[New Release] PowerExpand Elite 13-in-1 Thunderbolt 3 Dock Now Available!

Certainly retro in design :nerd_face:

If we keep going at this rate, the number of dock variations are going to match PowerCores and RoboVac’s :laughing:

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I like this design.
Shows functionality, nothing more is needed.

No cactus! :rofl:

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I wonder if someone will say the ports on wrong side…

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Yes, another dock !!

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85w is good, wish it were able to do the full 100 USB-C allows for. My next laptop sorts USB-C charging, but says it requires 90w - will have to see if that difference matters or not.

Otherwise, looks like a pretty good solution for an all in one dock. Fingers crossed that it comes in at a reasonable price.

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I feel like it’ll be around $110 to $130 (I’m probably wrong though). Either way I think I’ll stick to buying the 8-in-1 hub when it comes out, its more than enough for me.

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Good catch, well spotted. The math looks odd. You’re correct, Thunderbolt 3 does support up to 100W.

180W comes in.
Out: 85W, 15W Thunderbolt 3.
USB-c x 2 out - Watts?
USB-A 4 - Watts?
HMDI,
Ethernet
SD
SDXC
Aux

Assuming HDMI, Ethernet, SD, Aux and the hub itself consume 10, and assuming the A ports are 10W, the C non-PD is 10W, then 180-85-15-10-40-10=20W.

So the PD port is going to be 20W or are the A ports lower Watts, say 5W?

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Even if the power going to the computer has to go down a little bit when ALL other ports are used, it would be nice if it could do 100W on one port otherwise - that is a flexibility I have seen from some charging ports that can do up to 100W but have multiple ports. For instance, if I am not using the 15W TB port for anything, or only have a display adapter on the USB-C ports.

It just seems strange to design a device like this that seems to support all of the options in a largish dock format device, and not take full advantage of the max supported PD output capability.

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Fair comment.

To Anker’s defense as PD is a negotiated protocol, to adjust Watts down would require for non-PDO devices the port to turn off then on to force a renegotiation which you probably would not like if it were doing data transfer or was powering non-battery items at the same time.

PD does allow for variable power, but needs the device to support PDO. Not everything does.

http://www.ti.com/lit/an/slva842/slva842.pdf?&ts=1589463864361

image

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When non-PD USB share power they are not doing it in electronics but just via parallel ports, no negotiation, you get whatever is on offer.

I think what you ask for, what I want to happen too, is coming, but requires all devices to support variable power. You’d create situations where a sink has a minimum of 100W, so when you plugged in another sink and there was no headroom in supply, it would not work.

Say you had a laptop needing 60W minimum, it was offered 100W, was happy, then you plugged in a 2nd laptop also needing 60W. Neither would then work. Nightmare for Anker to figure how to please the consumer in different scenarios. This may be one why they are just doing fixed power ports, although I also suspect they just pick the easy option.

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I’ll say it, the ports are on the wrong side:grinning:

The design does bring back memories. It similar tothe old docks I had my 90s and early 2000s era gaming rig. But more advanced and looking better.

I can’t take advantage of PD charging my laptop needs more power than what PD can offer at the moment (Would have to buy a different computer) But using the dock to hook up all my extra stuff and only have 2 cables sticking out of the computer while at the desk would be nice.

Looks nice but sadly it’s Thunderbolt 3 to host only and not USB-C Gen 2.
Had it been USB-C Gen 2, this would be perfect for my workstation.

#2, what are the specs for the SD card reader? SD 4.0 or slower?
EDIT: Just found in the another post. Supports UHS-II High-Speed SD Cards :slight_smile:

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They are on the correct side…Front, for quick plug and play :wink:

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But the USB-A on rear!

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I could care less about USB-A. It’s fine in the rear :slight_smile:

Besides, this one has a USB-A “3.0” port in the front. And two USB-C ports. I’m salivating, but my PC doesn’t support Thunderbolt 3.

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I thought Thunderbolt 3 was backwards compatibile?

I believe @Dez_S is referring to all the 5Gbit USB gen 1 ports.

Yes Thunderbolt 3 is a superset of USB

Thought it a tower? So a PCI card add-on?

I know there’s a minimum requirement.

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Thunderbolt 3 uses USB-C connection but if the computer host doesn’t support Thunderbolt 3, it won’t work. I know, i’ve tried. Minimum requirement on most Thunderbolt 3 hubs is to have Thunderbolt.

I built my PC Of a late model Asus mainboard I own and it does not support Thunderbolt via PCIe add-on and such. I should have chose one with T3 support during my build.

From the link you posted is exactly the reason:

"It relies on the chipset on the motherboard, even for expansion cards. So you need at least a 100 and up series motherboard or X99/X299 motherboard. Those cards you see on the market are usually designed for specific motherboards.

That applies to Thunderbolt 3."

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Now if the PowerExpand Elite 13-in-1 Dock is backwards compatible to USB-C Gen 2, than this hub would be highly attractive for my use.

I have multiple USB-C Gen 2 ports on the rear of my computer.

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I assume that as USB 4 is rolling Thunderbolt into USB, you’d prefer to time next mobo with USB 4?

Then also AMD?

I don’t know hubs well enough to a source of good facts here, but I’d be very guarded with hubs in general, they inherently make for a worse setup, your system relies on the hub to see all the ports it has so have made the hub a point of failure, I’d use hubs to add slow ports and use mobo daughter cards to add performance.

On my next build I would like T3 and USB 4.0, if they have such a board. I’m in no rush to upgrade but have to be mindful when purchasing peripherals.

Hubs are great if you have alot of devices that you quickly want to plug and play. For maximum speeds and permanent connections, you should plug directly to the tower or chassis of the computer.

I regularly plug in SD, MicroSD, XQD, CFE cards as well as a USB-C DAC connected headphone, flash drives, SSDs, etc.

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