Review on Enhanced CalDigit TS3 Plus Thunderbolt 3 Dock with 87W Power Delivery, 7X USB 3.1 Ports, USB-C Gen 2, DisplayPort, UHS-II SD Card Slot, Gigabit Ethernet for Mac & PC, Thunderbolt 4 Compatibility (0.7m/2.3ft Cable) by Joshua Donnis

Over the last year I've (easily) used 6 USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 hubs and docs. I switch between two of my employer's computers and my own every morning and evening. They are both Thunderbolt 3 MacBook Pros. Nothing met my needs. I've tried "sidecar" style devices like the HyperDrive and they can't handle a hard-shell computer case like my personal laptop, not to mention the fact that the soldier connections on the ports wear out over time. I have tried no power key style devices such as Lenovo, StarTech and Belkin branded devices but some of them overheated after about 7 hours of use (working day is 8 and then they add overtime or side projects), some had problems with of connection or discovery, others had too few ports and wore out their connectors over time. I quickly realized that the HDMI output seemed to be the cause of my monitor's detection/connection issues. So it became clear that my needs are best viewed as follows: 1. Needs its own power supply (connection/detection should be faster + better flow for USB peripherals).2. Requires detachable cord (replacing the cord when worn out is better than the whole unit, both in terms of cost and waste).3. Must not overheat.4. Must have TB.5 daisy chain capability. Should work on Windows. Nice to have: 1. "Quieter" fan.2. Visual indicator (light indicator).3. Audio input/output.4. SD card slot. This device meets all of these requirements. It has its own AC/DC input for power supply. The cable is replaceable (although you MUST use the super quality cable (not cheap) that MFG sells, but I found the regular Apple cable from my AC/DC power adapter worked fine), it heats up but doesn't overheat. and it has a zipper at the back that seems to be in full swing. While it doesn't have a "silent fan," it exceeds that requirement by simply not needing one, and the entire aluminum body is itself a heat pipe and clock. It has a blue LED power indicator, as well as front audio ports and an SD card slot. I highlighted the last "requirement" separately: it works on Windows, Mac, and Linux. It uses standard protocols that make drivers unnecessary but useful. Utilities for Mac and Windows allow some control over the device via software and are worth considering even if they are "extra". As for the price, while $300 was a bit steep, it was one of those times that gave me a headache. The savings I made were worth it and I ended up spending a lot more on equipment before going down this route. If I had one complaint, "boosting" (detecting, connecting, updating) devices is a bit slow, but that's only true on first connection. and maybe 20 seconds slower than other devices I've used. Overall, though, this is a very minor complaint, hardly worth mentioning, but if your use case calls for a near-instant refresh whenever you plug in a device, you might need to see if this suits your needs.