Nowadays, many docking stations are available to connect different devices to a computer. This article answers common problems and frequent questions to bring light into the world of USB-C, Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4, multiple monitors and more. Further, the three popular Thunderbolt docks: the CalDigit TS3 Plus*, the Lenovo ThinkPad USB-C Dock Gen2*, and the Dynabook Thunderbolt 4 Dock*, are tested and compared by focusing on both Windows and macOS.

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Sidenote: This article isn't associated with or sponsored by any company! Therefore we can conduct a (hopefully) unbiased comparison.

TL;DR

Thunderbolt docks are much more expensive than USB-C docks due to their superior functionality and speed. Dynabook Thunderbolt 4* wins the test and works with one Cable and multiple screens on Windows and macOS. But every setup is different, so that good purchase preparation is the most important thing.

USB vs. USB-C vs. Thunderbolt 3 vs. Thunderbolt 4

When searching for a docking station for the first time, people wonder about huge price differences. There are USB-C docks available for under 20 €*, while other Thunderbolt 4 docks cost over 400 €*. The reason for this lies in USB-C and Thunderbolt. It is crucial to know and understand the differences. If you need to refresh your background knowledge, look at one of my last Blog posts about the world of USB. To sum up, USB-C is just a connection port. Therefore, USB-C docking stations can be slow if they are built on an old USB standard or very fast if they are built on a newer one. Besides, Thunderbolt is a standard that defines specific requirements. These massive technical differences argue the massive price differences.

CalDigit TS3+ vs. Lenovo Dock vs. Dynabook Thunderbolt 4

Now, coming to the docking stations themselves. All three docks are, in their way, very popular. The CalDigit TS3+ got very hyped, maybe because of "The One Cable Dream" Reddit post; the Dynabook Thunderbolt 4 became public by a German deal for only 99 € while the more widespread ThinkPad users mostly use the Lenovo dock. But what are the differences, and which one should you pick?

The following pictures show a direct comparison between the docks, showing the Dynabook dock at the bottom, followed by the Lenovo dock, followed by the CalDigit at the top:

Docking Stations Front Comparison
Docking Stations Back Comparison

Specifications

It is hard to collect all the details of the docks' specifications. I used the official web pages of the manufacturers, the manuals, and the Amazon product information pages to collect the following information:

CalDigit TS3+ Dynabook Thunderbolt 4 Lenovo ThinkPad USB-C Dock Gen2
Price (2024) ~280 €* ~210 €* ~140 €*
On/Off Switch No Yes Yes
Power 87 W charging 90 W charging 90 W charging
HDMI - 2x HDMI 2.0 1x HDMI 2.0
DisplayPort 1x DisplayPort 1.2 2x DisplayPort 1.4 2x DisplayPort 1.4
Thunderbolt 1x Thunderboltâ„¢ 3 1x Thunderboltâ„¢ 4 -
USB-C 1x USB-C 3.1 Gen 2
1x USB-C 3.1 Gen 1		 2x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 1x USB-C 3.1 Gen 2
USB-A 5x USB-A 3.1 Gen 1 4x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 2x USB 2.0
3x USB 3.1 Gen 2
LAN 1x Gigabit Ethernet 1x Gigabit Ethernet 1x Gigabit Ethernet
Audio 1x Digital Optical Audio (S/PDIF)
1x Aux In (Stereo)
1x Aux Out (Stereo)
 1x Aux Combo Jack 1x Aux Combo Jack
SD-Card 1x SD 4.0 UHS-II 1x SD -
Total 14 Ports 14 Ports 11 Ports

I think the comparison table with their differences is self-explanatory, and everyone can make up his or her own mind about the different USB connectivity based on the introduction above, if you really need HDMI, the CalDigit isn't for you. If you really need an SD slot, the Lenovo isn't for you etc.

Multiple Displays

When trying to connect multiple monitors to a single docking station that is connected with only one USB-C / Thunderbolt cable to the computer, problems often arise. Sometimes, displays only show a black screen or turn off and on. In other cases, only screen mirroring works instead of expansion mode.

There can be different reasons for this, and the cause is sometimes hard to debug. The first reason is based on the different USB and Thunderbolt specifications as described above. Connecting three monitors on a cheap USB-C dock will not work. The second reason is based on the wrong cables because using a USB-C cable on a Thunderbolt dock won't work. When using a Thunderbolt 3 dock, check that the connecting cable is at least a Thunderbolt 3 cable. Third, the supported technology support may differ. For multiple displays, the three most popular ones are:

  1. Multi-Stream Transport (MST) / Daisy Chaining
  2. DisplayLink
  3. Thunderbolt Chain

Multi-Stream Transport (MST) / Daisy Chaining

This is a technology introduced and supported since DisplayPort 1.2 to enable a multiple monitor setup. For example, macOS doesn't support MST / Daisy Chaining as well as the CalDigit TS3+ dock. Therefore, connecting two monitors to the HDMI and/or DisplayPort slots on any of the tested docks won't work in extended mode on macOS but on some Windows machines supporting it. Thus, remember to check the dock as well as the computer / laptop if they support MST / Daisy Chaining when connecting over DisplayPort.

This is a technology by Snaptics. It allows to connect and extend multiple displays over USB and Wi-Fi with a single machine. Similar to MST, both the dock and the machine connected to the dock must support DisplayLink. For our testing devices, the CalDigit and the Dynabook don't support DisplayLink. For Lenovo, I couldn't find an absolute statement. It isn't mentioned on any product page, but the company offers Generic DisplayLink Driver.

Thunderbolt Chain

The last possibility is a chain of Thunderbolt devices. Since the CalDigit TS3+ dock doesn't support MST and DisplayLink, this solution will work for the dock. To solve the problem, connect an active USB-C to HDMI/DVI/VGA/DP/mDP adapter (I am using this one*) to the Thunderbolt port of the dock. Since Thunderbolt is passed through, it will also work on macOS with one cable in extended mode. Other possibilities with Thunderbolt or USB-C monitors are discussed in the Dual Monitor article from CalDigit.

Remember that this Thunderbolt Chain only works with a strong Thunderbolt Controller! I couldn't get two external monitors working with a Windows-based Lenovo ThinkPad and the CalDigit TS3+. After further research and discussions with CalDigit support, it turns out that the ThinkPad uses the Intel JHL6240 Thunderbolt 3 Controller that, based on the specification, is a two-lane Thunderbolt controller instead of a four-lane one that is needed for dual monitor support.

To summarize the one-cable-dual-monitor-extended-mode comparison, the ThinkPad dock works on Windows but not on a MacBook Pro. The CalDigit dock works on macOS but not on LapTops with two-lane controllers. The Dynabook is the only dock that works on different laptops with different controllers, both on macOS and Windows.

Summary

In my opinion, the Dynabook Thunderbolt 4 dock wins the comparison since it is the only dock that works with one single cable and two external extended monitors on both Windows LapTops and macOS MacBooks. Nevertheless, not every person should buy this dock in any case. When using a Lenovo notebook like a ThinkPad, the official dock may be better due to the lower price and the fact that it has one more USB-A port. People preferring the style and look of a silver dock with importance on audio outputs like an optical S/PDIF port should go with the CalDigit TS3+. So, before buying a dock, do your own research. Check and evaluate your setup, cables, and wishes, and find the dock that best fit your use case.

Sidenote: Honestly, the test isn't very fair since it compares the latest Dynabook dock with two older versions from CalDigit and Lenovo. Since both companies offer a Thunderbolt 4 dock (the Lenovo Thunderbolt 4 Dock* and the CalDigit TS4*), comparing these models would be very interesting!

References