With the quick adoption of Thunderbolt 3 and now Thunderbolt 4, customers have by no means had extra alternatives to increase their laptop connectivity. Whether it’s for ultrafast storage or 4K shows, Thunderbolt docks are the final word docking stations as of late.

The Anker PowerIncrease Elite Thunderbolt 3 Dock is a fixed-location dock, however it’s compact if you wish to carry it alongside and construct a neat work setup in your lodge room.

That stated, regulate the facility provide measurement as a result of the included 180W (20V, 9A) energy provide is fairly sizeable, however that’s sadly regular for this Wattage.

I like how compact and well-built this product is, and at 1.1 Lbs, it feels very sturdy. The chassis is all steel and acts as an environment friendly heatsink. That’s significantly helpful should you energy a laptop computer instantly from the PowerIncrease Elite Thunderbolt 3 dock as a result of it would get heat when used to its full potential.

“USB COMPATIBILITY MIGHT BE AN ESSENTIAL FEATURE IF YOU WANT TO RE-USE THE DOCK”

This dock’s large benefit is that it could actually additionally operate over USB protocol by way of a USB-C port with DisplayPort Alt Mode and Power Delivery (verify your laptop handbook for affirmation). Also check the compatibility fine prints on the official website, particularly when you have an M1 Mac.

Many persons are shocked to be taught that some Thunderbolt docks don’t work in any respect when linked to a non-Thunderbolt laptop.

USB compatibility is perhaps an important characteristic if you wish to re-use the dock with a plain USB 3.x laptop, like some AMD-powered 2021 computer systems (Thunderbolt is an Intel know-how).

The sheer variety of ports is spectacular, particularly given the compact nature of this design, however have a look at the listing beneath:

Out of the field, it’s attainable to attach two 4K/60 screens utilizing the dock’s HDMI port and one of many Thunderbolt ports concurrently, which is greater than sufficient for many customers.

In some cases, you should utilize a USB-C to Dual HDMI splitter (not included) to attach three shows to the dock. If you want even greater show connectivity or decision, you may wish to verify the upcoming Thunderbolt 4 docks.

The ports placement makes lots of sense too. The ones that you’ll fiddle with extra typically, akin to SD+microSD, headphone jack. A number of steadily accessed ports are within the entrance.

All the networking, screens, mounted storage, and energy ports are within the again. If it had a quantity knob within the entrance of the highest, that might be good (Anker: trace, trace).

The backside of the dock has a rubber floor to stop slippage as a lot as attainable, however I’d use each fingers if I want to attach/disconnect one thing. There isn’t a method to safe it to the desk with screws. That’s a standard state of affairs with docks.

If you don’t use it on a regular basis, there’s an ON/OFF button. It’s handy when you have plenty of high-powered tools that you simply solely use occasionally.

It is also useful if it is advisable “reset” the dock by simulating a cable disconnect. I depart it on on a regular basis, however I’ve been in these conditions earlier than (with different docks) when some peripherals require a connection reset.

Because the non-slip rubber is on the backside, this dock wants to sit down vertically, so verify for its peak (4.96”) if you wish to place it below your monitor (or monitor stand). You received’t have the ability to lay it down on its aspect as a result of the steel floor is just not flat and is sort of slippery.

“JUST AS FAST AS OUR FASTEST INTERNAL THUNDERBOLT NATIVE PORTS”

As normal, we’ve examined SSD drives and Ethernet speeds, and we are able to report that the dock is simply as quick as our quickest inside Thunderbolt native ports. We’ve examined this with the brand new Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 that has TB4 ports.

The Gigabit Ethernet port will maximize the web or community connectivity, and we are able to saturate our 1Gbps symmetrical web connection on the workplace. WiFi-6 normally maxes out between 300 Mbps to 600 Mbps relying on the machine. Wired Ethernet additionally has a decrease latency should you’re a gamer or do one thing latency-sensitive.

The 3.5mm port exhibits up as a brand new “Realtek USB2.0 Audio” sound machine in Windows. That’s regular as there is no such thing as a analog audio passthrough possibility in any of the docks we’ve examined.

With 85W of most laptop computer cost, this dock can accommodate extra highly effective computer systems than the 60W docks we checked out. If you’ve gotten a reasonably power-hungry laptop computer, you’ll be able to nonetheless have a neat 1-cable setup, and that’s considerable to anybody who desires a minimalist desk.

A few different USB ports assist 15W and 18W to fast-charge cell gadgets. Some mobiles can now cost at an insane 160W however take into account that this 180W probably has to energy the laptop computer and different peripherals.

The Thunderbolt 3 cable is just 2.3 ft and reduces your choices when putting the pc and dock a bit far aside.The cables are comparatively costly, however given the value of this dock, I’d like to see an extended cable.

The Anker PowerIncrease Elite Thunderbolt 3 Dock is a superb Thunderbolt dock that offers customers glorious connectivity in a super-compact measurement.

I think that its value of $269.99 may make some folks assess their wants earlier than buying it, however that is as a lot connectivity as you’re going to get with Thunderbolt 3. There are various docking stations choices, however the twin USB-C / Thunderbolt connectivity and the compact design set it aside.

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