Product Review

Kensington's SD5000T Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station for MacBook's was engineered by Kensington to be high-performance productivity tool for video editors, graphic designers, content creators, gamers, or just someone who wants to simplify a 4K workspace. For over 35 years, Kensington has been The Professionals' Choice for desktop productivity solutions. Frequently Asked Questions: Q: Is there a setup and usage video? A: Yes, you can view it at customer.kensington.com/a/328383. The video is for our newer model (SD5200t,) but the MacBook setup information applies to the Mac-only SD5000t too. Q: Does this dock require new driver installation on my computer? A: We recommend you ensure that your computer’s Thunderbolt 3 driver is the most up to date version. Q: Does this dock support USB-C Power Delivery (PD)? A: Yes, the dock supports USB-C Power Delivery through the Thunderbolt 3 connector, up to 85W. Q: Can I use a non-Thunderbolt 3 USB-C cable with this dock? A: The cable used for the dock must be an Intel-certified Thunderbolt 3 cable. You can check the official Thunderbolt website for certified cables. A .5m TB3 cable is included. Q: Is the SD5000T Thunderbolt 3 dock backwards compatible with a non-Thunderbolt 3 USB-C port, Thunderbolt 1 or 2 ports, or a USB-A port? A: No. Q: Does the USB-C port on the front of the dock support video over USB-C? A: The front USB-C port is a data-only port and supports 5V/3A (15W) of power. Q: What video standards are supported through this dock? A: The DisplayPort connector on the dock would support DP v1.2 ++, or DisplayPort dual-mode, where passive cabling to DisplayPort, HDMI, and DVI standards are allowed. The Thunderbolt 3 ports are fully compatible to USB-C DisplayPort Alt mode standards, where a USB-C to video adapter can be used to connect to a second monitor. We recommend using Kensington CV4000H USB-C to HDMI adapter (K33993WW) or CV2000V USB-C to VGA adapter (K33994WW). Q: What is the maximum resolution supported by the dock? A: Up to two monitors at 4K/60Hz: both the DisplayPort connector and the Thunderbolt 3 ports support DisplayPort v1.2 standards of 4096 x 2160 @ 60Hz. The dock can also support a single 5K/60Hz monitor. Typically, the 5K monitor would use two DisplayPort inputs to achieve this; alternatively you can use the dock’s DisplayPort plus one of the dock’s Thunderbolt 3 ports to a monitor’s DisplayPort input (using a USB-C to DisplayPort cable or adapter). To support 4K @ 60Hz, ensure that DisplayPort 1.2 or MST (multi-stream support) is enabled on your display. Q: What should I do if I am getting inconsistent video performance when the dock is connected to a 4K monitor at 4K resolution? A: The video performance may be affected by the quality of the DisplayPort cable used in the setup when using 4K resolution. We recommend that the user try a different cable to see if the problem persists. A cable less than 1.5M in length is desired. Q: Why is the audio still coming out of the laptop instead of the external speakers/headset that I connected to dock? A: Sometimes the computer will not automatically make the audio channel coming out of the dock as the default. In this case go to Mac OS: System Preferences -> Sound -> Output, and select USB Audio as the default audio channel.