Looks nice, but wth is that power connector doing there?!
And I'd prefer additional display outputs, either hdmi or second DP. Though I guess 10GbE requires some real bandwidth as well, so maybe there just isn't enough BW to do it all?
Off hand, the power connector looks like PCIe graphics card power header. This could work out well if you are use the eSATA port for some SATA drives and power them via an ordinary ATX power supply.
I've seen some Cisco hardware that used 6-pin (and some that used 22-pin) connectors like that for external power supplies. It is a bit weird, but at least it's not gonna fall out v0v
If this is like other AQN-107 NICs in a Mac system, the Ethernet port will also function as an AVB audio-over-network solution. With 10 Gbit of bandwidth to play around with, conceptually you could hit 1152 audio channels out of it (though 1024 is the more realistic limit due to other factors like maximum 802.3Qav streams through a switch).
I do wish that docks like this could optionally be PoE+ powered with the option to provide some host charging for low power laptops with Thunderbolt 3. Even just self powering the dock via PoE could be beneficial. A bit of a niche feature but there have been a couple of times on the road this would have been wonderful in other USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 NICs.
Anandtech should do an article about the interoperability of all the TB3 docks on the market. I am about to purchase a Spectre Folio and all the stories of compatibility issues are scaring me. TB3 docks are not cheap and what is the point of having a standard if it's device locked.
Except they are standard. But Folio is just a toy, there's no need for a thunderbolt dock for that thing. The processor/gpu/cooling is crappy enough that you can probably barely browse facebook on it before it throttles itself down to "slow as shit" mode.
I can pretty much guess your age just by your simpleton statement that "Folio is just a toy". All laptops are tools and like any tool its utility depends on the user's ability to create value from which. Docking saves me time and my time is valuable.
Also TB3 is a standard but TB3 docks certainly are not standardized. I have been building PC since 286 so you can keep your ignorance to yourself.
There’s clearly something wrong with the conclusion here, since this is not “the only TB3 docking solution for Apple’s MacBook Pro and other high-end laptops”. I suspect you meant something like “this is the only TB3 docking solution with 10GbE...”
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felixneo - Wednesday, October 17, 2018 - link
What do you mean by “the only TB3 docking solution”? There are a lot of TB3 docks on the market, just without 10 GbE.zepi - Wednesday, October 17, 2018 - link
Looks nice, but wth is that power connector doing there?!And I'd prefer additional display outputs, either hdmi or second DP. Though I guess 10GbE requires some real bandwidth as well, so maybe there just isn't enough BW to do it all?
Kevin G - Wednesday, October 17, 2018 - link
Off hand, the power connector looks like PCIe graphics card power header. This could work out well if you are use the eSATA port for some SATA drives and power them via an ordinary ATX power supply.Lord of the Bored - Wednesday, October 17, 2018 - link
Given it has a cooling fan, probably supplying a significant amount of current.timecop1818 - Wednesday, October 17, 2018 - link
One of the USB-C/TB3 ports actually does have DisplayPort alt mode - so you have 2 DP outputs on this thing.unixfg - Wednesday, October 24, 2018 - link
I've seen some Cisco hardware that used 6-pin (and some that used 22-pin) connectors like that for external power supplies. It is a bit weird, but at least it's not gonna fall out v0vcacnoff - Wednesday, October 17, 2018 - link
Already on Amazon - $350https://www.amazon.com/Thunder3-Thunderbolt-Dockin...
mhwwdman - Wednesday, October 17, 2018 - link
All Thunderbolt 3 and USB Type C docks nowadays should have at least 85W power delivery...Kevin G - Wednesday, October 17, 2018 - link
If this is like other AQN-107 NICs in a Mac system, the Ethernet port will also function as an AVB audio-over-network solution. With 10 Gbit of bandwidth to play around with, conceptually you could hit 1152 audio channels out of it (though 1024 is the more realistic limit due to other factors like maximum 802.3Qav streams through a switch).I do wish that docks like this could optionally be PoE+ powered with the option to provide some host charging for low power laptops with Thunderbolt 3. Even just self powering the dock via PoE could be beneficial. A bit of a niche feature but there have been a couple of times on the road this would have been wonderful in other USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 NICs.
wr3zzz - Wednesday, October 17, 2018 - link
Anandtech should do an article about the interoperability of all the TB3 docks on the market. I am about to purchase a Spectre Folio and all the stories of compatibility issues are scaring me. TB3 docks are not cheap and what is the point of having a standard if it's device locked.timecop1818 - Wednesday, October 17, 2018 - link
Except they are standard. But Folio is just a toy, there's no need for a thunderbolt dock for that thing. The processor/gpu/cooling is crappy enough that you can probably barely browse facebook on it before it throttles itself down to "slow as shit" mode.wr3zzz - Thursday, October 18, 2018 - link
I can pretty much guess your age just by your simpleton statement that "Folio is just a toy". All laptops are tools and like any tool its utility depends on the user's ability to create value from which. Docking saves me time and my time is valuable.Also TB3 is a standard but TB3 docks certainly are not standardized. I have been building PC since 286 so you can keep your ignorance to yourself.
cm2187 - Thursday, October 18, 2018 - link
Looks like a great product. I wish tb3 cables were longer to enable using them with a laptop on my lap without having a dock hanging on the side.shelbystripes - Saturday, October 20, 2018 - link
There’s clearly something wrong with the conclusion here, since this is not “the only TB3 docking solution for Apple’s MacBook Pro and other high-end laptops”. I suspect you meant something like “this is the only TB3 docking solution with 10GbE...”