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Thunderbolt (TB) brings powerful functions and versatility to the system. Allow users to connect or daisy chain anything they can think of, from peripherals, external storage, docking stations, and even monitors. However, you usually won't get one or more local ports (if any) on your system, and not all TB devices support daisy chaining (the second port allows you to continue to connect to another device). This sometimes limits the number of connected devices you can use. The solution is a hub, OWC has a powerful answering phone-OWC Thunderbolt hub.

This is actually a kind of fun, because we compare it with various systems to confirm the functions it supports. It is very powerful when used with systems (Mac and Windows) that support Thunderbolt 4 (TB4). It does exactly what it says, allowing you to actually access the TB4 port and split it into multiple devices. Each of its three ports allows you to create a separate daisy chain (if required), otherwise you only need to connect a single TB4, TB3 or USB-C device to each port.

This is not a solution to all problems, because TB can be a bit tricky when it comes to supporting scenarios. For example, Windows is its (TB) maximum limit. In the Windows environment, TB3 has never really received full specification support like the Mac. Therefore, using this with a TB3 Windows machine will result in it being used only as a USB-C hub without TB functionality. In order to use it as a TB hub, the PC must support TB4 and have an available TB4 port to connect to it.

Therefore, in order to take full advantage of this, you need to use an Apple M1 Mac or Intel-based Mac with TB3 or TB4 and macOS 11.1 Big Sur or later installed, or a Windows PC with TB4. The latter is still very rare, although this situation is changing due to the current launch of Intel’s new Alder Lake processor with strong support for TB4, which will make it a popular product for the new generation of Windows users.

The hub contains 1 TB input and 3 TB output, turning one port into three. In addition, it also has a USB-A (10Gb/s) port, because OWC obviously feels that it is incomplete, at least some additional things have to be added (no complaints here).

As mentioned earlier, these TB ports can be used as TB3, TB4 or USB-C ports (as long as the system meets the aforementioned requirements). This adds a lot of flexibility. In a test setup (Mac setup) we tried, we plugged in an external TB RAID storage solution and two 4K (TB3) monitors. In another test (Mac setup), we used OWC's 10G TB Ethernet adapter, a 4K monitor, and an OWC Envoy Pro FX external Thunderbolt NVMe. In each case, the hub performed perfectly. Then we connected it to a Windows 10 system powered by AMD 5950x, with TB4 i/o on the back, and it worked equally well.

We may also try to connect the OWC Thunderbolt 3 14-port docking station to one of these ports to really test its ability to branch anywhere (our colleagues who own the docking station are currently traveling, so it must be determined). We will also make sure to test it against Alder Lake settings in the near future. If we find anything different from what we already have, we will make sure to mention something here.

As expected, we confirmed that it does not run well on Windows PCs without TB4. We connected it to a Windows 10 system equipped with TB3, and the result showed the message "This Thunderbolt device has not been certified for PC use." It is used as a USB-C hub, but it does not recognize any TB3 we plugged in. Therefore, before native TB4/USB4 support becomes more common, Windows users are currently restricted. However, this is also expected, because it is usually the limit of TB, so it does affect our view of the hub itself.

The size of the hub is very small, so it won't take up much space in your setup. However, the power block is larger than the hub, similar to what you find on the TB base. Thankfully, it can be hidden somewhere under your desk, so it doesn't matter.

It does support power to a connected laptop, which supports charging via TB (or USB-C if you use it as a USB-C hub). This helps keep the laptop charged without having to plug in a separate adapter. However, your power is limited to 60W, which really alienates most powerful laptops. We were a little surprised by this because even the Dell Inspiron laptops we used around the building were 65W. I believe that only one laptop in our building requires less than this, because most of them are editors or gaming powerhouses. It would be great if you could see more about power transmission. 100W will be impressive, but we will compromise in the middle.

It is important to remember that it is a hub that allows you to convert one port into multiple ports that share the same bandwidth. You can't magically turn a connection into multiple independent connections, each with full bandwidth-although this would be amazing if possible.

So you have three ports that share the same 40Gb/s TB connection (10Gb/s if you are using it as a USB-C hub). Therefore, if a port occupies 10Gb/s during transmission, it means that other ports can access up to 30Gb/s. The same applies to any type of hub or switch solution (ie USB hub or network switch).

This is a very personal matter for us, but the logo on the top of the hub will light up when it is powered on and working. It is a white LED backlit sign, very bright. If you plan to put it on your desk, you need to consider this. It would be nice to have a way to close it somehow. However, you can easily cover it with something (ie, a piece of tape thick enough to blacken it or at least spread it out a bit).

If you plan to store it under your desk or anywhere else, it will usually be hidden out of sight when you are working on the computer, so this will not bother you. If anything, it will suddenly look cool because it won't be distracting.

This is an excellent TB docking station solution, assuming you understand the limitations and requirements to make the most of a TB3 or TB4 connection in any given situation. With a PC or Mac equipped with TB4, you can take full advantage of this docking station-and these customers are likely to flock to buy it. TB4 is powerful and allows one port to do so many things. This just puts the foul on fire, allowing you to create a variety of creative settings. Quickly turn a laptop into a complete desktop experience (or desktop experience, it's a connected highway).

As mentioned earlier, with the release of Intel's latest Alder Lake processor, TB4 and USB4 will be very popular in the PC market. So far, TB has been a niche market (on the PC side). This will create more demand for such solutions. We will test them against these systems in the coming weeks. We will update you with any content that we find that is different from what we have covered so far.

The suggested retail price is $179, which seems very reasonable. Thunderbolt is expensive, so this is not surprising. It is currently available through many certified retailers, but due to popular demand (for hubs), the supply seems a bit low. As a result, some retailers may show it as unavailable while waiting for the additional inventory to arrive. Therefore, the best place to obtain a hub is to obtain it directly from OWC, as they usually have the most available inventory (naturally).

*Average price based on the time of publication of this article

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Designer, editor, and product reviewer Poc Network Ryan is an avid gamer, most of his time either directing the team on Xbox One or playing football on the grass when others are willing to accept the challenge. He has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and is passionate about installing advanced audio and video environments.

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