Advantages
- 16 top ports
- 2.5 Gb Ethernet
- Supports up to four displays (Windows)
- Dedicated HDMI & DisplayPorts
- 96W PD
cons
- Video ports mean no downstream TB4 ports
- Few charging ports for devices
- Macs limited to two displays
Our verdict
Packed with ports for fast data transfers and generous video options, this Thunderbolt 4 dock offers plenty if you want up to four external 4K displays at 60Hz, but lacks powered USB and TB4 downsteam ports.
Price at review
$349.99
Best Prices Today: Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Multimedia Pro Dock
This Thunderbolt 4 docking station from Satechi is aimed at users who want multiple external displays and the most options.
Windows laptops can be connected to up to four monitors using the built-in DisplayPort and HDMI ports. MacBooks are limited to two displays, but you can choose between the video ports as you like.
The design is flexible, as the dock can be placed horizontally or vertically in the included stand. It’s taller than the stocky compact Caldigit TS4, but shorter than most of the horizontal docks we’ve tested.
We like the power button, which is a rarity on docking stations, despite the advice not to keep a laptop’s battery charged all the time. A power button means you can at least let that battery rest overnight.
Foundry
Specifications and Features
- One upstream Thunderbolt 4 port (40 Gbps, 96 W)
- 2x HDMI 2.1 video ports
- 2x DisplayPort 1.4 video ports
- Three USB-A ports (10 Gbps, 5.5 W)
- Two USB-A ports (5 Gbps, 5.5 W)
- One USB-A port (480 Mbps, 7.5 W)
- One USB-C port (10 Gbps, 7.5 W)
- 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet
- UHS-II SD card reader (320MBps)
- UHS-II MicroSD card reader (320 MBps)
- 3.5mm combo audio jack (front)
- 135W power supply
![Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Multimedia Pro Dock Displays](https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Satechi-Thunderbolt-4-Multimedia-Pro-Dock-dual-screens.jpg?quality=50&strip=all)
Satechi
It’s all about impressions
The Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Multimedia Pro Dock is big on displays – with four integrated video ports – and USB-A, but less so on Thunderbolt 4 and USB-C ports.
In fact, it’s the only one in all the Thunderbolt 4 docks we’ve tested because there are no downstream Thunderbolt 4 ports at all.
Thunderbolt 4 (TB4) docks have one upstream connection to the host (usually a laptop) and up to three downstream ports for other devices (TB4, TB3, or USB-C). Some TB4 docks specify one or two downstream ports to include one or two video ports, knowing that most users will use at least one to connect one or two external displays.
If you have a dedicated video port, you don’t need a special adapter to connect the TB4 port to your monitor, although Thunderbolt on a USB-C monitor is fine.
Going all the way, the Satechi Pro Dock offers two of each premium DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.1 ports, allowing for up to four external displays. Of course, if all those screens are HDMI, you’ll still need a couple of adapters.
Both HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 are high performance video technologies and are major improvements over docks that only offer HDMI 2.0 or DisplayPort 1.2. With these two video standards you get more monitors with higher resolutions.
A single connected display can be up to 8K (7680-x-4320) at 30 Hz. Make sure the cable also supports 8K. Two 4K screens can run at 60 Hz.
Indeed, all four displays can be at 4K 60 Hz if you connect a Windows computer.
Unfortunately, Macs are limited to only two external displays unless you install DisplayLink software drivers.
Windows supports Multi-Stream Transport (MST), allowing up to four screens in extended mode. The macOS supports Single Stream Transport (SST), so can output video in extended mode to only two screens, but it can mirror the other two, i.e. display the same screen as the laptop.
Because there are docks that are more suitable for two external displays, we do not recommend the Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Multimedia Pro Dock for Mac users. It’s certainly a flexible solution, giving Mac users the choice between HDMI and DisplayPort, but two of the ports will remain empty and we’d rather have one or two more Thunderbolt 4 ports instead.
For Windows users, the support for up to four displays makes this dock an attractive solution, especially with its other fast USB, SD and Ethernet ports.
![Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Multimedia Pro Dock ports vertically](https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Satechi-Thunderbolt-4-Multimedia-Pro-Dock-vertical-ports.jpg?quality=50&strip=all)
Foundry
Thunderbolt and USB weakness
While the video ports are top notch, the spread of USB and Thunderbolt is weaker.
First and foremost, the lack of Thunderbolt 4 docks means you can’t even plug in a Thunderbolt 4 hub to make up for the lack of 40Gbps connections.
10Gbps data transfer may be all you need, and the Multimedia Pro Dock has four of them, but three of them are old-fashioned USB-A. There’s only one 10 Gbps Type-C port, which seems a bit old-fashioned.
if you want more Thunderbolt ports, read our roundup of the best Thunderbolt 4 hubs and docking stations.
Given that the dock mainly offers great direct video options, we shouldn’t stick too much with USB and Thunderbolt, but the lack of Type-C ports is a compromise that has to be acknowledged.
Charging limited
Charging to the laptop is impressive at 96W, which is enough for even large laptops.
But only the front USB-A (2.0) port and the rear USB-C port can provide enough power to a connected device other than the laptop. And both are limited to 7.5W, which is fine for charging a phone and keeping a ride going, but not much else.
If there was a Thunderbolt port you’d be getting at least 15W from the dock, but most included USB ports are limited to a pretty weak 5.5W.
You also can’t use the dock to fast charge a phone. To be honest, if you want to charge your phone, forget about using the dock and choose a dedicated USB-C charger or USB-C phone charger.
The dock comes with a 135W power supply, so there’s at least some excess power, even if the laptop sucks almost 100W from it. However, the dock itself might require 25W, so a more powerful power supply would be needed if Satechi made the ports more device-friendly.
For the ultimate in device charging power, you can’t beat Caldigit’s TS4, which comes with a 230W power supply and a full range of USB ports capable of charging up to 20W.
The lack of charging ports only affects attached drives that need to draw power from the dock so if this isn’t a major factor for you then this charging limitation should steer you away from the Satechi Multimedia Pro Dock which has other benefits that outweigh this .
![Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Multimedia Pro Dock Ports Vertical Desk](https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Satechi-Thunderbolt-4-Multimedia-Pro-Dock-desk.jpg?quality=50&strip=all)
Satechi
Superfast Ethernet
The latest generation of Thunderbolt 4 docking stations moves beyond Gigabit Ethernet’s current dominance in wired network access.
The Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Multimedia Pro Dock—like the recent one Sonnet Echo 20Plugable Thunderbolt 4 & USB4 Quad Display Docking Station and Caldigit TS4—Features a 2.5Gb Ethernet port, which can provide up to 2.5x faster data transfer when connected to a supported network.
The main point here is that you’ll still get Gigabit Ethernet speeds unless you’re on a 2.5Gb or 10Gb network, and that’s not very common right now, but it’s appreciated as professional future-proofing and completely backwards compatible.
Portable storage
Once reserved for photographers, memory cards are now a very affordable way to add decent storage capacity to your laptop/dock setup.
Manufacturers charge a lot of money to install a high-capacity SSD in their laptops, so buying portable storage is a great way to save money and expand the functionality of your system.
A 512GB MicroSD card can be found for around $75/£75, although the price of memory cards is quite volatile.
Satechi has added the fastest UHS-II versions of both SD and MicroSD memory card readers, with some docks only having the larger SD variety and sometimes UHS-I. UHS-II is three times faster (312MBps) than UHS-I (104MBps).
Having both formats is useful if you frequently swap out cards of either format, but SD alone is fine, as common adapters allow MicroSD to fit into SD readers.
MicroSD is not only smaller, but also often cheaper at higher capacities.
Price
The Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Multimedia Pro Dock costs $349.99, which is cheaper than the $399.99 Caldigit TS4 and close to Kensington’s SD5700T ($369.99).
At the time of writing, it’s not available outside the US, but international versions are planned.
However, it is not correct to compare these docks. The Satechi TB4 dock is aimed at a different market: Windows professionals who need three or four monitors, rather than those with multiple Thunderbolt ports.
The TS4 does have one DisplayPort, so it works well with a single or, with one of the TB4 ports, a second 4K display, but if you want more monitors, the Satechi Multimedia Pro Dock is a more flexible solution.
Pronunciation
If you want downstream Thunderbolt 4 ports, this isn’t the dock for you, as the Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Multimedia Pro Dock is a solution for modern Windows-based professionals who need a multi-monitor setup. Support for four 4K displays at 60Hz is impressive, and four high-quality video ports let you plug right in without adapters.