Thunderbolt 4 Hub for Mac Studio

[Killerbob]

Hi,

I'll be getting my Mac Studio M1 Max in a few weeks, and I need to get myself a Thunderbolt hub as well.

Just to cover off my monitors, my QNAP NAS, and my external Sonnet PCIe box, I will be using the 4 TB4 ports on the back, and two USBs is nowhere near enough.

I know I can daisy-chain my monitors (they are LG 32UL950-W, and use Thunderbolt for interface), but I can/will not daisy-chain my NAS or my PCIe box. And, I need more USB ports.

I was looking at the Caldigit TB4 Element Hub, which would give me 4 TB4 ports, and 4 USB-A ports. Nothing else though...

What other TB4 hubs come to mind?

 

[solardudesf]

Hi,

I'll be getting my Mac Studio M1 Max in a few weeks, and I need to get myself a Thunderbolt hub as well.

Just to cover off my monitors, my QNAP NAS, and my external Sonnet PCIe box, I will be using the 4 TB4 ports on the back, and two USBs is nowhere near enough.

I know I can daisy-chain my monitors (they are LG 32UL950-W, and use Thunderbolt for interface), but I can/will not daisy-chain my NAS or my PCIe box. And, I need more USB ports.

I was looking at the Caldigit TB4 Element Hub, which would give me 4 TB4 ports, and 4 USB-A ports. Nothing else though...

What other TB4 hubs come to mind?

what about the caldigit thunderbolt station 4?

 

[Killerbob]

The Caldigit TS4 hub only has 3 Thunderbolt ports, including the port used for connecting to the Mac Studio. I really need the TB ports.

 

[jayling7]

This one may not be enough for you either, but I do like the OWC Thunderbolt 4 dock for $299. It has 11 ports - 4 Thunderbolt 4 ports, 3 USB A's, a USB 2.0, SD card slot, 3.5mm audio jack, and a gigabit ethernet port. https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/owc-thunderbolt-dock

 

[Killerbob]

I like that one... I wonder if it is only the TB4 port on the front that can be used as upstream port?

 

[jayling7]

I like that one... I wonder if it is only the TB4 port on the front that can be used as upstream port?

I don't understand the upstream, downstream stuff, but hopefully someone more knowledgeable can help you with that.

 

[lcubed]

maybe a bump up to an ultra for the two extra TB ports might not be a bad idea.

 

[enricoclaudio]

I’m using a Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Dock with my Mac Studio and it works without any problems. I use it only to plug in my external SSDs and others USB peripherals but it can also handle my pair of ASD without a single issue.

 

[Killerbob]

maybe a bump up to an ultra for the two extra TB ports might not be a bad idea.

That’s an expensive hub

 

[Killerbob]

On all of these hubs with 4 TB4 ports, one is always listed as the upstream that connects to the computer. But, does it actually matter which port is used for the Mac or the MacBook? Are all 4 ports not able to be that port that connects with the host computer?

 

[lcubed]

That’s an expensive hub

it’s the only solution if you require more than 4 TB ports without daisychaining. the OP hasn’t stated his bandwidth requirements for the additional devices.

 

[enricoclaudio]

On all of these hubs with 4 TB4 ports, one is always listed as the upstream that connects to the computer. But, does it actually matter which port is used for the Mac or the MacBook? Are all 4 ports not able to be that port that connects with the host computer?

No, it doesn't matter. You can use any TB4 port from your Mac Studio or MBP.

 

[Ifti]

On all of these hubs with 4 TB4 ports, one is always listed as the upstream that connects to the computer. But, does it actually matter which port is used for the Mac or the MacBook? Are all 4 ports not able to be that port that connects with the host computer?

An upstream port to host computer is usually specified since it will provide additional power through to the connected device - when used with a MacBook for example. As your device is externally powered already, it shouldn't really matter, although Ive not tested since I use with my MacBook.....

I tried the CalDigit Element Hub but returned it due to coil whine issues that I found annoying.
I now have 2 OWC ThunderBolt Hubs which I have been very happy with for the past few months I have been using them. I use one to connect all my editing drives (OWC ThunderBlade SSD arrays) and the second connects a few other peripherals.

I didn't like connecting my NAS to my system via ThunderBolt, I prefer to use a CalDigit TB3 to 10GBe adapter instead, connected to one of the ports in the above hub - I find it more reliable.

 

[Killerbob]

I didn't like connecting my NAS to my system via ThunderBolt, I prefer to use a CalDigit TB3 to 10GBe adapter instead, connected to one of the ports in the above hub - I find it more reliable.

I am doing that right now (Mac Pro -> Sonnet Echo box with Sonnet 10GbE -> QNAP NAS), and whereas it is reliable, using a TB3/4 connection is significantly faster.

 

[AlteMac]

I am using the Caldigit without any whining issues -- either from the Hub or from me.
It gives you three open TB ports (there is a dedicated 4th TB 4 port for the connection to the computer, and 4 USB ports (USB 3.1). Its much smaller than the OWC (OWC has ethernet, HDMI, and audio I don't need).

 

[joevt]

I tried connecting the CalDigit Element Hub to a Mac mini 2018 using a downstream Thunderbolt port. It was not detected. Only the upstream Thunderbolt port allows a connection to a host. But the downstream Thunderbolt ports can be used to connect another Mac. For example I can connect my 2013 iMac for Thunderbolt Target Display Mode. It can also be used for Thunderbolt IP or Thunderbolt Target Disk Mode.

 

[joevt]

I tried connecting the CalDigit Element Hub to a Mac mini 2018 using a downstream Thunderbolt port. It was not detected. Only the upstream Thunderbolt port allows a connection to a host. But the downstream Thunderbolt ports can be used to connect another Mac. For example I can connect my 2013 iMac for Thunderbolt Target Display Mode. It can also be used for Thunderbolt IP or Thunderbolt Target Disk Mode.

Actually, this is strange because the Thunderbolt 1 iMac 2013 can't detect the CalDigit Element Hub when connected to the upstream Thunderbolt port. The same is true for the downstream Thunderbolt port when the upstream Thunderbolt port is not connected to a host - same as for the Mac mini 2018.

I guess the difference is that a Thunderbolt 4 hub can connect a Thunderbolt 1 device to a downstream Thunderbolt port but a Thunderbolt 1 host cannot be upstream of a Thunderbolt 4 hub.

 

[Killerbob]

I have now talked to most vendor support teams, and you can ONLY use the designated upstream port for connecting to the host computer… This means the only hubs I have found where the upstream port is NOT on the front are from CalDigit.

 

[Ifti]

I am using the Caldigit without any whining issues -- either from the Hub or from me.
It gives you three open TB ports (there is a dedicated 4th TB 4 port for the connection to the computer, and 4 USB ports (USB 3.1). Its much smaller than the OWC (OWC has ethernet, HDMI, and audio I don't need).

OWC have 2 versions of their hub - the larger version has extra ports etc
The OWC Thunderbolt 4 Hub is the smaller version and is a little smaller then the CalDigit Element Hub.

 

[Killerbob]

Same thing for Caldigit. The TS4 which has all the ports you need (except only three TB4 ports, including the upstream one), and the Elements hub, which has 4 TB4 and 4 USB-A ports.

 

[Scubabike66]

No, it doesn't matter. You can use any TB4 port from your Mac Studio or MBP.

Are you sure you can use any of the hubs downstream thunderbolt four ports to connect to the mac studio? If so, that would be fantastic as I can use the upstream port for my MacBook pro laptop!

 

[Killerbob]

Unfortunately you cannot use any TB port for connecting to your computer in the hubs with more than two TB ports. In these hubs there will be a dedicated upstream port, and only on the hubs with a mere two TB ports can both work as up- and downstream. Hence, on the CalDigit Elements hub for instance you have to use the named upstream port on the side to connect to your Mac.

 

[Scubabike66]

Thank you for your reply but is the upstream port not used to power a laptop and as the mac Studio is a desktop powered PC why can you not use and of the TB ports that are downstream?

 

[Killerbob]

On those hubs with 2 and 3 downstream ports, the dedicated upstream port not only is a charging port, it also has a different chipset to direct comms to the downstream ports - that at least was what OWC, CalDigit and Satechi told me when I asked them.

 

[seek3r]

Actually, this is strange because the Thunderbolt 1 iMac 2013 can't detect the CalDigit Element Hub when connected to the upstream Thunderbolt port. The same is true for the downstream Thunderbolt port when the upstream Thunderbolt port is not connected to a host - same as for the Mac mini 2018.

I guess the difference is that a Thunderbolt 4 hub can connect a Thunderbolt 1 device to a downstream Thunderbolt port but a Thunderbolt 1 host cannot be upstream of a Thunderbolt 4 hub.

That's actually really good to know. The TS3+ works fine with a TB1/2 host, I kinda assumed the TB4 versions would too, glad I havent bought a TB4 hub with that assumption yet, I still have some older machines kicking around that I dock from time to time.