CalDigit TS5 Plus Leads Thunderbolt 5 Dock Review with 20 Ports and 10 GbE at $499

Tom's Hardware evaluated six Thunderbolt 5 docking stations to determine their capabilities and performance. The lineup includes models from CalDigit, Razer, WAVLINK, Ivanky, Hyper, and Orico. These docks represent the latest generation of peripheral hubs, offering significantly higher bandwidth than previous standards. The testing focused on port variety, data transfer speeds, and power delivery capabilities.

Sequential read and write speeds for internal SSDs varied across the tested docks.

The CalDigit TS5 Plus leads the pack with 20 total ports, including a 10 GbE Ethernet connection and a DisplayPort 2.1 output. It costs $499 and provides up to 240W of power delivery. The Razer Thunderbolt 5 Dock Chroma offers 1 GbE connectivity and an internal M.2 SSD slot for $399. It supports up to 120 Gbps of total bandwidth by allocating 40 Gbps specifically for video output.

Spec comparison

The WAVLINK WL-UTD58 serves as a budget option at $299, featuring 2.5 GbE Ethernet and an internal M.2 slot. The Ivanky FusionDock Ultra targets Mac users with 26 ports and dual Thunderbolt 5 chips for $650. The Hyper HyperDrive Next includes 2.5 GbE and an M.2 slot for $399. The entry-level CalDigit TS5 provides 2.5 GbE and three downstream ports for $399.

Sequential read and write speeds for internal SSDs varied across the tested docks. The Razer dock achieved approximately 5,627 MBps reads and 5,620 MBps writes. The CalDigit TS5 and TS5 Plus posted nearly identical results with just over 5,300 MBps reads and 5,520 MBps writes. These figures fall short of the theoretical maximum transfer rate of 6,200 Mbps cited by the manufacturers.

Tom's Hardware conducted the comparative testing of these hardware peripherals. The results highlight the trade-offs between port density, network speed, and price in the current Thunderbolt 5 market.