Belkin Connect Thunderbolt 4 Core Hub review: Compact and well-priced

Best Prices Today: Belkin Connect Thunderbolt 4 5-in-1 Core Hub

$199.99

Forget about buying an expensive docking station. With its of mix of USB and Thunderbolt ports, the 5-in-1 Belkin Connect Thunderbolt 4 Core Hub might be all you need to expand your Thunderbolt laptop into a fuller desktop system with external displays and spare device-connection ports.

Thunderbolt 4 allows for hubs that can boast up to four of the super-fast 40Gbps Type-C connector which is backwards compatible with Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C.

With the right devices or adapters, this hub might be sufficient to add a couple of external displays and a high-speed storage drive.

Further reading: See our roundup of the best Thunderbolt docks to learn about competing products.

Belkin Connect Thunderbolt 4 Core Hub specs and features

The Belkin Connect Thunderbolt 4 Core Hub boasts four Thunderbolt 4 (all at 40Gbps data transfer and 15W device charging) and one USB-A 3.2 Gen.2 (10Gbps and 4.5W) port.

Calling it a “5-in-1 hub” is a bit of a cheat, as one of the Thunderbolt 4 ports will be used to connect data and power to your laptop, leaving three TB4 ports and the fast USB-A port. That could still be enough ports for many users.

• One upstream Thunderbolt 4 port (40Gbps, 96W)
• Three Thunderbolt 4 ports (40Gbps, 15W)
• One USB-A port (10Gbps, 4.5W)
• 150W power supply

Belkin

That range of ports is the norm for Thunderbolt 4 hubs. Larger, more expensive Thunderbolt 4 docks will have more ports, but if you just need a few extra flexible Thunderbolt/USB-C ports, a hub could save you both money and desk space.

The single USB-A port offers fast data transfer at 10Gbps but is underpowered for charging a connected device. 4.5W will charge a phone but very slowly, and is really only powerful enough to charge up your headphones, smartwatch, or wireless keyboard/mouse. The Thunderbolt 4 ports can charge at 15W.

The Belkin Core Hub comes with a generous external 150W power supply. The upstream Thunderbolt 4 port that connects to your computer can charge a laptop at up to 96W, which is the highest Power Delivery (USB PD) connection on a hub rather than a full docking station.

The hub is a bit light on connections with its single USB-A port, but all hubs except for one offer the same single USB-A port. No hub offers as many ports as the Caldigit Element Hub, which boasts four 40Gbps Thunderbolt 4 that can each charge at 18W and a blow-away-the-competition four 10Gbps USB-A ports (7.5W). Read our Caldigit Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 Element Hub review.

The many-ported Caldigit’s only limitation is that, despite its equal 150W power supply, its laptop PD charging power is limited to 60W.

60W power delivery is enough for a mid-sized laptop but not a larger 15- to 17-inch portable. A large laptop could remain charged on 60W but its battery would fade if in full use.

Belkin’s Core Hub fixes this limitation with its impressive 96W laptop-charging port. If you have a larger laptop and don’t need as many USB-A ports, the Belkin Core Hub makes more sense than the Caldigit Element Hub.

Foundry

Other options include the Sonnet Echo 5 Thunderbolt 4 Hub that can charge a laptop at 85W and has a more powerful 7.5W USB-A port than the Belkin, but maxes its total power output at 100W, compared to Belkin and Caldigit’s 150W.

Belkin’s Thunderbolt 4 Core Hub is not a docking station by strict definition—nor does it claim to be—but it can offer most of what a dock can when you add adapters.

For example, if you want a fast, stable wired network connection you could add an Ethernet adapter (Gigabit or faster) such as Ugreen’s USB-C to Ethernet Adapter for under $20 / £15.

You can connect two external displays to your laptop using the Core Hub’s Thunderbolt 4 ports. These would connect directly to monitors with USB-C ports, or you could add inexpensive USB-C to DisplayPort or HDMI adapters.

The two monitors could each handle up to 4K at 60Hz, or you could attach a single 8K at 30Hz.

That said, Apple’s plain non-Pro/Max M1 and M2 chip computers support just one external monitor. Check out our workaround solution for adding two screens to an M1 or M2 MacBook.

If you prefer a fuller docking station, take a look at our round up of the best Thunderbolt 4 docks, which also looks at alternative Thunderbolt 4 hubs.

Belkin

Thunderbolt 4 Core Hub design and build

Hubs with their own power supply can act as mini docking stations, and they are much more compact. The Belkin Core Hub measures 5.3 x 3 x 0.7 inches (135 x 75 x 18mm), which is a little longer and wider than the Caldigit Element Hub but still pretty petite.

The Belkin’s power brick is less chunky than the Caldigit hub’s but at the same mighty 150W total output.

We prefer the Element Hub for its upstream TB4 port neatly mounted on the side unlike most other Thunderbolt hubs, including the Belkin Core Hub, that situate it at the front. A front connection might make it slightly faster to disconnect but its an ugly solution when in use with the cable stretched out from the front.

The Belkin Core Hub ships with a 0.8m Thunderbolt 4 cable. This will connect the hub to your laptop, but you’ll need to buy extra cables if using the hub’s other ports.

Foundry

How much does the Thunderbolt 4 Core Hub cost?

The Belkin Connect Thunderbolt 4 Core Hub costs US$199.99 or £199.99.

That’s the same price as the multi-ported Element Hub from Caldigit, but remember the higher laptop charging power of the Belkin hub.

Should you buy the Belkin Connect Thunderbolt 4 Core Hub?

The Belkin Connect Thunderbolt 4 Core Hub is a compact and well-priced Thunderbolt 4 hub with fast connections that can handle as much as a small docking station. You can add up to two external 4K displays and still have one fast Thunderbolt 4 port free to add a fast storage drive or other USB-C device. Its 96W laptop-charging port is the most powerful we’ve seen on a Thunderbolt 4 hub.

You will find three more USB ports on the similarly priced Caldigit Element Hub but the Belkin wins out on its more powerful 96W PD laptop charging output that makes it a better choice for larger laptops.

This review originally appeared on techadvisor.com.