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expired Posted by turns2stone • Dec 25, 2024
expired Posted by turns2stone • Dec 25, 2024

Select Stores: Western Digital WD Black D50 RGB Game Dock (Thunderbolt 3)

& More In-Store Purchase Only

$50

$80

37% off
Micro Center
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Deal Details
Micro Center has select Western Digital WD Black Game Docks (Thunderbolt 3 Connectivity) for the prices listed. In-store purchase only.

Note: Availability for pickup may vary by location.

Thanks to Community Member turns2stone and SD Moderator Mbilo for finding this deal.

Available:Features (D50):
  • Multi-Port Gaming Connectivity
  • 2 x Thunderbolt 3
  • 1 x DisplayPort 1.4
  • 2 x 10 Gb/s USB Type-C
  • 3 x 10 Gb/s USB Type-A
  • 1 x 3.5mm Audio Input/Output
  • 1 x Gigabit Ethernet
  • Up to 87W of Passthrough Charging
  • Customizable RGB Lighting

Editor's Notes

Written by powerfuldoppler | Staff
  • About this deal:
    • This price is $30 lower (37% savings) than the list price of $79.99
  • About this product:
    • 5-Years Limited Warranty

Original Post

Written by turns2stone
Community Notes
About the Poster
Deal Details
Community Notes
About the Poster
Micro Center has select Western Digital WD Black Game Docks (Thunderbolt 3 Connectivity) for the prices listed. In-store purchase only.

Note: Availability for pickup may vary by location.

Thanks to Community Member turns2stone and SD Moderator Mbilo for finding this deal.

Available:Features (D50):
  • Multi-Port Gaming Connectivity
  • 2 x Thunderbolt 3
  • 1 x DisplayPort 1.4
  • 2 x 10 Gb/s USB Type-C
  • 3 x 10 Gb/s USB Type-A
  • 1 x 3.5mm Audio Input/Output
  • 1 x Gigabit Ethernet
  • Up to 87W of Passthrough Charging
  • Customizable RGB Lighting

Editor's Notes

Written by powerfuldoppler | Staff
  • About this deal:
    • This price is $30 lower (37% savings) than the list price of $79.99
  • About this product:
    • 5-Years Limited Warranty

Original Post

Written by turns2stone

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Top Comments

Every port on a Thunderbolt 4 device that isn't Thunderbolt (i.e. a path to support internal SSD) must share a single 10GBps slice of USB bandwidth.

https://www.owc.com/blog/whats-th...nderbolt-4
This is not common knowledge. But leave it to Intel to invent something and cripple it. Not the first time they have done it thinking it will win them market share.

We also have to thank Intel for HDCP whose sole purpose was to prevent some niche pirating that was not a huge problem. A shitty evil
Corp all around.
Whoa there cowboy! All of those (save for the Kensington) are standard USB hubs, not Thunderbolt!

Thunderbolt 3 docks inherently have 40Gbps of combined throughput for the ports, whereas those USB-C dock have 10Gbps of bandwidth shared among all of the peripherals, including display. If you're really pushing the limits with simultaneous heavy use of a 4K display, 1Gbps LAN and and attached USB device, you're going to run out of bandwidth.

Even more importantly, those hubs either don't come with a charger, and/or don't support pass-through charging. A Thunderbolt dock does both. And the Kensington supports 60w vs. 87w on this Western Digital.

In summary, you're not comparing apples-to-apples for those (cheaper) USB-C docks. If you're using this D50 dock with a MacBook (or even Mac mini), you'll get two independent video outputs.

I realize you're probably on Windows, but if you bought any of those for use with a Mac, that 'dual HDMI' would literally get you two identical monitor outputs, mirrored to each other.
EDIT - clarifying extended monitor support/mirroring.
EDIT #2 - the other nice thing about the D50 (compared to the cheaper docks linked) is the ability to add/change to a longer cable to your laptop/PC. Most of the hubs have permanently-attached cables, and they're typically short to reduce the chance of signal degradation.

124 Comments

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Original Poster
Pro
Dec 28, 2024
4,257 Posts
Joined Feb 2010
Dec 28, 2024
turns2stone
Dec 28, 2024
Original Poster
Pro
4,257 Posts
Quote from coppec :
Can this be used as a NAS? Just put an ssd in, plug the ethernet cable and ready to access data from LAN?
No. It doesn't have a CPU, nor the ability to load an OS.
Original Poster
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Dec 28, 2024
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Dec 28, 2024
turns2stone
Dec 28, 2024
Original Poster
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4,257 Posts
Quote from DJ_SAMMY_D :
Thinking of getting for my Mac mini m2 pro, for Time Machine backups and extra ports.. would not use for video, just because… same reason as would not use it for Ethernet..Originally going to buy plug able thunderbolt hubhttps://a.co/d/9YWYY8MThree 40gb thunderbolt 4 downstream ports is still niceVs 1 on the dock and the others are 10gb Then one of these enclosures with ssd for Time Machine backupshttps://a.co/d/bOEjjbQSo the $50 dock that puts both these things in one package with some caveats seems appealing.. still on the fence as the reviews seem hit OK but I feel like most complaints might be around it being non functional without an ssd in it or video issues
I have an older version of that Acasis enclosure (without the fan), and I also have a version of the Thunderbolt 4 hub (mine is from CalDigit, they're all based on the same reference design).

Having experience with all three, I think the D50 is the least compromised of any of them, and is by far the least expensive.
Dec 28, 2024
3,283 Posts
Joined Oct 2003
Dec 28, 2024
DJ_SAMMY_D
Dec 28, 2024
3,283 Posts
Quote from turns2stone :
I have an older version of that Acasis enclosure (without the fan), and I also have a version of the Thunderbolt 4 hub (mine is from CalDigit, they're all based on the same reference design).

Having experience with all three, I think the D50 is the least compromised of any of them, and is by far the least expensive.
Thanks for some confirmation

Soo the drive this supports is M.2 2230 NVMe ?
Max size for this kind of drive is 2TB ?
Any brand will work? Best price so far is this one https://a.co/d/6Wf0nTw
Original Poster
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Dec 28, 2024
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turns2stone
Dec 28, 2024
Original Poster
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Quote from DJ_SAMMY_D :
Thanks for some confirmation Soo the drive this supports is M.2 2230 NVMe ?Max size for this kind of drive is 2TB ?Any brand will work? Best price so far is this one https://a.co/d/6Wf0nTw
Why would you get a 2230? It would need an adapter. Get a 2280. Way more options, cheaper.
Dec 28, 2024
3,283 Posts
Joined Oct 2003
Dec 28, 2024
DJ_SAMMY_D
Dec 28, 2024
3,283 Posts
Quote from turns2stone :
Why would you get a 2230? It would need an adapter. Get a 2280. Way more options, cheaper.
I assumed since I don't have it in My hand that it only supported 2230 due to size.. cool if it supports 2280 which can be 4tb (albeit pricey)
Original Poster
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Dec 28, 2024
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turns2stone
Dec 28, 2024
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Quote from DJ_SAMMY_D :
I assumed since I don't have it in My hand that it only supported 2230 due to size.. cool if it supports 2280 which can be 4tb (albeit pricey)
Here's a good reference video for the SSD installation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHXn0awHBfQ
The documentation says it only supports up to 2TB, but I have a hunch that's erroneous.
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Mbilo
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Quote from turns2stone :
Here's a good reference video for the SSD installation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHXn0awHBfQ
The documentation says it only supports up to 2TB, but I have a hunch that's erroneous.
I also take it as a promising sign that Sandisk has a listing for a 4tb model (even if it's not actually available for purchase).
https://shop.sandisk.com/products...40BBK-EESN

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Dec 28, 2024
30 Posts
Joined May 2016
Dec 28, 2024
mazda3ndp
Dec 28, 2024
30 Posts
Thank you again! Purchased one yesterday. This cleaned up the nest of usb hubs. One cord to my m4 pro mbp. Sooooo clean

Things that might be of value… the case opens easily (4 screws), inside an unpopulated nvme slot. I stuck a 4tb nvme and it works flawlessly. I couldn't seem to get the DisplayPort, but it works fine using a usbc to DisplayPort cable (5120x1440 @240hz).
2
Dec 28, 2024
745 Posts
Joined Sep 2011
Dec 28, 2024
trylifik
Dec 28, 2024
745 Posts
I currently have a custom PC but I'm running low on my SSD memory due to a lot of games I've downloaded.

Is my best option just to upgrade the SSD itself internally or can I just easily buy something external and plug it in? Feel like the latter option is less hassle where I wouldn't need to open up the computer too.
Dec 29, 2024
50 Posts
Joined Aug 2021
Dec 29, 2024
Funkatron82
Dec 29, 2024
50 Posts
Just got this from the Dallas Microcenter it does run hot. On the intake vent there is a metal plate with holes that seems to be obstructing the airflow. I was able to disassemble the unit and remove the plate. I'm running it now to see if that helps with the temps and I'll keep you guys updated
Original Poster
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Dec 29, 2024
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turns2stone
Dec 29, 2024
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Quote from trylifik :
I currently have a custom PC but I'm running low on my SSD memory due to a lot of games I've downloaded. Is my best option just to upgrade the SSD itself internally or can I just easily buy something external and plug it in? Feel like the latter option is less hassle where I wouldn't need to open up the computer too.
Truthfully it's probably just as easy to open up your PC and install an SSD as it is to open up this enclosure and put the SSD in. Both are about 2/10 on the difficulty scale, it would be really hard to mess something up (in either situation).
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Dec 29, 2024
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Dec 29, 2024
Tarkov
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Dec 29, 2024
1,089 Posts
Quote from turns2stone :
Truthfully it's probably just as easy to open up your PC and install an SSD as it is to open up this enclosure and put the SSD in. Both are about 2/10 on the difficulty scale, it would be really hard to mess something up (in either situation).
If their PC is like mine, they may only have 1 M.2 slot, or have all of them populated already.
My m.2 is my boot drive so when I upgraded from a 128gb to a 1tb, I bought an enclosure to try to clone it (that was an awful experience btw and almost totally fragged my boot drive, don't use externals to clone)
Dec 29, 2024
19 Posts
Joined Aug 2019
Dec 29, 2024
FabulousCaribou551
Dec 29, 2024
19 Posts
Just picked this up from Micro Center. Mine has a burnt electronics smell out of the box. It works though. Anyone had a similar problem?
Dec 29, 2024
50 Posts
Joined May 2008
Dec 29, 2024
jackuiowa
Dec 29, 2024
50 Posts
Quote from FabulousCaribou551 :
Just picked this up from Micro Center. Mine has a burnt electronics smell out of the box. It works though. Anyone had a similar problem?
Was it opened? Mine was sealed up

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Dec 29, 2024
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Dec 29, 2024
cockadoodle
Dec 29, 2024
2,136 Posts
Quote from FabulousCaribou551 :
Just picked this up from Micro Center. Mine has a burnt electronics smell out of the box. It works though. Anyone had a similar problem?
That is a feature....

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