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Sweden, Stockholm
1 Level
756 Review
37 Karma

Review on πŸ’₯ Razer Thunderbolt 4 Dock: Official Thunderbolt 4 Certification - Versatile 10-Port Solution - Dual 4K or Single 8K Video Output - Future-Proof & Backward-Compatible - RGB Lighting - Chroma by Scott Reid

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Ability to power two external USB-C monitors; Big Sur required for Mac users

I have a Razer Chroma Dock for use with my 2018 Macbook Pro, primarily because the dock actually supports multiple Thunderbolt 4 displays. I don't actually have multiple Thunderbolt 4 displays, I have two portable USB-C monitors that I like to use with my laptop, and I thought it would be great if the USB-C monitors plugged into a docking station and only one Thunderbolt cable would be connected to the laptop. When I received the dock I was very disappointed to find that it didn't work well with my Macbook running Mojave. While the dock was charging my laptop, none of the dock's other features worked: no RGB lighting, no USB ports, no monitors. Restarting the laptop seemed to fix the RGB and USB ports, but my monitors were still not recognized. Every time my laptop went to sleep, the RGB and USB went out and I had to reboot to get them back. Documentation for macOS support is pretty sparse, and their latest Synapse 3 software doesn't support Mac at all. However, the product page claims to have Mac support, so on a whim I upgraded my macOS to Big Sur. After booting into Big Sur and plugging in the dock, everything worked as expected. This dock now works great with my two portable 15.6" USB-C monitors and I can use them in extended desktop mode! means my laptop screen and two external monitors can display their own windows, as opposed to mirror mode where the monitors only display the same as the laptop screen. I have a thunderbolt cable going from the laptop to the front panel. docking station, and each portable monitor connects to the docking station with its own USB-C cable. The monitors are powered and video powered via their own separate USB-C cables, which really helps with cable management. Aside from the futuristic wireless setup, this is about as minimal as can be for a multi-monitor desktop. The front card reader is just a slot with no fancy spring mechanism. It works well with my SanDisk SDXC card.3 slot combo The 0.5 -mm port on the front only seems to be enabled when you plug in your headphones/headset. After detecting the 3.5mm jack, a new "Realtek USB2.0 Audio" audio device will appear in your list of audio devices for speakers and microphone. Unlike some other external speaker setups on a Mac, macOS can control the volume for this Realtek device, so the keyboard volume keys still work. PROS: * Works great with my 2018 Macbook running Big Sur. * The TB4 ports can send video and power to my portable external monitors with just one USB-C cable each * Slim, clean design, laptop and dual monitor drive. CONS: * Mac users need to upgrade to Big Sur. This dock does not work well with Mojave.* Synapse 3 RGB management software is not available for Mac* The USB-C upstream port (which connects to the computer) is on the front panel. It would be nice if this port was on the side or back for easier cable management. * The docking station only supports TB4 for video output, so most users need adapter cables. * Gets a little warm.

Pros
  • Fingers crossed
Cons
  • Many things