Image: Mark Hachman / IDG
USB-C hubs and dongles are the reply to a typical laptop query: How do I join printers, mice, and keyboards that use an oblong USB-A port when my laptop solely ships with a rounded USB-C port as an alternative?
Fortunately, a USB-C hub or dongle may be an affordable approach to add this further performance to your laptop. After testing quite a few merchandise, we’ve compiled a listing of one of the best USB-C hubs and dongles, beneath. We focus on not solely the port choices out there with every hub, but in addition lesser-known particulars you gained’t discover from the producer’s description, reminiscent of whether or not there’s sufficient house between the ports or if the hub runs sizzling throughout use.
While USB-C hubs and dongles are the best, most cost-effective I/O growth choice for a laptop, you’ll be able to take issues even additional with a standard docking station that gives much more ports, extra bandwidth, and extra electrical energy for charging your laptops and smartphone. We’ve added our decide for one of the best USB-C dock to the underside of our listing. We’ve additionally added a decide for one of the best USB-C DisplayHyperlink dock, which ups the capabilities additional nonetheless, for a price (or see our roundup of one of the best Thunderbolt docks for extra equally strong choices).
Here’s a great rule of thumb: If you need to join your laptop to a printer, an SD card or microSD card, mouse, keyboard, or legacy 1080p monitor, stick to a USB-C hub. If you need to add a pair of further shows (particularly 4K), or high-speed SSD drives, we’d suggest you take a look at our listing of DisplayHyperlink or Thunderbolt docking stations. Our shopping for recommendation and FAQ on the backside of this web page present further data.
The finest USB-C hubs and dongles
Anker 7-in-1 USB-C Hub (A83460A2) – Best total USB-C hub
Pros
- Good worth for the cash
- Excellent construct high quality
- Supplies 85W of energy
- Good mixture of legacy and newer ports
Cons
- 4K output is simply 30Hz
Can a USB-C hub really feel elegant? This one does. Anker’s 7-in-1 USB-C hub feels surprisingly weighty (3.5 ounces), with a premium metallic (aluminum and polycarbonate) sheen. It’s additionally a bit dearer than its rivals. Anker’s hub was among the many coolest we’ve examined below load, at about 87 levels.
Overall, Anker’s hub is nicely designed, with sufficient spacing between the 2 5Gbps USB-A ports. There’s additionally a 5Gbps USB-C connection for information, plus a second USB-C port for energy enter at up to 85W rated. (The charger permits up to 100W in, however provides 85W.) An HDMI port permits for 4K/30Hz video or 1080p/60Hz video to a single exterior show, customary for the class. Ethernet is excluded, nonetheless, so that you’ll want to use Wi-Fi as an alternative. Cord size is about 8.5 inches, above the usual 6-inch size.
Anker’s hub was among the many quickest we examined to ship information below load, together with simultaneous information switch between USB-A ports whereas the SD ports had been lively. The hub presents an 18-month guarantee, and it even ships with a carrying pouch.
We suggest not shopping for the dearer $79.99 Anker 8-in-1 Hub on Amazon until you’re glad connecting to two 1080p (and not 4K) shows…which is completely positive. Otherwise, the 2 HDMI ports will solely assist two 4K shows at an eye-wearying 30Hz, not 60Hz.
Yeolibo 9-in-1 USB-C Hub (RU9A) – Best finances USB-C hub
Pros
- Incredible worth (at press time) and worth
Yeolibo is probably not a reputation you acknowledge, however this USB-C hub is impressively detailed, with a small however extraordinarily informative guide, clearly labeled ports, and well-rounded performance.
This hub presents three USB 3.0 (5Gb/s) Type A ports, one USB 2.0 Type A port, a USB-C (5Gb/s) port, a USB-C PD charging port rated at 100W of enter energy, and an HDMI port. There are additionally microSD and SD slots able to SDXC playing cards up to 2TB and SDR25 (25MB/s) information charges. There’s no ethernet connection. The USB-C cable measures a snug six inches, although the connector on the finish was a bit of stiff and took some fiddling to insert.
We didn’t have a 100W USB-C charger readily available to check, however the hub accepted 62.5W from our 65W USB-C charger. It stayed cool all through. The hub performed again protected content material through its HDMI port, as anticipated, however dropped extra frames than we hoped for when taking part in again 4K content material over YouTube. (Only 4K30 resolutions are supported, however that’s common.)
Lention USB-C Hub with 4K Output (CB-C35sH) – Best finances USB-C hub with 4K/60 output
Pros
- Worked flawlessly
- 4K HDMI output at 60Hz
Cons
- Feels a bit low-cost
- No SD/microSD slot
Lention’s CB-C35sH feels a bit of low-cost out of the field, with a little bit of a rattle that signifies a nook or two had been lower within the building. It labored flawlessly, nonetheless. This USB-C hub is barely wider than most, with an influence enter rated at 60W subsequent to a HDMI 1.2 enter (permitting 4K decision on an exterior show, at 60Hz) that enables protected content material to be performed again with no issues. (Power enter solely reached 55W in our exams.) The complete hub remained cool, even with a charger hooked up.
In addition to the USB-C enter port and HDMI output, there are 4 5Gb/s USB Type A ports, and that’s it—no microSD slots, ethernet, or audio connections. We would have preferred to see the latter as an choice for many who want it. But connecting a mouse and keyboard, in addition to transferring information over the ports, labored nicely inside the constraints of the USB-C connection.
Both our present total prime decide, the Anker A83460A2, and the Yeolibo 9-in-1 a are higher total choices, with one exception: their HDMI output is just at 30Hz, which may fatigue the eyes over lengthy durations. Lention delivers a extra comfy 60Hz on the similar decision. And when you’ve got points, Lention presents a 12-month guarantee with a 24-hour assist turnaround.
Lasuney Triple Display USB Type C HUB – Best full-featured hub
Pros
- Incredible port flexibility
Cons
- USB-C bus throughput will not permit all ports to be used concurrently
Lasuney’s 10-in-1 hub (two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, two HDMI 1.2 ports (4K@30Hz), DisplayPort gigabit ethernet, microSD/SD, USB-C energy enter) presents loads for your cash, together with an uncommon mixture of not one, however two HDMI ports, and even a DisplayPort. Thanks to ethernet assist, the hub can substitute a lot of your wired connections. Power enter is rated at 100W in, with about 87W out there to the laptop.
But the USB-C bus the hub runs on prime of merely gained’t assist all of the ports getting used without delay, which is a little bit of a gotcha. While we actually just like the pair of HDMI ports for dual-display configurations, the actual fact is, you’ll most likely want to restrict your self to a pair of 1080p shows to keep away from saturating the bus and slowing down the connection. Customers on Amazon have reported that they solely acquired one to work, most likely as a result of the bus itself was saturated. The different drawback we discovered is that the SD card slot is approach too gradual. It took twice as lengthy to switch information in contrast to different hubs we examined. In all equity, our different disk-to-disk exams took about the identical period of time.
Lasuney’s hub is nicely made, with good port spacing. It doesn’t get uncomfortably heat, both. Just be reasonable: We actually like the pliability that the Lasuney hub presents, however don’t purchase it considering you’ll have the ability to use every little thing without delay.
IOgear Dock Pro (GUD3C02B) – Best full-size USB-C docking station
Pros
- Best USB-C dock (not hub)
- Supplies energy to your laptop
- Good show choices
Cons
- Takes up an infinite quantity of desk house
- Won’t quick-charge telephones
This is the Big Kahuna of USB-C docks—and, given what it does, you virtually marvel why it wasn’t made a Thunderbolt dock as an alternative. At 2.9 x 11.02 x 0.5 inches, it’s a skinny, lengthy, slanted wedge that props up your laptop with a grippy rubber strip. It’s a real dock, with a lot of rear-facing ports optimized for twin shows, with a foot-long USB-C cable to boot.
Specifically, there’s three USB 3.0 (Type A ports), one HDMI 1.4 port for 4K30 video, one DisplayPort 1.2 port, gigabit ethernet, one SD/SDHC port and a microSD slot (each USH-I), VGA, a 3.5mm jack, and a USB-C port for up to 100W of exterior charging. Some of the extra ports include some caveats: The VGA connection have to be used solo, for instance, and not together with both DisplayPort or HDMI. Remember, all that information handed alongside the USB-C cable can intrude with each other, however IOgear performs it a bit conservative; the guide says that two onerous drives can’t be related concurrently, however that’s not true.
Be suggested that the BC 1.2 port supplies up to 1.5A of energy for quick-charging telephones, although the port isn’t suitable with the specialised quick-charging schemes of OnePlus or Samsung. (Phones from each producers reported “charging” when related, reasonably than “Fast charging”.) Thermal points weren’t an issue, and efficiency was surprisingly good, even with HDMI and ethernet related. The doc helps Power Delivery 3.0 up to 85W, and consumes 15W by itself; in different phrases, when you’ve got a 100W laptop charger feeding energy to the hub, 85W might be left over for your laptop to use.
A worth of about $125 or so is far more than you’d anticipate to pay for a USB-C hub, however it’s nonetheless lower than a higher-speed Thunderbolt dock. Still, this USB-C hub is extra of a USB-C dock; it’s not likely transportable, and the shape issue lends itself to a everlasting spot on your desk.
Cyber Acoustics DS-1000 Docking Station – Best full-size USB-C dock, runner-up
Pros
- It works…with the suitable {hardware}
- Great compact design
- Solid worth for the worth
Cons
- You’ll want a latest laptop for compatibility, and it’s not a given
Recent laptops have begun providing a USB-C know-how known as HBR3 with DSC, which we’ll clarify extra totally within the sections following our suggestions. The backside line is that the know-how presents one thing related to the DisplayHyperlink know-how beneath, however as an trade customary. In our expertise, though the know-how is considerably supported in laptops with Eleventh-gen Core processors, it really works finest in Twelfth- or Thirteenth-gen laptops.
This slim plastic dock measures a hair over 6 inches broad and about 3 inches deep. It lacks a stand, and warms reasonably sharply below load. But it packs a pair of HDMI ports on the rear, 4 5Gbps USB-A ports on the again, in addition to gigabit ethernet. The USB-C cable, measuring about 2.5 ft, snakes out from the facet of the dock. (CA’s guide and documentation is awful, by the best way, so we’re not fairly clear what HDMI port know-how it makes use of.) On the entrance is one other USB Type A port and a USB-C port, too.
The latter USB-C port can be utilized to cost your smartphone, because it places out 6.7W of charging energy, or sufficient to fast-charge a smartphone. Otherwise, it is a powered dock, and it is going to provide 90W of charging energy to your laptop, too.
Read our full
Cyber Acoustics DS-1000 Essential Laptop Docking Station evaluation
Plugable USB-C Dual 4K Display Horizontal Docking Station (UD-6950PDH) – Best full-size USB-C DisplayHyperlink dock
Pros
- Terrific worth for workplace employees
- Great show flexibility
- Plenty of USB-A ports
- SD/microSD card slots, too
- 100W of charging energy
Cons
- No USB-C ports
- No devoted charging ports
- DisplayHyperlink doesn’t permit for full Thunderbolt bandwidth
- Software driver wanted
This is our entry for an upgraded DisplayHyperlink dock, which has its personal execs and cons—barely dearer than a USB-C docking station, however extra options, too.
Plugable’s UD-6950PDH doesn’t permit the bandwidth for the newest HDMI or DisplayPort interfaces, however it preserves what we like about Plugable’s docks: two pairs of elective DisplayPort and HDMI connections to select from, in addition to 100W of charging energy to your laptop. One omission, nonetheless, is a devoted charging port for powering a smartphone, or any USB-C port in any respect. (VisionTek’s VT7000 consists of these, however for a considerable premium.)
At about $199 MSRP, nonetheless, the worth is totally proper for a DisplayHyperlink docking station. Just don’t overlook your smartphone charger.
Read our full
Plugable USB-C Dual 4K Display Horizontal Docking Station (UD-6950PDH) evaluation
RSHTECH USB C Hub Powered 4 Port USB Splitter (RSH-516) – Best hub for exterior onerous drives
Pros
- Push-button on/off switches are a rarity
- For exterior onerous drives that spin up and down, button management is nice
Cons
- A wierd want for energy
This Rshtech RS-516 USB-C port splitter makes use of an unusually lengthy 2-foot cable to break up a 5Gbps USB 3.0 enter (over USB-C) and divide it amongst 4 USB 3.0 Type A ports. It’s additionally unusual to see these ports managed by LED-lit button switches, and an elective 5V/2A adapter powering the entire affair.
The port splitter takes the 5Gbps enter and splits it among the many ports, that are solely lively if the corresponding LED-lit button is depressed. This applies to each energy (the hub will cost, although not fast-charge telephones) and information. Port spacing isn’t a problem, and the ABS/aluminum assemble handles warmth nicely.
The Rshtech hub wouldn’t all the time determine and join to a bus-powered SSD, however it discovered each different gadget we related to it. The efficiency of a powered exterior onerous drive plunged to about 20 p.c when all ports had been occupied, however surged to about 67 p.c when the elective energy cable was plugged in—which Rshtech recommends when related to exterior storage.
That cable (with a proprietary plug) is a ache, and the problems discovering our SSD gave us pause. But we actually preferred how the hub allowed us entry to and management of exterior onerous drives, which spin up and down loudly and randomly.
IOGEAR Travel Pro USB-C Mini Dock (GUD3C460) – Best compact USB-C dock
Pros
- One of the smallest docks available on the market
- Minimizes desk muddle
Cons
- No cable
- Can block ports
At 2.8 x 0.31 x 1.22 inches, IOgear’s Travel Pro Mini Dock is an odd duck: an affordable, comparatively tiny USB-C dock that plugs immediately into your laptop, and not using a connecting wire.
“There’s no way this will work,” you may assume—however it does, with simply sufficient room for your laptop’s USB-C charger to sneak in a single facet of the dock, subsequent to an HDMI wire, then a USB key or wire, and a 3.5mm jack. (The Mini Dock helps up to 60W of energy in from an exterior charger.)
That’s positive, after all, if your laptop’s USB-C port is all by its lonesome. Otherwise, the Travel Pro Mini Dock will block ports because it tries to provide growth capabilities—and that’s an issue for laptops just like the Asus ZenBook, which forego a 3.5mm headphone jack however cram their USB-C ports too shut collectively to make IOgear’s dock possible.
We like the concept, however there are cheaper, higher docks on the market with extra flexibility.
How to select a USB-C hub
First, take inventory of your peripherals
Here’s the place to begin: Take a take a look at the peripherals you personal, or plan to purchase. Do you might have an previous exterior onerous drive that makes use of a standard USB-A cable? Do you manually again up photographs from an SLR through its SD card? Or is your Wi-Fi connection unreliable sufficient that you simply’d favor ethernet? Figure out what ports you’ll want. This recommendation can also be for Windows customers; Macs have their very own limitations on USB-C connections.
Next, take a look at what ports your laptop already has
It’s additionally vital to take inventory of your laptop or tablet’s ports: Does it have one USB-C port or two? If your gadget solely has one port, is there a separate charging connection? If your laptop or tablet has a USB-C port and makes use of it solely for charging, you’ll need to purchase a USB-C hub with a devoted charging enter port. (In this case, it’s additionally potential that solely the charging port on the hub will work, although this isn’t typical.) Note how a lot enter energy it permits, and verify that might be adequate for your laptop. Otherwise, you’ll be compelled to select between charging your laptop and accessing different units, which makes little sense.
Assess your laptop and peripheral energy wants
Keep in thoughts that the hub’s energy port is for taking energy in to your laptop, and not out to a telephone. But your hub should still have the ability to cost your telephone, with some caveats. A “bus-powered” USB hub connects to your laptop and pulls energy from it, which it has share with a number of units—and it gained’t do it that nicely.
Some docks will embrace a USB-C port whose solely objective is to settle for your laptop’s USB-C charger. That port will energy your laptop in addition to any ports related to it. These units will make extra energy out there for quick charging your telephone. (Your hub gained’t allow specialised charging just like the Samsung Galaxy S20’s Super Fast Charging, nonetheless, even in the event you use the provided Samsung cable. You’ll nonetheless want to join your telephone to its charger for that.)
Making sense of the USB-C applied sciences
A USB-C port on your laptop can both run at 5Gbps or 10Gbps, with the latter being extra widespread. That’s loads of bandwidth for a printer, a mouse, a keyboard, or a tough drive, even suddenly. Products like shows, ethernet, and high-speed SSDs gobble up that bandwidth, nonetheless.
We discover that the show applied sciences have a tendency to have probably the most affect over what you should purchase. If you merely need to join to an exterior 1080p show—or two—a USB-C dongle ought to work positive, offered that the dongle has the out there ports. It’s definitely the most cost effective choice. Once you begin making an attempt to join to one or two 1440p or 4K shows, nonetheless, chances are you’ll discover that you simply’ll need to take into account different choices. You can get round this, partly. Instead of plugging your ethernet cable into the USB-C dongle, you need to use a separate Wi-Fi connection, for instance.
Traditionally, the one different various was a Thunderbolt dock. Provided your laptop had a Thunderbolt port, Thunderbolt’s 40Gbps bandwidth permits for 2 4K shows, operating at 60Hz, plus varied peripherals. (You can use a USB-C dock even when you’ve got a Thunderbolt port, by the best way.) USB4, an analogous know-how, is mainly the identical as Thunderbolt for your functions.
Now, there are additionally two middleman applied sciences to select from: a DisplayHyperlink USB-C dock, and a USB-C dock that takes benefit of one thing known as HBR3 and DSC.
DisplayHyperlink, owned by Synaptics, makes use of software program compression between your laptop and the dock to approximate a Thunderbolt expertise over a generic USB-C connection. It requires a software program driver, however our expertise is that it’s a superb selection for workplace work, however not gaming. However, till lately, costs of DisplayHyperlink docks haven’t been the place we expect that they need to be: within the $150 vary.
HBR3 with Display Compression (HBR3 with DSC) is basically an trade customary model of DisplayHyperlink. The drawback? The know-how hasn’t been extensively publicized, not to mention supported. Our expertise has been that docks that assist HBR3 work nicely with laptops utilizing Twelfth-gen Core processors on up. Laptops with a Tenth-gen Core chip inside them aren’t supported, and Eleventh-gen Core laptops are iffy. If you personal a Twelfth-gen Core laptop, particularly a member of Intel’s premium Evo model, you stand a great probability of success. Otherwise, don’t hassle. (We haven’t examined with laptops that use an AMD Ryzen chip.)
Finally, don’t fear about platform branding
Because USB-C is widespread amongst Macs, Windows PCs, and telephones, some hubs align their branding with a selected platform. Go forward and use that USB-C that’s billed as being “for MacBook Pro, Chromebook, and XPS” with any Windows PC—we did, and it really works simply positive. You gained’t want any particular software program or drivers.
How we check USB-C hubs
We used bus-powered peripherals to check every hub: an SSD, a tough drive, and a rewriteable DVD drive, all to make certain sufficient energy was being delivered. We additionally ran pace exams on these hubs with ethernet connections, simply to detect any anomalous outcomes. We carried out spot checks with different peripherals.
We performed standardized exams to switch a file from the SSD to the laptop; from the onerous drive to the SSD; and then from an SD card to the PC, whereas concurrently transferring information from the onerous drive to the SSD. In some instances we used AJA’s System Tool app to run learn and write exams on related drives. In virtually all instances, the efficiency was similar, with a diffusion of about 3 p.c—excellent news for you, as that’s one much less factor to fear about.
We measured the floor temperature whereas these exams had been run. You’ll see some consumers on Amazon pages complaining about how sizzling a hub will get; some do get on the hotter facet. Also, the place we might, we measured the ability enter for every hub.
We checked out how SD playing cards had been inserted—you’d be stunned what number of don’t work until they’re inserted the other way up!
We additionally famous the wire size, as shorter cables restrict your choices when positioning the hub round your laptop or tablet. Worst case, a brief cable causes a hub to dangle from a tablet whose USB-C port is mounted towards the highest.
After testing our USB-C hubs, we are able to verify that some no-names carry out simply in addition to their extra well-known counterparts, and for much less cash, too. One factor to bear in mind: Because worth is so vital to our suggestions, know that a number of the costs could change as producers provide gross sales. Therefore some hubs we didn’t suggest based totally on worth might turn out to be extra purchase-worthy.
FAQ
1.
What is the distinction between a docking station and USB C hub?
A docking station and a USB-C hub serve related functions—extending the vary of ports out there for a laptop—however they aren’t completely the identical.
USB-C hubs are usually extra compact and transportable port expanders. They include just a few ports that are largely USB-C or USB-A ports, however larger finish hubs include SD Card slots and HDMI or DisplayPort inputs as nicely. USB-C hubs are designed to be small and simple to carry round with you however require energy to be drawn from a laptop itself.
Docking stations however are bigger and designed to be extra stationary. They are meant to assist flip your laptop right into a desktop substitute. In phrases of accessible ports, they arrive with every little thing a USB-C hub has and extra. This consists of connections for exterior screens, Thunderbolt 4 ports, and Ethernet ports, amongst others. They are additionally powered through an influence outlet permitting for all related units to be powered immediately from the docking station.
2.
What is the distinction between USB-C and Thunderbolt?
Both USB-C and Thunderbolt ports are common in that the identical enter can be utilized for each, however they don’t seem to be precisely the identical. USB-C enter ports permit for information switch charges of up to 10Gbps and energy charging. Thunderbolt ports permit for information switch charges of up to 40Gbps, energy charging, and video output up to 4K decision.
3.
Why do USB-C hubs get so sizzling?
USB-C hubs can get heat or even sizzling whereas utilizing them to switch information or cost units. This is as a result of the digital elements and circuitry inside hubs construct up warmth throughout use. Depending upon the hub’s materials, warmth can turn out to be trapped contained in the hub main it to turn out to be sizzling to the contact.
If you’re involved about your hub changing into too sizzling throughout use, chances are you’ll take into account buying a hub constructed from metallic components, reminiscent of aluminum, in order that warmth can extra simply dissipate because it builds up.
…. to be continued
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