CSV-1530 USB & LAN MiniDock
The last of the three devices that I got in the testing area today is also the most advanced of the three, the CSV-1530 Mini Dock. This could very well be the perfect travel companion to go along with your netbook or ultrabook with a USB 3.1 port.
Apple is one of the companies where you only find a single Type-C port on newer devices and that can limit your possibilities quite a bit, especially if you don’t want to use wireless connections such as WiFi or Bluetooth. With this mini dock, your system gains a wired Gigabit Ethernet connection and a USB 3.0 type-A port for normal USB devices. It doesn’t even loose the availability of the Type-C port as it also features one of them.
The mini dock is compact in itself and thereby easy to take with you on your travels. The cable connection is attached to the mini dock itself and folds neatly into the device so you’ll never be without the connection cable.
The innovative design is awesome, but at the same time, it kind of limits the usage to portable devices and it isn’t optimal for stationary systems. The short cable simply limits the usability here. But that’s not really an issue as this isn’t a device that you normally would use on a stationary system at all. You already got your Type-A and wired network connections here, so why would you add more this way. So the short cable is actually a bonus here as it makes it more portable and perfect for its intended usage scenario.
A wired Gigabit Ethernet connection can help a lot in areas with bad Wifi and in it also provides a better connection in general. The CSV-1530 is powered by a Realtek controller which in return has drives available almost anywhere. The official compatibility for the mini dock is however limited to Windows and Apple OS X. Android 5.x and Ubuntu Linux are supported as Beta, so that’s good news for those with that kind of portable devices.
The USB 3.0 Type-A port supports data throughput up to 5Gbps for all your portable storage needs or other kinds of USB devices and the Type-C port is perfect for charging with up to 60W power availability.
I really like this tiny docking station as it provides your portable USB 3.1 unit with all the ports it is missing natively due to size restraints. There is no need to sacrifice neither portability or size just to get the connection options you would like and might need. And again, I love that it all works without an extra power supply, all thanks to the 100W power capabilities.
Feature Highlights
- Innovative portable design
- Folding USB Type-C connector
- Support Gigabit Ethernet (and also 10/100Mbit)
- 1x USB 3.0 Type-A 5Gbps port
- 1x USB Type-C PD for Charging up to 60W
Package and Accessories
The other two devices came in a more plain package as the CSV-1530 mini dock comes in a bright package. The front shows a picture of the device itself as well as lists all the features that the dock has.
The rear has all the information again and in more details as well as in several languages, so there’s no doubt what you purchase.
The mini dock itself is covered with a protective film to make sure that it arrives in perfect condition.
Usage
You don’t need any drivers or tools to use this mini dock, all you need to do is connect it and you’re ready to go. The system instantly found it and all three connections worked like a charm. This is also a device where we can benchmark a little, but we’ll get to that on the next page.
Now Bring on the PCI-E GPU adapters… even at low bandwidth it will be better than the current Hack through Wifi module, and a great boon for many of us.