When comparing OWC Thunderbolt 2 Dock vs Belkin Thunderbolt 2 dock, the Slant community recommends OWC Thunderbolt 2 Dock for most people. In the question“What is the best Thunderbolt dock?” OWC Thunderbolt 2 Dock is ranked 2nd while Belkin Thunderbolt 2 dock is ranked 3rd. The most important reason people chose OWC Thunderbolt 2 Dock is:
The OWC dock has 12 ports. It has: five USB 3.0 ports, audio in/out, FireWire 800, Ethernet, two Thunderbolt 2 ports, and finally, and HDMI port. This is an impressive array of ports, more than any other Thunderbolt 2 dock on the market.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Great array of ports
The OWC dock has 12 ports. It has: five USB 3.0 ports, audio in/out, FireWire 800, Ethernet, two Thunderbolt 2 ports, and finally, and HDMI port.
This is an impressive array of ports, more than any other Thunderbolt 2 dock on the market.
Pro Great read/write speeds
According to tests, the speed from the Tunderbolt 2 ports in OWC's dock were 323MBps, which is higher than the average of 321.4MBps for read and 262.9MBps vs 264MBps for write.
The read and write speeds for the USB 3 ports were also pretty good as well. 304.6MBps for read and 254.7MBps for write.
Pro The USB 3 ports provide really high total current
All five USB 3.0 ports provide a total of 6 amps (1.5 each of the two ports on the side and 1 for each of the ports on the back) , the OWC's dock's USB 3.0 ports provide a relatively high total current compared to other options. This makes it better suited for charging mobile devices than competitors.
Pro 8 ports with a Thunderbolt connection that allows chaining of up to 4 more Thunderbolt devices
There are 8 ports on the Belkin Thunderbolt 2 dock including 1 gigabit ethernet, 1 headphone/microphone, 3x USB 3.0 SuperSpeed ports, 2x Thunderbolt 2 ports and 1 HDMI port. The device is also able to chain up to 4 more Thunderbolt docks.
Pro Design fits with Apple aesthetics
The Belkin Thunderbolt 2 dock is designed with an aluminum body and a black interior that fits in perfectly with any Apple device.
Cons
Con Doesn't come with a Thunderbolt cable out of the box
Con No Thunderbolt port in front of device
There is a USB 3.0 port in the front of the device instead of a Thunderbolt 2 port.