Orico’s Thunderbolt 4 12-in-1 Docking Station offers impressive stability, a crucial factor for a seamless workflow. However, its subpar storage performance and a power button with a short memory hold it back from true greatness. This in-depth review explores the dock’s features, performance, and overall value.
A Stable Foundation with Quirks
The Orico Thunderbolt 4 12-in-1 Docking Station presents a compelling mix of strengths and weaknesses. Its rock-solid stability is a standout feature, but the underwhelming storage speeds and a power button that forgets its state are notable drawbacks. Is it worth your investment? Let’s dive in.
Port Variety and Build Quality
The Orico dock is a sleek aluminum slab measuring approximately 7 inches by 3.5 inches, with a height of about an inch. While it lacks the option for vertical placement, its compact size allows for easy positioning in front of a desktop monitor. The dock does tend to warm up under heavy load, but not to an alarming degree.
Orico 12-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station front
The front panel provides convenient access to a 3.5mm headphone jack and two 10Gbps USB ports (one USB-A and one USB-C), each clearly marked with a “10” icon. This thoughtful labeling aligns with Intel’s push for clear port identification, a welcome improvement in the industry.
Orico 12-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station back
The rear panel houses the power port, DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0 (supporting up to 4K@60Hz or 8K@30Hz), Gigabit Ethernet, two slower 480Mbps USB-A ports (labeled with a keyboard icon), and U3-rated SD and microSD card slots. The 85W power delivery to the laptop is sufficient for most productivity laptops, although creator-class laptops with dedicated GPUs might require more power.
Orico 12-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station cable
Performance: Stability vs. Storage Speed
The Orico dock’s stability is its strongest suit. Throughout testing, it performed flawlessly, even during demanding tasks like gaming. This reliability is a significant advantage in a market where occasional glitches can be a frustrating norm.
However, storage performance was a disappointment. The dock achieved only around 107MB/s in PCMark’s storage test, significantly lower than the typical 125-130MB/s. This slower performance persisted even when using the 10Gbps USB-C or upstream Thunderbolt port.
Orico 12-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station power brick
While the dock excelled in power delivery and streaming tests, its storage performance lagged behind competitors, particularly when simultaneously transferring files and streaming. This slowdown could be a bottleneck for users who frequently work with large files.
The Power Button Quirk
A peculiar issue with the Orico dock is its power button’s amnesia. Unlike most devices that retain their power state, the Orico dock requires a manual power-on every time it loses power. This can be a minor annoyance, especially if you rely on a switched outlet to control power consumption.
Final Verdict
The Orico Thunderbolt 4 12-in-1 Docking Station offers a compelling blend of stability and a comprehensive port selection. However, the subpar storage performance and the power button’s forgetfulness prevent it from achieving top marks. While the stability is a significant advantage, the storage limitations should be considered, especially for users with demanding storage needs. Ultimately, the decision to purchase depends on your priorities and whether stability outweighs storage speed in your workflow.
