At a lookProfessional’s Score
Execs
- Rugged, well-engineered
- Can sit vertically on its stand to avoid wasting house
- Sure, it really works: 4 4K shows are potential
- A surplus of ports
Cons
- Costly listing worth
- Mislabeled USB-A charging port doesn’t ship
- Common storage efficiency
Our Verdict
The Kensington Thunderbolt 4 and USB Quad Docking Station (SD5800T) delivers ports aplenty, however could also be too costly at some retailers. In any other case, it’s glorious.
The Kensington Thunderbolt 4 and USB Quad Docking Station (SD5800T) feels a bit like one other verse in a well-known music: A brand new dock arrives, loaded to the gills with ports; nonetheless, all of that flexibility arrives with a steep worth premium, too.
Kensington and Plugable seem on the high of our present listing of one of the best Thunderbolt docks. That is our first alternative to assessment Kensington’s ultra-premium 16-in-1 SD5800T Thunderbolt 4 dock, which appears just about an identical to the Plugable TBT4-UDZ.
Given the potential for an eventual head-to-head shootout, it’s price noting that the SD5800T’s MSRP/RRP is technically $379, however that Amazon lists it as $299, the identical as Plugable’s dock. It’s additionally remarkably much like the Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Multimedia Professional Dock, a dock we liked however that additionally instructions a $299 price ticket—and a fairly ridiculous listing worth of £399 within the U.Okay..
And at press time, Amazon has the price of the SD5800T cut to just $229. These within the U.Okay. can discover it on Amazon for £233.
In any occasion, that is Kensington’s dock to purchase if you need the whole lot: 4 4K shows (two DisplayPort 1.4, two HDMI 2.1), plus a boatload of USB-A and USB-C ports. In fact, you’re not obligated to attach 4 shows; you’ll be able to select two shows as an alternative, content material within the data that you could favor no matter cable (HDMI or DisplayPort) you would like.
A number of the fundamentals want explaining. Nearly all Thunderbolt 4 docks will hook up with USB4 ports with no hitch. Kensington’s prolonged, formal product title spells this out. As a result of Intel refuses to certify non-Intel (learn: AMD Ryzen) laptops for Thunderbolt, Ryzen notebooks use USB4 ports as an alternative. They’re primarily an identical.
Mark Hachman / IDG
Kensington accomplishes a quad-display orientation (for Home windows, not Mac) by way of a mix of the 40Gbps Thunderbolt 4 port plus a know-how known as Show Stream Compression (DSC), which makes use of an industry-standard compression know-how to eke out extra bandwidth. DSC is much like DisplayLink, a compression know-how designed by Synaptics, and the inspiration of an entire class of very good DisplayLink docks, which we embrace in our greatest Thunderbolt dock roundup. DSC doesn’t require the software program driver that DisplayLink does, however DSC could be a little iffy on any laptop computer that makes use of a Twelfth-gen Core processor or older.
Kensington’s SD5800T sits atop the premium Thunderbolt dock market with stable stability, a boatload of ports, and the facility to connect with 4 shows without delay. It’s an outstanding dock, however feels a bit overpriced at its default worth.
The underside line is {that a} Thunderbolt dock was designed for a pair of 4K/60Hz shows, and DSC or DisplayLink will increase that to 4 4K shows as an alternative. When you love a number of displays, that’s actually cool.
The dock helps simply two 6K/60Hz exterior shows when related to a Mac.
Kensington Thunderbolt 4 and USB Quad Docking Station (SD5800T): Specs and options
- One upstream USB4 port (40Gbps, 100W)
- Two HDMI 2.1 video ports
- Two DisplayPort 1.4 video ports
- Three USB-A ports (10Gbps)
- Two USB-A ports (5Gbps)
- One USB-A ports (480Mbps)
- One USB-C port (10Gbps)
- 2.5Gb Gigabit Ethernet
- UHS-II SD card reader (312MBps)
- 3.5mm combo audio jack (entrance)
- 170W energy provide
On the entrance of the SD5800T there’s a microSD and SD card slot for photographers (SD 4.0, UHS-II) alongside a 10Gbps USB-A port and a 480Mbps USB-A port, clearly marked for charging a smartphone at a rated 1.5A. There’s additionally an influence button, a headphone jack, and a 3.25-foot Thunderbolt 4 wire that provides a rated 98W to your laptop computer. On the rear, Kensington features a Kensington nano- and full-sized safety slot (natch), the facility port, the 4 show ports, 2.5Gbps Ethernet, a 10Gbps USB-C charging port rated at 7.5W, plus 4 USB-A ports evenly cut up between 10Gbps and 5Gbps.
Kensington’s SD5800T sits atop the premium Thunderbolt dock market with stable stability, a boatload of ports, and the facility to connect with 4 shows without delay.
Mark Hachman / IDG
That’s rather a lot, and the design hides a number of professionals and cons. For one, did I point out that the dock will be mounted vertically? Kensington’s SD5800T measures 7.68 x 4.09 x 1.42 inches (and 1.34 kilos, if it issues) however will be propped vertically on a stand to avoid wasting house. (The dock has rubber toes for mounting flat, nonetheless.) Even with cords sprouting from a number of ports, it sat completely steadily on my desk. The ports are well-spaced, as properly.
What I don’t like in regards to the design is the way it places the USB-C charging port on the again; in case you’re a stickler for group, you’ll need it on the entrance, nearer to you. I don’t like the dearth of an LED-lit energy button, both.
Mark Hachman / IDG
Kensington Thunderbolt 4 and USB Quad Docking Station (SD5800T): Efficiency
The query I at all times ask of a quad-display dock just like the Kensington SD5800T: Does it ship what it guarantees? The reply is: Nicely, it relies upon. Due to the vagaries of various {hardware}, you’ll be able to most likely count on totally different capabilities relying on how new your laptop computer is. As at all times, the newer the {hardware}, the higher.
Right here’s a synopsis of how the Kensington SD5800T carried out on varied laptops, simply for instance the variations. It’s necessary to notice, nonetheless, that although the shows took a number of seconds to attach, I by no means skilled any glitches or disconnects. It’s additionally necessary to notice that the guide states that the dock can ship “as much as 4K @ 60Hz” efficiency throughout 4 shows. (Emphasis mine.) Kensington additionally guarantees that the dock can energy a single 8K show at 60Hz, however we lack the {hardware} to check that.
- Asus ZenBook 14 OLED (14th-gen Core Extremely): Good. 4K, 60Hz throughout 4 4K shows (4K60).
- Samsung Galaxy Ebook 3 Professional 360 (Thirteenth-gen Intel Core): 4K60 throughout three shows. The fourth would solely mild up at 4K30, 1440p59, or 1080p60.
- Acer Swift Edge 16 (AMD Ryzen 7000): Identical as above
- Microsoft Floor Laptop computer Studio 2 (Thirteenth-gen Intel Core): Identical as above
- Microsoft Floor Laptop computer Studio (Eleventh-gen Intel Core): Two shows at 4K60, two shows at 1080p
The dock’s USB-C charging port delivered 7.45W, sufficient to cost a smartphone. However the front-mounted USB-A charging port delivered simply 0.5A (or 2.4W), which doesn’t come near the promised 1.5A. The 2 front-mounted ports ship the identical quantity of energy, though one claims to be a charging port! The SD800T delivered a peak output of 94W to the laptop computer, which is shut sufficient to the rated output to be acceptable.
Streaming and information switch efficiency was acceptable. Thunderbolt docks at all times ship a bit much less information throughput than DisplayLink; the 130.74MBps was about on par with different Thunderbolt 4 docks that I’ve examined, such because the Anker 777. The dock dropped 7 out of 10,000 frames whereas streaming. A check wherein I copy a folder containing gigabytes of knowledge from an SSD down by to the dock to the desktop accomplished in 1 minute, 8 seconds, which is among the many slower performers. The SD card slots labored as anticipated, and there have been no pops or dropouts from the headphone jack.
Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 docks have a tendency to supply comparable efficiency; Thunderbolt 4 docks are a bit extra secure, which is why you see a mixture of Thunderbolt 3 and 4 docks amongst our greatest picks.
Do you have to purchase the Kensington SD5800T?
At $299, the SD5800T is a tricky promote. On the full $379 (we are able to’t discover an official UK RRP), I’d skip it altogether. At £230/$229, your ears ought to perk up.
I like the flexibleness of the SD5800T greater than our current greatest choose, the Kensington SD5780T (or comparable SD5700T within the UK), which is why the bountiful Plugable TBT3-UDZ remains to be amongst our most well-liked Thunderbolt docks. I don’t just like the SD5800T’s mislabeled charging port, nonetheless, and our assessment is muddied by the way it interacts with varied {hardware}.
However, the Kensington Thunderbolt 4 and USB Quad Docking Station (SD5800T) remains to be a well-designed Thunderbolt 4 dock with some slight blemishes. Use the out there worth to information your shopping for determination.
This assessment initially appeared on PCWorld.
