Review: Elgato Thunderbolt Dock

Introduction

Most Macs sold since 2011 have at least one Thunderbolt port, yet many people use it only to connect an external display, ignoring the port's greater potential. Thunderbolt's versatility can be leveraged to add new features to a computer, even when that computer's design doesn't accommodate internal expansion cards.

The simplest examples of this are adaptors that turn a Thunderbolt port into an Ethernet or a FireWire port. But docking stations like this one from Elgato are more adventurous, providing multiple ports for you to connect various devices including storage, a printer, a display and more. This is especially convenient with a portable Mac because things can be reconnected whenever you return to your desk by simply plugging in one cable.

The dock works with desktop Macs too, and that makes it of special interest if you own a first-generation Thunderbolt Mac and lament its lack of USB 3.0 ports. It gives you three of them, thereby unlocking new options for fast external storage.

Bear in mind, though, that this doesn't mean you can use all kinds of USB 3.0 hardware with a Mac. Some video capture decks, for instance, come only with Windows software, so it's necessary to verify compatibility.

On the surface Elgato's line-up of ports isn't much different to earlier alternatives from Matrox and Belkin. The front panel contains one USB 3.0 port and discrete 3.5mm mini jacks for headphones and a microphone. This is a welcome change from Apple's annoying habit of putting useful connections out of sight and easy reach.

At the back are another two USB 3.0 ports, beating the quantity on Matrox's dock, which also has a total of three USB ports, but two of which are rated only for USB 2.0 transfer speeds. Belkin's dock has three ports of the more modern type. However, the ports on both of these alternatives are limited to 2.5GB/s, whereas Elgato rates its ports for USB 3.0's theoretical maximum of 5GB/s. Its ports also support UASP (USB Attached SCSI Protocol), which is capable of delivering improved transfer rates (something that will be covered later in this review).

The rear panel also contains a HDMI 1.4 port, which is able to drive a display with a resolution up to 2560x1600 pixels; a Gigabit Ethernet port, which most recent MacBooks lack; and two Thunderbolt ports. One Thunderbolt port connects the dock to your computer, while the second allows additional devices to be connected through the dock.

Alternatively, this extra Thunderbolt port can be used to connect a DVI or VGA display if you already have a Mini DisplayPort adaptor for that purpose. Or you can convert it to an increasingly niche FireWire 800 port with a different adaptor. Belkin's dock has FireWire built in.

Using one of these adaptors cuts off further expansion unless you ensure your other Thunderbolt devices have their own passthrough port, in which case you can daisy-chain those devices and connect the adaptor last in the chain.

Also omitted, and even more niche on the Mac, is eSATA. Another dock from Sonnet Technology promises to include two eSATA ports, but that product is yet to become available a year after its announcement.

The dock's mix of metallic and black panels is a good fit for Mac hardware, and it fits on the foot of an iMac's stand. But don't mistake its size as an indication of portability because the included power brick is required.

Performance

Earlier, we mentioned that the Elgato dock's USB ports are rated to 5GB/s, and that they support UASP. Making use of the latter requires that a connected device also supports that protocol. To test this I used a StarTech S2510BPU33 drive enclosure, into which I installed a Samsung 840 Evo SSD.

When I tested this drive with Macs that had a built-in, UASP-compliant USB 3.0 ports (a 2012 Mac mini and a 2013 MacBook Pro with Retina display) it achieved peak transfer rates of 437.4MB/s when reading data, and 416.9MB/s when writing. The drive's median transfer rates held up well at 347.2MB/s and 364.5MB/second, respectively.

A different picture emerged when the drive was connected to the dock. In that configuration, the best 'read' speed the drive was able to reach was 351.2MB/s. Its peak 'write' speed suffered a much greater reduction to 272.6MB/second. Correspondingly, the median read, and write speeds were reduced to 292.1MB/s and 228.8MB/s.

To verify these results, I tested the drive on the dock's other two USB ports, which demonstrated no difference. The positive is that the drive stayed close to these peak transfer rates during our large file tests – the medians are dragged down when transferring small files, which we expected.

This limitation dents the dock's appeal as a way to increase the number of USB 3.0 ports on a Mac that's already equipped with USB 3.0. However, it is a better but more costly option than a USB 3.0 hub because Thunderbolt's greater bandwidth means less contention.

No software needs to be installed on a Mac to use the dock. Its USB ports and a connected display are instantly available, and its headphone and microphone ports become available as options in the Mac's Sound preferences pane.

It's worth visiting Elgato's website to get an optional download. It unlocks a high-power mode for the dock's USB ports, enabling them to charge more demanding devices. This means you can simultaneously charge two iPads with Retina display and an iPhone through the dock.

The download has extra value when used with a MacBook because it installs a utility into the menu bar, which enables you to eject all connected devices at once. The dock also works with Windows 8.1 after you download and install drivers for its USB and Ethernet ports.

It's important that you don't mistake the presence of a HDMI port and the ability to connect a Mini DisplayPort adaptor into the dock's second Thunderbolt port as a way to increase the number of displays that can be connected to your computer. A Thunderbolt port carries video and audio to a single display alongside data going to other devices. If you try to connect two displays to the dock, the one attached to the HDMI port is active and the other is ignored.

Verdict

Elgato's dock is certainly an appealing add-on for a MacBook. Its price tag is similar to other docks, but it's high enough to keep Thunderbolt docks in the realm of an indulgent convenience. Used with any Thunderbolt-equipped Mac that has only USB 2.0 ports, it offers an affordable way to get better transfer rates out of any USB 3.0 storage you've bought in the last few years.

Take care when buying, though, because the dock comes in two versions – with and without the cable for £180 and £190, respectively. A cable bought separately costs around £25. Note that the bundle sold through Apple's online store for the lower price includes the cable, so be savvy and shop around.

We liked

Although speeds from the USB ports falls below that of ports built into recent Macs, their overall performance isn't bad per se – write speeds on our SSD were most heavily affected, but read speeds were good.

The dock's 17.8cm by 8cm size means it doesn't take up much room, and its height of 2.5cm allows it to be comfortably tucked under an iMac. The Thunderbolt cable that's provided is the ideal length for positioning, and it's just long enough to keep a mess of cables away from a MacBook.

The software utility to eject connected drives is the icing on the cake when it comes to convenience for a MacBook. This is a feature that both Belkin and Matrox's docks lack, even though their marketing pitches them for the same purpose.

We disliked

USB transfer rates will be mildly disappointing if you were expecting the very best from the spec sheet's boast of 5GB/s and UASP support. Knowing the speed limitation of the USB 3.0 ports at least allows you to assess which devices will work adequately enough through the dock, and which you might want to always connect to your Mac to ensure they operate at their best. If you care about this, the dock's one-cable-to-connect appeal is slightly diminished.

The exclusion of FireWire isn't a major problem for most people as it can be added with an adaptor. However, doing so will require a rethink of your cabling if you currently connect a DVI or HDMI display to your Mac using a Mini DisplayPort adaptor.

Final verdict

Ultimately, Elgato's dock isn't much different to its rivals, except for promise of faster USB ports. It lives up to that, although to a more limited extent than you might like. It's the best-specced Thunderbolt dock to date; with add-on software that shows good thought has gone into how it will be used.

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