Introducing the CalDigit Element 5 Thunderbolt 5 Hub

[@grubbb]

One of my BEST purchases ever! (CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt hub/dock). I have every port on the rear used, and it has been working flawlessly for the year that I've had it. Highly recommend this equipment!

[@CalDigitHQ]

Here comes the sequel!

[@ajmcgriff3873]

CalDigit ts4 i've had for a few years great buy

[@HayDigital]

I'm waiting on the TS5 - Fingers crossed its very soon....

[@progun1corn]

I'm using Element Hub TB4 and I absolutely love it. I do not need ethernet or 3.5mm jack or those things, I just want USB-C and USB-A. Keep going guys!

[@CreativeMindsAudio]

sweet! can't wait for the TS5! ordered a mac mini m4 pro recently and it's on its way. the timing of this release is perfect!

[@MomoWorldchannel]

upload the video for big brother TS5 :) tbh the element 5 hub looks amazing

[@c65242007]

Best company of making thunderbolt products

[@bwh.]

I love my CalDigit docking station!

[@patrickmolloy6994]

I've been using the Thunderbolt 4 hub for a year now and it's been just perfect with my Apple iMac. Now I've upgraded to the Mac mini Pro with thunderbolt 5 ports, this new Element 5 is definitely on my shopping list !

[@Mniko_Tech]

I had tb4 mini looking forward to get this 🎉

[@supercompooper]

Thank you for making this I love your earlier thunderbolt hubs they are really freaking helpful and awesome thank you.

[@apollo3340]

This would be great if it had a built-in m.2 slot inside! No one wants to pay $200 for a T5 ssd enclosure and another $200+ for the dock.

[@b3owu1f]

Actually.. had one similar to that (another name) and it was too hot all the time. Died. I'd rather just have a separate USBC M2 drive that I can use for other purposes without having to have the dock too. And not worry about the M2 heating up and killing the Element 5.

[@flashforum939]

Can we please have a thunderbolt 5 dock with all the bells and whistles including 10gbe 🤞🤞🤞

[@CalDigitHQ]

We're just getting started with Thunderbolt 5.

[@b3owu1f]

You can add a USBA to Network adapter that will give you up to 5Gbps or 10Gbps network.

[@chionyenkwu2253]

Great vid; appreciate that this can't be considered an "unbiased" vid. However I for one am definitely checking this item out. The thought of daisy chaining docks sounds great too 🙂🙂

[@LeonardoAlexi]

To this day, the CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Element Hub is THE best TB4 Hub ever made. From the look of it, this new Element 5 Hub is going to be the best TB5 Hub around! GREAT product specs!

[@b3owu1f]

Agreed. I still use my TS3 for desk.. but bought the Element for portable/laptop use. So buying this one to support the future laptops and adding a USBa to 2.5Gbps network adapter as well so I can add 2.5gbps network to any computer using this hub.

[@LeonardoAlexi]

@@b3owu1f I would argue you should go for a USB-C to 5 Gbps Ethernet adapter, specifically the newly released Sabrent NT-C5GA. This way, if you upgrade your Internet connection beyond 2 Gbps in the near future, you won't have to buy a new adapter.

[@LeonardoAlexi]

​@@b3owu1f I would argue that you should go for a USB-C to 5 Gbps Ethernet adapter, specifically the one that Sabrent just released. This way, if you upgrade your Internet connection beyond 2 Gbps in the near future, you're already future-proof & won't need to upgrade your adapter.

[@LeonardoAlexi]

@@b3owu1f ​ @b3owu1f I would argue that you should go for a USB-C to 5 Gbps Ethernet adapter. This way, if you upgrade your Internet connection beyond 2 Gbps in the near future, you're already future-proof & won't need to upgrade your adapter.

[@andrewm503]

I just got the T4 Element a few weeks ago and it’s great. I have no need for TB5 at the moment but nice to know it’s out there. My new Mac mini M4 pro supports T5 so hopefully an easy upgrade path.

[@RonMalouin]

Going to go well on my Mac mini

[@PawFromTheBroons]

I know you can attach an ethernet dongle, but I wish that port was included on the hub.

[@b3owu1f]

Oh hell yes! Bought it. I had no clue this was even a thing yet. Are there even any computers offering 80Gbps TB5 ports yet?

[@gratuitouscrab]

Love my Element 4! Is the new smaller power supply compatible? Would very much like to get one.

[@drjoefornari]

Available to ship to BC Canada?

[@MichaelAllanFrancisSheaver]

Almost perfect - EXCEPT that it is missing a built-in Ethernet port. Unfortunately, this omission is a deal breaker for me. Sorry!

[@cheapguts2080]

You can adapt one

[@Cooper3312000]

I wish someone would make a TB5 dock with 25Gb SFP28 and a M.2 drive bay so I can have everything in one device.

[@ALI-soon1Milli]

I hear people say a HDMI 2.1 to thunderbolt could work.i wish it had built in HDMI 2.1 that made it ultimate

[@wiriadinata]

so we can daisy-chain with TS4 ? thanks

[@CalDigitHQ]

Yes! Thunderbolt devices can be daisy-chained together. You can have up to 6 Thunderbolt devices chained together like this (including the host computer).

[@gball3110]

Is the 90W power delivery only limited by the power being drawn of the laptop? Or is the 90W limit a function of the power remaining on the Hub after providing power to its other ports?

[@CalDigitHQ]

The Element 5 Hub has dedicated charging, meaning it's able to achieve the advertised power on every single port all at the same time. That 90W is only limited by what the connected device is willing to receive.

[@ahgflyguy]

@@CalDigitHQThat means essentially 180w delivered from the ports, with half of that having to be converted from 20v to 5V inside the hub, so the power supply would be supplying 190 or 200w to make up for the inefficiency of the conversion. I doubt that small power supply can do that for long without overheating. But nobody would use it that way. Probably. Regardless, the hub looks like a good design.

[@AaronHiltonSPD]

@@CalDigitHQwhat's the AC adapter rating?

[@jsalexjs22]

How many actual usb busses inside?

[@AaronHiltonSPD]

Looks like a great hub. Only wish for my setup that the power adapter was built in. Maybe a future Element 5p for "power built-in" version? You could use the AC power plug that Apple, Sony or what many face shavers use, it's a flat two prong plug. 🔌 I think it's a figure-8 or IEC C7 connector. This would make it so versatile in traveling and needing to charge everything. Also no need to worry about losing or mixing up the power adapters. I've replaced my Apple laptop power AC cable with my razor's cable in a pinch in the past. The standard AC cable is very helpful!

[@RB-us6tf]

Does it still have the same coil whine as the Element 4 hub?

[@aaronlee6821]

Have you tested this with any NVMe enclosures attached to one of the hub's TB5 ports, and whether it affects the speed (throughput) of the NVMe enclosure? Specifically, I have an ACASIS TBU401Pro TB4 enclosure and will be likely purchasing their TB5 enclosure in the near future. I love the idea of adding the Element 5 Hub to my setup, but not if it will affect the NVMe enclosure's performance. I fully realize that if I add a lot of devices to the hub, they're all sharing the same cable and bandwidth to my computer and if those other devices use a lot of bandwidth, it will likely slow down the NVMe bandwidth. I accept that inevitable fact. I'm concerned though if the NVMe is the only device connected, then how bandwidth might be affected.

[@CalDigitHQ]

No matter what there is some loss of performance because of the overhead of jumping the connection through another layer. It's something around 10% or so speed loss. If it's a Thunderbolt drive, it should have priority over most non-Thunderbolt devices. We haven't tested too extensively, and I know some enclosures have been a little problematic through Thunderbolt docks, but I'm not sure how extensive that is on Thunderbolt 5 yet. Sorry I don't have a better answer right now!

[@aaronlee6821]

@@CalDigitHQ Ok, thanks for the reply. Hopefully someone else will test this and make a report of their results.

[@cwaldrip]

I've happily owned the TS 3 and TS 4. I use almost all the ports on my TS 4 though, so I can't see myself being able to use the Element 5. I wish it had a DP port, or even HDMI. No ethernet port either? I do appreciate the new power supply,

[@Autistic_AF]

CalDigit TS5 Thunderbolt 5 Dock WHEN? :D :D :D

[@Fabio-uq7xc]

All good.. but why in space gray?

[@80-80.]

There are plenty of TB hubs that look more "Chinese" with plastic/Gaming/Windows aesthetics. This is the cleanest and best design so far. We Mac users want it to look exactly like this. When Windows people are saying boring, ugly, grey, then it’s perfect.

[@tysunder]

With offline charging can the 90W host port be used with any USB-C PD device? or does it need to be a thunderbolt device?

[@CalDigitHQ]

The 90W host charging is available to anything you connect to it, regardless of if it can actually act as a host. So you could plug in a Vision Pro battery for example.

[@SoftwareManiacLSM]

Serious question: on Mac M4 Pro, one of your Tbolt 5 competitors won’t support USB-C external displays. Tbolt displays work but this isn’t good. Will your hub work???

[@CalDigitHQ]

Yes, USB-C displays work with the Element 5! And TB displays, and DP and HDMI displays with an adapter.

[@SoftwareManiacLSM]

@ I just bought one ☝️

[@CalDigitHQ]

@@SoftwareManiacLSM Thank you! 🙌 If there's anything we can ever help with, please don't hesitate to reach out.

[@michaelocunningham]

Will it work with Elgato Camlink capture cards though?

[@CalDigitHQ]

It should, but we have not extensively tested to verify definitively. In the past, we specifically had issues with Thunderbolt 4 macOS computers and Thunderbolt 4 docks with capture cards like this, as you may know. But that behavior was relegated exclusively to those parameters, so it shouldn't be an issue on Windows, and we're hopeful that it's not an issue with Thunderbolt 5 macOS computers.

[@michaelocunningham]

@ appreciate the feedback! I’m a Mac user and proud owner of the TS4 and that was a minor annoyance. I’m wondering if I can utilize this in tandem with the TS4 to plug in my camlink

[@CalDigitHQ]

@@michaelocunningham I'm not entirely sure how this would work since the hub is so new. If you had it like computer - Element 5 - TS4, the CamLink could potentially work plugged into the Hub. I'll bring this up to our Engineering team and see if we can run some internal tests too and see what we can find.

[@vegaf2011]

Holy shit this might solve my portability problems most of the docks I use with asus Rog ally never give it that full 30w power but this hub seems promising wish it did have at least Ethernet port or something lol

[@CalDigitHQ]

The Element 5's power is all dedicated, so it can always supply up to the advertised amount of power!

[@dva_kompota]

I'd be happy to buy it to replace my recently died dock, but at this price point "up to 2 monitors on MacOS" doesn't sound very compelling. How's that possible that StarTech are the only ones who managed to crack this and can easily support 4 ext monitors on my M1 MBP16? O_o

[@CalDigitHQ]

macOS currently can only natively support up to 2 external monitors over a single Thunderbolt connection. The only way to get around this limitation is to use a software solution, like DisplayLink, which requires additional drivers to operate. These additional software-based monitors can also put more load on the computer. Some dock manufacturers add this onto the dock itself, but it can also be added via a USB DisplayLink adapter to any dock, including the Element 5.

[@d-zone]

It'd be good to have Digital Audio and SD card like the TS3+/TS4 for MACmini. Computer port should be on the back imo.

[@CalDigitHQ]

Thanks for the feedback. We wanted to only put the essentials on the Element 5 to let users customize it however it works best for them. We have more products coming.

[@zemekiel]

If only it had a SD-card slot....

[@davidstone408]

Ethernet ? At least 10G should be installed - why aren’t hubs installing this is this to drive users to purchase a second device? Seems this is the goal

[@tbirdvet]

I wish it had an SD card slot otherwise very nice

[@4june2008]

… not everything we need to know - maybe price, everyone?

[@sethsalberg3678]

Too bad it does not have Ethernet port built in

[@RYOkEkEN]

no ethernet? is this an office toy?

[@CalDigitHQ]

With the Element 5, we decided to focus on just the essentials and let users customize their hubs how they see fit. We have some more Thunderbolt 5 products on the way that might be more what you're looking for.

[@chadgrant8870]

just switch everything to cat6a, enough with the custom cables/switches

[@ÁzsiábaSzakadtam]

Already out of stock...how early I have to go to the store to buy it? 🫤

[@CalDigitHQ]

I'm seeing it available right now. Are you trying to buy from a web shop other than our US store? If so, that's what's going on here - stock is only available in the US store right now. It's coming to additional regions in the coming weeks.