If you own one of Apple's latest Mac mini or MacBook Pro models with M4 Pro and M4 Max processors, you may be interested to learn that CalDigit today announced its first Thunderbolt 5 product, the Element 5 Hub.
The Element 5 Hub boasts nine ports, including four Thunderbolt 5 ports capable of up to 120Gb/s bandwidth, two USB-C ports at 10Gb/s, and three USB-A ports also running at 10Gb/s. The hub delivers consistent 90W charging to host devices, regardless of connected peripherals, thanks to its compact 180W power supply.
Display support includes dual 8K monitors at 60Hz or dual 4K at 240Hz refresh rates, leveraging Thunderbolt 5's new Bandwidth Boost feature. CalDigit notes that Windows machines can handle up to three displays through a single Thunderbolt 5 connection, but unfortunately Mac users are limited to dual displays due to macOS limitations, even when using Apple's latest M4 chips.
The hub doubles PCIe bandwidth to 64Gb/s compared to its predecessor, allowing it to accommodate faster storage devices. Meanwhile, power delivery remains stable at 90W for host charging, with 15W available from each downstream Thunderbolt 5 port and 7.5W from USB ports.
The Element 5 Hub is available now direct from CalDigit in the United States for $249.95, with UK and EU availability expected in mid to late February 2025. Pricing is set at £249.99 in the UK and €249.99 (minus VAT) in the EU.
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Hey, I'm the CalDigit Community Manager. The macOS limitations (I assume in regards to the lack of triple monitor support), is a hardware limitation of current M4 computers to my understanding. No Thunderbolt 5 dock will be able to drive triple monitors on macOS until there's an update to allow it.
Why are we not talking about this snippet from the product page?
Many docks and hubs are not compatible with the Apple SuperDrive since it requires extra power from the connected USB port. In fact Apple recommends to connect it directly to a computer. CalDigit has solved this problem by creating a driver that will allow the SuperDrive to work through the Element 5 Hub.
This is huge! (for the dozens of people that care ?)
I don't usually do this (check my post history if you want to), but when I was looking for thunderbolt hubs a while back, the only one that worked well and consistently was CalDigit.
The Element 5 Hub boasts nine ports, including four Thunderbolt 5 ports capable of up to 120Gb/s bandwidth, two USB-C ports at 10Gb/s, and three USB-A ports also running at 10Gb/s.
The Thunderbolt 5 ports should be able to also support USB 3.2 gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) when connected to an Intel Thunderbolt 3 Mac. For Apple Silicon Macs, to get USB 3.2 gen 2x2 (20 Gbps), you need to disable USB tunnelling by placing a Thunderbolt 3 device between the Mac and the hub but that would bottleneck the performance of the Thunderbolt 5 ports - limiting them to 40 Gbps.
I like that this has one more port than the CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Element Hub, two USB-C ports replacing a USB-A port.
Why there are MacOS limitations?
Because Apple did not give the Apple Silicon Thunderbolt 5 host controllers 3 DisplayPort inputs like the Intel Thunderbolt 5 host controllers have.
And why USB-A ports when all the shiny things now are made with USB-C.
Because some devices may still be USB-A. 5 out of 8 ports is not bad.
