Kensington SD4600P USB-C Universal Docking Station Review

Final Thoughts

Pricing

At the time of writing, the Kensington SD4600P USB-C Universal Docking Station can be yours for $189.99 at NewEgg, £197.54 at Amazon UK, and starting from €201.99 through Geizhals.

The zero-footprint mounting bracket, also known as the Docking Station VESA Mounting Plate, won’t cost a whole lot extra to get and it’s fully worth it in my opinion. At the time of writing, it can be yours for just £7.93 through the official Kensington shop.

Conclusion

Having a docking station for your portable computer is an awesome thing and one that you’ll miss immensely once you have had it. However, technology becomes outdated and you upgrade to newer generations and you don’t necessarily want to get the same type and brand again. That could easily render your old docking station useless unless it is a universal one like the Kensington SD4600P that I took for a spin in my testing area today. And that is the first benefit of this device, it will work for any system no matter the brand, as long as it has the right connector type available.

The Kensington SD4600P features all the latest technology, starting with the way it connects. The USB-C connector is the latest generation of USB connectors and it is also the same used by Thunderbolt 3 to which this docking station also is compatible. So it doesn’t really matter whether it’s a Windows based system, a ChromeOS-based one, or a Mac OS based one – you’re covered. The connections on the docking station itself support the latest generation of hardware too, from USB 3.0 devices over DisplayPort and HDMI with 4K 60Hz output and it also comes with charging abilities. On top of that, it also features Gigabit Ethernet LAN for the places where there is no Wireless signal or you just want something better.

The SD4600P has one little downside that might not be a downside at all, it depends a bit on what you need. When you connect it to a power source, AKA turn it on, it will automatically select one of two modes depending on what you have connected. 4K 60Hz video output, for example, requires a lot of bandwidth and when a monitor is connected, the USB ports will only deliver USB 2.0 performance and the LAN port will only deliver a 100Mbps connection. This is plenty when you use the USB ports for peripherals such as printers, keyboards, mice, and game controllers. If only USB devices and LAN are present when you power it on, the USB ports and LAN port will work at their full speed and the monitor port will only support 2K resolution. You might see this as a downside, but it’s actually very clever and it allows one device multiple modes depending on what you actually need while it uses the available bandwidth the best possible way.

Performance wise, we saw a small impact compared to the baseline, but it’s also a strong competition to put it up against. The numbers we saw in the benchmarks were very good and nothing the SD4600P should be ashamed of. The setup is also extremely easy as it’s all plug and play. What more could you want?

I also took a look at the zero-footprint mounting bracket at the same time, one that is compatible to more than just this Kensington docking station. It allows for an invisible mounting behind your monitor or on any other VESA-compatible mounting bracket. This is awesome. It’s also thin enough to fit between mounting your normal mounting solution and monitor, so it isn’t a trade-off between mounting your monitor on an arm or using the zero-footprint mounting solution.

Pros

• 4K and Dual-Monitor support
• USB 3.0, Type-C, and Gigabit LAN
• Plug and Play
• Thunderbolt 3 compatible
• Zero-Footprint mounting solution

Cons

• Tradeoff between high-resolution and USB

Neutral

• Price

“Would I own a modern laptop with USB-C connector, the Kensington SD4600P would be the docking station I’d get for myself. No doubt.”

Kensington SD4600P USB-C Universal Docking Station Review

Thank You Kensington for providing us with this sample