Setup upgrade

Donut417 · July 20, 2022

I have what I call the bed setup. Basically I have an old 720p TV thats not smart. I use my MacBook Pro to make it Smart. Generally on Friday nights thru Sunday Ill have my Mac setup at my bed, because its my day off and I aint doing shit. Anyway I have cheap USB C adapter that does video out and a few USB ports and I have the power adapter connected. Im looking to simplify things to an extent.

I was looking at one of these: https://www.brydge.com/products/macbook-vertical-dock, I figure this might make docking the Mac easier. While my USB C adapter will work, Im wondering if a Thunderbolt dock would be worth it to pair with it? In the future Im probably going to end up with a 4K TV, mainly for a larger TV and more screen real estate, as Im used to dual ultrawides at my desk.

The next thing Im looking to do an upgrade my pointing apparatus aka the mouse. My current one the power slider is getting harder to toggle and Ive had it for like 10 years. I was looking at the Logitech G305, G703, Razer Deathadder Wireless with dock, Apple trackpad 2, or maybe a track ball. I use my mouse on my sheet for my bed, so sometimes tracking is a bit off. The big thing Im looking to do is have at least 3000 DPI if I could, thats what my gaming mouse at the desk has. For my keyboard I was just going to either use the spare Razer Blackwidow I have or use my Keychron K6 (wireless or buy another Type C Cable for it).

Additional info:

Im using the last gen Intel 2020 MacBook Pro with 4 Thunderbolt ports

The USB C adapter I have is like a $15 one that I got on Amazon during the prime sale, my Anker one died a few weeks back.

I got a $500 bonus, it should hit my account by Friday, so thats about what my budget is.

Other suggestions are welcome.

Roswell · July 20, 2022

There are two different kinds of docks out there. Some are like what you linked and basically just pass through the Thunderbolt which is great. Then you have the rest which break Thunderbolt out into all kinds of stuff.

If you consider docks like the latter, make sure they actually support HDMI 2+ with their USB-C/HDMI ports, otherwise you'll end up limited to 30Hz @ 4K. It's shocking how many docks have this limitation. Docks that support HDMI 2+ are definitely the exception, not the rule.

Donut417 · July 21, 2022

12 hours ago, Roswell said:

It's shocking how many docks have this limitation.

I find thats with most of the USB C docks, as there is limited bandwidth. With Thunderbolt specific Docks, you get everything. The big question is should I get a Thunderbolt 3 dock or get a Thunderbolt 4 dock In case I upgrade to something with Thunderbolt 4 in the future?