Kensington’s SD5500T TB3/USB-C Hybrid Docking Station: Titan Ridge Inside
by Anton Shilov on December 18, 2019 2:00 PM EST
Kensington has introduced its new Thunderbolt 3 dock that is guaranteed to work with all USB Type-C hosts. The SD5500T docking station has nine popular ports, which woukd be sufficient for most home and office users who do not use exotic hardware.
Most of Thunderbolt 3 docks released to date are based on Intel’s Alpine Ridge controller that may not work with all USB Type-C hosts. By contrast, the SD5500T TB3/USB-C hybrid docking station (and some other docks) is powered by Intel’s Titan Ridge controller that was designed to work both with all Thunderbolt 3, and all USB Type-C hosts (albeit at respective data transfer rates). In addition, Kensington’s SD5500T is compatible both with Apple macOS 10.14 (and higher) and Microsoft Windows 10 PCs.
Kensington’s SD5500T Thunderbolt 3/USB-C hybrid dock has three USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A ports, two USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C connectors (in addition to the main TB3/USB-C connector), a GbE adapter, two DisplayPort outputs (supporting two 4Kp60 monitors), and a 3.5-mm audio jack for headsets. Meanwhile, the main connector can deliver up to 60 W to the host, which is enough for 13.3-inch notebooks.
Kensington’s SD5500T TB3/USB-C hybrid docking station is now available directly from the company for $259.99. The price is on the high side, however considering the fact that the manufacturer guarantees broad compatibility with a wide range of PCs, it makes sense for companies with large fleets of PCs as well as individuals who want to ensure seamless operation with various PCs.
Related Reading:
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- OWC Announces 14-in-1 Thunderbolt 3 Dock: Now with microSD, 85 W Power Delivery
- Corsair Launches Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Mini Dock
- StarTech Launches ‘Affordable’ Thunderbolt 3 ‘Mini Docks’: USB-A, GbE, DP or HDMI
- StarTech Launches Thunderbolt 3 USB Hub with 3 USB 3.1 Controllers & Power Delivery
Source: Kensington
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Icehawk - Wednesday, December 18, 2019 - link
Agreed, the laptops here at work use 65W supplies on their own and the docks use either 90 or 130 (not sure of the output though) depending on the model.ltcommanderdata - Wednesday, December 18, 2019 - link
It's interesting that both this Kensington Titan Ridge dock and CalDigit's recently released Titan Ridge Dock both don't have a second Thunderbolt 3 port to support Thunderbolt 3 daisy-chaining which was pretty much a standard feature of Alpine Ridge docks. I wonder if there is some technical limitation or if this is simply a choice dock makers all unfortunately seem to be making?The_Assimilator - Wednesday, December 18, 2019 - link
Docks are ridiculously overpriced for the tiny amount of hardware they have inside. I'm waiting for some Chinese company to start flooding Amazon with cheap docks that works the same while costing a third of the price.nandnandnand - Wednesday, December 18, 2019 - link
But they'll catch fire, burning down your home and killing your dog! (to be fair maybe some of the non-Chinese ones will too)bigvlada - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
This is what you get in the race for ever thinner laptops. Ports are sold separately. Atari ST workplace with forest of cables.jospoortvliet - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
I wonder the same. There are loads of cheap dongles that have a wide range of functionality and often do the same or more, at a fraction of the price. I have a USB-c dongle with a semi output, USB-c power in and a bunch of usb ports which I use as a dock. Loads of other ones come with network ports, sd card readers and more, all at under 40 euro or so.DigitalFreak - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
So far Intel is the only one making Thunderbolt 3 chips, and I'm sure they're charging a lot for them. Until more manufactures come start making them (probably not until USB 4.0), I doubt you'll see anything cheaper.jabber - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
I remember a time when laptops had most of this stuff built it. Good times.ABR - Thursday, December 19, 2019 - link
Still doesn't change the fact that it's nice to just plug one cable in to the laptop after bringing it to your desk and you are not only up and running with your full desktop setup, but charging too. This kind of solution has NEVER been cheap, particularly in the days when it was proprietary per manufacturer.RSAUser - Monday, December 23, 2019 - link
This.I liked my old Dell work laptops one, not even a cable just slide in at the bottom. New laptop I was plugging in 5 cables until I got a new display with a USB hub attached, now it's 3 (power, display port, one USB cable).
I'd love a one USB C port but have a graphics card in the laptop I need, so 120W makes it outside of USB C range, I'd even be fine with two USB c cables and make it so I plug in the second one when I want to go performance mode as normal power usage is like 30W for entire laptop if on balanced.