WWDC 2020 June 22nd (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

This TS3 Plus is pretty slick. My office computer at work is inside the side of my desk, to keep desktop clutter down, but then it needs to have 6-8 cables coming out of the back of the desk. One of these could reduce it to 1 or 2 and have the dock on the desk to break everything out. I'd need a 2M cable, but it sounds like you've been using one yourself. According to CalDigit, it just needs to be 40Gb/s and 100w, which looks to cost about $60-65. Not exactly cheap, but an elegant option.

John, I am coming back to talk to you about cables. You mentioned specific cables and what they would cost to drive both those displays with a single connection.

What do you think of these?

Thunderbolt 3 USB‑C Cable 0.8 m - Apple

Apple Store Search Results

www.apple.com

And if I need to go with something longer in length this is not much more expensive

Xcellon Thunderbolt 3 Cable (6.6', 40 Gb/s, Active)

Buy Xcellon Thunderbolt 3 Cable (6.6', 40 Gb/s, Active) featuring Thunderbolt, USB, & DP Compatible, Data Transfer Rates of up to 40 Gb/s, 100 W Power Delivery, Daisy-Chain up to 6 Thunderbolt Devices, Supports up to 5K / Dual 4K Displays, Reversible USB Type-C Connector. Review Xcellon null

www.bhphotovideo.com

 

[JohnRice]

John, I am coming back to talk to you about cables. You mentioned specific cables and what they would cost to drive both those displays with a single connection.

What do you think of these?

Thunderbolt 3 USB‑C Cable 0.8 m - Apple

Apple Store Search Results

www.apple.com

And if I need to go with something longer in length this is not much more expensive

Xcellon Thunderbolt 3 Cable (6.6', 40 Gb/s, Active)

Buy Xcellon Thunderbolt 3 Cable (6.6', 40 Gb/s, Active) featuring Thunderbolt, USB, & DP Compatible, Data Transfer Rates of up to 40 Gb/s, 100 W Power Delivery, Daisy-Chain up to 6 Thunderbolt Devices, Supports up to 5K / Dual 4K Displays, Reversible USB Type-C Connector. Review Xcellon null

www.bhphotovideo.com

Ron, both of those show the necessary specs. Essentially, 40Gb/s bandwidth and 100W power, to charge your MacBook. Using one of those, you should be able to connect 2 monitors of up to 4K each. One to the DP output and one to the TB3 output, but you can only use those two ports.

BTW, if I get one for my work computer, I'll be driving two monitors from it using a 2M cable, but the monitors will be WQHD (1440x2560) and it'll be connected to a Mini, so I won't be using the power abilities.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Ron, both of those show the necessary specs. Essentially, 40Gb/s bandwidth and 100W power, to charge your MacBook. Using one of those, you should be able to connect 2 monitors of up to 4K each. One to the DP output and one to the TB3 output, but you can only use those two ports.

BTW, if I get one for my work computer, I'll be driving two monitors from it using a 2M cable, but the monitors will be WQHD (1440x2560) and it'll be connected to a Mini, so I won't be using the power abilities.

Appreciate the response, John. I am happy that I can do it a little bit cheaper than I anticipated. Thanks again for all your help.

 

[JohnRice]

Appreciate the response, John. I am happy that I can do it a little bit cheaper than I anticipated. Thanks again for all your help.

Ron, let us know how it works. I am interested in running two monitors from one of these.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Ron, let us know how it works. I am interested in running two monitors from one of these.

John,

The worst part of being retired and in the middle of a pandemic that keeps you isolated is that one tends to think too much.

I have been going back-and-forth in my mind about whether it's worth spending about $110 on cables for this experiment.

I have read dozens of reviews on the OCW cables that seem to be the best choice. There are some Macbook Pro users claiming that (at least on the 2018 models) you cannot run monitors with the MBP in clamshell mode. In my experience, this is not true for normal USB-C cables. I don't know if this is true for TB3 cables.

The other problem I wrestle with is this: Is it really a nuisance to have to hook up two USB-C cables to my MBP as opposed to one TB3? I am spending a ridiculous amount of money to get rid of 1 cable. That's really crazy. There is absolutely no issue with putting my MBP on a stand next to my monitors and plugging in two cables. Takes seconds to do.

What I really want to buy is this:

Account Suspended

www.brydge.com

For me, this is the ultimate solution. However, there are problems preventing me from even considering this.

You can't use it if your MBP has a protective cover on it which mine has.

If you use it without a protective cover, I hear that these docks often scratch the outside of the MBP.

I want to again thank you for all your help. It would have been kind of cool to test all of this, but I could put that kind of money to better use.

 

[JohnRice]

John,

The worst part of being retired and in the middle of a pandemic that keeps you isolated is that one tends to think too much.

I have been going back-and-forth in my mind about whether it's worth spending about $110 on cables for this experiment.

I have read dozens of reviews on the OCW cables that seem to be the best choice. There are some Macbook Pro users claiming that (at least on the 2018 models) you cannot run monitors with the MBP in clamshell mode. In my experience, this is not true for normal USB-C cables. I don't know if this is true for TB3 cables.

The other problem I wrestle with is this: Is it really a nuisance to have to hook up two USB-C cables to my MBP as opposed to one TB3? I am spending a ridiculous amount of money to get rid of 1 cable. That's really crazy. There is absolutely no issue with putting my MBP on a stand next to my monitors and plugging in two cables. Takes seconds to do.

What I really want to buy is this:

Account Suspended

www.brydge.com

For me, this is the ultimate solution. However, there are problems preventing me from even considering this.

You can't use it if your MBP has a protective cover on it which mine has.

If you use it without a protective cover, I hear that these docks often scratch the outside of the MBP.

I want to again thank you for all your help. It would have been kind of cool to test all of this, but I could put that kind of money to better use.

LOL. I relate. In any case, the 2 ft. cable that came with the dock should work, if you just want to try it with a short cable.

I realized I can try two monitors from the dock I have just by getting a $15 cable. Of course, that's not a MBP, so it won't help you with your questions.

I mentioned that the first doc I received had some bad ports, which I fortunately discovered quickly, mostly out of luck. I got a replacement and checked all the ports right off.

 

[JohnRice]

BTW @Ronald, I did hook up both monitors to the TS3 Plus and it worked fine. One with a DP to DP cable and the other with a TB3 to hdmi connected to the TB3 port on the back of the dock. That was connecting the dock to the computer with the TB3 cable it came with.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

BTW @Ronald, I did hook up both monitors to the TS3 Plus and it worked fine. One with a DP to DP cable and the other with a TB3 to hdmi connected to the TB3 port on the back of the dock. That was connecting the dock to the computer with the TB3 cable it came with.

Excellent, John. That takes care of that little experiment. So it does work.

Now I have to justify spending $110 just to go from two cables to one, and thus far, that's a pretty hard expenditure to bite.