Kensington’s new Thunderbolt 5 dock is an absolute monster

Kensington has launched an absolute battlestation of a laptop computer docking station, the SD7100T5 EQ Professional 19-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Docking Station, full with devoted operate buttons, a CompactFlash slot, and a Copilot button.

Priced at $449.99, the SD7100T5 is the older cousin of the Kensington SD5000T5 Thunderbolt 5 dock that we noticed final 12 months. (That dock, with an MSRP of $399.99, acquired a substantial low cost of about 34 % on Amazon after we checked final week, bringing the worth right down to a way more affordable $258.)

Kensington normally fares effectively in my critiques of laptop computer docking stations, and we advocate certainly one of its older Thunderbolt 4 docks as among the best docking stations you should purchase. They’re usually among the many most steady I’ve examined, however these options and adaptability include a value.

The three standout options that this dock provides are price calling out. First, there’s a CompactFlash slot, a relative rarity that caters to photographers. Second, it affords a whopping 4 audio choices, together with devoted headphone and mic jacks, even an optical connection for high-end audio. Lastly, there are two “sizzling key” buttons.

By default, these are configured to set off the Copilot software and lock the PC, although they are often configured by Kensington’s utility software program to carry out different features as effectively. The corporate can even ship an EQ Professional model designed for the Mac, with the buttons configured to carry out photograph backup.

There’s another: different docks at the moment are shifting in the direction of including a devoted M.2 slot for an SSD, and this Kensington dock does as effectively.

Nonetheless, the connectivity choices goes far past these of a typical dock. Along with three Thunderbolt 5 ports (plus one to hook up with the laptop computer), the SD7100T5 features a CompactFlash connector, in addition to SD and microSD slots. It additionally affords a pair of 10Gbps USB-A ports and two 10Gbps USB-C ports, certainly one of which is configured for 30W charging — even when a laptop computer isn’t linked. (Two extra USB-A ports are positioned on the rear of the dock.) There’s a 2.5Gbps Ethernet connection, too.

The charging capabilities are rather less essential as telephones now ask for 30W to 40W to quick cost a cellphone, with some Asian smartphones now demanding 100W or extra.

Granted, Kensington’s SD7100T5 EQ Professional 19-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Docking Station would possibly simply be whole overkill for these trying to save a buck or two throughout this vacation season. Since Intel’s 2026 laptop computer platform, Panther Lake, nonetheless makes use of Thunderbolt 4, Thunderbolt 5 isn’t fairly vital. However, this dock affords options I’ve hardly ever seen elsewhere, making the $400 price ticket doubtlessly worthwhile.