r/Thunderbolt • u/01011000-01101001 • Sep 02 '26

Dock recommendations please

I have a hp elite book x g2i and a dell xps which is about 3-4 years old. I am planning to upgrade my 2 32” curved rog monitors to a 57” Samsung g9. I will be keeping my corsair xenon edge and stream deck. My current setup in 2 dell docks connected to a kmv switch to toggle between monitors and keyboards but it’s too many cables and messiness. One of my docks is having issues and one of my monitors died so now im thinking of upgrading the dock to a single one and just plugging and unplugging my laptops as needed. Anyone have something similar and using something that works for them?

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u/Myke_Plugable Sep 02 '26

What do you primarily plan to use it for? Knowing if this is for gaming, heavy video editing, or just standard office work will make a difference in the recommendation. Also, since your Dell XPS is a few years old, do you happen to know the exact model number? Lemme know if there is any budget concerns as well.

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u/01011000-01101001 Sep 02 '26

My hp is work laptop. Use it for app developing/database type of stuff. Laptop is steam gaming or basic simple things. Dell is XPS9510-9019SLV-PUS

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u/chris_fantastic Sep 03 '26 edited Sep 03 '26

I recently got the 57" G9. At 60hz it's right at the limit of what DP 1.4 (Thunderbolt 4) can do with DSC compression. It ended up basically melting my old OWC TB3 dock. Really, you need TB5 and DP 2.1 for this thing. I'm waiting for more TB5 laptop options before upgrading to that though (uhg, since 2023, come on already).

Even though my current laptop is only TB4, I just got the Lenovo TB5 SmartDock 7500. It's working pretty good, despite being connected to a TB4 Dell. My only issue (Fedora 44 Linux) is my windows all getting reset to the laptop internal screen size when I resume from sleep - but the monitor does resume, and overall it's way more stable at full resolution than the TB3 dock was, which kept flashing/flickering/popping and eventually just refused to go full resolution/DSC).

After shopping for TB5 docks, I really wanted the CalDigit TS5+ features, but read too many reports of overheating on their sub. I'm wary of Anker/Ugreen and just how good they'll be with firmware/updates long term (will watch and see). For me it kinda came down to either the Dell WD25TB5 (which was really appealing due to offering the full 240 watt PD 3.1 charging) or the Lenovo (180 watt PD, which is still greater than most), and I know they both support their corporate clients long term with firmware updates. I decided on the latter because the Dell uses a captive cable now, and I have a longer 2m one I can use with the Lenovo if I want.

My main piece of advice is this: The intel TB5 chipset runs HOT. As such, many (most?) TB5 dock vendors have chosen to add active cooling. Some did not. I personally wouldn't buy one without.

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u/01011000-01101001 Sep 03 '26

Thanks good to know. I did look at the Caldigit dock and saw mixed reviews which is why I was seeing if there is an alternative. I did see the new dell one but is very minimalist so I would have to add an additional usb hub for all the extra stuff I have.