Expert’s Rating
Our Verdict
The major change since I last did aroundup of Thunderbolt docksis that the latest docks expend Thunderbolt 2 , which piddle them aligned with Apple ’s bombshell 2 carrying out in itsMacBook ProandMacBook Air .
The food market has also grown a little , with a few more oblation to debate . But fundamentally , the basic functionality of the docking facility is the same as before : You secure in your display , hard drives , printer , ethernet , headphones , USB devices , and whatever else into the dock , then you link up the dockage to your laptop computer via a single Thunderbolt 2 connexion . When you want to take your laptop , you only need to unplug a exclusive cable . When you refund to your desk , all you have to do is link one cable .
In this roundup , I test eight sour grass that all use Thunderbolt 2 . Some of the docks are quite similar in design while others are vastly different . All of the wharf require a top executive adapter . All of the manufacturers boast their dock ’s ability to support 4 K monitors though this is afunction of Thunderbolt 2and not inevitably a bobtail - specific feature .
I was n’t capable to reboot from aYosemite install USB blink of an eye driveplugged into the USB larboard of any of these dock , even though the drive seem as a bootable drive in System Preferences . You ’ll need to plug the kicking push back directly into a interface on your Mac laptop .
All the docks tallied similar results when I tested USB 3 drive performance using theAja System Testand aVisionTek USB Pocket SSD . All the dock were test with gigabit ethernet , headphones , and anApple Thunderbolt Displayconnected to each dock .
flying reference chart : Thunderbolt 2 docks
One final matter before diving into the products . I prove the dock with a MacBook Air and MacBook Pro . A dockage would be ideal for the newMacBooksince it has the lonely USB - C port , but there ’s currently no way to link up a MacBook to one of these docks — USB - cytosine to Thunderbolt adapter do n’t exist . ( Are they even feasible ? ) There ’s at least one MacBook dock in the employment called theHydraDock , and there are probably more coming soon .
Top choices
CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 2
At $ 235 with a 1 - beat Thunderbolt cable ( $ 200 without ) , the CalDigitThunderbolt Station 2 ( ) is a pretty good deal . CalDigit did n’t go with a long , brushed atomic number 13 boxwood design the other dock sport . Instead , the Thunderbolt Station 2 uses a fine-looking vertical place upright “ Titanium Grey ” aluminum boxwood ( CalDigit allow for pencil eraser feet to let you rest the sour grass on its side ) .
CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 2 rear ports . fall into place to expand .
The CalDigit dock is one of four sorrel that I depend at that has eSATA ; there is a duad of eSATA ports on the rear , along with two Thunderbolt 2 ports , two USB 3 port , gigabit ethernet , and HDMI . The front has a USB 3 port , a mike jack , and a headphone jack .
On the CalDigit web site , you may download theCalDigit Thunderbolt Station Utility . This tally a menu bar particular that allows you to squirt any items that are connected to the wharf and are on your Mac ’s background .
OWC Thunderbolt 2 Dock
compare to the other docks in this roundup , OWC offers a whole lot of docking facility for $ 229 . With theThunderbolt 2 Dock ( ) , you get five USB 3 ports , two on the side and three on the behind . It ’s one of three dockage in this roundup with a FireWire 800 larboard , which is great if you have an older hard drive that ’s still a full of life part of your setup . The wharf also has the received issue of ports : two Thunderbolt 2 ports , a gigabit Ethernet port , and an HDMI port wine .
OWC Thunderbolt2 Dock ports . Click to enlarge .
Like the Elgato loading dock , OWC ’s dock has separate microphone and audio out porthole . But unlike the Elgato bobtail , these two ports are on the prat , not the front .
The one knock against the OWC Thunderbolt 2 Dock is that it does n’t let in a Thunderbolt cable . OWC does betray Thunderbolt cables in different colors ( black , red , dark-green , blue , white ) and in dissimilar lengths ( 0.5 meter to 30 meters ) .
Top contenders
Elgato Thunderbolt 2 Dock
The $ 230Thunderbolt 2 Dock ( ) has a brushed aluminium grammatical case that match your Apple laptop . The front has a USB 3 port , a mic jack , and an amplified headphone jack . The back has a gigabit Ethernet port , two USB 3 ports , two Thunderbolt 2 ports , and an HDMI connector . Elgato admit a 0.5 - metre Thunderbolt overseas telegram . All of the USB ports ply enough power to charge any iOS devices .
Elgato Thunderbolt 2 Dock rear ports . Click to exposit .
Elgato ’s dock includes a software service program . Like the CalDigit utility , the Elgato Thunderbolt Dock Utility resides in your Mac ’s menu stripe for one - click ejecting of any connected dock devices from the Desktop .
Sonnet Echo 15+ Thunderbolt 2 Dock
TheEcho 15 + Thunderbolt 2 Dock ( ) is very different from the pier in this roundup . The Echo 15 + houses a hard drive and your choice of a videodisk burner , Blu - electron beam burner , or Blu - ray crusade , in summation to ports for Thunderbolt 2 , USB 3 , eSATA , FireWire 800 , gigabit Ethernet , and audio in / out .
Prices range from $ 469 with an empty store bay ( you provide your own effort ) to $ 999 for an Echo 15 + with a pair of SSDs ( 1 TB computer storage ) and a Blu - ray burner . The Echo 15 + is also the only dock with a method ofsecuring a Thunderbolt cableto the gimmick — it ’s surprising that no other equipment does this .
Sonnet Echo 15 + Thunderbolt 2 Dock rear ports . chatter to expatiate .
For yield environs , the Echo 15 + is a grueling - tariff ready to hand pier . have an all - in - one box helps cut down on the desk smother though the Echo 15 + itself is a liberal boxwood . The machine is sturdy enough for a display up to 34 inches , or even a Mac Pro or 27 - inch iMac . Read the in - astuteness review .
StarTech Thunderbolt 2 4K docking station
At $ 318 , theThunderbolt 2 4 yard docking station ( ) is pricey . It ’s also the long sorrel , measuring 9.2 inches , and its design hearkens back to theold atomic number 13 Mac Pro column .
The Thunderbolt 2 4 M docking post is the only loading dock I looked at that has anS / PDIFconnector on the back . The rear also has three USB 3 ports , a microphone jack , one eSATA port , gigabit ethernet , HDMI , two Thunderbolt 2 embrasure , and a surety lock slot . The front has a USB 3 port and phone jackass .
StarTech Thunderbolt2 4k Docking Station rear port . Click to enlarge .
StarTech includes not one , not two , butthreedifferent power cords , one each for the U.S. , U.K. , and E.U. The society also includes a Thunderbolt cable .
Rest of the pack
Akitio Thunder2 Dock
Most of the loading dock in this roundup resemble nicer - looking KVM switching , but the $ 280Thunder2 Dock ( ) film a different approach : from a distance , the gadget looks like a portable hard drive . And instead of lining up the ports on the back end ( with a few porthole on the front for quick entree ) , the Akitio dockage has port on three of its four sides . That means that instead of your line being hidden from view ( for the most part ) in the rear , the cable length are in unmixed passel . The Akitio ’s blueprint could be more operative for you , especially if you are connecting and disconnecting twist frequently — but if you are n’t , the Akitio innovation leads to a potentially mussy cable layout .
Akitio Thunder2 Dock ports . sink in to enlarge .
With two eSATA ports , a FireWire 800 port and two USB 3 ports ( that can saddle your iOS gadget ) , the Akitio Thunder2 Dock is pitch for someone who need flexibleness with attach storage devices to your Mac . The docking facility does have two Thunderbolt 2 connecter and you may connect a Thunderbolt or mini - DisplayPort display . There ’s no Gbit Ethernet , audio connectors , or HDMI . When you consider the $ 280 price ( Thunderbolt cable length include ) and the ports , the Akitio sour grass fills a niche that ’s different than the other docks .
Apple Thunderbolt Display
The $ 999Thunderbolt Displaycan be used as a dock . The trouble is that the product has n’t been updated since it wasreleasedin 2011 , before USB 3 and Thunderbolt 2 were available on the Mac . It has USB 2.0 ports and it has thefirst - generation Thunderboltimplementation or else ofThunderbolt 2 .
Rear ports on the Apple Thunderbolt Display . Click to enlarge .
If you do n’t give care about execution , the Thunderbolt Display will process well and you wo n’t have another equipment have up infinite on your desk . The video display has three USB 2.0 ports , a FireWire 800 port , Gb ethernet , and a security expansion slot . There ’s also a built - in Thunderbolt cable that you stop up into your laptop , as well as a Thunderbolt port .
If youdocare about public presentation , then you should experience that in the Aja System Test , the Thunderbolt Display posted USB drive read speed of 25.2 MBps and drop a line speeding of 9.9 MBps . Slow when compare to USB 3 .
Belkin Thunderbolt 2 Express Dock HD
The $ 300Thunderbolt 2 Express Dock HD ( ) is almost very in design to its herald , theThunderbolt Express Dock . Besides upgrading to Thunderbolt 2 , Belkin changed the port configuration . This sorrel has a front USB 3 port and a headset jack , a excogitation modification from before . The back of the docking facility has two USB 3 ports ( all of the USB 3 embrasure can commove a machine ) , gigabit Ethernet , a phone jack , HDMI , and two Thunderbolt 2 porthole .
Belkin Thunderbolt2 Express Dock HD rear ports . Click to enlarge .
If you have an odd - determine USB flash drive , you might have problems plugging it into the front USB port wine . The port itself is recess a number from the outer aluminum casing , which can get in the way if your USB drive has a built - in connection and a wide typesetter’s case .
While the Belkin dock is a nice , self-colored product , it ’s near the top of the price chain of mountains in this roundup , and it does n’t leave anything unique , like a software package utility or different ports .
Kanex Thunderbolt 2 Express Dock
The $ 150Thunderbolt 2 Express Dock ( ) also has a brush aluminum case . It ’s almost the same size as the Elgato dock .
On the front it has a USB 3 port wine that can charge your devices while the back has two unpowered USB 3 ports , a headset port , gigabit ethernet , two Thunderbolt 2 ports , and an HDMI connector . Kanex includes a 1 - meter bombshell cable .
Kanex Thunderbolt2 Express Dock rearward ports . Click to enlarge .
While this is a unanimous , timber sour grass , it ’s similar in design to the Elgato dockage . To me , the Elgato ’s freestanding mic and run along out jacks on the front are preferable to the single rearward headset jack on the Kanex . The Kanex dock does get the nod for the most affordable dock in this roundup .
Coming soon
Henge Docks ’ Horizontal Docking Station forMacBook ProandMacBook Airhas been onour radarfor a while and it appear like it ’s available to prescribe .
Bottom line
The CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 2 and OWC Thunderbolt 2 pier stand out in this roundup , but all of the docks are firm choices . The $ 235 CalDigit dock is a nice combination of price and features and I personally like its excogitation . The OWC dock has a lot of ports , but you have to buy a Thunderbolt cable’s length , which pushes it past its $ 229 terms tag .
