Review on 💻 Plugable 96W Thunderbolt 3 and USB C Docking Station - Mac and Windows Compatible, DisplayPort/HDMI, 2x USB-C, 3x USB 3.0, Gigabit Ethernet, Audio Jack - Horizontal by Troy Houston

I bought this docking station to easily connect my work computer (2019 16' MacBookPro) or PC (2020 M1 MacBook Pro 13'). For my work setup I use 2 monitors so I used the HDMI and DP connectors. There are two important things to know: HDMI The issue I had was HDMI being disabled at boot or returning after the displays went to sleep; I would have to close and reopen my laptop screen to get HDMI again. I've never had this problem with my USB-C to HDMI cable. That and the limited docking options (no SD, no Thunderbolt via port) in this price range did not convince me and I simply sent the device back. I spent quite a bit of time with tech support and they were very professional and knowledgeable, but it all boiled down to poor implementation. In the end I settled on a cheaper Thunderbolt 3 dock with an SD card and Thunderbolt via port. Load 96W. Running heavy workloads on Intel processors requires a lot of power. My 16" MacBook Pro gets very hot and the fans hum all day. Maybe 85 is enough for my setup but I've tried 60w docks and they can't even handle the computer so my battery is slowly draining , as it pulls out the difference needed.However, this plug-in dock draws 96W to keep it running and charging the battery.For my M1, 96W is overkill Charging Cons: The HDMI chipset seems to have issues have to return from sleep mode, no lightning-through connector, cost.