Hi All,
Looking for a thunderbolt 3 or USB-C hub that will allow 2560x1440 @144htz over Display Port 1.4.
They all mention they do 4k@60htz but usually don't mention the above resolution/framerate.
I think that this one will do it -
https://i-tec.cz/en/produkt/tb3cdualdppdx-2/ looking at the specs it says QHD/144HTz but was wondering if anyone has used it or know of a one that will work?
Will be used with a 2016 13" Macbook Pro and a 2020 13" Macbook Pro
2560x1440@144Hz works with DisplayPort 1.2 at 8 bpc. DisplayPort 1.4 is required only if you want to use HDR or 10 bpc.
The 2016 13" MacBook Pro uses Alpine Ridge so won't output DisplayPort 1.4 unless you use an eGPU - in that case you won't be using a Thunderbolt dock.
Any Thunderbolt 3 dock that uses the Titan Ridge Thunderbolt 3 controller should allow DisplayPort 1.4. These Thunderbolt docks usually also support a USB-C connection. With a Thunderbolt 3 connection, you can get 8K/30 or QHD/144. A USB-C connection will have only two lanes of DisplayPort 1.4 which is only 75% the bandwidth of DisplayPort 1.2.
The 2020 13" MacBook Pro with 10th gen CPU supports DisplayPort 1.4 with Display Stream Compression (DSC). DSC effectively triples the bandwidth. Only AMD navi, Nvidia RTX, or Intel 10th gen CPU (Ice Lake) support DSC.
A Thunderbolt 3 or USB-C dock with Titan Ridge Thunderbolt controller and multiple DisplayPort outputs may have an internal DisplayPort 1.4 MST hub which supports DSC input and can output DSC or decompress DSC for non DSC displays.
The dock that you linked does not have a second Thunderbolt port, which means the second DisplayPort probably uses the second Thunderbolt output of the Titan Ridge controller and the dock does not have a MST hub and does not support conversion of DSC. But wait, it says it supports multiple displays in USB-C mode which means it must have a MST hub. I guess it switches the DisplayPort outputs between the Thunderbolt controller and a MST hub but only 1080p which means it's probably only a DisplayPort 1.2 MST hub...
The HP Thunderbolt Dock G2 has Titan Ridge Thunderbolt controller and DisplayPort 1.4 MST hub for multiple DisplayPort outputs but I don't think the MST hub has the latest firmware to support DSC input and output and decompression.
I think there are Thunderbolt 3 docks newer than the HP dock that have Titan Ridge and DisplayPort 1.4 MST hub that supports DSC.
You can also get an external DisplayPort 1.4 MST hub.
But, just to reiterate, an MST hub is not required when using a Thunderbolt connection - it's only useful if you have a USB-C dock that has only two lanes DisplayPort 1.4 input and you want to use a display that requires four lanes of DisplayPort 1.2 or you have a source with DSC and you want to use a display that requires four lanes of DisplayPort 1.4 without DSC.
macOS does not support multiple displays using an MST hub, but it can use the other features of the MST hub to connect one display.
