OWC introduces Thunderbolt 5 dock with two 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports

US manufacturer OWC is one of the first to launch a Thunderbolt 5 dock with two 10 Gbit/s Ethernet ports for Macs. According to OWC, if both ports are bundled, it is possible to access a network-attached storage (NAS) with a bandwidth of 20 Gbit/s (gross values), for example.

A further network connection with 2.5 Gbit/s is located on the front of the"Thunderbolt 5 Dual 10GbE Network Dock". Together with five Thunderbolt 5 ports and four USB 3.2 ports with 10 Gbit/s each, the dock is designed for use in live stream and video broadcast environments.

The dock also understands the Dante network protocol, which allows digital audio signals to be transmitted with low latency via Ethernet. It transmits high-resolution video and audio data via IP networks using NDI (Network Device Interface).

The Mac itself connects via a single dedicated Thunderbolt 5 port. If it is a MacBook Pro with M4 Max, it can operate four external monitors with a resolution of 6K (6144 x 3456 pixels) at 60 Hz or 4K (3840 x 3456) at 144 Hz via Thunderbolt 5, according to Apple. Apple device classes below this can not yet do this.

Other devices that do not require their host port can be linked via one of three possible daisy chains. Because the dock has its own power supply, all participants in such a chain can also draw their power.

The CD is not dead

At least if OWC has its way, because the dock supports the company's own Dock Ejector software. This should allow you to mount and unmount all kinds of mass storage devices and drives on the Mac, including the Apple SuperDrive, which can be used to read and write CDs and DVDs, thanks to the tool's associated driver.

The dock can already be ordered from the manufacturer's website for around 500 euros. However, it is currently only available in the USA.

(aki)