Dockcase 10-in-1 USB-C Dock review: The nerdiest hub on the planet

Price When Reviewed

$159.99

Best Prices Today: Dockcase Smart USB-C Hub 10-in-1 Explorer Edition

The Dockcase Smart USB-C Hub 10-in-1 Explorer Edition is a incredible USB-C hub for these whose concept of a enjoyable Saturday night time is digging round within the Windows registry information. Unfortunately, lots of its advantages are misplaced by the inexplicable omission of a guide that explains all of it.

Essentially, it is a USB-C hub for nerds. Not solely is the hub bigger than most, with a number of exterior connectors that designate a premium hub, however there’s an precise show: a small LCD display screen that gives an in depth have a look at what units are linked to every port and what their capabilities are. Put one other approach, the Dockcase Smart USB-C Hub 10-in-1 feels extra like a an OBD2 diagnostic gadget on your automotive, or a USB multimeter.

It’s additionally a good USB-C hub by itself, powering two 4K shows at 60Hz with out the necessity for Thunderbolt. More on that in a minute.

As a USB-C hub, the Dockcase Smart USB-C Hub 10-in-1 connects to your PC through a braided USB-C cable that’s a few foot lengthy. There are two show ports: an undisclosed HDMI port able to powering an 8K show at 30Hz or a 4K show at 60Hz, and an undisclosed DisplayPort able to driving a 4K/120Hz show. There’s additionally two 480Mbps USB-A ports, a 10Gbps USB-C port, a 10Gbps USB-A port, gigabit Ethernet, and a UHS-II SD/microSD card slot rated at 312Mbps. A devoted USB-C power-in port accepts as much as 100W.

The sq. central multicolor show measures about 1.2 inches on a facet, and the highest is made out of clear plastic, permitting you to see the inner electronics powering the hub.

Plug in your laptop computer’s charger, and the Dockcase gadget experiences what number of watts are being equipped, what number of watts being consumed by the dock, and the way a lot is on the market to energy your laptop computer — and lets you make changes.

On the suitable PC, this dock can accomplish the identical capabilities as a costlier Thunderbolt dock, powering two 4K shows at 60Hz. It makes use of a expertise referred to as USB 3.2 Gen 2+DP Alt Mode with HBR3, which makes use of compression expertise to approximate a Thunderbolt stream. Dockcase says that this dock will accommodate most Windows laptops however not all Microsoft Surface units, with out explaining which of them. But it actually labored on our check PCs, which included a Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio.

Why purchase a Dockcase hub? The show

The show, although, is the promoting level. For somebody who already struggles to (briefly) clarify the variations between the best USB-C hubs, the best Thunderbolt docks, and what a DisplayLink dock is, I discover a hub that tries to elucidate what your system is doing through the diagnostic display screen an actual winner.

Plug in an HDMI cable, and the dock’s show experiences what gadget is plugged in, its decision, and show price. Plug in your laptop computer’s charger, and the Dockcase gadget experiences what number of watts are being equipped, what number of watts being consumed by the dock, and the way a lot is on the market to energy your laptop computer — and lets you make changes. If you’d prefer to push extra energy to the dock to produce extra output energy to an SSD, you are able to do that. You can alter USB speeds. A small indicator will even show the dock’s inner temperature. (Previous Dockcase docks included cooling followers; this doesn’t.)

Mark Hachman / IDG

This sounds incredible, and it’s. But there are two main hangups: The interface, and the dearth of a guide explaining the ins and outs of the Dockcase Smart USB-C Hub 10-in-1 Explorer Edition. Navigating by way of the complicated menu system is all carried out by a single button and a posh mixture of brief key presses, lengthy key presses, and holding down the important thing for even longer.

It’s not clear what does what, and I discovered myself fruitlessly in search of a assist website, a guide, something, both within the field or on the Dockcase website. Earlier Dockcase merchandise on Amazon steered navigate round, however what I realized about my PC through the Dockcase 10-in-1 USB-C hub was largely by way of trial and error, and that merely shouldn’t occur. There had been settings I merely didn’t have the endurance to check, if solely as a result of a) I didn’t know what they might do, and b) at the least as soon as I ended up in a menu I couldn’t again out of.

Before this evaluate printed, Dockcase did ship over a guide as a Google Docs doc, which we received’t hyperlink to right here. That’s not useful for a shopper, nevertheless, and Dockcase actually must publish a direct hyperlink or printed guide. It doesn’t remedy the navigation problem, nevertheless it does present there’s lots of worth inside this hub, ready to be unlocked.

How does the Dockcase hub carry out?

The Dockcase USB-C Smart Hub 10-in-1 dock was usually secure as soon as in use. But plugging issues in and configuring them was one other story. One show went black after switching a tab. My check shows additionally took just a few seconds to attach, longer than most. Both exterior shows additionally went black for just a few seconds after I plugged in an Ethernet cable to hurry up a neighborhood file switch. While the hub confirmed the Ethernet cable as linked, Windows didn’t. (Resetting the Ethernet adapter through Windows solved the issue, however transferring the file through Wi-Fi proved simpler.)

I noticed some instability when testing efficiency, too. The Dockcase dock simply outperformed rival docks when it comes to storage transfers over the shared bus, about 10MB/s, or sooner than its rivals, or 138.9Mbps. While doing so, nevertheless, one 4K show basically de-rezzed into what gave the impression to be a type of semi-random illustration of the display screen. Unplugging and reinserting the cable solved the issue. I additionally skilled a glitch the place plugging the hub into my PC didn’t work. In this case, give Dockcase credit score: I’ve skilled this identical glitch earlier than with different hubs, and the Dockcase dock recognized it and requested me to unplug and reinsert the USB-C cable. That’s good.

Mark Hachman / IDG

I subsequent performed again a 4K YouTube video over Wi-Fi and it went flawlessly, even after I was transferring information over the bus on the identical time. That’s atypical, and a credit score to the Dockcase hub.

The USB-C port generated about 6.5W of energy, probably not sufficient to fast-charge a smartphone. The USB-A ports produced about 2.5W of energy. Thoough the Dockcase dock seems to be manufactured from aluminum and plastic, warmth was by no means a difficulty.

The Dockcase Smart USB-C Hub 10-in-1 Explorer Edition is a enjoyable, geeky dock that tells you what’s occurring beneath the hood of your PC and its peripherals, nevertheless it’s as much as you to determine all of it out.

Should you purchase the Dockcase Smart USB-C Hub 10-in-1 Explorer Edition?

Dockcase has a barely uncommon approach of launching new merchandise: first through Kickstarter, then later by itself web site and thru third-party retailers. (Its 9-in-1 Visual Smart USB-C Hub with a single HDMI port, launched in 2022, is presently available on Amazon for $99.99.) For now, the one obtainable buying hyperlinks to purchase this 10-in-1 hub are through Kickstarter, the place the product’s value has been minimize by a few third to $109, versus an anticipated retail value of $159.99.

If you have a look at the Dockcase 10-in-1 hub as providing the capabilities of a Thunderbolt dock whereas including data/diagnostic capabilities on prime of it, this Dockcase dock is a relative discount at its Kickstarter value. From expertise, you’ll have higher luck with all USB-C {hardware} — and never simply this dock — in case you join it to a contemporary laptop computer (with, say, a 12th-gen Core or above) that’s been examined towards Intel’s Evo program.

The backside line: The Dockcase Smart USB-C Hub 10-in-1 Explorer Edition is a enjoyable, geeky USB-C hub that tells you a few of what’s occurring along with your USB peripherals in actual time. But you received’t be capable of take full benefit till Dockcase brings its documentation in control.