Latest chipset allows this docking station to work with both USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 laptops
The Caldigit USB-C Pro Dock is a well-built, full universal Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C docking station that offers all the ports you need to create a full desktop experience for a laptop, whatever its connection type.
Price When Reviewed
- $249.95
USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 docks are great for expanding a laptop into a larger desktop setup, adding multiple ports missing from the laptop and connecting one or more external displays.
Many top-end laptops have just a few side ports. Dell’s XPS 15 has one USB-C port, 2x Thunderbolt 3 ports, an SD card reader, and a headphone port. Apple’s 15in MacBook Pro has 4x Thunderbolt 3 ports. The MacBook Air has just two.
To add an older USB-A device, such as a memory stick, hard drive or wired keyboard, you need to get your hands on at least a USB-C hub. See our roundup of the best USB-C hubs and adapters.
But a full docking station offers much more - such as multiple display and USB ports, and its own power supply that charges the laptop via the same cable that delivers the data.
Simply connect the laptop to the dock, and all those ports become available to you. You can hook up and disconnect with just one cable. If you have one at home and one in the office, you can move between both places and be working in desktop mode within seconds.
If you own a laptop with Thunderbolt 3 ports, you’ll want a dedicated Thunderbolt 3 dock. Let’s just call it Thunderbolt 3 T3 from here on.
T3 is a higher-bandwidth variant of USB-C. The connectors look exactly the same, but T3 is up to 8x faster.
A T3 laptop will work with a plain USB-C dock, but by doing so it will give up T3’s superior bandwidth: 40Gbps compared to USB-C’s either 5Gbps or 10Gbps, depending on which standard it uses.
However, a USB-C laptop won’t work with a T3 dock… unless it uses the very latest technology, such as the Titan Ridge chipset that allows the dock to work on both Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C.
One such hybrid or universal T3/USB-C docking station is Caldigit’s USB-C Pro Dock. Using it, T3 laptops run at full bandwidth, and USB-C laptops can hook up to the same dock and work just fine at their own speed.
This is especially useful in situations where you have both USB-C and T3 laptops in a mixed office environment, for example. Hot-desking users can then swap in and out both types of laptop without having to find a specific docking station.
USB-C Pro Dock Features
- PD laptop charging at up to 85W, offering fast charging for even the top-end laptops
- Two DisplayPort 1.2 ports
- Three USB 3.2 Gen. 1 Type-A (5Gbps) ports
- One USB 3.2 Gen. 2 Type-C (10Gbps) port
- SD Card Reader (SD 4.0 UHS-II)
- Gigabit Ethernet port for wired Internet access
- Front-facing 3.5mm Analogue Audio In & Out port
The Pro Dock has a 150W power supply, so it can power devices connected to all its ports. Contrast this with a humble non-powered USB-C hub. A hub might seem like it has it all, but it will quickly be overwhelmed when it comes to power.
Most simple USB-C hubs draw their power from the laptop, and that will offer only 15W - so a multi-port non-powered hub is soon going to feel the strain. Even a powered hub won’t have anything like the 150W of power that a dock such as the USB-C Pro has behind it.
The dock can also charge connected USB devices - such as a phone, tablet or smartwatch - at up to 7.5W without the laptop connected.
Hybrid Features
The host computer determines the feature set of the dock.
A T3 laptop can use the dock at full 40Gbps bandwidth, and connect two 4K monitors at 60Hz.
A USB-C laptop can connect at up to 10Gbps, and power two HD displays, or one 4K monitor at 30Hz.
You can even use the USB-C Pro Dock with a USB-A laptop, as long as you use a USB-A to USB-C adapter or cable. It won’t, however, be able to run a second display or be charged from the dock - but it can access the extra USB ports, SD card reader and audio.
It will also work with Apple’s iPad Pro or a compatible USB-C smartphone, connecting a 4K monitor at 60Hz (the iPad Pro doesn’t support dual monitors, sadly), plus USB-A (for mouse and keyboard, for instance) and USB-C ports, Gigabit Ethernet, SD reader, and fast charging.
Note: Some Windows T3 laptops support only one DisplayPort stream, so can output up to a single 4K at 60Hz or dual 4K 30Hz monitors - so check T3 port capability with your Windows laptop provider. 12in Apple MacBook models have just the one USB-C port, so can only support dual monitors in mirrored mode. Also, some Windows USB-C laptops don’t support charging over USB-C, so again check with the manufacturer.
While very few USB-C docks are compatible with Apple’s SuperDrive DVD writer, Caldigit’s Pro Dock will do so with a simple driver installation.
Caldigit USB-C Pro Dock vs Caldigit TS3 Plus Dock
Caldigit also offers a top-end Thunderbolt Station 3 Plus (TS3 Plus), which isn’t a hybrid so won’t work with USB-C laptops. However, is it better for Thunderbolt 3 owners?
The TS3 Plus features five instead of the Pro Dock’s three USB-A ports, but three at one time should be enough for most users. The TS3 Plus has five USB-A and two USB-C ports, whereas the USB-C Pro Dock has three USB-A and one USB-C. Read our full Caldigit TS3 Plus review.
As the TS3 Plus has dual T3 ports it can be used in a T3 daisy-chain. Many users like the idea of having everything connected to a single port on their laptop when connecting various Thunderbolt 3 devices. In addition if a user has a T3 SSD, for example, they cannot connect that to the USB-C Pro Dock as a T3 storage device must be connected to a T3 port.
Since the USB-C Pro Dock is a single- port T3 dock it can only be used in a daisy-chain if it’s at the end of a daisy-chain.
The TS3 Plus can also be connected to USB-C monitors - not possible with the Pro Dock as its USB-C ports are for data only because it has dual video ports built-in and T3 is capable of a maximum of two monitors.
Another display benefit of the TS3 Plus is its ability to connect a single 5K monitor (at 60Hz), which the USB-C Pro Dock cannot.
The main selling point of the USB-C Pro Dock is that it will work on T3 and USB-C laptops, and that it has two video ports built-in. However, not everyone needs dual monitors and would prefer to have a spare Thunderbolt 3 port.
The reason the USB-C Pro dock has one Thunderbolt 3 port is that it’s not technically possible to release a T3 device with two video ports and two T3 ports. A dock with dual video ports can only have one Thunderbolt 3 port.
So for an all guns blazing T3 docking station, the TS3 is it. But the Pro Dock is close in terms of features, cheaper and capable of hooking up to a USB-C laptop if required.
Verdict
For mixed USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 laptop environments, Caldigit’s USB-C Pro Dock makes connecting the two types of modern laptop easy.
It’s a well-built universal Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C docking station that offers all the ports and bandwidth you should need to create a full desktop experience for a laptop, whatever its connection.
Specs
- 1 x Thunderbolt 3 (Backwards Compatible with USB-C), 2 x DisplayPort 1.2, 3 x USB 3.2 Type A (5Gb/s), 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gb/s Data Only), Gigabit Ethernet, UHS-II SD Card Slot (SD 4.0), 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack.
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