Plugable 5-in-1 Thunderbolt Hub review: Tiny USB4 connectivity

Value When Reviewed

$189

Finest Costs Immediately: Plugable 5-in-1 Thunderbolt Hub (USB4-HUB3A)

$189.00

Free

$189.00

$189.00

When you’re in search of a Thunderbolt 4 hub with USB4 capabilities, look no additional than Plugable’s 5-in-1 Thunderbolt Hub (USB4-HUB3A). In any other case, that is a particularly area of interest product which may not be price it to the vast majority of PC customers.

What the Plugable 5-in-1 Thunderbolt Hub does, it does properly: It’s tiny (4.9 x 2.9 x 0.5 inches) and weighs lower than a pound, with a 30-inch Thunderbolt 4 twine connecting it to a PC, supplying 60W of energy to a laptop computer. There are three further Thunderbolt 4 ports (with 15W of energy apiece) and a legacy 10Gbps USB-A port—and that’s all. The USB-A port doesn’t provide energy for charging. Inside is Intel’s older “Goshen Ridge” Thunderbolt machine chipset from 2020.

Observe: This assessment is a part of our roundup of the most effective Thunderbolt docks. Bought there for getting recommendation, product comparisons, and suggestions.

Don’t consider this as “transportable,” nonetheless, as there’s a chunky energy brick that accompanies the dock. This can be a tiny little hub that in any other case slips neatly right into a bag. (We contemplate a Thunderbolt hub as one which basically splits the Thunderbolt connection into a number of further ports. A Thunderbolt dock is normally powered, with many legacy connections. The Plugable 5-in-1 Thunderbolt Hub has components of each.)

Plugable formally doesn’t help PCs geared up with a Thunderbolt 4 port with this machine—whereas Thunderbolt 4 and Thunderbolt 3 are very comparable, Thunderbolt 4 has extra stringent necessities which may trigger incompatibilities in some programs.

Why purchase this? Effectively, the Mac world tends to emphasise Thunderbolt-connected shows excess of the Home windows world, so this is likely to be a stretch for PC patrons. A handful of high-end shows for the PC market have Thunderbolt ports, as do some high-end SSDs. Don’t fear an excessive amount of concerning the USB4 capabilities, both, as you gained’t discover too many USB4-specific peripherals, both. In any other case, nonetheless, shows with both HDMI or DisplayPort are far more widespread, and also you’ll have to put money into a USB-C dongle or a easy (included) adapter to hook up with them.

Plugable / Amazon

Since we lack Thunderbolt-connected shows amongst our take a look at mattress, we couldn’t take a look at this functionality. However the field does embrace a USB-C to HDMI adapter, so you may definitely join one show natively out of the field, then connect a USB-C hub to attach one other. There’s a standalone 10Gbps USB-A port, as properly. Certain, connecting a second machine appears like a trouble—however for Plugable’s value of $180 or so, you would possibly find yourself buying and selling saving some money for a bit of additional muddle. These further capabilities work properly sufficient, although we didn’t have sufficient high-speed peripherals available to saturate all of its exterior Thunderbolt 4 ports.

So, to reiterate, we couldn’t take a look at this dock to its full capabilities. However by way of charging energy and throughput, it lived as much as its specs. The hub did get a bit heat, however its metallic development dissipates warmth successfully.

Plugable backs the 5-in-1 Thunderbolt Hub with a two-year guarantee, and has an excellent repute for buyer help. A number of Plugable merchandise are already on our checklist of the most effective Thunderbolt docks, so we’re assured that the USB4-HUB3A ought to ship as properly.