Kensington’s initially Thunderbolt 5 dock, the future of PC I/O, is here! Unfortunately, it’s simply one part of the formula.
The Kensington SD5000T5 EQ Thunderbolt 5 Triple 4K Docking Station is the veryfirst Thunderbolt 5 dock I’ve seen inside PCWorld’s laboratory. Kensington will start offering the dock today on Amazon for $399.99, a significant premium to the bulk of Thunderbolt 4 docks currently on the market. (One exception is Kingston’s SD5800T, a premium Thunderbolt 4 dock).
Thunderbolt 5, nevertheless, provides substantial benefits compared to Thunderbolt 4 docks, which haveactually provided the exactsame 40Gbps throughput as the older Thunderbolt 3 docks. Thunderbolt 5 enhances that to 80Gbps, and in particular cases even up to 120Gbps in a single instructions. That relates to 2 8K, 60Hz shows, or 3 4K shows at 144Hz. TB5 oughtto likewise permit laptopcomputers to link to external GPUs, a function that Thunderbolt 4 passed over, and USB-C charging up to 140W.
The issue is that laptopcomputer docking stations like the Kensington SD5000T5 are part of an environment. It’s not enough to own simply a Thunderbolt 5 docking station; you requirement a laptopcomputer with Thunderbolt 5 assistance and mostlikely high-speed parts to link to. Put just, Thunderbolt 4 enables connections to a set of 4K shows at 60Hz; Thunderbolt 5 can link to 2 4K shows at 144Hz, which are significantly more costly. Those pieces are what I’m doingnothave here, and what avoids me from composing a “real” evaluation at present.
Further reading: Check out our suggestions for the finest Thunderbolt laptopcomputer docking stations for more details. Kensington has a strong credibility, and the Kensington Thunderbolt 4 Dual 4K Dock (SD5780T) presently ranks 2nd in our list of finest choices.
Thunderbolt 5 is backwards-compatible with Thunderbolt 4 and Thunderbolt 3, nevertheless, so you can purchase this dock even if you puton’t have a Thunderbolt 5-capable laptopcomputer or peripherals. Incidentally, as Kensington’s files note, this is a Windows-only dock; Apple has not devoted to Thunderbolt 5 assistance at press time. Kensington likewise states that its dock is formally licensed by Intel.
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
The SD5000TS falls into what I’d generally call a “hub” classification. Instead of devoted screen ports, the dock consistsof 3 upstream Thunderbolt 5 connections, which can be utilized for screen, storage, and more. You wear’t requirement to own a displayscreen with a devoted Thunderbolt port to usage it with this dock. Kensington provided a 4K/8K HDMI to USB-C cabletelevision for usage with this dock, though you will have to purchase something comparable.
Otherwise, the front of the dock consistsof a downstream Thunderbolt 5 port to your laptopcomputer, which will supply up to 140W for content-creation PCs or for light videogaming. To get 140W, your laptopcomputer should assistance what’s understood as the USB-C PD3 3.1 EPR — you’ll requirement to dive deep into your laptopcomputer’s specifications to validate that’s the case. Otherwise, there’s an extra upstream Thunderbolt 5 port (supplying 60W for charging and DisplayPort 2.1), a 10Gbps USB-A port, and a microSD and SD card slot supporting up to UHS-II/SD 4.0 speeds. There’s likewise a earphone jack.
On the back of the dock, there are 2 more Thunderbolt 5 ports, 2 more 10Gbps USB-A ports, 2.5Gbps Ethernet, and a power button that lights a little LED on the front of the dock when on. The dock itself procedures a relatively chunky 8.9 inches by 3.8 inches by 1.6 inches, and needto lie flat on the desk. At 2.15lb, it’s not going anywhere either. The Thunderbolt cabletelevision extends by simply over 3 feet.
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
How the Kensington SD5000T5 carriesout in the laboratory
Unfortunately, my own test bed is set up for Thunderbolt 4 gadgets. I have a single displayscreen capable of 4K144 output, however my several shows are mainly 4K60. Though this will certainly alter, Kensington agents informed me that there are simply 2 laptopcomputers that they understand of, as of press time, with the “Barlow Ridge” Thunderbolt 5 chip inside; a variation of the Razer Blade and the Maingear ML-17. I have neither, however hope to quickly. Nor can I test the other crucial function that Thunderbolt 5 provides, the capability to link to an external GPU.
Eventually I hope to be able to compose a more official evaluation, which this will notify. But for now, we’ll have to call it a hands-on and hope for muchbetter in the future.
Kensington didn’t a