if ($script:h1count -eq $null) { $script:h1count = 0 }
$script:h1count++
if ($script:h1count -eq 2) { return “
” }
else { return $args[0].Value }
IOGEAR Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station Pro 85 Review
$script:h1count++
if ($script:h1count -eq 2) { return “
” }
else { return $args[0].Value }
By David Ramsey
Manufacturer: IOGEAR Corporation
Product Name: Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station Pro 85
Model Number: GTD735
UPC: 881317516206
Price As Tested: $213.26 (Amazon | Newegg)Full Disclosure: IOGEAR Corporation provided the product sample used in this article.
USB C would seem to be an unalloyed win for the consumer: capable of carrying power, networking, USB, video, and audio on a single cable– at the same time– its advantages are obvious. Add a robust, reversible connector to the mix and it’s easy to see why Apple went full USB C on its laptops some years ago, and the standard is rapidly spreading to Windows laptops as well.
There are two problems, however: first, many thin-and-light laptops such as Apple’s Macbook or HP’s Spectre have only one or two USB C ports, and there are as yet relatively few USB C devices. Your collection of USB flash drives may well be useless on your shiny new laptop.
The solution is a USB C / Thunderbolt dock, and today Benchmark Reviews has IOGEAR’s latest Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station Pro 85 external dock to review. Connecting to your laptop with a single Thunderbolt 3 cable, the Docking Station Pro 85 supplies 8 additional ports, all of which can be used at the same time.
But does it all work? Let’s find out.
Features & Specifications
- Supports dual 4K or single 5K external monitors
- 85 watt power delivery pass through
- 2 USB 3.1 Type A ports with BC1.2 fast charging capability
- Thunderbolt 3/USB C expansion port
- Gigabit Ethernet port
- 3.5mm analog audio I/O
Let’s take a look at this device in the next section.
Closer Look: Thunderbolt Docking Station
IOGEAR’s Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station Pro 85 is a slim rectangle of brushed aluminum that’s 8.66″ long by 3.19″ deep and 1″ high. The case is a seamless aluminum extrusion somehow slipped over the plastic ends and the internal circuitry. Available online, Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station Pro 85 sells for $213.26 (Amazon | Newegg).
The front of the unit has two Superspeed USB 3 ports, one Type A and one Type C. The USB C port is a “Gen 1” port limited to 5Gb/s.
There’s more going on at the rear. From left to right we have a gigabit Ethernet port, another Superspeed USB 3 Type A port, 3.5mm analog audio input and output, two Thunderbolt 3 ports (on of which must be used to connect the dock to the host computer), a DisplayPort 1.2 port that can support up to a 4K external display, and the power port.
Accessories included with the docking station comprise a 170-watt power supply, an AC power cord, and a shortish 0.5 meter Thunderbolt cable used to connect the docking station to the computer.
The power supply is almost as large as the dock; the entire assembly is best though of as something you set up on a desk and leave there.
I’ll check out the capabilities of this dock in the next section.
if ($script:h1count -eq $null) { $script:h1count = 0 }
$script:h1count++
if ($script:h1count -eq 2) { return “
” }
else { return $args[0].Value }
Using the IOGEAR Thunderbolt Dock
$script:h1count++
if ($script:h1count -eq 2) { return “
” }
else { return $args[0].Value }
How are Thunderbolt 3 and USB C related? It’s confusing, as they use the same USB Type C connector, but they’re entirely different things.
Thunderbolt is a high speed serial I/O protocol co-developed by Apple and Intel and is currently in its third generation. Thunderbolt 3 provides a serialized version of PCI Express 3.0…and HDMI 2.0…and DisplayPort 1.2…and High Speed and SuperSpeed USB. Oh, and up to 100 watts of power delivery over a Type C cable. All of these capabilities can be used simultaneously, drawing from the 40 Gb/s of bandwidth available.
If you plug a USB C device into a Thunderbolt port, it will work. If you try to plug a Thunderbolt device (such as this dock) into a USB C port, it won’t work. So how do you tell the difference?
Well, a Thunderbolt-capable Type C port is normally identified with a lighting bolt symbol, like this:
Unless you’re Apple, in which case the aesthetic horror of labeled ports precludes all other considerations:
Since all Apple Type C ports are Thunderbolt, perhaps they can be forgiven. In any case, I found that every port on the IOGEAR Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station Pro 85 worked perfectly when connected to my Macbook Pro. Plugging in an Ethernet cable instantly created a new virtual network connection that performed at full speed:
A DisplayPort cable was all that was necessary to drive my ultra-rare Dell OLED 4K monitor:
I did run into a problem trying to run the monitor from a Thunderbolt port, though: the Amazon Basics USB C cable I had doesn’t support video, so I had to order a new cable that was specifically said to support video over Thunderbolt. That worked perfectly:
Since the two cables are visually identical– there’s nothing on the video-capable cable to distinguish it from the USB C cable– I attached labels for future reference. Welcome to the bold new world of Thunderbolt, where your cable may or may not be qualified for video. Or USB power delivery. Sigh.
And of course standard USB flash drives worked perfectly as well:
…and analog audio out worked fine over the cheap set of ear buds I tried with it. Last, I tried playing YouTube video over DisplayPort while transferring a file over Ethernet to a USB key at the same time, and that worked fine as well.
Join me in the next section for my final thoughts and conclusion.
if ($script:h1count -eq $null) { $script:h1count = 0 }
$script:h1count++
if ($script:h1count -eq 2) { return “
” }
else { return $args[0].Value }
IOGEAR Docking Station Final Thoughts
$script:h1count++
if ($script:h1count -eq 2) { return “
” }
else { return $args[0].Value }
Thunderbolt / USB C is becoming popular on laptop and notebook computers: its robust, reversible connector and extreme versatility– it handles storage, networking, power, and video, all over the same port– give it tremendous advantages over the gaggle of separate ports most computers used previously.
The downside, of course, is the lack of devices that use this port natively. USB C flash drives do exist, but they’re rare; and monitors and network cables using this connector are even more so. Docking stations for laptops are nothing new, but the IOGEAR Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station Pro 85 provides all the connectivity features you could ever need– including support for a single 5K display or two 4K displays– in a slim and easy-to-connect package.
I’d gripe about the size of the 85 watt power brick, but not only did it charge my Macbook Pro about twice as fast as the 45 watt adapter that came with the computer, my Kill-A-Watt power meter reported that when the Docking Station Pro 85 was plugged in but not connected to the computer, it drew a mere 1 watt of power…so you don’t have to worry about “vampire power usage” when your dock’s not connected.
The only caveat I have is that you’ll need to do your due diligence when purchasing Thunderbolt / USB C cables for use with this dock to ensure they’ll support the features you want.
if ($script:h1count -eq $null) { $script:h1count = 0 }
$script:h1count++
if ($script:h1count -eq 2) { return “
” }
else { return $args[0].Value }
Thunderbolt Docking Station Conclusion
$script:h1count++
if ($script:h1count -eq 2) { return “
” }
else { return $args[0].Value }
It’s rare that I review a product that I have no functional criticisms of, but the IOGEAR Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station Pro 85 works so well that the somewhat lengthy name is the only thing I can really gripe about. Using it is as simple as plugging it into a Thunderbolt port on your computer, and every port on the docking station works perfectly with no further configuration required. I initially though a power switch would be nice, but with a 1-watt idle that’s not much of an issue. With my local electric rate of 13 cents per kilowatt-hour, I could leave this plugged in for a year at a cost of $1.14 in electricity.
Aside from connectivity, the other advantage of Thunderbolt 3 is that it’s not proprietary: previous docking stations have been both more expensive than this and limited to a specific laptop or line of laptops. While some of them have been pretty cool (does anyone remember Apple’s Powerbook docking station that sucked the entire laptop inside like a giant VCR tape?), they’ve all shackled you to a specific laptop. This docking station will work with any Thunderbolt 3-equipped machine, so your investment will last a lot longer.
Of course, you do need to make sure that your laptop has an actual Thunderbolt 3 port as opposed to a simple USB C port (on a Mac, you should be good; on a PC, look for the lightning bolt symbol next to the port), and if you plan to connect to a monitor via Thunderbolt you need to ensure your cable is video-capable, but that’s about it.
For professional and home users whose laptop is their primary system, $213.26 (Amazon | Newegg) will buy you the best bang-for-the-buck accessory you’ll likely ever see.
Pros:
+ Excellent “breakout” functionality from a single Thunderbolt port
+ Very fast charging of your connected laptop
+ Only uses 1 watt of power when not connected
+ Connect your laptop to an external monitor, keyboard, mouse, network, and more with a single cable
Cons:
– Power brick is rather large
– A little expensive
Ratings:
-
Performance: 9.75
-
Appearance: 9.00
-
Construction: 9.50
-
Functionality: 9.75
-
Value: 9.0
if ($script:h1count -eq $null) { $script:h1count = 0 }
$script:h1count++
if ($script:h1count -eq 2) { return “
” }
else { return $args[0].Value }
Final Score: 9.40 out of 10.
$script:h1count++
if ($script:h1count -eq 2) { return “
” }
else { return $args[0].Value }
