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Kensington SD5700T Thunderbolt 4 Dock vs Plugable UD-6950Z: Comparison

Kensington SD5700T Thunderbolt 4 Dock and Plugable UD-6950Z separate most on total ports: Kensington SD5700T Thunderbolt 4 Dock at 11, Plugable UD-6950Z at 12, 8% in favour of Plugable UD-6950Z. They match on 10 other specifications, including ethernet, bus powered and max displays windows.

Kensington SD5700T Thunderbolt 4 Dock (Thunderbolt 4 / 12 Ports / 96W Host Charging / Dual 4K@60Hz or Single 8K@30Hz / Mac/Windows / ~$270)
KensingtonKensington SD5700T Thunderbolt 4 Dock
Plugable UD-6950Z (USB-C/USB-A / 11 Ports / 60W Host Charging / Triple 4K@30Hz DisplayLink / Windows/Mac / ~$200)
PlugablePlugable UD-6950Z

Specs

Specification
Kensington SD5700T Thunderbolt 4 Dock (Thunderbolt 4 / 12 Ports / 96W Host Charging / Dual 4K@60Hz or Single 8K@30Hz / Mac/Windows / ~$270)
Kensington SD5700T Thunderbolt 4 Dock
Plugable UD-6950Z (USB-C/USB-A / 11 Ports / 60W Host Charging / Triple 4K@30Hz DisplayLink / Windows/Mac / ~$200)
Plugable UD-6950Z
Connection TypeThunderbolt 4USB-C or USB-A (DisplayLink software driver)
Port Configuration1x TB4 host, 3x TB4 downstream 40Gbps, 3x USB-A 10Gbps, 1x USB-A 2.0, GbE, SD UHS-II, 3.5mm combo audio1x USB upstream (USB-C and USB-A cables included), 2x HDMI 2.0, 2x DisplayPort 1.2 (DisplayLink), 6x USB-A 5Gbps, 1x GbE, 3.5mm headset jack
Thunderbolt Version4None
Max Display SupportDual 4KDual display
Max Display ResolutionDual 4K@60Hz or single 8K@30HzDual 4K@60Hz (DisplayLink)
Total Ports11-8%12
Power Delivery90 W0 W
Host Power Delivery90 W0 W
EthernetYesYes
Bus PoweredNoNo
Video PathThunderbolt NativeDisplayLink
DisplayLink Driver RequiredNoYes
Max Displays Windows22
Max Single Display Resolution8K4K
Max Single Display Refresh30 Hz60 Hz
Max Dual Display Resolution4K4K
Max Dual Display Refresh60 Hz60 Hz
HDMI Port Count02
HDMI VersionNone2.0
DisplayPort Port Count02
DisplayPort VersionNone1.2
Downstream Thunderbolt Port Count30
USB-A Port Count46
Max USB Data Rate10Gbps5Gbps
Ethernet Speed1GbE1GbE
Audio Jack ConfigurationSingle ComboSingle Combo
macOS SupportedYesYes
Windows SupportedYesYes
ChromeOS SupportedYesYes
BrandKensingtonPlugable
ModelSD5700TUD-6950Z
OS CompatibilitymacOS 11+, Windows 10+, ChromeOS 91+Windows 7-11, macOS 10.14+, ChromeOS 100+
Price~$270~$200
Source URLhttps://www.kensington.com/p/products/device-docking-connectivity-products/laptop-docks-usb-accessories/sd5700t-thunderbolt-4-dual-4k-docking-station-with-90w-pd/https://plugable.com/products/ud-6950z

Verdict

Kensington SD5700T Thunderbolt 4 Dock

8 / 10 Expert Rating

A well-tested, reliable Thunderbolt 4 dock with 2.5GbE that undercuts CalDigit slightly on price.

Plugable UD-6950Z

7 / 10 Expert Rating

The most display-flexible DisplayLink dock here, ideal for triple-monitor setups on older hardware.

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