Just bought a new M4 Mac mini, need a dock

Raymond Lin

Raymond Lin

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I have at least 7 always attached things connected so will need a dock

1 - OWC 2TB SSD for my photos (40gbps)
2 - Sabrent 2TB SSD for my crap (10gbps)
3 - WD HDD (Thunderbolt 3...need new cable)
4 - Mechanical Keyboard
5 - Microphone
6 - LED light strip
7 - Speakers
8 - Possibly adding an audio interface.

Additional things that I might need to add or use from time to time

Webcam
SD card read
Screen calibration tool
USB stick
Camera

Can someone recommend one? The one that I have found that fits the bill is a bit expensive.

https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/product/HRJK2Z/A/caldigit-thunderbolt-4-pro-dock

With this I can use just 1 cable from the Mac's 40gbps port and connect everything to it. Are there other alternatives?
 
I have the CalDigit TS3 Plus Thunderbolt 3 dock. I think there is the TS4 available now as well.

The TS3 never misses a beat for me and allows me to plug in my external devices as well as using the front ports for temporary use i.e. card reader or directly putting in an SD card.
 
Buck said:
I have the CalDigit TS3 Plus Thunderbolt 3 dock. I think there is the TS4 available now as well.

The TS3 never misses a beat for me and allows me to plug in my external devices as well as using the front ports for temporary use i.e. card reader or directly putting in an SD card.
Click to expand...

I think I can get away with the TS3, but if I get that then I wouldn't be able to do 1 cable connect to the Mac mini. I think I will need to connect the OWC TB4 SSD direct to the Mac for best speed. Everything else can go to the TS3 Plus. Including the monitor.
 
is it important to have only 1 cable going to the Mac Mini? I name use of that feature daily, as I swap between MacBooks, but surely a desktop is set up and left? Given the price of the fast docks, would it be better to get a slower dock for the less important things, or even combine the slower drives?
 
As the Mac Mini is essentially a desktop set up it’s best to think about the real connectivity you need and which will be Thunderbolt / USB3 etc.

I’ve got my NAS drive straight into the Mini for example but my webcam is in the TS3 etc.
 
Could you use Bluetooth for some of these devices?
 
Brentor said:
Could you use Bluetooth for some of these devices?
Click to expand...

That would requires getting a new keyboard. I spent £400 on my mechanical keyboard so I’m keeping that.

All of these devices I already own.

There’s a UGREEN thunderbolt 4 dock on Amazon for £215, it’s 1 less thunderbolt port than the Caldigit TS4 but I can live with that for the £85 difference.

I think it’ll be the one I’ll go with, a Caldigit TS3 is cheaper but I will be wasting the bandwidth of the Mac Mini.
 
Mostly set up now. I went for the Caldigit in the end for the extra ports and I am glad I did. I needed basically all of them, with only 1 USB-A left free at the back and 1 Thunderbolt free at the back of the Mac Mini.

BzIfxBU.jpg
 
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