With the Thunderbolt 4 Dock Chroma, Razer not only relies on adjustable RGB-LED lighting, but also on four Thunderbolt 4 ports via Intel's JHL8440 controller. Notebooks are charged with up to 90 watts via Thunderbolt and connected to up to two monitors with 4K60 or one 8K monitor and peripherals.
Table of contents
- 1 Razers RGB docking station with connections for 8K
- Technical details of the Thunderbolt 4 Dock Chroma
- The system requirements
- RGB- Bar with chroma effects
- 2 Power consumption, transfer rates and conclusion
- Power consumption
- Transfer rates in practice
- Conclusion
Razer's docking station for notebooks not only offers Thunderbolt 4, but also the Chroma RGB lighting known from the manufacturer. The Razer Thunderbolt 4 Dock Chroma can connect peripherals and monitors to the notebook with a single cable and, on top of that, synchronize the lighting across devices. In addition to the transmission of data and the image signal, the connected notebook is also charged with up to 90 watts, so that the notebook's additional power supply unit is also obsolete the Razer Thunderbolt 4 Dock Chroma competes with the two last tested docks, the Anker PowerExpand Elite 13-in-1 Thunderbolt 3 Dock (test) and the Corsair TBT100 Thunderbolt 3 Dock (test).
There are only minor differences in price between the three docking stations. The Anker PowerExpand Elite 13-in-1 Thunderbolt 3 Dock costs 299.99 euros * and, like the Corsair TBT100 Thunderbolt 3 Dock, is still at the level of the recommended retail price for around 300 euros. The RRP of the Razer Thunderbolt 4 Dock Chroma, however, is 329.99 euros. So far, the dock is exclusively available directly from Razer, it has only been listed in German online retail for a few days.
Technical details of the Thunderbolt 4 Dock Chroma
Next to the Thunderbolt 4 port for the notebook nine additional interfaces for monitors, storage media and peripheral devices are available.
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TB4 port for the notebook accessible from the front
In addition to the Thunderbolt 4 port for the notebook (source), there is a combined 3.5 mm audio port for headphones with an integrated microphone and a UHS-II SD card reader on the front. This has the advantage that the cable to the notebook, which is usually placed in front of the dock, is routed to the front. In the Thunderbolt 3 docking stations from Anker and Corsair, the source connection for the notebook is placed on the back, which usually ensures that the cable is first laid to the front – with the usually short ones anyway Thunderbolt cables may be wasted important centimeters.
Three additional TB4 ports via Intel's JHL8440
The peripherals and one or more monitors, on the other hand, are connected via the rear of the dock. There are three more Thunderbolt 4 ports available on this. All Thunderbolt 4 interfaces offer a transfer rate of up to 40 Gbit/s. Razer relies on a Thunderbolt 4 controller from Intel: the JHL8440. The maximum possible number of Thunderbolt 4 ports on the controller, which has only been available since the end of 2020, are being used by Razer. Two 4K monitors with a maximum of 60 Hz each or an 8K display with 30 Hz can be addressed via the Thunderbolt 4 ports on the back.
It was successful in the test address an external monitor with a native resolution of 2,560 × 1,440 pixels without any problems with the maximum supported refresh rate of 165 Hz.
On the back of the Razer Thunderbolt 4 Dock Chroma there is also a 1 Gigabit LAN port and three USB-A ports (USB 3.2 Gen 2), each with data transfer support up to 10 Gbit/s.
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Unlike Anker and Corsair, who use HDMI and/or DisplayPort, Razer either directly uses USB-C with DisplayPort Alternate Mode of the Thunderbolt 4 ports to connect the monitors, which makes an adapter superfluous, or else an appropriate adapter cable can be used. Suitable cables or adapters are available in stores for less than 10 euros. This makes the interfaces of the Razer dock more flexible, since no dedicated monitor ports have to be kept ready, but each connection can be used for storage devices, for charging smartphones or for connecting a monitor.
Since Thunderbolt provides a maximum of two independent display data streams via the connected notebook, use is limited to two external, independent monitors. The splitter can only output an identical signal to other screens. This is not a peculiarity of the Razer dock, but a general limit of Thunderbolt docks.
Up to 135 watts via external power supply
The connection for the power pack is also led away to the rear. The power supply, which measures 137 × 66 × 24 mm (W × D × H), provides a maximum of 135 watts. A connected notebook is charged with up to 90 watts, leaving around 45 watts for connected peripherals. The Razer Thunderbolt 4 Dock Chroma does not have an on/off switch. As soon as a notebook or other compatible device is connected to the source input, it switches on. The dock does not have a separate status LED for this purpose; switching on the RGB lighting also indicates operation. The dock cannot be used passively, i.e. without a connected power supply unit.
Aluminum -Dock in matt black
The Razer Thunderbolt 4 Dock Chroma is made of aluminum and has a matt black finish. The underside is almost completely rubberized, so that the dock has a secure hold and does not scratch the surface. Razer's logo with the three snakes is discreetly printed on the top. The dock itself measures 190 × 74.5 × 27 mm (W × D × H) and weighs 339 g. For comparison: Corsair's TBT100 measures 228 × 82.9 × 25.28 mm (W × D × H) and weighs 438 g. The Thunderbolt 4 cable supplied by Razer is 80 cm long and specified for up to 100 watts.
The system requirements
< p class = "p text-width">The Razer Thunderbolt 4 Dock Chroma is equally suitable for Windows notebooks or Apple's MacBooks that have a Thunderbolt 4 or 3 port and use Windows 10 or macOS 11.1 Big Sur. Apple's MacBooks with the new M1 processor are also supported, although only one video output can be used when connecting. In the test, there were no problems with the connection and support of the dock on either a Razer Blade Stealth 13 or a MacBook Pro 13. In a compatibility list, Razer has compiled which of its own notebooks can be used with the dock.
There is generally no need to install additional software to use the dock. All functions related to the connections can be used without any software restrictions after connection.
As with the other two docking stations, the Razer Thunderbolt 4 Dock Chroma does not act as an aggregator for connected storage media. These are recognized and displayed as individual drives on the Windows PC or Mac. Access to connected smartphones, which can be connected to a USB-A or USB-C compatible Thunderbolt 4 port without an adapter, is also possible via the dock.
After connecting to a Windows PC, the message that a Thunderbolt 4 device has been connected should appear. The Razer Thunderbolt 4 Dock Chroma will then appear as a connected device in the Thunderbolt Control Center. Depending on the settings, it may be necessary to enable the connection, whereby you can choose whether this should take place every time again or automatically in the future.
RGB bar with chroma effects
The RGB lighting is housed in a bar on the edge of the underside. The rubber on the underside of the dock creates a small gap that can be used to illuminate the area around the dock. The LED strip is placed on both sides and the front, the lighting does not emit to the rear.
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Without software, RGB is always on
If a notebook is connected, the RGB lighting always switches on immediately. Without further configuration of the lighting via the Razer Synapse 3 software, the “breathing” effect is permanently active, in which colors alternate and slowly fade in and out. This is important because Synapse 3 is only available for Windows 10 (64 bit). If an Apple MacBook is used on the Razer Thunderbolt 4 Dock Chroma, the LED lighting cannot be configured or switched off. If the operating system switches to idle mode, the lighting always goes out.
Adjustments via the Synapse software
If the dock is connected to a Windows notebook and Razer Synapse 3 is installed, the dock is displayed in the cockpit tab of the software. If you open it from here, you get to the accessories tab and the dock's audio settings, which can be used to control the audio volume. To adjust the chroma lighting, you now have to switch to the “Lighting” tab, which has two settings: the brightness and the effect. While the brightness can be set between 0 and 100, you can first choose from one of the predefined effects under “Quick Effects”. In addition to the static display of a color and the change of colors, it is also possible, for example, to select the “wave” effect, which conjures up a colorful, rotating play of colors on the underside of the dock. Depending on personal preference, the effects are quite successful.
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However, the user can let his individuality run free under the item “Extended Effects” when selecting the Chroma Studio. The LED strip is then divided into twelve areas that can be individually controlled and assigned effects – according to Razer, each of the twelve areas houses an LED that can be controlled individually. For example, only the front or only the two sides can be illuminated, covered with different static colors or both can be mixed.
In practice, however, this adaptation is limited by the fact that fields of the LED strip shine into other areas. An effect and a color cannot be rigidly limited to one of the twelve areas without affecting the adjacent areas. If, for example, only the two areas in the front center are selected and given a static color, they will shine the brightest. Nevertheless, the rest of the LED strip also shines in this color, albeit weaker. The possibilities that the individual control of the twelve areas initially suggests are therefore significantly less in practice.
If another accessory or a notebook is connected to the Razer Chroma Both devices are displayed in the Chroma Studio and can be placed on the surface of the actual arrangement on the table in order to synchronize their effects.
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On the next page: power consumption, transfer rates and conclusion