Docking Station, UtechSmart 12 in 1 Full Triple Monitor USB C Docking Station, USB C Hub Compatible for macOS&Windows,Thunderbolt 3 Dock(HDMI,VGA,PD3.0,USB-C,Ethernet,SD/TF Card Reader,USB Ports)

TL,DR;This hub has three video outputs, two of which are actually DisplayLink devices. This neatly sidesteps the bandwidth and output limitations of 'traditional' Type C ports, although at the cost of increased CPU usage. The fourth output is your laptop screen, which remains available regardless of gpu limitations.One issue I've encountered when using Type C hubs on laptops (especially budget ones) is that the computer isn't able to actually support all of the hub's features. This can lead to frustration, especially with a less technically-inclined user. They see the feature list on the product, plug it into their laptop, and then get frustrated when they are unable to fully realize all of the listed features. They often blame the hub, which isn't at fault. Sometimes the laptop can't support the necessary data rate (e.g. DisplayPort HBR2 vs. HBR3). Sometimes they run into a limitation of their GPU. Older Intel iGPUs are notorious for this. Using DisplayLink (not to be confused with DisplayPort!) tech for additional displays allows one to exceed both the bandwidth and display count limits present in many laptops.Physical Design Construction:It has enough ports to function as a stationary single-cable docking station or as a travel 'super-dongle'. It is light enough that it isn't inconvenient to carry, which also means it can sometimes be pushed around by the cables connected to it.The case is a seamless extruded aluminum shell that has either been anodized or has some kind of light PVD coating. It seems to have fairly decent scratch resistance.Electronic Design:USB Type C has many optional features and interconnections with other standards (USB 3.2, Thunderbolt, Power Delivery, DisplayPort, upcoming USB 4) to the point that trying to figure out compatibility and capability can be intimidating. Many parts of the spec are optional. The hardware in all such devices can have its own issues or interactions with the above-mentioned standards.A Type C connection has four high-speed serial links, or 'lanes' plus a legacy USB 2.0 connection. The lanes can be used for different functions. USB 3.1 Gen 1 requires two lanes. Faster modes (not supported by this hub) use all four. Some video output devices use all four lanes, leaving only USB 2.0 for everything else. There are other pins in the connector for power, etc.From a design perspective, this hub is actually simpler than many others. This is good because it means that it's compatibility range will be wider. It has standard USB PD power passthrough, and a single DisplayPort over Type C output, which is converted to HDMI internally (HDMI 1). This uses two of the four high speed lanes, and only requires the HBR2 data rate to support its maximum 4k30 output resolution. It doesn't require faster data rates, and it doesn't need to support features like MST (DisplayPort multi-stream transport.)The rest of the device can be thought of as a USB hub with other things plugged into it. According to the Windows device manager, the other 2 video outputs (HDMI 2, VGA) and the gigabit ethernet adapter are controlled by a DisplayLink DL-3900 chip. This connects to the hub internally over USB 3 (5Gb/s). The dual card readers (yes, they work simultaneously) also connect over USB 3. The remaining 5 USB ports are just the rest of the internal USB hub.Even though it only has three video ports, it is marketed as a quad display hub because the DisplayLink feature allows a laptop screen to be the fourth display regardless of gpu limitations.DisplayLink:The only complexity added by this design is the need to use DisplayLink drivers. The only performance disadvantage of this design is that the DisplayLink adapters require extra cpu performance to function. The cpu performance overhead increases as the complexity of the display output increases.The device comes with a Webkey to help you find the drivers, but in my testing, Windows will also load a working driver automatically. At the time of writing, different versions of Windows 10 automatically loaded version 9.3.3324. The latest stable driver from displaylink.com is 10.1 M0. That's enough of a difference that I think it is worth installing the newer one.DisplayLink works by creating a virtual display device in software, rendering a screen display to memory, compressing each frame, and sending it over usb to a DisplayLink chip. The chip unpacks the compressed image and sends it to a physical port (HDMI, VGA, etc.). The protocol only sends the difference between the current and previous frames, making it very efficient. It even works (poorly) over usb 2.0!The cost is that the computer's cpu is used to calculate and compress the data. For office work, web browsing, and other low-motion tasks, the extra cpu overhead isn't very noticeable. For full-screen video and gaming, it might be an issue on older computers. For newer or faster machines it is a much smaller problem.Ethernet:It worked fine on every computer I tested it with. No problems saturating a gigabit connection.SD Card Readers:Dual readers on a USB 3 connection. I measured 85MB/s read and 75 MB/s write on a Sandisk Extreme A2 class card.USB Ports:The manual labels this as two USB 2 Type A, two USB 3 type A, and one USB 3 Type C. This is apparently in error. After I noticed that the middle port only worked at 2.0 speed, I contacted the manufacturer to ask if my unit was defective. They told me that they were mistakenly manufactured that way. Given the current component shortages as of this writing (May 2021), I can understand why they are selling them as-is. If only one less USB 3 port is a deal-breaker for you, then I suggest that you consider a different product with more ports or wait for a revised version. I didn't find myself missing it, TBH.Testing:I wanted to make sure this would work with anything I plug it into, so I tested with a Lenovo Thinkpad E495, a Dell Inspiron 5505, a Razer Blade Stealth, and a GPD Pocket 2. Every feature worked as expected on each laptop. The Razer complained about not getting enough power, but it does that with every power passthrough hub. I measured the power supplied to each laptop with a power meter. They all got as much power as they asked for. I've yet to find a PD device that the Razer doesn't complain about.I tested the hub with 100W, 65W, and 36W Type C power supplies.I also tested it on a LG Gram 15z-960, which has a Type C port that is only USB 3 (no video or PD). As expected, everything except HDMI 1 worked once Windows automatically loaded the DisplayLink driver.Manual:The manual is genuinely excellent. It does a great job of explaining how the device works and manages customer expectations. It has step-by-step instructions for Windows and Mac OS (with screenshots), troubleshooting steps, and a list of supported display configurations. Each port and its capabilities (resolution, power, data rates, etc.) are listed. (Along with the aforementioned mistake about one of the USB ports.)I normally just throw manuals away as soon as I get them. I'll be keeping this one with the device.

I have bought a couple UtechSmart docks in the past for my photography business, and never had any trouble with them. When we needed another dock, I compared this newest model to a few other brands and decided to stick with what I knew – and I wasn’t disappointed! Here’s some pros and cons to help you with your decision.Pros:- Size – Like all of their USB-C docks, it’s surprisingly small. Easy to slip into a laptop bag or keep hidden on a desk.- Layout – I’ve used docks before where the ports were laid out in such a way that it was impossible to plug two things in at the same time in neighboring ports. This one does not have that problem. You can fill all the ports at once, no problem.- Laptop charging – One of our absolute must haves (for long photo editing sessions!), and this unit performs well. We have used it to successfully power our MacBook Pro for hours on end.- Multi-Monitor Support – Another must-have feature for us, and this one does not disappoint. Just make sure you update the DisplayLink drivers if you have any issues (I didn’t need to do this, but it’s worth mentioning). I did not try the triple-monitor setup, but had no problem running a 32” 4K and a 28” 1080P monitor along with the laptop screen simultaneously.- Fast SD card reader – it seems like these dock units usually include a USB 2.0 SD card reader along with all their USB 3.0 ports, but this one appears to be a full-speed USB 3.0 card reader! I have used it for both full size and micro SD cards, both appear to run at the same speed.- USB 3.0 Speed – Editing photos (and sometimes videos) from external hard drives requires a lot of speed. Both the USB C and Type A (3.0) ports can deliver, even running two drives at once. Your experience will be the same as plugging those drives directly into your laptop.- Support – Go ahead, give it a try. These guys offer great email support, and have for years.Cons:- Build – the dock is VERY light, and subsequently will easily slide around or even sit at an angle is a particularly bulky cable is plugged in (HDMI comes to mind). I ended up using double-sided tape to stick it down, but this isn’t an option for everyone.- Layout – I know, I know, I already put this as a positive, how can it also be a negative? The only reason I added it here is due to the fact that it has cables coming off all four sides – in a perfect world, I would prefer cables on just two sides (the front for plugging / unplugging frequently used ports and SD card readers, the back for cables I leave plugged in all the time so they can be hidden more easily behind my desk).- Heat – Most likely due in part to the small footprint, you may find this unit gets pretty warm during use (especially if you frequently transfer large amounts of data or drive multiple monitors). Most docks of this style get hot, so it’s probably not an issue, but it’s something to think about.Hopefully that helps you in your decision making process! We keep coming back to UtechSmart for products like these due to their flexibility and quality (and price point), and haven’t had a bad experience yet!

Absolute trash. Checking the speeds of the USB3 ports, one was 35mb/2, so effectively being only a USB2.0One of the HDMI did not work, as well as the VGA.I did not bother to try the rest. Absolute trash for the price I was expecting not having to worry about such things.