Top 10 Best Thunderbolt 2 Docks – 2017 Reviews
These days manufacturers are focusing on making everything smaller and lighter, especially with portable devices like Macbook and laptop computers.
In order to save space and make them thinner, there are fewer ports to be able to connect your external devices. Fortunately, there is a solution to this dilemma and it comes in the form of a Thunderbolt 2 dock.
These Thunderbolt docks are designed to have all of your necessary peripherals plugged into them and them, in turn, plug into your computer using a single Thunderbolt 2 cable.
We did plenty of research online looking for the best thunderbolt dock. We were able to find a number of the cheap thunderbolt dock and put together a list of the 10 best.
OWC Thunderbolt 2 Dock
OWC Thunderbolt 2 Dock is designed to work specifically with the Apple MacBook. It is designed to allow you to attach up to 12 different peripherals to any Apple MacBook that has a Thunderbolt 2 connector. Using a dock makes it easier to pick up your Mac and take it with you without having to unplug a bunch of cables and leave a tangled mess on your desktop. Peripherals for the Mac use a number of different connectors like Ethernet (RJ45) USB, HDMI, Thunderbolt 2, Firewire 800 and 3.5mm jacks.
The ultra compact OWC Dock makes it extremely easy to organize and connect all of your peripherals to your Mac by using a single, ultra high-speed Thunderbolt 2 cable. There are 12 different connectors arranged along the back and side of the box including 5x USB, 1x HDMI, 1x Ethernet, Firewire 800, Audio In and Audio Out.
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Elgato Thunderbolt 2 Dock with 50 cm Thunderbolt cable
The Elgato Thunderbolt 2 Dock is slimline, compact box that can be easily fit on even the smallest of desks and allows you to connect a number of different peripherals to your Apple MacBook. It fully supports a number of different technologies like USB 3.0. 4k Ultra HD video, 3.5mm audio in and out, HDMI, Thunderbolt 2 and Ethernet. The package includes a 50 cm Thunderbolt 2 cable to connect it directly to your Mac.
The Elgato dock features a sturdy all aluminum case with a number connectors located on the front and back of the box. It features 2x high-speed Thunderbolt 2 connectors, 1x HDMI connectors, 2x USB 3.0 and 1x Ethernet connectors on the back and 1x USB 3.0, 3.5mm audio in and 3.5mm audio out connectors on the front. You can connect up to 2x 4k Ultra HD displays using the second Thunderbolt 2 connector and the HDMI connector.
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Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock
Belkin is one of the most well-known of all the peripheral manufacturers and their Thunderbolt Express dock is one of the more versatile of all docks on the market. It is compatible with a number of different technologies that can be used to expand your Mac using a single Thunderbolt 2 cable. The compact case will fit easily on even the smallest desktops and help to unclutter it.
The ultra compact size (12.48 x 3.2 x 7.4 in) and weighs just over 3 pounds and allows up to 8 peripheral devices to be attached to it. It is capable of having a number of different technologies all connected to your Mac using a single Thunderbolt 2 cable (not included). It features 1x Gigabit Ethernet port, 3x USB 3.0, 1x Firewire 800, 2x Thunderbolt 2, 1x 3.5mm Input and 1x 3.5mm Output jacks. Compatible with Apple Mac OSX 10.8.4 or later operating system
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Belkin Thunderbolt 2 Express HD Dock
This Belkin compact dock was designed to help organize any desktop that has a number of different peripheral that is needed to hook up to your Mac or PC. The sleek, slimline brushed aluminum case takes up a very small amount of space thanks to its small size 6.85″ x 11.34″ x 4.10″. The Thunderbolt 2 technology makes it possible to transfer data up to 20Gbps
The compact dock supports up to 8 different connections including 3x USB 3.0 connector, 2x Thunderbolt 2 connectors, 1x HDMI connector, 1x Ethernet port, 1x audio 3.5mm input, 1x 3.5mm output. The dock fully supports dual monitors, however, it only supports a single 4k Ultra HD monitor. The Belkin Express HD dock is compatible with both Apple Mac and Windows based PCs. The package includes a 3-foot Thunderbolt 2 high-speed data cable.
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StarTech.com Thunderbolt 2 Dock
The StarTech Thunderbolt 2 Dock is a really compact box that makes it possible to both organize your desk in your home office. It allows you to connect many different types of external peripherals including a 4K display. It fully supports both Apple Mac and Windows based PC laptop. It features connectors for several different technologies and allows them to be connected simultaneously. The Thunderbolt 2 technology features unbelievable transfer speeds at over 20Gbps.
The Thunderbolt 2 Dock is designed to allow you to connect a number of high-speed peripherals to your Apple MacBook or Windows based laptop. It features a number of connector ports including 4x USB, 1x Ethernet, 2x Thunderbolt 2, 1x HDMI, 1x eSATA, Line microphone and spdif digital audio. The very compact and lightweight box can be easily placed on your computer desk and won’t take up all of your space.
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Sonnet Echo 15+ Thunderbolt 2 Docking Station
The Echo 15+ Thunderbolt 2 Dock is more than just a simple Mac docking station that can help you both organize your desk and add up to 11 different devices with just a single Thunderbolt 2 cable. While it is not as small as most compact docking stations and that is because it has space for optional drives for adding data storage space that can be used by your Mac to expand its storage capabilities.
The Echo 15+ Dock is a high quality and very versatile device that is designed to be used with virtually any Apple Mac and OSX 10.9.5 and above. The dock features a total of 12 connectors and allows up to 11 different peripherals to connect to a Mac using only a single Thunderbolt 2 cable. The connectors include 4x USB 3.0 (two on the front and two on the back), 2x eSATA, 2x Thunderbolt 2 connector, 1x Firewire 800, Gigabit Ethernet, 1x 3.5mm audio input and 1x audio output. The Sonnet designed the Echo 15+ to be much more versatile by making it possible to create an extra storage device by adding optional 3.5 inch HDD or 2.5 SSD drives.
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AKiTiO Thunder2 Dock
The ultra compact Thunder 2 Dock from AKiTiO is perfect for the Apple Mac user that has limited space on the desk and is looking to unclutter it of all of the device cords. Use it to add a 4K UHD monitor to your MacBook and several other devices and only have to plug in a single Thunderbolt 2 cord into your Mac. It features a variety of ports so that you can pick and choose which peripherals you will be able to add using it.
The all aluminum case is extremely durable and also helps to dissipate the heat from inside the case. It features two high-speed 20Gbps Thunderbolt 2 ports, 2x powered USB 3.0 ports, 2x eSATA ports and a 1x 7-watt powered Firewire 800 port. The powered USB 3.0 allows you to charge two mobile devices simultaneously while it is connected to your desktop Mac or Macbook. The high-speed circuitry throughput allows you to have both eSATA ports in use and still not notice any amount of performance loss on your Mac.
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Blackmagic Design MultiDock 2 w/ Thunderbolt 2
The MultiDock 2 Station from the Blackmagic system is perfect for the user who is into video or music production which requires the ability to manipulate large amounts of data very quickly. It was designed to accept up to four high-speed SATA3 SSD’s in the four hot swappable ports in the front of the rack mountable case. The software makes it easy to configure the drives in a number of different RAID configurations on any Apple Mac or Windows-based PC.
The Blackmagic MultiDock 2 is fully rack mountable all aluminum case that is can be daisy chained together using the Thunderbolt ports on the back and the last of the 6 devices plugs into any Mac, Macbook and PC laptop configured with a Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 port. The Thunderbolt (10Gbps speed) and Thunderbolt 2 (20Gbps speed) connection allows data to pass through at its rated speed. The Multidock 2 accepts up to four SSD’s per device and addresses each one separately and displays it on the screen as a separately mounted drive.
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IOGEAR Thunderbolt 2 KVM, Docking Station
The Thunderbolt 2 Docking Station with a built in KVM circuitry that allows two computers to share the data via the high-speed 20Kbps cables. The compact design makes it possible to daisy chain up to 5 devices together in order the to process the maximum amount of data. Supports both 4K UHD and multiple displays to be connected to it and there are a number of specialized ports for connecting numerous peripherals to be hooked up through a single Thunderbolt 2 cable.
The Thunderbolt 2 KVM Docking Station is a sleek, all aluminum case and compact design make it easy for two different computers to share all of the same peripherals that are attached to the device and switch between the two using a single button. The KVM unit contains a number of ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals. It has 3x Thunderbolt 2 ports, 1x Ethernet port, 1X HDMI, 2x USB 3.0 ports, 1x eSATA port and 3.5mm optical audio port designed to provide 5.1 speaker system.
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HighPoint RocketStor 6351A Thunderbolt 2 I/O Dock – No Cable
The RocketStor 6351A is a great little Thunderbolt 2 dock that saves space on your desk. It offers simplicity in looks and design while still being very versatile in what it can do. It can handle all of your external peripherals you need to connect to your computer and make it so you only have to connect a single cable to do it. It is capable of being used as a mobile device charging station for two devices simultaneously.
The simple design of the RocketStor 6351A makes it quite desirable and the sturdy, all aluminum case gives it a great stylish look. It is compact enough (13″ x 3.7″ x 6.9″) not to take up a whole lot of space on your desk. The amazing throughput speed of the Thunderbolt 2 technology features data transfer rates up to 20Gbps. It can handle 4K UHD video output using a Thunderbolt 2 adapter. It features multiple connectors to handle most of your peripheral connectivity needs; 2x USB 3.0 ports, 2x Thunderbolt 2 ports, 1x eSATA, 1x Gigabit Ethernet port, 1x 3.5mm audio and 1x 3.5mm mic port.
