#ELGATO THUNDERBOLT 2 DOCK USED WITH PC MAC#
However, doing so will require a rethink of your cabling if you currently connect a DVI or HDMI display to your Mac using a Mini DisplayPort adaptor. The exclusion of FireWire isn't a major problem for most people as it can be added with an adaptor. If you care about this, the dock's one-cable-to-connect appeal is slightly diminished. Knowing the speed limitation of the USB 3.0 ports at least allows you to assess which devices will work adequately enough through the dock, and which you might want to always connect to your Mac to ensure they operate at their best. I have also added the Jeep Wrangler to the list of things I am enthusiastic about.USB transfer rates will be mildly disappointing if you were expecting the very best from the spec sheet's boast of 5GB/s and UASP support. Home of the Tigers, Grizzlies, Elvis, Al Green, Stax, Hi Records, Ardent Studios, Beale Street, Peabody Ducks, etc. The Elgato comes with its own fairly short (1.6 feet) Thunderbolt adapter, but it came in handy and was the perfect length for this application since the Elgato sits on a mStand that is right underneath the MBP.ĭog loving, Big Green Egg worshiping, Tech enthusiast, residing in Memphis, TN. This allowed the iMac (which was connected to the other thunderbolt port) to be used as a second display (CMD F2) for the MBP (very useful since I have Win7 installed on the MBP for work). I also hooked up a 2011 MBP to the dock via thunderbolt. I should mention that Elgato claims that it works with displays up to 4096 x 2160 pixels of resolution, but I only tested it with a monitor in 1080 HDTV mode. I recently discovered how useful a second display can be in Lightroom for browsing catalogs, so this came right on time. I am going to get rid of the Display Port adapter and use the HDMI cable with the Elgato going forward. However, after I hooked up the Elgato dock via the same thunderbolt port, I tested the HDMI output with my second monitor. It has made me stay with one display use most of the time. My second display would work fine for a few minutes, but it would either go black or go to complete static. This cable has had issues since I first starting using it. On the 2011 iMac, I was using the second thunderbolt port to feed an HDMI display via a Display Port to HDMI cable. This is a significant improvement over direct connection to USB 2. The same drive ran at 86 read and 99 write speeds via the dock.
#ELGATO THUNDERBOLT 2 DOCK USED WITH PC PORTABLE#
I ran a Black Magic Speed test on a Seagate Backup Plus Slim 1TB Portable External Hard Drive and it came through with 31 read and 38 write speeds via USB 2. Since the two Macs that I own that have thunderbolt do not have USB 3.0, this is a great way to add it.
![elgato thunderbolt 2 dock used with pc elgato thunderbolt 2 dock used with pc](https://cdn.thewirecutter.com/wp-content/media/2021/10/thunderboltdocks-2048px-7110.jpg)
The dock also has two USB 3.0 ports, 2 thunderbolt ports, an HDMI port, and a gigabyte ethernet port on back. I recently added a Logitech mouse to my main setup and it needs frequent charging and this will make the process painless. The other great thing about having a power cable is that you can use the USB port to charge devices even when the computer is off or disconnected. This makes it hard to match things up if the cable gets detached from the device (especially when you have several devices that have power cables disconnected). I recently organized the cables in my office and found that most power cables do not have the Company's name. The power cable actually has the company's name on it, which I found unusually nice. It doesn't compete with separate DACs and amps, but it works fine if you aren't picky about sound quality. I tested the front port's headphone output and while I was not a fan of it with revealing earphones (I tested it with Ety ER4Ps), it did sound acceptable with a pair of more forgiving phones ( ATH-M50s).
![elgato thunderbolt 2 dock used with pc elgato thunderbolt 2 dock used with pc](https://www.elgato.com/themes/custom/smalcode/image/products/thunderbolt-3-pro/panel-access-mobile.jpg)
The design puts three ports on the front (see pic below) and makes it easy to attach a USB 3 device, microphone, or headphones.
![elgato thunderbolt 2 dock used with pc elgato thunderbolt 2 dock used with pc](https://images.macrumors.com/t/PEgplZT3Yqo7ILvYUA95cPeFItI=/1600x/article-new/2017/07/elgato_tb3_dock.jpg)
Note: I get paid commissions for purchases made through any links to Amazon products in this post. The Elgato Thunderbolt 2 Dock is really useful for those that have 2011 Thunderbolt capable Macs or for those that just want a way to easily dock their thunderbolt equipped laptop.