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CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 Dock $629.95 Delivered / SYD C&C @ Try & Byte

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Best ever TB4 dock is IN STOCK! Its like PS5 of TB docks.
No Idea about shipping cost, picked mine in store.
Made in Taiwan :)

Maxfixit $700 no stock, Amazon UK $750

3 x Thunderbolt 4 (40Gb/s)
3 x USB-C (10Gb/s)
5 x USB-A (10Gb/s)
1 x DisplayPort 1.4
1 x SD 4.0 (UHS-II)
1 x microSD 4.0 (UHS-II)
1 x 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet
1 x Front Combo Audio In/Out (3.5mm)
1 x Rear Audio Out (3.5mm)
1 x Rear Audio In (3.5mm)
1 x DC In (19.5V 11.80A)

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  • +3

    I have the model before. Great unit… price is getting pretty crazy though!

    • Lowest I could see is Amazon US at US$399, which is roughly this price.

      • I meant on thunderbolt docks in general. I have the TS3, and it cost like $400.

        • They were always like that, I think because of mandatory certification by Intel, TB chipsets maker.

  • +1

    I've got this, purchased from Try & Byte, they sent it out very quickly, initial one i had some problems with (although later found it was likely the display) but none the less they dealt with replacement promptly, couldn't have been any more helpful so highly recommend them.

  • I have the TS3 model whcih is the one before this I don't think its worth the upgrade

  • Only one display output though…?

    • More through USB-C and TB pass-through ports. They say "Single 8K or dual 6K 60Hz displays" on caldigit.com

  • +1

    Why are these docks so expensive

    • TB4?

      • Apple + Intel = TB4?

    • I would like to know as well. Is it because it's geared towards Mac u… ??

      • Intel currently has a monopoly on Thunderbolt 4 chipset. However, this is changing with ASMedia offering USB 4 chipset.
        With all ports need to have decent wiring and a power supply.

        The main issue is limited demand because this is really geared towards professionals or prosumers and mostly Mac users. Yes, it is generally expensive for general public like us. However, for the pros (which can expense this) and some of the prosumers (i.e. doctors), it is not a big deal.

        However, USB 4, Thunderbolt 4 standards are not finalised. There is now a new USB-PD standard and Thunderbolt 5, USB-Alt-Mode / DP 2.0 to come, there will be future models of these.

        • -1

          Thunderbolt 4 standards are not finalised

          That alone justifies higher than Dell/Lenovo price, CalDigit more likely to add it to firmware later, Dell probably not.

          • @[Deactivated]: Those new standards will require new chipset so CalDigit will release new models.

            now in its 4th iteration

            We are only at the first generation of Thunderbolt 4 chipset. So, CalDigit has already done 3 for Thunderbolt 3, and 1 for Thunderbolt 4. It's unclear whether Intel will release a new Thunderbolt 4 chipset before going Thunderbolt 5.

            • @netsurfer:

              Thunderbolt 4 standards are not finalised

              I think the fact of Intel selling its TB4 chip finalised it :)

              • @[Deactivated]: Huh? You do realise Intel released multiple TB3 chipsets and that was also why we were/are in a mess with TB3/USB-C alt-mode right? All signs point to the same equivalent mess will happen to TB4, unless Intel goes straight to TB5.

                The lack of data bandwidth improvement on TB4 is disappointing and Intel opting PCIe gen 3 with TB4 still. While the first USB 4.0 chipset in theory has the same data bandwidth as TB4 per port, at least we are seeing that chipset maker opting for PCIe gen 4, so instead of sharing bandwidth on 2 ports (for TB4 add on cards), we are seeing USB 4 at least doing a better job.

                Intel under-estimated USB 4 and while it does have TB5 coming, TB4 feels like a stop gap. On the video side, it is somewhat a hack job also with DSC being used rather than high video bandwidth.

                In case you are unaware, there are still a lot of so called USB 4 / TB4 accessories which are actually first gen TB3 chipset based (because TB4 does NOT have data bandwidth improvement). As for those using newer or first gen TB4 chipset (such as this one), they are charging a premium.

                The 3 x Thunderbolt 4 part of this is shared bandwidth.

              • @[Deactivated]: CalDigit generally does regular refreshes. It's expected because TB4, USB 4 are evolving standards and with Thunderbolt 4 is still PCIe gen 3 based means it won't really future proof. Intel "could" muck around with alt-mode in a new revision of the chipset, but that means brand new set of dongles.

                With very limited competition in this space, we are seeing only UHS-II SD card readers, which honestly, if you have top video / photo gears, you will most likely still need CF Express or SD Express card readers. 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet, the chipset isn't that expensive, even for an intel one.

                In the thin and light space, and Apple going all USB-C/Thunderbolt, if you have the cash, you could get one of these. With USB-PD 3.1 already being used by Apple, it adds to yet another reason that this item is not future proof. Granted, CalDigit has released it for a while.

                • -1

                  @netsurfer:

                  Thunderbolt 4 standards are not finalised

                  Decided to do little fact checking. Stopped right in the beginning, lol

                  “Thunderbolt 4 was announced at CES 2020[117] and the final specification was released in July 2020.”
                  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbolt_(interface)

                  Anyways, do you know a better device on the market right now? I don’t.

  • Avoid the Dockmule 17in1 on Kickstarter. Appears to be a clever scam.

  • +1

    I bought a ThinkPad TB4 dock for under $300 from their edu store. It does everything I need

  • +1

    This one looks a bit excessive…has more ports than my ATX motherboard…

    • Also cost at least 2X more than your ATX motherboard (could be 3X more).

    • +1

      Good point. This one doesn't do too well with the ports per dollar metric.

      $35 per port vs $15 per port for my mobo/PSU.

  • I have this, great unit, try and byte are great. I do have an issue with Ethernet not working, haven’t been able to get it fixed yet. Other than that I highly recommend.

    • You would need to go into the adapter settings and change the duplex mode

      • +1

        Yeah I’ve followed all the guides, but it’s not even being detected as a device. Seems to be a hardware issue. Have a case logged so hopefully resolved soon.

  • +1

    Have to lower my laptop budget to ones that don't have TB to afford this.

  • Recently bought one for my MBP 16" and works well. Try and byte is great to deal with!

  • I am currently using the TS3 plus and paid A$300 for it

    this TS4 revision is not worth this price tag, ouch ouch ouch

  • Decent price. Would be about 688 from Caldigit's Asia store.

    I almost bought this earlier in the year but had some worries about sleep/disconnection issues that were happening with MacOS 12 at the time. Their support page(https://www.caldigit.com/thunderbolt-dock-sleep-mode-related…) mentions up to MacOS 12.2.1 so I would assume they've been resolved. It would be worth doing some research to see if those issues are still being reported.

  • -1

    Dell WD22TB4 selling for $612.70 on the Dell site

  • +2

    Try and Byte are legit, been buying stuff from them for years now. I got this TS4 dock yesterday, planning to do a full desk reconfiguration this weekend and hook it up to my 16" MBP :)

  • I bought one of these a few months back from T&B, they were great, dock was merely ok. Reckon it’s overpriced considering my experience.

    Was hoping it would be more reliable than the HP G2 TB3 dock I bought on Facebook marketplace over a year earlier for $150, but sadly had similar issues (USB disconnects mostly).

    There was a firmware update available, but it wouldn’t run on my Windows 10 machine, and there was no updater for Mac.

  • Was expecting a eGPU enclosure for this price…

  • Try and Byte are great

  • Btw, 2.5Gbps ethernet controller inside is Intel I225-LM, not Realtek, good.

  • I bought a 2nd hand dell TB dock for 150. Works fine. Would not spend this kind of money on a dock spec that will be superseded in 2 years.

  • This is insane, great if you need it all but there are better options if all you want is charge, network and 2x monitors.

  • Seriously? $630 for a TB Dock without even a GPU instead? Plenty of options <$200 for the same types of connectivity. Considering I got the TB3 Dock with a 6600 XT for $699 (Yes, I know, the connectivity is a tad different. But still much better value).

    • You bought a graphics card enclosure, not a dock.

      Link an example with similar connectivity please for less than $200 please.

  • +1

    I feel like the people that are complaining about the price doesn't really know what this dock is, and therefor don't really need it. But for creatives like me, this dock makes a HUGE difference in our everyday life. And NO, a <$200 dock won't do the same. (I've gotten about 4 different docks before I got the Caldigit TS3) Same type of ports, Sure. Same type of connectivity, Thats a whole other ball game especially when you want to hook up multiple 4K monitos. Speed wise, it's just NOT the same. And to be fair, pc users will probably never need this. This dock was made for hardcore mac users for them to solve Apple problems.

    • +1

      Is this dock really that useful or there is some bragging rights on having one of these being a factor? For a real Pro, I assume one would now have M1 Ultra or M1 Max based setup. Those have 3 Thunderbolt 4 setup. Also, a Pro would most likely have a Thunderbolt display.

      The main issues with raving these is that:

      • Are you 100% certain that these will work perfect every time when you put the Mac to sleep and wake it up? Doesn't this introduce a single point of failure just like all other docks?
      • For a Pro that opted for a high end Mac with 10Gbps LAN, how "useful" or "better" is the 2.5Gbps LAN on this?
      • Recent PCs with Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4 support, they are pretty much in the same both. They will have at least 2.5Gbps LAN in most cases.
      • SD and microSD combo, why? Wouldn't at least a CF be better?
      • This doesn't run on air. It does consume additional power. Will give it benefit of doubt that it implements USB-PD passthrough much better than junk class dongles. However, honestly, unless you test it on a PC laptop that enforces strict PD, Apple lets you get away with subpar PD.

      Sure, you could compare these to junk class <$100 dock, but what exactly are you really getting benefit on these in 2022? I see they may have been useful in the past, but in 2022, if your gears are more up to date, you really have to question how useful these really are.

      The fundamental issue is that no matter how much you want to sugarcoat it, this is still PCIe gen 3 x4 based. Sure, you might be able to daisy chain the graphics part, but does that really make sense?

      The fact that it is pretty useless to put a PCIe gen 4 x4 SSD in a Thunderbolt 4 enclosure makes it difficult to get excited about Thunderbolt 4. PCIe gen 3 x4 is still PCIe gen 3 x4, no matter how many ports you jammed onto it.

  • Caldigit is best dock that you can buy now.

    This was this price for over 2 weeks but still too expensive for just a dock.

    I was waiting further black friday sale

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