Plugable14-in-1 USB C Docking Station with 4X HDMI, Quad Dock with 100W Charging, 4X HDMI Displays, Compatible with Windows, Thunderbolt 3/4, USB-C (4X USB, 1x USB-C, Ethernet, SD Card, Audio)

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This Plugable 14-in-1 Quad Monitor docking station is designed for a very specific use case. It's made for those who use a laptop as their primary workstation rather than a desktop PC. If you use 3 or 4 monitors and need a lot of connectivity for your laptop, this thing works extremely well -- assuming you don't need 4k output and 1080p is enough.This docking station connects to your laptop via a single USB-C connection with up to 10 Gbps of bandwidth.Display Output:- HDMI 1 and HDMI 2 are via DisplayLink and support a maximum of 1920x1080 at 60hz. These two ports are HDMI 1.3 spec and do not support HDCP.- HDMI 3 and 4 are via Display Alt Mode and support a maximum of 1920x1080 at 60hz. These two ports are HDMI 2.0 spec and DO support HDCP.USB and SD Connectivity:- 1x USB-C port on the front of the dock, supporting a power output of up to 20 watts and 5Gbps data transfer (this is sufficient power to quickly charge your phone)- 4x USB-A ports on the back, each supporting a max of 7.5 watts output and 5Gbps data transfer (USB 3.0)- SD card reader supports up to SD 4.0 spec (UHS-II), and will support SD card speeds up to at least 160MB/sec transferEthernet Connectivity:- 1Gbps ethernet is supported, using the same chipset as the HDMI 1 and HDMI 2 portsAudio Connectivity:- All 4 HDMI supports can output 2-channel digital audio- There is a 3.5mm analog headphone jack- There is also a 3.5mm analog microphone jackPower Connectivity:- There is an external power supply (power brick) that provides up to 150 watts of power.- It can transfer up to 96 watts of power back into your laptop to keep it powered and charged- The front USB-C port can output up to 20 watts- Remaining power (~30 watts) is reserved to power the hub itself.- Note the USB-C cable between laptop and dock is pretty short (3.3 feet), it is meant to be kept close to your latop.As you can see it is a feature rich docking station. I would have preferred if you could sacrifice one or two of the HDMI ports in order to make one of them operate at 4k 60hz personally. But this is really made for people who need the 4 monitors and extra connectivity. If all of your monitors are 1080p this is an excellent docking station that should serve your needs well.

When I look at tech like this the first question I ask, and I don't mean it sarcastically; is "What's the point of this?"Meaning, what and who is this intended for? Is it necessary? What situations would I use this in, if any?This is essentially, a $435 charging station with the potential, not the guaranteed ability; to run four screens. Most of this depends on your laptop/pc and your screens.I run four screens daily for sim racing and in my music studio but I use dedicated PC's for them with high end graphics cards. I need all of them (3x27"@165hz/1ms response and a QLED 55" screen) to run at their maximum potential. Not at a watered down 30/60hz refresh rate. Since this uses Display Link, it runs independent of your GPU and thus, is limited to a very limited refresh rate and fps ability.You will not get high speed, low ms response times.This is essentially for opening up to four screens of Word, Excel, Powerpoint, or whatever. It's not meant to be a gaming device. It's not really meant to run 8k or 4k beyond 30 or 60hz.The USB C 3.1 Gen 2 port will charge your laptop with it's 100w (actually 96w) easily. The other USB C port will charge your phone, tablet or whatever. Yes, there are two card readers, but honestly; who stores anything on SD cards outside of cameras and even then, you're likely to already have transferred your photos and videos to your laptop/pc or a flash drive to show them to people. Card readers are not a selling point for me at least."14 Ports" is kinda embellishing things. You have four HDMI, two of which are Display Link capable, four USB 3, 2 USB C, and then they are counting the headphone/mic jacks and the two card readers. So, really...you have "10 ports" if you want to use that terminology.Now, since this requires some fairly up to date tech to run at it's full potential, more than likely your computer has DisplayPort on it which can run numerous screens all at their designated refresh rates and response times. Most onboard graphics like Intel, will handle the built in screen and one or two HDMI outputs depending on the build. So....do you need to spend that much money for functions your gear already does the majority of?Then there's the USB C question of "Can I play video from my phone/tablet to those screens?" Well....yes and no. You need to download a Display Link app that will detect if you are connected to a DL device and then....it's hit and miss. I used my very recent Android phone, the Display Link app, and could not run video to any screen. The only option is to get a USB C to HDMI adapter and even then, you're just mirroring your devices screen.Plugable are a reputable, well known company that make some great stuff. But in this reviewers opinion; this is a very niche market piece of kit that isn't going to be a lot of use to the average person.I myself, have no use for low refresh rate HDMI monitors. I already have four I can run off pretty much anything I already own.I guess it's really a question of how useful is this going to be for you. I can't say anything negative about the build quality or the functionality. I'm going to leave this one in your hands, kiddo.

The Good Parts- Well made- Supports up to 4 external monitors (2 via alt-mode, 2 via Displaylink).- Displaylink connections are plug and play on recent versions of Windows- 96W passthrough connection to charge your laptop- Second 20W Power Delivery USB-C port with 5Gbps support- Includes a 10Gbps USB-C 3.2 cableHit or Miss- Two of the video outputs requires Displayport Alt-Mode over USB-C, which not all computers support. If you don't have alt-mode support, you'll only be able to output to two monitors- The Display Link connections are USB and have some latency, so you definitely won't want to use either of those ports for playing games where latency matters. For non-gaming activities, however, they are perfectly fine- Video resolution is effectively limited to 1080p to each monitor. If you're using 1440p or 4K monitors, you will want to look at a different model. I was hopeful that I would be able to get 4K30 out of the Alt-mode ports, but that was not meant to be.- While compatible with Thunderbolt 3 and 4, keep in mind this is a USB dock, not a Thunderbolt dock. For most people that's not an issue, but for those who absolutely need a Thunderbolt dock, this is not it.- Depending on your computer,- Bland design- Designed for vertical use, does not have feet for horizontal use.- It's large, but light. Depending on your setup, you may prefer a heavier dock that isn't easily knocked over.- The included power brick is pretty sizableThe Not So Good Part- Pricey at over $400. Might not be worth it if you don't need four 1080p video outputs combined with the 96W charging.

Review:This is an easy product to like, and a very difficult product to like at the same time. It has immense pros and cons to the extreme.The good is the build and material quality, and that it's easy to use overall. It has the perfect amount of ports, charging was excellent and everything worked right away as soon as it was all plugged in. Very easy and intuitive to use.The bad is the absolutely insane price and the fact that it does not support 4k. For the price, I cannot believe that this only supports 1080p video. That is a massive con, considering a lot of people are buying 1440p and 4k monitors now. I personally don't even own a 1080p monitor anymore, so in order for me to use this, I had to adjust my monitors down to 1080p, something I would never practically do other than to test this product. The price is completely unjustified based on that. I would strongly recommend purchasing a different similar product for much less money, or only purchasing this on a big discounted sale.Pros 👍:✔ Easy to use✔ Material quality✔ Port optionsCons👎:✘ Price✘ No 4K supportScore:★ ★ ★Conclusion:I would not recommend this product at the current price