GoKawiilThunderbolt docks are an easy way to expand the number of available external ports for a laptop and have become quite popular in recent years. They are particularly beneficial with the best ultrabooks , which can sometimes be equipped with as few as just two Thunderbolt ports and no additional external ports for connectivity.
We’ve previously taken a look at some popular Thunderbolt 5 docks , with some costing as much as $650. This time around, we’re looking at some more affordable solutions, with all three of these units carrying a street price of less than $400. The UGREEN Revodok Maxidok has a street price of $389.99 after coupon, while the Plugable TBT-UDH2 and Keychron TB5D-1 are both available for around $350.
Plugable TBT-UDH2
Swipe to scroll horizontally Cost $349.95 Row 0 - Cell 2 Front Ports 1x USB-C 10 Gbps (30W PD) 1x USB-A 10 Gbps 1x Thunderbolt 5 downstream (30W PD) 1x microSD UHS-II slot 1x SD UHS-II slot 1x audio combo jack Row 1 - Cell 2 Back Ports 1x Thunderbolt 5 upstream (140W charging to host) 3x USB-C 5 Gbps 2x USB-A 5 Gbps 2x HDMI 2.1 1x 2.5 GbE Row 2 - Cell 2
The Plugable TBT-UDH2 is a relatively compact Thunderbolt 5 dock that feels absolutely solid with its weighty aluminum chassis. The BT-UDH2 is designed to stand vertically (confirmed by the rubber feet at the base of the unit). However, there’s no reason why you wouldn’t be able to lay the unit on its side if you wanted to.
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As for actual ports, the TBT-UDH2 has two USB-C ports up front (one of which supports 30W PD), a single USB-A port, microSD and SD card slots, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, and a single downstream Thunderbolt 5 port (30W PD).
Moving to the rear of the unit, there are two more USB-A ports, three additional USB-C ports, two HDMI 2.1 ports, a 2.5 GbE port, and a Thunderbolt 5 upstream port for your laptop. And here lies my main complaint with the TBT-UDH2: it only has one downstream Thunderbolt 5 port, and it’s on the front. I would have liked to have seen at least two, with one on the front and one on the back. At this price point, having just one downstream Thunderbolt 5 port seems like a big miss.
Keychron TB5D-1
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