's released.

 

[ugahairydawgs]

Have two of OWC's TB2 docks. Great piece of equipment and really nice when I get to the office/house to just be able to hook up a single cable to connect to everything. Will be getting a couple of TB2>TB3 adapters to continue using them with my new MBP when it shows up.

Would highly recommend one of these when they start shipping.

 

[IPreferPi]

AFAIK OWC docks don't really drop in price very often (lowest I've seen their TB2 dock go was for $200 for like a few days on Amazon back in September), so went ahead and did a preorder. The confirmation says it'll ship in February.

 

[JTToft]

Slightly disappointing it isn't USB 3.1 Gen 2, though.

 

[therealseebs]

I would be hesitant to order before they actually announce a ship date. Although the firewire port does add some appeal.

 

[papa8706]

Despite the hefty price tag, I always thought the OWC thunderbolt 2 dock looked promising. Unfortunately, I have see a lot of poor reviews ranging from driver issues, random disconnecting, and just plan defective units. Scared me away, but hopefully they ironed out the kinks this time around with the TB3

 

[Brookzy]

Shipping February 2017?

Hmm. With OWC's record it should start shipping just in time for Apple to move to Thunderbolt 4...

 

[therealseebs]

So, basically, I'm probably gonna get something else that doesn't have quite as many features, but which exists in a timely fashion. Although one of the ones I was looking at appears to have been bumped out to next year.

 

[MrX8503]

If the manufacturer doesn't state the actual watts being delivered then there's a high chance that it won't charge the 15" at full speed.

 

[el-John-o]

Even though the 15" MacBook Pro requires more wattage, it'll still charge. You can charge an iPad from an iPhone charging brick, for example; just not very fast.

I think this dock looks good. What's not clear (unless I missed it) is whether or not it'll be capable of driving two 4k displays at 60hz. If so, I'd pre-order.

 

[Cougarcat]

I think this dock looks good. What's not clear (unless I missed it) is whether or not it'll be capable of driving two 4k displays at 60hz. If so, I'd pre-order.

It says 2 4K: "Because Thunderbolt 3 delivers phenomenal bandwidth up to 40Gb/s, Thunderbolt 3 Dock can be the foundation of your perfect custom display setup. Add two ultra HD 4K displays, or a combination of 4K, HD and other displays with the mini DisplayPort port and additional Thunderbolt 3 port." Thunderbolt 3 can support 2 at 60hz, so it should be OK.

 

[el-John-o]

It says 2 4K: "Because Thunderbolt 3 delivers phenomenal bandwidth up to 40Gb/s, Thunderbolt 3 Dock can be the foundation of your perfect custom display setup. Add two ultra HD 4K displays, or a combination of 4K, HD and other displays with the mini DisplayPort port and additional Thunderbolt 3 port." Thunderbolt 3 can support 2 at 60hz, so it should be OK.

Sounds great!

Your original post prior to editing mentions displayport daisychaining. Yes, I really wish that was the case too! Would simplify my flow a lot.

 

[Cougarcat]

Sounds great!

Your original post prior to editing mentions displayport daisychaining. Yes, I really wish that was the case too! Would simplify my flow a lot.

Heh. Yeah. Maybe Apple will add it now that they don't have their own TB display to push.

I was looking at the specs for the TB2 dock, hence the edit.