# Docking station for MB M1 Max 16inch



## FrozenIcicle (Nov 17, 2021)

After working on MacPro for many years I now gotta think about how to dock my laptop. 

Any recommendations?


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## rnb_2 (Nov 17, 2021)

This thread should get you started:






Thunderbolt 4 hubs


Hi looking for recommendations... I want a thunderbolt 4 hub so I can use all of my ssds with my growing libraries. The owc and caldigit are out of stock for at least a month.. does anyone have experience with another model? I’m using a 2017 iMac with 2 thunderbolt ports. Thank!




vi-control.net


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## samphony (Nov 17, 2021)

I’m getting one of these for the studio 

Triple 4k Dock for M1Pro/Max


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## rnb_2 (Nov 17, 2021)

samphony said:


> I’m getting one of these for the studio



The link didn't come through properly - it's here.

My only misgiving with that is that it's USB-C, not Thunderbolt, and relies on using ⅔ or all of your Thunderbolt ports to give less total bandwidth than 1 Thunderbolt port can provide.


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## samphony (Nov 17, 2021)

True! I’ve misread that! Thanks for pointing that out!


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## rnb_2 (Nov 17, 2021)

Based on the writeup at AppleInsider, I thought it was Thunderbolt, but on rereading the article, it never actually says Thunderbolt or USB-C, and I noticed the multiple connections when I looked at the actual page at Indiegogo.


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## Sovereign (Nov 18, 2021)

rnb_2 said:


> Based on the writeup at AppleInsider, I thought it was Thunderbolt, but on rereading the article, it never actually says Thunderbolt or USB-C, and I noticed the multiple connections when I looked at the actual page at Indiegogo.


On the Indiegogo page only USB-C (two ports 10Gbps each) is mentioned. So no TB speeds.


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## rnb_2 (Nov 18, 2021)

Sovereign said:


> On the Indiegogo page only USB-C (two ports 10Gbps each) is mentioned. So no TB speeds.


Yeah - the Indiegogo page is clear that it's USB-C.


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## darkinners (Nov 20, 2021)

I am using the OWC Thunderbolt 4 Dock without any issue.


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## whinecellar (Nov 20, 2021)

I haven’t tried it yet with my wife’s brand new maxed-out MBP, but the only TB/USB-C dock that has consistently and reliably worked for me is the Caldigit TS3 Plus. I’ve been using it for over two years with a 2018 MBP 6-core I7 and it’s been flawless. Bonus points for the super fast card reader, ample power supply, and 5k DisplayPort output. I can’t imagine it wouldn’t be just as good for the new machines. 

Every other dock I’ve tried over the years had flaky, random disconnects, video issues, or other dealbreakers.


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## rnb_2 (Nov 20, 2021)

whinecellar said:


> I haven’t tried it yet with my wife’s brand new maxed-out MBP, but the only TB/USB-C dock that has consistently and reliably worked for me is the Caldigit TS3 Plus. I’ve been using it for over two years with a 2018 MBP 6-core I7 and it’s been flawless. Bonus points for the super fast card reader, ample power supply, and 5k DisplayPort output. I can’t imagine it wouldn’t be just as good for the new machines.
> 
> Every other dock I’ve tried over the years had flaky, random disconnects, video issues, or other dealbreakers.


I had weird issues with CalDigit's Thunderbolt 2 TS2 dock - it would randomly lock up my 2014 5k iMac, and we were never able to resolve the issue. It didn't occur with any later Mac (via Apple's TB2-TB3 adapter), and I've heard nothing but good things about the TS3+, and have had a great experience with the Element Hub - shame that supply issues are keeping more people from getting one.


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## jbuhler (Nov 20, 2021)

whinecellar said:


> I haven’t tried it yet with my wife’s brand new maxed-out MBP, but the only TB/USB-C dock that has consistently and reliably worked for me is the Caldigit TS3 Plus. I’ve been using it for over two years with a 2018 MBP 6-core I7 and it’s been flawless. Bonus points for the super fast card reader, ample power supply, and 5k DisplayPort output. I can’t imagine it wouldn’t be just as good for the new machines.
> 
> Every other dock I’ve tried over the years had flaky, random disconnects, video issues, or other dealbreakers.


I’ve been using the OWC thunderbolt 3 dock for almost two years without issue.


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## rnb_2 (Nov 20, 2021)

jbuhler said:


> I’ve been using the OWC thunderbolt 3 dock for almost two years without issue.


I've had my OWC TB3 dock since April 2019, also with no issues. Had to get it to replace my Lexar Professional Workflow card reader setup after discovering that something about some of Lexar's USB controllers was keeping my Apple Watch from unlocking my Mac.


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## jbuhler (Nov 20, 2021)

rnb_2 said:


> I've had my OWC TB3 dock since April 2019, also with no issues. Had to get it to replace my Lexar Professional Workflow card reader setup after discovering that something about some of Lexar's USB controllers was keeping my Apple Watch from unlocking my Mac.


I had to get the OWC when my StarTech TB2 dock stopped working and there weren't any good TB2 replacement solutions. At the time I needed a TB3 dock that was backward compatible with TB2, and the OWC was one of the few that guaranteed it was. I used it in that mode for 6 months or so before I got a new iMac that had TB3.


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## whinecellar (Nov 20, 2021)

Funny how everyone's experiences with these are different. I had several OWC docks fail on me, which surprised me because all their stuff has always been rock solid for me over the years. I think it was a chip set issue after some dialogues with their techs. To be fair, this was on their first gen TB docks, but I stopped trusting them after those disasters. Always read rave reviews on the Caldigit stuff, and sure enough that one has truly been the hub of my entire studio. Love that thing.


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## danwool (Nov 22, 2021)

FrozenIcicle said:


> After working on MacPro for many years I now gotta think about how to dock my laptop.
> 
> Any recommendations?


I'm in the same boat. I'll be looking for the best dock/hub solution for replicating what's on my cMP, including the display outputs, in Thunderbolt on an M1 Max MP. 

The good and the bad news is that there's a ton of options apparently, but since I've essentially been working with 2009 technology I'm finding it tough getting up to speed.


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## HeliaVox (Nov 23, 2021)

OMG, I just bought a 16' MBP and I was coming here to post the same question!


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## danwool (Nov 23, 2021)

I'm guessing there will be


HeliaVox said:


> OMG, I just bought a 16' MBP and I was coming here to post the same question!


I'm guessing there may be a lot of cMP refugees that need to figure out how to hook into the new world soon.

For ez ref cMPs have:
- 4 internal sata drives
- 5 USB2 ports (+ Firewire ports, but most have likely abandoned those long ago)
- support for 2 to 4 displays (me four 2.5k displays)
- support for 2 more PCIe cards (me 2 eSATA3 ports and 2 USB3 ports)
- 2 Ethernet ports (I need but one)

So quite a few ports on these suckers, all of which will need to be absorbed into the AS Thunderbolt model somehow. A vendor that offered a plan, a dock, or suite of hardware for cMP migrants would be helpful. ...and maybe an M1 Thunderbolt for Dummies class


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## rnb_2 (Nov 24, 2021)

OWC's new 11-port Thunderbolt 4 dock is now in stock (they had been saying December).


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## pcarrilho (Nov 24, 2021)

I am using a CalDigit with my macbook Air M1 and i love it.


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## danwool (Nov 24, 2021)

rnb_2 said:


> OWC's new 11-port Thunderbolt 4 dock is now in stock (they had been saying December).


Another Thunderbolt novice question, sry:

Can someone please tell me what I'd need to run four 2k displays from an M1 Max MBP? This dock (and others) says it can handle "up to two 4K displays" (none I've seen ever say more than two). Does this mean I'd need an additional dock, on another Tb bus, to run another two displays? ...or could my four lower res 2ks be run from this/a single dock?


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## rnb_2 (Nov 24, 2021)

danwool said:


> Another Thunderbolt novice question, sry:
> 
> Can someone please tell me what I'd need to run four 2k displays from an M1 Max MBP? This dock (and others) says it can handle "up to two 4K displays" (none I've seen ever say more than two). Does this mean I'd need an additional dock, on another Tb bus, to run another two displays? ...or could my four lower res 2ks be run from this/a single dock?


I believe you can only have two displays on any single Thunderbolt bus, regardless of resolution, so to run four (with the assumption that none of them are Thunderbolt displays, which you can daisy-chain natively), you'd need a hub, dock, or adapter (Sonnet makes Thunderbolt adapters to run 2xHDMi or 2xDP, for instance) on one Thunderbolt port to take care of two displays. You can do the same with the other two, or put each on the end of a Thunderbolt chain via a USB-C to HDMI cable.


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## danwool (Nov 24, 2021)

rnb_2 said:


> I believe you can only have two displays on any single Thunderbolt bus, regardless of resolution, so to run four (with the assumption that none of them are Thunderbolt displays, which you can daisy-chain natively), you'd need a hub, dock, or adapter (Sonnet makes Thunderbolt adapters to run 2xHDMi or 2xDP, for instance) on one Thunderbolt port to take care of two displays. You can do the same with the other two, or put each on the end of a Thunderbolt chain via a USB-C to HDMI cable.


Thanks so much! This is the most useful response I've gotten yet on this question. 

One more thing. The 2021 MBPs have an HDMI out. Is that it's own thing, apart form the Tb busses? Would that HDMI out and then the MBPs display get me to four total, if I were to put two on one of the Tb busses?


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## rnb_2 (Nov 24, 2021)

danwool said:


> Thanks so much! This is the most useful response I've gotten yet on this question.
> 
> One more thing. The 2021 MBPs have an HDMI out. Is that it's own thing, apart form the Tb busses? Would that HDMI out and then the MBPs display get me to four total, if I were to put two on one of the Tb busses?


Yes, if you count the MBP's display as one of your 4, the HDMI port + a hub/dock/adapter can get you the other three.


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