Docks, however small, can be incredibly useful. They expand what you can do with your computer by enabling you to connect multiple devices and enhancing the functionality of your machine. The Razer USB-C Dock is a prime example of this. Its simplicity of use, requiring just a single cable and no need for AC power, makes it extremely portable. It slips easily into the side pocket of your backpack or camera bag without adding bulk.
Using the dock is straightforward—it’s essentially plug-and-play. Rather than plugging a hard drive, SD card, or monitor directly into your laptop, you can plug them into the hub, which handles data transfer. Of course, there is a slight payoff; using multiple ports on your laptop can cause some slowdown when transferring files from an SD card to an SSD, for instance. All that data needs to flow through one single cable, and despite being USB Type-C, you might notice a slight slowdown, which was reflected in our benchmark tests.
However, the sheer volume of ports available is a significant advantage. You realise that downloading multiple files from multiple devices simultaneously requires some trade-off, and this USB hub is no exception. The transfer potential is impressive, especially considering this is a USB Type-C device and not a Thunderbolt device. Some transfer speeds are slower than when plugging directly into a Thunderbolt port, but this is expected.
In real use, the dock performed well with a Lexar Armor 700 drive attached. Editing video in Final Cut Pro and DaVinci Resolve with 4K footage shot on a Canon EOS R5 C was smooth and fluid. There were no noticeable frame drops or delays waiting for the drive to catch up. The performance was similar to when the drive was connected directly to the computer. Similarly, copying files from an SD card to the Lexar SSD was fast, although there was a noticeable slowdown compared to using the built-in card ports of the MacBook Pro, something that highlighted that a little more investigation would be needed when multiple demands were made on data transfer through the hub.
Connecting the dock to an HDMI monitor was simple. It worked flawlessly with a monitor, projector, and even a TV for a presentation. In all instances, the MacBook Pro instantly recognised the display, functioning as if it were connected directly rather than through the hub.
During use, the dock got slightly warm but never overly hot. The metal case effectively dispersed the heat, even under heavy load, with plenty of data and display information travelling through it.
This dock is a great solution for everyday work on your computer—whether image editing, light video work, or general productivity tasks that don’t require the high speeds of Thunderbolt 4. You can leave it connected to your monitor, network, and accessories, ready for when you return home. This setup saves time as you don’t have to plug in all your devices repeatedly. Just slot the USB cable into your laptop, and you’re good to go. For a home or studio solution that’s lightweight and relatively inexpensive, this USB-C dock is excellent.
Overall, the performance was impressive. There was a slowdown when using SSD drives and SD cards through the hub compared to directly plugging them into the MacBook Pro, but this was expected, and you can see the effects of the slow down in the results below. However, the performance reached was still impressive and more than enough to satisfy most videographers and photographers due to the absolute convenience it brings.
Benchmarking tests reinforced what was observed during real-world testing. The performance varied depending on the technology and data transfer speeds of the connected devices. Here are the benchmark results for a clearer idea:
Lexar Armor 700 (SSD)
Direct: Read: 937MB/s, Write: 792MB/s
Through Hub Type-C: Read: 873MB/s, Write: 818MB/s
Through Hub USB 3.2: Read: 896MB/s, Write: 374MB/s
Through Hub USB 2.0: Read: 38MB/s, Write: 33MB/s
Lexar Silver Pro 512MB/s UHS-II (SD Card)
Direct: Read: 228MB/s, Write: 134MB/s
Through Hub: Read: 70MB/s, Write: 48MB/s
Lexar 1066x 128GB UHS-I (SD Card)
Direct: Read: 86MB/s, Write: 75MB/s
Through Hub: Read: 89MB/s, Write: 72MB/s
Samsung Pro Ultimate 512GB UHS-I (MicroSD Card)
Direct: Read: 89MB/s, Write: 79MB/s
Through Hub: Read: 90MB/s, Write: 74MB/s
Dual data transfer test – this sees transfers to an SD card and SSD at the same time through the Dock:
Lexar 1066x 128GB UHS-I (SD Card)
Through Hub: Read: 54MB/s, Write: 37MB/s
Lexar Armor 700 (SSD)
Through Hub: Read: 35.6MB/s, Write: 91.8MB/s
Overall, these results show how impressive the dock is with very little slowdown in transfer speeds. When it came to the SSD, which was already throttled in speed by the MacBook Pro’s Thunderbolt 4 to USB 3.2 Gen2x2, going through the hub made very little difference to the performance compared to when attached directly. Similarly, with the SD and microSD cards, the SD card reader’s limitation to UHS-I speeds was the primary bottleneck, not the dock itself.
The Razer USB-C Dock performs well, making it a superb solution for videographers and photographers looking for a neat and simple way to expand their laptop’s port offering.