Can docks damage computers?

MrMitty · July 31, 2022

I just watched Linus' showcase of the CalDigit TS4. I have a 2019 16" Macbook Pro and I'm thinking about getting a dock. Right now, I have 2 non-powered dongles that provide ethernet and USB connections for my mouse, keyboard, webcam and drives. I tried to split up the workload so that one port doesn't handle all the data. Is this a good strategy or irrelevant since there are two TB3 controllers on the 2019 MBP 16, one on each side. So, does it matter how many items I plug into each port on each side?

The reason why I ask is that I noticed that the dongle that has the ethernet connection gets very, very hot. Currently, I provide power to my Mac via one of the dedicated TB3 ports. This leaves one TB3 port free that I can use to spontaneously hook up things like my TimeMachine backup drive. So, if I were to get this dock, would the port get even hotter since more data and power would be moving through the same port? Or should I keep things the way they are?

Thanks.

PineyCreek · July 31, 2022

Does the heat follow the dongle, or does it go away if you swap the dongles between the ports?

MrMitty · July 31, 2022

22 minutes ago, PineyCreek said:

Does the heat follow the dongle, or does it go away if you swap the dongles between the ports?

I have not tried swapping ports - I will tomorrow after my computer is on for some time. Should I try one of the ports on the other side or just swap between the same side?

PineyCreek · July 31, 2022

Try both. I don't know the internal construction of your computer, but at least with testing you can tell if it seems to be the dongle, or a port, or the board the ports are on, etc. If it's the dongle, maybe investigate the model to see if other people report the same thing. If it's a port, see if other things (that you don't care about that much) also cause the port to heat up for example. After that, make a decision based on what you know or raise a trouble ticket with whatever company is involved with what you think is the problem, or check their forums if they have them.