DOCKCASE Explorer Edition USB C Hub (10-in-1) with 4K@60Hz HDMI & DP, Gigabit Ethernet,1 USB-C and 3 USB-A Ports,100W Power Delivery, UHS-II TF/SD Card Slot for MacBook Air/Pro,XPS,and More

The DockCase 10-in-1 has some extremely useful and unique features I have not seen in any other dock. Beyond aesthetics, it truly shines in portability and customizability. Since it sports a SOC, it goes beyond just providing information readout -- it offers advanced customization options. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for reliability and device compatibility as it is bar-none the best I have ever used. I rarely review products, but this is one that I think deserved my time. I'm an engineer and techie (hence the long review) and have always liked this company's products -- I already own a first-gen 6-in-1, which I bought several years ago as well as two DockCase NVME SSD enclosures (which can be hard to tell apart sometimes). I also bought my younger sister a Dockcase 7-in-1 as a gift when she went to college, which she has been using regularly. My initial intended use for this dockcase 10-in-1 was to use it at my desk, but I ended up taking it with me to use with my Laptop, Switch, & Steam Deck a few times already as it was a significant upgrade over my old dockcase 6-in-1, which I have now relegated to hooking up my Steam Deck in my bedroom. Power & Customizability: Unlike the first generation 6-in-1 dock which had a pinhole and required a paperclip or sim card tool to change settings/interact, the newer 10-in-1 sports a flush button that can be used to more easily navigate the display and change settings - which is a significant upgrade. It also has many more configurable settings and options. The LCD screen is not just for aesthetics. This dock allowed me to dig deeper into its behavior and make some useful tweaks - for example, the internal display's orientation can be changed to fit the dock's orientation on the desk. One feature I found to be useful is the ability to tweak how much power the dock is allowed to reserve for its ports when plugged into an external power source. The standard specification for USB A 3.0 is only 4.5W, which is what you will find on most motherboards, laptops, and other docks. However, this dock allows the user to directly set the maximum amount of power consumed by the dock itself - either to reduce consumption or allocate more for power-hungry peripherals. The USB-A ports can provide up to 7.5W, while the USB-C port can supply up to 15W. For me, this is a game changer. When hooked up to my desktop and an independent power source, I am able to reconfigure the dock to properly power my notoriously power-hungry X56 Hotas (flight) Controller over USB A. Previously, these controllers drew too much power from my mobo and would flake out. This could be equally useful for anyone trying to power external HDDs, displays, or keyboards over usb or on the go. Similar to my old 6-in-1, when hooking up a device for passthrough charging, the dock provides a readout as it negotiates a charging speed. I can see whether or not my device is being properly charged, which is kind of useful when using cheaper 3rd party bricks. Cheaper high-wattage GaN bricks have a tendency to throttle power delivery if they get too hot. The dock is able to monitor and display changes in power input if that happens. I have actually found faulty power bricks this way. Beyond this, there are a few other options for displays that I have found useful. When hooking my steam deck or laptop to a TV the dockcase helps with identifying the display and lets me know if my device is connecting at the resolution I desire or if the settings are off somewhere. This is pretty much the same as my old 6-in-1. Testing Bandwidth Saturation & Temperature Management An issue commonly seen in docks is bandwidth saturation, however I have had no issues with this dock. Unlike my old Dell DA300 that overheats, slows to a crawl, and disconnects when more than 3 ports are saturated, the DockCase dock stays pretty much icy cool to the touch, since the bottom acts as a giant heat sink of sorts - it also has a temperature readout. UHSII SD Card Reader The UHSII SD card reader is also a nice addition, since these days many docks and laptops tend to opt for cheaper UHSI options. Even when testing on a UHSI card, the increased bandwidth still makes a slight difference (+10mb/s) compared to the slot in my laptop. When testing the UHSII port, I used my Sony SF-G Tough UHSII SD Card, and compared it with the proprietary UHSII card reader I bought from Sony. The results were nearly identical, with the dockcase pulling ahead by about 5mb/s in reads. The Sony SD card reader I was using previously cost me ~$35 and only worked over USB A, requiring another dongle for use with USB C devices, so I am honestly really happy to have this feature on the DockCase, as it makes importing photos from my camera easier, especially when traveling. Portability and Build Quality The dock is slim and solidly built. It is far more rugged than it looks in photos, and is made of machined metal. The ports are solidly attached to the base board and held in place by metal clips (not glue). Additionally the lack of a permanently attached data cable is a huge plus. One thing I would like to see included is a sleeve of some kind (maybe with a pocket for holding one or two short cables). When traveling I threw the 10-in-1 in a thick PU sleeve meant for glasses, which I found to be more than sufficient for protecting the dock. When on the go, I also love the fact it fits perfectly in the pouch/cubby of my Steam Deck case -- with room to spare! Beyond this, the 10-in-1 is compatible with my Nintendo Switch, which is a significant upgrade over my old first generation 6-in-1. Things to Note: The dock did not come with a paper user guide, which I think would be helpful for anyone who wants to truly delve into its feature set and make full use of its customizability. As I mentioned previously, the dock did not come with a sleeve or carry case. DockCase seems to offer one separately, but it looked quite bulky. I was able to easily remedy this by using a PU sleeve meant for glasses -- which are like a dime-a-dozen on Amazon. Since I nabbed mine from my optometrist, I can't provide a specific recommendation. When lying flat on my desk, it can be a bit more difficult to read the LCD since it's parallel to whatever surface it is on. I think it would be cool if there was some sort of small stand, a magnetic mounting option, or under desk mount. I might try my hand at 3D printing something in the future if I have time. When using pass-through charging, this dock does not pass through the full 100W to a device, but eats some of that power (usually between 5-20W). So for example, if I use a 65W charger, I only have 40-60W output. Consumption of power like this is standard and still in-line with most high-end docks. Unlike other docks, power usage can be tweaked and configured through settings.

After a long time using the 8-in-1 version of this hub that costs about half the price, I absolutely love it. It has not had any problems and has met my expectations in every way insofar as any USB C hub could do. The case is still in nearly pristine condition despite my daily usage too, the anodized aluminum has held up rather well to my usage in the datacenter, at my desk and my home office. Most of my review is comparing it to the 8-in-1 model that I have been using from DOCKCASE for the past few months, so I'll boil it down to some simple pros and cons before diving into why. Pros: - Lots of ports options, great for wireless dongles and security keys that don't need high speed connections and having two displays for supported devices! - Build quality is on point as usual. - Rubber feet on bottom to keep it in one place. - SD Card support. - 10Gbit USB passthrough. Cons: - It is quite a lot larger than the 8-in-1, surprisingly so. - Doesn't have grooves on the back that let it slide together with the M.2 Enclosures (It's a fun feature of the 8-in-1!). - Ethernet port is upside down (Might be a pro for people who have stubborn boots on their connectors). The downsides of the 8-in-1 are that the limited options for getting multiple displays. Only having one actual port for displays was rather limiting in my new office as I now have 2 monitors like in my home setup. I also found myself needing to use MicroSD cards as we have recently been imaging Raspberry Pis and having an all-in-one dock finally made me purchase this one. The performance is just as good as the other, my M.2 enclosure from DOCKCASE works at full-speed and it supports the correct speed for the various MicroSD cards that I have tried while imaging them. Network speeds are as expected for gigabit networking and it worked out of the box with my Switch much like the smaller 8-in-1. The main differences that I found were that the HDMI output was immediately compatible with my capture card with no extra configuration needed, and that my Switch, MacBook Pro, and Steam Deck all had no issues using the capture card or my 21:9 1440p ultrawide. I was able to get both of my 1440p displays up and running using both ports on my MacBook Pro and honestly, I thought I wouldn't like that this one has feet, but it is quite a lot more stable on the desk, not wanting to shift very much when I move my devices around. Overall it's been a long day of running it through its paces but this one will definitely see a lot more use at work than my older unit, but I expect that it'll have similar longevity since its build quality is the same as all of their other products. One of the biggest upgrades is that you get full 10gbit passthrough to another USB device down the chain from either the blue USB A or C ports. I was able to test this using my M.2 enclosure and it works great!

The hub works well when it's working, but it is extremely finicky on startup and frequently fails to initialize either the laptop or monitor connection properly, resulting in the monitor periodically going black for a few seconds, and the laptop not charging. I find I have to use the button on the hub to reset it from time to time when it stops working properly. The only way I've found to make it work properly is to connect the power supply to the hub and wait 30 seconds to a minute for it to fully power up, then plug in the monitor's power cable, then plug the hub into the laptop, wait about a minute for the hub to initialize its laptop connection, and then boot the laptop. My setup: Dell XPS 9370, Dell P2524H monitor connected to hub over DisplayPort. I use a good quality USB C cable rated at 40gbps and 240 W to connect the hub to the laptop and a high quality DisplayPort cable. I tested using HDMI but the behavior of the hub was the same. Once it's all working it delivers what it promises, and has a large number of ports that I use for a webcam, wireless USB controller for mouse, USB keyboard, monitor and power supply.

If you use SD cards file transfer everyday, you need this. If only a few times a month, you better off with the cheaper 6-in-1 model.