Razer's Thunderbolt 4 Dock Brings Speedy Chroma Connectivity

Razer is adding its Chroma RGB to a new part of your setup: a Thunderbolt 4 dock. It's the latest office-style accessory to get a touch of the company's gaming aesthetic, and its selection of ports is clearly meant for those looking to future-proof their setups.

The dock, dubbed Razer Thunderbolt 4 Dock Chroma, costs $329.99 and is up for pre-order at Razer's website and retail stores. It has ten ports in total and is compatible with any Windows 10 laptop with Thunderbolt 3 or 4 and Macs with Thunderbolt 3, as long as they run macOS Big Sur (including both Intel-based laptops and those with Apple's own M1 processors).

Of the four Thunderbolt 4 ports, you'll use one to connect your laptop to the anodized  aluminum dock. The other three can be used for power delivery, data or a display. Razer claims the dock supports up to 40Gbps data transfer speeds.

The dock supports up to two monitors at 4K60 or a single 8K monitor at 30 Hz, but it doesn't use traditional HDMI or DisplayPort outputs. You'll either need to use this dock with a USB-C or Thunderbolt monitor or get Thunderbolt-to-DisplayPort cables.

On the front, besides a TB4 port, there's also an SD card reader and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The back features the other three TB4 ports, RJ-45 Ethernet, and three USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A ports. It comes with a 135W power brick and offers 90W power delivery to charge your laptop without other cables.

One thing that's unclear is if this dock will work with regular USB 4, given that Thunderbolt 4 is largely USB 4 with some optional features.

The dock is 7.48 inches wide, 2.93 inches deep and 1.06 inches tall. That will take up a bit more space than some docks that have vertical stands, and it allows for more room for its RGB showcase.

And what would a Razer device be without Chroma RGB? The Thunderbolt 4 dock works with Razer's Synapse software for lighting customizations, at least if you're on Windows 10. The company says Synapse isn't supported on macOS, so it's likely Mac users will have to opt for a generic rainbow pattern.

But Razer isn't the first to an RGB dock. WD added the D50 Game Dock NVMe to its Black line last year, which is $320 or more if you add up to 2TB of internal storage. It, however, is more about the storage and has fewer ports.

It's not a huge surprise to see Razer, known primarily as a gaming-focused company, continue its dive into the office. It made its first productivity-focused notebook, the Razer Book 13, last year. It has also made office-bound peripherals in a partnership with Humanscale.

Razer is also updating its laptop stand, the Laptop Stand Chroma V2, with more ports (USB 3.2 Gen 1 both Type-A and Type-C, HDMI 2.0 and USB-C for power delivery) and an 18-degree angle which is meant to improve ergonomics. It, too, features Chroma RGB. The $150 laptop stand is also up for pre-order.