OWC Thunderbolt Dock Review: Most of the TS4 for Less
A Thunderbolt dock that does most of the premium job for less — with three specific omissions worth checking against your desk.
If you have read our CalDigit TS4 review and concluded that a Thunderbolt dock is what you need but not at that price, this is the article for you. OWC’s dock does most of the same job for meaningfully less, and the things it leaves out are specific enough to check against your own desk.
This is a research-based buying guide, not a hands-on test. Read our review standards.
The short answer
Buy it if you want one cable running your desk and you do not use memory cards. Eleven ports, 90 W of laptop charging, four Thunderbolt 4 ports and dual 4K display support, at a price well below the premium docks.
Three things it does not have: card readers, 2.5-gigabit ethernet, and a dedicated DisplayPort. If any of those matter, you are looking at the tier above.
What you get
| Port | Count | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) | 4 | 40 Gb/s. One is the host connection; three downstream |
| USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 | 3 | Up to 10 Gb/s |
| USB-A 2.0 | 1 | For keyboards, receivers and older peripherals |
| Gigabit Ethernet | 1 | 1 Gb/s, not 2.5 |
| 3.5 mm audio | 1 | Combo input and output |
Display support
Up to two 4K displays, or a single 5K, 6K or 8K panel, driven through the downstream Thunderbolt ports. There is no dedicated DisplayPort or HDMI connector, so a monitor with a DisplayPort or HDMI input needs a cable or adapter that ends in USB-C.
The three omissions, weighed honestly
No card readers
The clearest difference from the premium tier. If you shoot photos or video and offload cards weekly, you will need a separate reader — which partly eats the saving and adds a device to the desk. If you have not touched an SD card in years, this costs you nothing.
Gigabit rather than 2.5-gigabit ethernet
Less significant than it sounds for most people. Unless you have a multi-gigabit internet connection, a NAS you move large files to, and a router with matching ports, you will run at gigabit on either dock. This is a future-proofing gap rather than a present-day one.
No dedicated DisplayPort
A convenience gap rather than a capability gap. You can still drive two 4K displays; you just do it over USB-C rather than plugging a DisplayPort cable straight in. Budget for the right cable.
90 W versus 98 W
The premium docks deliver 98 W to the host. This one delivers 90 W. In practice that difference is small — both comfortably charge a 13 to 14-inch laptop under load, and both will charge a large 16-inch mobile workstation more slowly than its own higher-wattage adapter.
What matters more is that 90 W is well clear of the 60 and 65 W figures common on cheaper docks, which is the level at which a laptop under sustained load slowly discharges while plugged in.
Bus power, and why it is genuinely useful
The dock runs bus-powered from a Thunderbolt host, with the supplied AC adapter needed for full host charging. That flexibility means it still functions as a port expander without the adapter — useful if you occasionally take it somewhere, which is not true of most full-size docks.
Strengths and compromises
What it does well
- Four Thunderbolt 4 ports — unusual at this price
- 90 W host charging, well above budget docks
- Dual 4K or single 8K display support
- Three 10 Gb/s USB-A ports for existing peripherals
- A USB 2.0 port, which is the right place for receivers
- No drivers needed on macOS or Windows
- Works bus-powered without the adapter
What to think about first
- No SD or microSD card readers
- Gigabit ethernet only
- No dedicated DisplayPort or HDMI
- 90 W rather than 98 W to the host
- Needs a Thunderbolt host for full bandwidth
- Fewer total ports than the premium tier
Which dock, in one table
| If this is you | Buy |
|---|---|
| You offload camera cards regularly | A dock with UHS-II readers |
| You have multi-gigabit internet or a NAS | A dock with 2.5 GbE |
| You want one cable, two screens, wired network | This one |
| You need lots of USB-A for older gear | This one |
| You have a laptop, one screen, a few peripherals | A USB-C hub |
What we could not assess
We have not measured sustained throughput across simultaneous ports, thermals under load, or behaviour across sleep-and-wake cycles — which is the failure mode dock owners complain about most and the hardest thing to judge from a specification.
All figures above are OWC’s published specifications.
Frequently asked questions
Does it have an SD card reader?
No. Neither SD nor microSD. If you work with camera cards, either budget for a separate reader or choose a dock in the tier above.
Will it run two monitors?
Two 4K displays, or one 5K, 6K or 8K, through the downstream Thunderbolt ports — provided your computer supports that many external displays. Base Apple Silicon MacBooks are limited to one regardless of the dock.
Is 90 W enough to charge my laptop?
For most 13 to 15-inch laptops, yes, including under load. Large 16-inch workstations shipping with 140 W adapters will charge more slowly and may draw down slightly during heavy work.
Do I need Thunderbolt on my computer?
For full bandwidth and the display options, yes. It will work over USB-C but you lose the 40 Gb/s link. Without Thunderbolt or USB4, a cheaper USB-C hub makes more sense.
Does it need drivers?
No. It works natively on macOS and Windows with nothing to install.
Is gigabit ethernet a problem?
Only if your internet or local network is faster than a gigabit. For most households and offices it is exactly what the rest of the network runs at, so the faster port on pricier docks would sit idle.
- CalDigit TS4 — the premium comparison
- Anker 7-in-1 USB-C hub — the cheaper answer
- Samsung T7 Shield — fast storage for a spare port
- Ergotron LX — the monitor at the other end
- BenQ ScreenBar Halo 2 — USB-powered lighting
Sources. Port counts, power delivery, display support and networking specifications are from OWC’s published documentation for the Thunderbolt Dock. We have not tested this ourselves and do not claim to have.
Deciding between docks? See OWC Thunderbolt Dock vs CalDigit TS4 — and the one specification OWC wins.