Thunderbolt (3) Hub?

[pchimbidis]

Hi all. Long time PT user, but just now doing a major upgrade, which includes a new MacBook Pro 15" and grabbing the latest version of PT. I have now received all of the things listed below, but I haven't set them up yet, as the new project studio room is still being built.

Apologies if this question is asked a bunch. I searched for keywords and didn't come up with anything directly on point, but I can't imagine people with MB Pros don't ask this all the time. Also apologies if this should be in a different section of the forum. I chose this since the Artist Mix units I got will be putting me well over my port limit.

I have 4 Thunderbolt-3 ports. I need to plug in:
1. Apogee Element 88
2. Power.
3. External monitor
4. iLok dongle
5. Thunderbolt --> Ethernet (for two Artist Mix units, which will be used via a Netgear unmanaged switch going into the MB Pro.)
6. External Thunderbolt SSD

In the time since I've been using PT11 on a now-old MacMini, I see that iLok has the internet option now, which, if I figure it out, would at least eliminate that dongle in one port.

I can obviously get a Thunderbolt hub, but my question is: what (if anything) is okay to gang through a hub, and what absolutely must remain in a dedicated Thunderbolt port?

Thanks in advance for guidance.

[Darryl Ramm]

Just about anything will work OK. Things you have to watch out for are chaining multiple high-resolution (e.g. 4K/5K Monitors) or high-end NVMe storage on a single Thunderbolt bus/chain. Apple specs the monitor capabilities pretty well.

Your MacBook Pro only has two Thunderbolt 3 busses, left and right side, each has two ports.

You likely should just get an OWC dock. https://www.owcdigital.com/products/...3-dock-14-port

[pchimbidis]

Excellent info. Thank you so much!

[ramonetl]

I originally had the OWC TB2 dock and it worked good but if you can daisy chain you dont really need a dock from what I have learned. Have you checked your path? I have all my UAD stuff plus a Raid5 OWC thunderbay chained and its great. Now the price gouging on cables is another matter...

[pchimbidis]

I did check that after reading your post, but it doesn't appear that anything I have can daisy-chain. All are one-port items.

I looked at the OWC TB3 dock and it looks amazing, but I decided to take a chance on the less expensive (and less versatile) Kensington dock. I got it just now and am trying it out, and, so far so good. As I said, I can't set up my full rig until the studio area is complete, so I'm testing things as best I can in a corner of my study. I've plugged in everything (MB, SSD, iLok, LG 5k Ultrafine) into the Kensington, and fired up PT--everything works just as it should. This weekend I'll unbox my two Artist Mix units and give them a try too. Basically I am running everything from the Kensington, which is using one of the TB3 ports. That way I can use the other TB3 bus just for the Apogee (which has a Scarlett interface coming into it via optical). I'll definitely report back if something goes wrong with this setup, but, the outlook is very positive right now.

Thanks again for the great advice!

[Drew Mazurek]

The Caldigit TB3 hub has been flawless here.

[ramonetl]

Originally Posted by pchimbidis

I did check that after reading your post, but it doesn't appear that anything I have can daisy-chain. All are one-port items.

I looked at the OWC TB3 dock and it looks amazing, but I decided to take a chance on the less expensive (and less versatile) Kensington dock. I got it just now and am trying it out, and, so far so good. As I said, I can't set up my full rig until the studio area is complete, so I'm testing things as best I can in a corner of my study. I've plugged in everything (MB, SSD, iLok, LG 5k Ultrafine) into the Kensington, and fired up PT--everything works just as it should. This weekend I'll unbox my two Artist Mix units and give them a try too. Basically I am running everything from the Kensington, which is using one of the TB3 ports. That way I can use the other TB3 bus just for the Apogee (which has a Scarlett interface coming into it via optical). I'll definitely report back if something goes wrong with this setup, but, the outlook is very positive right now.

Thanks again for the great advice!

I think you will like the artist mix I use one here but I will be upgrading to the S1 because I want the meter display and I already have a dock. It might be worth it for you to get a small hub to place near it to keep cables cleaner. I actually got a nice 16 port for a great price on amazon but I also have everything in a desk nice and neat.