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Here's the short answer: If you want to connect your laptop to a printer, an SD card or microSD card, mouse, keyboard, or legacy 1080p monitor, stick with a basic 10Gbps USB-C hub/dongle. If you want to add a pair of additional displays (especially 4K), or high-speed SSD drives, we'd recommend you look at our list of 40Gbps Thunderbolt docking stations. Generally, the larger, powered docks offer more features.It is confusing, since they all use the "same" USB-C port. Generally, most modern laptops have a small Thunderbolt "lightning bolt" logo to help distinguish the faster port.

A USB-C hub or dongle (we use the terms interchangeably) is a small, portable device that you can slide into a bag or backpack. A USB-C docking station tends to be heavy and bulky enough that you'll want to keep it on your desk. It's not true that a USB-C docking station will have more features than a USB-C hub, as some compact USB-C hubs pack in a surprising number of ports. Docking stations tend to be bigger and bulkier, and are designed to live on your desk. If there's anything that docking stations tend to have that dongles sometimes don't, it's a USB-C port designed only to accept power f

The Ugreen Maxidok 17-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 docking station is a well-designed premium dock. Anyone looking to run a modern workstation with multiple displays, fast storage media, and full laptop charging via a single cable will find this one of the most compelling solutions currently available. The internal M.2 slot is its strongest selling point compared to competitors. Build quality, stability, and cooling are all up to scratch, and the fan remains quiet in everyday use. Weaknesses lie in the details: The lack of an HDMI output is occasionally annoying, and the 2.5-gigabit LAN interface feels

Laptops have generally begun replacing all of the legacy ports (the boxy USB-A plug, HDMI, SD card slots, and more) with generic USB-C ports. That's fine, but what if you have a wired printer or mouse or external SSD? You'll need to connect it to your laptop, and you might need the right physical port connector.If you have a fast external SSD or hard drive, the external throughput will certainly help you get the most out of your peripheral. And if you want to connect multiple displays, you'll need a USB-C hub (and preferably a docking station) with support for two display connectors.