Czeching out the i-tec Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station

If you’re going to buy a shiny new MacBook Pro you really should have the right supporting kit to go with it. After all, you wouldn’t buy a Ferrari and then never take it out of first gear, would you? Fast toys need to be paired with fast supporting tools! (NB - I would never recommend that anyone buys a Ferrari if they need an estate car, and the same mantra applies for computer peripherals; get the right tool for the job!)

Initially, I had my refurbished 2017 MBP linked up to an old Thunderbolt 1 Belkin Hub. A few weeks later I swapped out the Belkin for my OWC Thunderbolt 2 docking station which was a significant improvement. Since then I’ve been looking lustily at TB 3 docks, but they don’t come cheap.

The top contenders I was checking out were the CalDigit TS3, StarTech TB3, OWC 12 or 14 port docks, Elgato TB3 and the latest Belkin 3 dock. I had some quite specific criteria in mind:

• SD Card slot ⁽¹⁾
• HDMI slot ⁽²⁾
• Gigabit Ethernet
• 3+ USB-A ports
• 2+ TB3 ports
• Less than £250 pounds

⁽¹⁾ I have SD card reader dongles but I wanted this feature built into the dock
⁽²⁾ I only need two screens and the laptop is one of them. 4K and 5K video options are not important to me at present

This whittled out the Belkin and Elgato (no SD slot and too expensive), the CalDigit (DisplayPort rather than HDMI and too expensive), the StarTech (no SD slot or HDMI) and left the OWC docks neither of which met the price point I was looking for. I was resigned to staying with the current OWC TB2 dock and waiting for the prices to drop when I came across a new contender, the i-tec TB3HDMIDOCK.

i-tec is a Czech based company with a range of docking stations and adapters in their catalogue. I bought their USB 3.0 Dual docking station a few years ago when I needed to switch between my MBA and a Windows laptop that I’d been supplied with from a contract I was working on. This was well built and completely reliable and was great value for money compared to the competition.

In fact, i-tec had two TB3 docks listed the TB3HDMIDOCK and the TB3HDMIDOCKPLUS. The only difference was the PLUS model supports 85W charging compared to 60W charging for the standard model. And the PLUS model on Amazon UK was £25 more expensive. In the end, I found the standard version of the dock for less than £200 including delivery from a company called tekshop247. I put the order in on Thursday evening and it arrived by post on Saturday morning!

It took all of 30 minutes to unbox and install the new dock and most of that was clambering around under my desk to swap over the power bricks for the i-tec and OWC docks. Swapping over the attached devices was almost as easy. Ethernet, HDMI, 4TB USB-A hard disk and USB-A hub were straight swaps. My Lacie USB-C 5TB drive is now attached to the dock whereas it used to be connected directly to the MBP. A 1TB Buffalo Thunderbolt disk which I use as an additional Time Machine disk is now connected via the Apple TB2/TB3 adaptor to the MBP.

The rear side view of the i-tec Thunderbolt 3 dock

Strictly speaking, since the MacBook Pro is generally plugged into the mains these days I could use the dock to power the laptop directly, but I’m still using the original power supply with the First2savvv magnetic connector I mentioned previously.

Finally my Harmon-Kardon Soundstick II wired speakers plug into the front 3.5mm headphone jack on the front of the dock. This is the only thing I don’t like. I’d prefer the socket to be at the side or at the back rather than in the front. I can see why it’s positioned where it is for headphone users but it’s an aesthetic anomaly for me. This just leaves two spare front-facing USB-A slots and the SD card slot which was so important for me.

There is no software installation required, and even the ethernet connection worked first time without me having to cajole it into operation as I usually do. I did learn the valuable lesson that in order for externally powered peripherals to work properly, they have to be connected to the mains. I did forget that last step, which explained why the two front LEDs didn’t glow as I expected once all the bits were plugged in. The left hand LED glows green when power is supplied, and the right-hand side glows blue when Thunderbolt devices are connected.

The front view of the dock in situ (yes the monitor stand needs a dusting!)

The overall footprint of the i-tec dock is really quite small, measuring 229mm across, 87mm deep and 27mm tall. It can only be used in a horizontal orientation. I have mine raised off the desktop with a couple of wooden blocks which allows air to circulate and keeps the unit running relatively cool - it isn’t at all uncomfortable to put my hand firmly on the top even though it has been running 24x7 for the last four days!

Apple Harvest HQ 2019

Ironically, of all the docks I've looked at (and this also goes for dongles), all the manufacturers are backwards-looking and supplying USB-A slots rather than USB-C. In some respects, I would have prefered to have a dock with five or more TB3/USB-C slots and bought another bunch of adapters to deal with legacy USB-A devices. No doubt this will change in time, and at least this dock can support up to 5 daisy-chained TB3/USB-C devices.

In hindsight, perhaps I should have paid the extra £20 and bought the higher-rated charging version, but to be honest I'm not really bothered (and I never thought to look on the tekshop247 website!). At home, the laptop spends so little time on the battery that the charging is not an issue, and whilst the dock is quite small, the same cannot be said about the power brick, so it's probably not going to be going far in the future! The other point is that although I'm not bothered about 4K or 5K video at present, this dock does support both so it's relatively future proof should my needs change.

This is a really compact little dock that offers great value for money. The build quality is as good as that on the old OWC. If you're in the market for a budget TB3 dock, look no further.



UPDATE 2022-02-01: I now have both the 60 and 85W models - the higher powered one in Prague with me and the older one is back in the UK. Both continue to perform brilliantly!

Yes! You Can Change the Appearance of Mountain Lion's Dock

In my recent post about customising the appearance of Mountain Lion on the Mac (How Mountain Lion Changed Its Spots) I rued the demise of the ability to change the appearance of the Dock.

Ever since Mountain Lion was launched I've had the odd moment searching for a solution but all I've ever found were lots of people sharing my disappointment or references to Mirage. Mirage  is a one-trick pony which just makes the dock background vanish - which for me is preferable to the drab grey monstrosity that Apple's UI guys forced on us - but I still yearn for the days of rainbow docks or grassy verges or at least vibrant colours.

Last night I found the docking grail in the form of DockMod. It was written especially to provide all those things I just mentioned and does the job brilliantly and simply.

DockMod - the grail of dock tools!

DockMod comes from SpyreSoft and you can download a free trial (in fact you have to download it to be able to purchase it!). When you decide to purchase (there's no doubt you will) it comes in at $8.00 (about £5.00). The license is only valid on a single machine but you get three coupons to purchase additional copies with a $2.00 discount bringing the cost down to about £3.00 for other machines.

Currently the software doesn't work on the Mavericks developer edition but I hope that an upgrade will be forthcoming.

I love it and I'm sure you will too!

UPDATE - 2013-11-14 A beta version of DockMod is now available from the developer which does work under Mavericks, although as a beta there are some limitations. I have installed it and my dock looks beautiful again!

Review : Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock

I'm at Apple Harvest HQ enjoying the second day of my sabbatical in the glorious sunshine. I finished my last contract on Independence Day and I'm now taking a few months off to focus on all the things I want to do, rather than all the things I have previously had to do. One of which is to write, both on the Apple Harvest blog and my Process Management blog but also to get stuck into the two management books I started writing a while ago, but have never had the time and space to complete.

We've had a couple of significant deliveries here recently. Just this morning we took possession of the Mobee Magic Feet accessory charger, but more on that in the next post. The really exciting upgrade to HQ is that the 2011 MacBook Air is now attached to a Belkin Thunderbolt Express dock to max out its performance potential.

It seems that the Belkin Thunderbolt dock has been around forever without being available. It was first showcased back in September 2011, and has finally started shipping in the UK. During that time it has been through several design incarnations, several different technical specifications, and at one stage looked like it had been scrapped completely.

But the hub had finally arrived and it certainly looks the part now. It also ticks all the right boxes in terms of its technical performance - at least as far as this user is concerned. The hub provides USB 3.0 (x3), Firewire 800 (x1), Gigabyte Ethernet (x1) and pass through Thunderbolt (x1) ports, as well as audio in and out sockets. All this comes wrapped up in a little metal box which is about the size of 2 stacked DVD boxes. The hub comes with the necessary external 12W power supply - a brick about the same size as a normal laptop power adaptor.

All this comes at a price - I got mine for about £250 directly from Belkin UK and Apple on-line are selling for the same price - but it's a lot cheaper than shelling out £900 on an Apple Thunderbolt display, which still doesn't support USB 3.0 and is also considerably less portable! Caveat emptor - no Thunderbolt cable is included so be prepared to spend an additional £30-35 for that essential item.

The Thunderbolt Express hub is not an essential requirement at Apple Harvest HQ. However by connecting it with the MBA I effectively get two high performance work stations, with the new iMac in the office and the MBA/Thunderbolt hub combo in the living room. I've been able to resurrect my Moshi self powered hub (see 2011 - the Late Post) which uses a combination of  Firewire and USB to power a hub with 4 USB 2.0 and 2 Firewire ports without needing external power. I also get the 2 original MBA USB ports back and I no longer need a Thunderbolt or USB Ethernet connection.

Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock (bottom)

On the subject of internet connections, I'm getting a download speed of about 77Mbps with an upload speed of 11Mbps with my Virgin cable 120Mbps connection. This is a bit slower than the upstairs office speed but as I mentioned last time, the MBA connection is going through powerline network boxes. There is a slight hit on the USB 3.0 speed as the Belkin implementation of USB 3.0 puts a cap of 2.5Gbps against the (theoretical) 5.0Gbps standard. Nevertheless - it's still faster than USB 2.0 and one of the few ways to get USB 3.0 capability on a pre-2012 MBA.

The Belkin isn't the only Thunderbolt dock available - the Matrox DS1 is cheaper but offers less. The dock looks good, runs silently and doesn't generate much heat. For me the Belkin Thunderbolt Express hub was easily the most cost effective way to seriously hike up the performance of the MBA and will extend its workhorse life by several years. I'm hoping not to have to spend huge chunks of my life on the road in the future, but the hub is portable enough to be taken abroad for an extended stay if necessary.

If you're in a similar position and want to max out an MBA (or any other Thunderbolt compatible Mac for that matter) I'd seriously consider thinking about this as a viable option.