Re:Why do USB-C hubs still have USB 2.0 ports? (2021)
by danieldk on Wednesday May 11, 2022 @03:13AM
(#31336758)
There are also non-Thunderbolt USB-C docks that support DP Alt mode. E.g. I had a Lenovo USB-C Dock Gen2, which uses 2 (superspeed) lanes for DisplayPort with HBR3. If a machine supports it, it can pass through 4k@60Hz. It uses the other two lanes for USB 3.1 Gen 2 10Gbit.
Though, I would always go for a Thunderbolt Dock. The extra bandwidth is nice (e.g. most Thunderbolt Docks support two 4k@60Hz screens). Also, Thunderbolt at least offers the option of using PCIe NICs, offering alternatives to the crappy Realtek USB ethernet controllers. Be cautious - even many expensive Thunderbolt hubs use USB Realtek. However, there are also models that have an Intel I210 or I225 on PCIe.
(The story changes a bit with USB4, since it can also optionally tunnel PCIe, but I wouldn't expect cheap USB-C adapters to do that.)
Re:Why do USB-C hubs still have USB 2.0 ports? (2021)
by X-Istence on Wednesday May 11, 2022 @04:46PM
(#31345555)
Right, there are some USB-C docks that are not Thunderbolt that do DP alt mode, but many of the cheaper ones seems to come with DisplayLink technology built-in.
Though, I would always go for a Thunderbolt Dock. The extra bandwidth is nice (e.g. most Thunderbolt Docks support two 4k@60Hz screens). Also, Thunderbolt at least offers the option of using PCIe NICs, offering alternatives to the crappy Realtek USB ethernet controllers. Be cautious - even many expensive Thunderbolt hubs use USB Realtek. However, there are also models that have an Intel I210 or I225 on PCIe.
(The story changes a bit with USB4, since it can also optionally tunnel PCIe, but I wouldn't expect cheap USB-C adapters to do that.)