best external hard drive for mac thunderbolt

As for monitor support, the Element hub handles up to dual 4K displays at 60Hz in both extended or mirror modes, single 8K display at 30Hz, or 5K Thunderbolt display at 60Hz.

You can daisy-chain the Element hub with a larger dock (like the TS3 Plus or TS4) for even more ports, and the reversible design gives you extra options for desk setup. While connected, note that the host laptop will receive up to 60W charging power when needed. The back edge holds the AC input and three Thunderbolt 4 ports with 40Gbps speeds and 15W of charging power. The front edge is four USB-A 3.2 (Gen 2) with 10Gbps speeds and 7.5W of charging power. The host laptop plugs into the side of the dock and opens up seven extra ports. It does require a substantial AC adapter, so don't expect to take it with you on the road without quite a bit of bulk. The Element hub is sized smaller and priced lower than some of the other Thunderbolt 4 options, making it a good choice if you lack space on your desktop. When I reviewed the CalDigit Element Hub I found it to be the perfect high-performance accessory to handle everything from an eGPU to a RAID storage setup to multiple high-res displays. The Element Hub is another fantastic docking solution made by CalDigit, which holds a number of spots in our best laptop docking station roundup. For now, browse CalDigit's official site for best results. When connected to the host laptop, the dock can deliver up to 98W of power.Īvailability is spotty due to the dock's popularity.

The dock supports dual 4K display each at a 60Hz refresh rate or an 8K display at a 60Hz refresh rate. The front of the dock has another USB-A port, a 3.5mm audio combination, dual USB-C ports (one with 20W of charging power), and UHS-II SD and microSD card readers that can be used simultaneously. A Kensington lock slot is great for use in an office. The back of the dock otherwise has four USB-A (10Gbps), 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet, USB-C (10Gbps), and dual 3.5mm audio ports in and out. Why not four total TB4 ports? One was sacrificed for a native DisplayPort 1.4 hookup. The 18 total ports are split between the front and the back of the dock, with the host Thunderbolt 4 port and the other two downstream Thunderbolt 4 ports on the back. The TS4 has the most ports of any Thunderbolt 4 dock currently on the market. It has a rubber pad on the bottom for a vertical orientation, and further rubber feet can be added to the ribbed sides if you'd like to use it horizontally. It follows a similar design as the TS3 Plus, with three solid aluminum pieces held together with four robust screws. I've been using the dock regularly since my CalDigit TS4 review, and I can still say it's the pinnacle of modern docking. The CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 docking station is a follow-up to the awesome CalDigit TS3 Plus.

Best external hard drive for mac thunderbolt