We’ve seen a handful of manufacturers announce Thunderbolt 4 docks since Intel detailed the interface standard back in 2020, but few have come out with one as fancy as the one Razer just announced. The company’s new 10-port hub features about all the connections you could want. On the front, you’ll find a UHS-II SD card slot, 3.5mm audio jack and a Thunderbolt 4-compatible USB-C port capable of delivering up to 90W of power to your laptop while maintaining a 40 Gbps data transfer. On the back, meanwhile, you have access to three Thunderbolt 4-compatible USB-C ports, a Gigabit Ethernet connection and three USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports.
It wouldn’t be a Razer product without RGB lighting, so naturally that’s included as well. The entire brick weighs less than a pound and measures and can output to 4K monitors (at 60Hz) at the same time.
The dock works with Windows PC powered by an 11th-gen Intel CPU, as well as both Intel and M1 Macs running macOS Big Sur — though keep in mind the company’s Synapse software, which you need to tweak the dock’s RGB lighting, isn’t currently available on macOS. It will also work with Razer’s other Thunderbolt-compatible products, including the Razer Core GPU enclosure.
At $330, Razer’s Thunderbolt 4 Dock Chroma is expensive, even by the standards of some of the Thunderbolt 4 hubs we’ve seen announced recently. For instance, OWC’s Thunderbolt 4 dock has almost the same number of connections but costs $249. Of course, if you already own a Razer laptop, you’ll probably want to complete the look of your setup, in which case you’re ready to pay the premium on the company’s dock.
Razer has also updated its aluminum Chroma laptop stand. The new V2 model comes in at $150, making it $50 more expensive than its predecessor, but comes with a more diverse selection of ports. Instead of three USB-A 3.0 connections, it features a single USB-C 3.2 port, two USB-A 3.2 ports, an HDMI 2.0 connection and a dedicated USB-C port for power delivery. Like the previous model, it also puts your laptop on an 18-degree tilt to improve the ergonomics of your setup.
Both the Thunderbolt 4 Dock Chroma and Laptop Stand Chrome V2 are available to pre-order today from the Razer website starting today.
Author: Igor Bonifacic, @igorbonifacic
6h ago
Source: Engadget
