At a look
Professional’s Ranking
Execs
- 13 quick ports
- 2.5Gb Ethernet
- Two HDMI 2.1
- 30W USB-C port
- Reasonably priced
Cons
- Solely two prolonged shows for Mac
- Upstream port at entrance
Our Verdict
Whereas its triple-monitor potential is muted on Macs (with one of many three being mirrored), as a dual-display dock with a bunch of top-rated ports the Wavlink Thunderbolt 4 Triple Show Docking Station is nice worth for cash.
Worth When Reviewed
This worth will present the geolocated pricing textual content for product undefined
Finest Pricing Right this moment
The Wavlink Thunderbolt 4 Triple Show Docking Station is a full docking station with 13 ports, together with 40Gbps Thunderbolt 4 and a pair of.5Gb Ethernet, accessible at a really reasonably priced worth.
It’s an amazing choice for house owners of Thunderbolt-equipped laptops, because the ports are quick and plentiful.
Even when your laptop computer has USB-C somewhat than Thunderbolt 4 (TB4) connectivity, shopping for the quicker customary will future-proof your buy except you need to hold on for the very newest 80Gbps Thunderbolt 5 docks—and that could possibly be fairly a protracted wait.
Backwards appropriate with Thunderbolt 3, TB4 options the quick 40Gbps bandwidth plus good machine daisy-chaining and super-fast storage connectivity. It additionally provides Intel VT-d DMA machine safety that you simply don’t get with all older connectivity requirements.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Specs and options
- One upstream Thunderbolt 4 port (40Gbps, 96W)
- One downstream Thunderbolt 4 port (40Gbps, 15W)
- Two HDMI 2.1 video ports (4K at 60Hz)
- One USB-C port (10Gbps, 30W)
- Two USB-A ports (10Gbps, 4.5W)
- Two USB-A ports (5Gbps, 4.5W)
- 2.5Gb Ethernet
- UHS-II SD Card reader (312MBps)
- UHS-II MicroSD Card reader (312MBps)
- 3.5mm audio jack
- 160W energy provide
The Wavlink Thunderbolt 4 Triple Show Docking ports has one upstream Thunderbolt 4 port to hook up with your laptop, and only one downstream Thunderbolt 4 port to attach different gadgets, together with exterior shows.
Different docks, such because the Kensington SD5700T Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station, provide as much as three quick downstream TB4 ports, however this Wavlink dock makes up for the less TB4 ports with its personal treats.
The one downstream TB4 port is rated at 40Gbps and may cost gadgets at 15W every. The upstream port can cost a linked laptop computer at as much as 96W, quick sufficient for many massive laptops and slightly extra highly effective than the Kensington dock.
Wavlink has sacrificed two of the Thunderbolt ports for devoted HDMI 2.1 ports.
For Macs, the dock will assist three 4K shows at 60Hz, however one of many two screens linked by way of HDMI will solely mirror the display of the opposite whereas the opposite two will show prolonged screens. It’s due to this fact extra possible for use by Mac customers for 2 exterior shows—one linked to the downstream Thunderbolt port and the opposite to one of many HDMI ports, leaving one of many HDMI ports spare except you desire a mirrored display too.
That limitation is right down to Apple somewhat than Wavlink. Home windows TB4 laptops assist three Prolonged Mode 4K 60Hz shows or one monitor at 8K 60Hz.
Notice that Apple’s plain M1 and M2 MacBooks assist just one exterior show—M1/2/3 Professional and Max MacBooks assist a number of shows—though there are third-party software program and {hardware} workarounds that enable M1/M2 Macs to hook up with multiple exterior show. Plain M3 MacBooks do assist a number of screens however provided that the laptop computer’s lid is closed. Learn: The way to join two or extra exterior shows to a MacBook.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Regardless of the shortage of a number of downstream Thunderbolt ports, the Wavlink dock provides up 5 quick USB ports alongside the one TB4 port. There are 4 USB-A ports—two at 10Gbps and two at 5Gbps—and a front-located 10Gbps USB-C port that may output as much as 30W, sufficient to fast-charge a telephone.
The exterior energy provide can present as much as 160W of energy for laptop computer passthrough charging (96W) and linked gadgets, which isn’t probably the most highly effective TB4 dock provide we’ve examined however ought to simply deal with the load from the USB ports and TB4 port. See our roundups of the greatest Thunderbolt 4 docks and greatest Mac docking stations for comparable merchandise.
Whereas most docks characteristic customary Gigabit (1Gb) Ethernet for quick and steady wired Web entry, the Wavlink dock can assist a lot quicker 2.5Gb Ethernet networks in case your community is similar. It’s additionally backwards appropriate with Gigabit Ethernet.
On the entrance, alongside the upstream TB4 port and fast-charge USB-C port, are quick SD and MicroSD card readers (UHS-II, 312MBps) for transportable storage, and a combo 4-pole audio jack.
Design and construct
The Wavlink Thunderbolt 4 Dock is a great aluminum construct that appears stylish. On the facet, there’s a Kensington lock slot.
We respect the On/Off button that can relieve pressure in your linked laptop computer’s battery, however would have a lot most popular the upstream TB4 port to have been located out of the way in which on the again or facet of the docking station.
Worth
At $199.99 or £169.99, the Wavlink Thunderbolt 4 Triple Show Dock is priced slightly under most Thunderbolt 4 docks and is comfortably cheaper than these docks with equal quick ports corresponding to 2.5Gb Ethernet.
The closest dock when it comes to specs and worth is the $199 Plugable USB4 Twin HDMI Docking Station (UD-4VPD) nevertheless it’s not really useful for Macs. The Kensington SD5700T Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station, with customary Gigabit Ethernet, prices $219. For two.5Gb Ethernet the CalDigit TS4 is priced a lot larger at $399, with the two.5Gb Sonnet Echo 20 Thunderbolt 4 SuperDock priced at $299.
Verdict
Whereas its triple-monitor potential is muted on Macs with one of many three being mirrored, as a dual-display dock with a bunch of top-rated ports the Wavlink Thunderbolt 4 Triple Show Docking Station is nice worth for cash for velocity and energy.