Razer Thunderbolt 5 Dock overview

Finest Costs Immediately: Razer Thunderbolt 5 Dock Mercury

$389.99

You in all probability know Razer as a model catering to PC avid gamers, however in recent times, the corporate has branched out with extra understated fare aimed in direction of professionals and creatives. That’s the case with the Razer Thunderbolt 5 Dock, and whereas it nonetheless retains some components of the gamer aesthetic, it seems surprisingly at dwelling on a Mac lover’s desk.

Razer has supplied docks with Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 connectivity earlier than, however that is its first foray into the world of Thunderbolt 5. Priced at $390 for the Mercury colorway examined right here (or $400 for the Black version with RGB lighting), this machine helps you to plug in all kinds of peripherals with only a single Thunderbolt 5 cable going into your Mac (Razer features a braided Thunderbolt 5 cable within the field). Not solely does that liberate ports in your pc, nevertheless it reduces cable muddle in your desk–offering you possibly can conceal the cables popping out of the again of Razer’s dock, after all.

Razer Thunderbolt 5 Dock: Design

Earlier than we get to all that wealthy connectivity, it’s price exploring the dock’s feel and appear. The very first thing you’ll discover when unboxing Razer’s machine is its stable, sturdy development. It’s constituted of anodized aluminum, and there’s completely no give or bend wherever you look–reassuring contemplating what number of occasions you may bump it with cables and connectors all through the day. There’s a rubberized pad on the underside to maintain it from slipping, and it weighs in at a hefty 522g, based on our scales.

I reviewed the Mercury mannequin, which is an identical shade of silver to Apple’s desktop Mac vary. There’s a Razer brand printed on high, with honeycombed vents on the left and proper edges which might be considerably harking back to the Energy Mac G5’s entrance grille. Each port (bar the SD card slot, which is on the right-hand aspect) is situated on the again of the dock, giving a seamless look in your desk when seen from the entrance. There’s not even an influence indicator gentle. Should you’re searching for one thing that can mix in together with your current Apple equipment, Razer’s dock suits the invoice.

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The downside of this unobtrusive look is that you just’ve acquired to fiddle round behind the dock each time you need to add or take away a connection. You’ll need to think about how usually you’re seemingly to try this every day before you purchase.

And don’t be fooled into pondering that the minimalism extends to each side of Razer’s dock. Its energy brick is a monstrosity, as giant because the dock itself and weighing virtually double, tipping the scales at 937g. You’ll have to cover it out of sight if you wish to preserve the low-key phantasm.

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Solely the black model comes with built-in RGB lighting on the underside. The silver mannequin lacks lighting altogether, although which may not be an issue should you favor an understated look.

Razer Thunderbolt 5 Dock: Options

The primary attraction of this dock over older fashions is the inclusion of Thunderbolt 5. This grants you information switch speeds of as much as 120Gbps, which is way over the 40Gbps that Thunderbolt 4 tops out at. Should you want speedy switch charges, that is an on the spot profit.

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That provides you loads of connectivity, though some rival docks provide extra. Additionally be aware that the USB-A ports are a bit of tight when connecting peripherals, although the opposite slots are high-quality.

The inclusion of gigabit ethernet is a bit of disappointing, because it’s not unusual to see Thunderbolt docks pack in an ethernet jack with speeds of as much as 2.5Gbps and even 10Gbps. Whereas not everybody has entry to 2.5Gb ethernet or sooner, together with a port of that pace helps so as to add a level of futureproofing.

Along with these ports, Razer’s machine has an additional get together trick: a built-in M.2 SSD slot able to dealing with drives as much as 8TB in dimension. You’ll discover this on the underside of the dock: elevate away a hatch and also you’ll see a 2280 M.2 SSD connector that’s able to blazing PCIe Gen 4×4 speeds. That’s an ideal increase to Macs, the place upgrading storage post-purchase is notoriously tough (or inconceivable). It means there’s no want for a clunky exterior storage drive taking over much more area in your desk, as you will get the enlargement you want built-in into the dock itself.

These aspect grilles talked about earlier have a sensible use as warmth exhaust factors for the machine. Razer has constructed an lively cooling fan into the dock to maintain it from throttling and overheating, and in apply, that is positively noticeable and a bit of distracting. Hopefully, you received’t hear it too usually, nevertheless it’s not the quietest fan on this planet.

There’s additionally 140W of Energy Supply, which is sufficient to cost up even the beefiest 16-inch MacBook Professional. Razer advised us the dock adjusts its output wattage primarily based on what you hook as much as it, so an iPhone 17 will obtain 40W, for instance. Every machine will get the utmost quantity it could actually deal with, so that you shouldn’t want to fret about any sluggish trickle charging.