I’ve used Thunderbolt docks for nearly a decade at this point, going all the way back to my 2016 15-inch MacBook Pro when Apple finally went all-in on USB-C. I’ve spent the past few weeks with Razer’s all-new Thunderbolt 5 Dock Chroma, and this is the best Thunderbolt dock I’ve ever used—with two catches.
8/10
- Ports
-
10
- USB Power Delivery
-
Yes, up to 140W
- Power supply included
-
Yes
- Max display res.
-
8K 60
The Razer Thunderbolt 5 Dock is a high-performance docking station that can support triple 4K displays at 120Hz. It also offers ultra-fast data transfer speeds up to 120Gb/s, and expands storage with up to 8TB SSD capacity.
- Up to 140W Power Delivery charging
- Built-in NVMe slot for up to 8TB storage
- Ample Thunderbolt 5 ports
- UHS-II SD slot
- Active cooling
- No naive display outputs, have to use USB-C or Thunderbolt connections
- No multi-gig Ethernet port
Price and Availability
The Razer Thunderbolt 5 Dock Chroma costs $399.99 and is available to purchase at Amazon, Best Buy, MicroCenter, and directly from Razer.
- Ports
-
10
- USB Power Delivery
-
Yes, up to 140W
- Power supply included
-
Yes
- Max display res.
-
8K 60
- Price
-
400
- Supported HDD sizes
-
8TB
Razer Almost Nails the Ports
Thunderbolt hubs are typically designed to be an all-in-one solution for adding ports to your computer and providing power/data over a single cable. The Razer Thunderbolt 5 Chroma dock does accomplish this, but it leaves me with a few wants.
Let’s start out with what I like about this dock. Outside of the upstream Thunderbolt 5 port, which supports up to 140W of Power Delivery (thanks to the active cooling in the dock), you’ll find three more Thunderbolt 5 ports, two USB-A and one USB-C ports (all at 10Gb/s), a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a UHS-II SD card slot.
Overall, I am extremely pleased with the port selection of Razer’s Thunderbolt Dock 5 Chroma. I love how many Thunderbolt 5 ports it has, especially.
I have two issues with the port selection, however. First up is the lack of dedicated display outputs. The dock does support three 4K screens at 144Hz, and can even handle 4K 240Hz or 8K 60Hz when using fewer displays. However, those screens have to be plugged in via a USB-C cable to one of the Thunderbolt ports, meaning you can’t use traditional HDMI or DisplayPort connections.
While this isn’t the biggest issue, if you have more than one USB-C peripheral you want to use with the dock, then you’ll quickly be limited in the number of displays that can be hooked up.
My other gripe with Razer’s latest Thunderbolt 5 Dock Chroma is the lack of multi-gig Ethernet. The built-in Ethernet jack is gigabit speed. While this is still the industry standard for networking, this dock has the bandwidth and capability for at least 2.5Gb/s Ethernet, even if there’s no 5Gb/s or 10Gb/s networking due to price.
I really would have liked to see at least 2.5Gb/s networking though. I ended up having to use my 2.5Gb/s Ethernet adapter (that’s USB-C, taking up one of the Thunderbolt 5 ports) in order to add multi-gig networking to my MacBook.
Truthfully, outside of the lack of native display outputs and faster networking, I think Razer nailed the rest of the port lineup. The inclusion of a UHS-II SD slot is great for those who need that, and the amount of Thunderbolt 5 ports available is more than enough for most people.
Underneath the Razer Thunderbolt 5 Dock Chroma you’ll find a removable cover that reveals a PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD slot. The storage slot is actually PCIe 4.0×4, giving you the ability to enjoy over 7,000MB/s transfer speeds.
Installing a NVMe drive (which you have to provide yourself, as the dock doesn’t include any storage) is actually extremely easy. The bottom simply pops off, and then you insert the drive. The rear post pivots so you can lock the M.2 drive in without any tools. I really wish other manufacturers would adopt this method of NVMe installation, as it’s easy and painless. I hate dealing with (and losing) M.2 screws when installing drives in my desktops or laptops.
With a WD_BLACK SN7100 NVMe drive in my dock, I was only able to achieve around 3,400MB/s transfer speeds (even though the drive is rated up to 7,250MB/s). After talking with Razer’s PR team, this is due to the fact that I’m using the dock with my Thunderbolt 4/USB4 M1 Max MacBook Pro and USB4 Windows desktop. However, you have a newer Thunderbolt 5-enabled machine, you should be able to achieve full speed transfers without an issue.
Thunderbolt Share Makes This Dock Even More Versatile
Thunderbolt Share is a newer technology released by Intel in 2024. All Windows PCs support Thunderbolt Share, so long as one device in the chain has a license—which the Razer Thunderbolt 5 Dock Chroma has.
With Thunderbolt Share, you can have two computers hooked up and share files, documents, display, or even a keyboard and mouse between the two systems. While I don’t have the machines to test Thunderbolt Share connectivity, my next Windows laptop will definitely support Thunderbolt 5 and enable me to use this.
If you’re not sure how Thunderbolt Share could change your workflow, let me paint a picture for you. You’re a creative that just got back from a multi-day photo or video excursion and have hundreds of gigabytes of footage on your laptop. Normally, you’d move the files from laptop to external storage then to your desktop. Or, you could move the files to a NAS and then to your desktop.
With Thunderbolt Share, you can simply plug a Thunderbolt cable into your laptop (with the dock plugged into your desktop already) and move the files from laptop to desktop at Thunderbolt speeds (40Gb/s or faster), which blows away transfer speeds from any other connection standard.
It also lets you use your desktop’s mouse and keyboard to control your laptop, or even extend your desktop to your laptop’s screen. It’s pretty wild what Thunderbolt Share is capable of, and I honestly can’t wait to have the hardware to be able to take advantage of this system.
Should You Buy the Razer Thunderbolt 5 Dock Chroma?
At $400, the Razer Thunderbolt 5 Dock Chroma is definitely a premium product. There are many multi-port docks that can be had for much less. But, when you consider the capabilities of this Thunderbolt 5 dock, it almost stands alone among the competition.
Anker offers a similar Thunderbolt 5 dock that does have native display outputs and 2.5Gb/s outputs, solving my two biggest complaints with Razer’s dock, at the same $400 price. However, Anker’s dock lacks a built-in NVMe SSD slot, which is definitely more valuable than the extra I/O in my book.
At the end of the day, I think Razer’s Thunderbolt 5 Dock Chroma is a fantastic buy if you’re in the market for a premium hub. It has 140W charging, adds up to 8TB of storage to connected computers, and even supports Thunderbolt Share—something most other docks simply don’t offer.
8/10
- Ports
-
10
- USB Power Delivery
-
Yes, up to 140W
- Power supply included
-
Yes
- Max display res.
-
8K 60
The Razer Thunderbolt 5 Dock is a high-performance docking station that can support triple 4K displays at 120Hz. It also offers ultra-fast data transfer speeds up to 120Gb/s, and expands storage with up to 8TB SSD capacity.