Curious where folks with lots of peripherals are at these days, connection-wise. Of course, everyone’s situation is different. I’ve probably got more than average with 7 external drives, 2 scanners, a vinyl cutter, a Blu-Ray burner (don’t hate!), wired ethernet for fiber service, and one external monitor. Currently, the monitor is plugged directly into the MBP, and everything else is piled into 2 powered USB A hubs via USB A/C cables and a couple dongles. While all that connectivity is nicely hidden away in an under-desk cubby, it’s a nightmare of cabling, and that only leaves me one USB C port on the MBP for the iphone / ipad / flash drive / whatever. That also means when I go mobile with the MBP I have 4 or 5 cables to uplug… like some kind of savage. I’d love to get to a 1 cable (or two with mag-safe) solution but I haven’t yet found the right device from the usual suspects like OWC, etc.
I realized a multibay external storage consolidation would help, but the ones that make sense are currently out of the budget, so I’m sticking with my JABOD for now. I thought I saw a flexible maybe even customizable hub/dock maker before but I can’t find the link if I did have one.
I don’t necessarily need an exact solution for my unique scenario; I’d like to see other’s solutions for their unique scenarios though.
I have a Dell WD22TB4 and it’s an awesome dock. Caldigit makes amazing TB4 docks from what I hear. That said, anyone responding with USB3 docks, please quote or tag me!
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I’ve got both the TS3 Plus and TS4. Both are beasts, have been running for years with no issues.
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Do you run both on the same computer?
I’m running a TS3+ on mine, but could do with some more ports, wondering if a M1 Mac Mini can support both?
I have three different solutions for three different systems here. None are latest or greatest, but they meet my needs.
I’m not laptop based, so only need a laptop hub for travel (to get HDMI, SD card, and also Ethernet at home for faster file transfers). So I use one of these: Totu USBC Hub I’ve been using it for 5 years with no issues.
My iMac (2020 27" Intel) needs lots of USB 2 and 3 ports for various electronics. I use a couple of these beyond what is on the iMac and the built-in hub in my external LG display: SABRENT 4 Port USB 3.0 Hub with power adapter. External power is a requirement as the stuff I plug in is USB powered. I’ve used these for just shy of 10 years.
My Mac mini server has an OWC Gemini 16TB dual-drive with built-in hub.. If I were living solely on a MacBook I’d buy one of these for external drive and hub solution. I’ve been using this for a year and a half.
I’ve been using the TS3+ since 2020 and it’s great! I’ve updated my laptop 3 times since then and never have to touch the TS3+. There is a firmware update available for it which allows it to supply 87W for charging those high power laptops. Updating the TS3 Plus firmware via macOS 10.15 – CalDigit
I don’t see why the Mac mini wouldn’t support both devices. Just ensure you use a separate Thunderbolt port for each device to avoid daisy chaining.
Personally, I use both a MacBook Pro and a Mac mini on my desk. Sometimes, I need to run both simultaneously, using the Mac mini as my primary machine and the MacBook via Universal Control. While I wouldn’t purchase a second Caldigit dock just for the MacBook, I did upgrade to the TS4 at some point and chose not to sell my TS3+. Since then, it’s been convenient to keep my SSD, Ethernet, DACs, etc., plugged into the MacBook when docked by simply connecting a single cable.