CalDigit TS5 Plus

The CalDigit TS5 Plus is CalDigit's flagship Thunderbolt 5 docking station, designed for creative professionals, power users, and IT-intensive workflows that demand maximum connectivity from a single cable. With 20 fully usable ports — including three Thunderbolt 5 ports, ten USB ports, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, a DisplayPort 2.1 output, dual SD card readers, and three audio jacks — it consolidates an entire workstation's peripherals into one elegant vertical unit. Compatible with Apple Silicon Macs (M1 through M5), Thunderbolt 5/4/3 PCs, and USB4 v2 hosts, the TS5 Plus is the dock that professionals buy once and rely on for years.

Thunderbolt 5: 80Gb/s with Bandwidth Boost

Thunderbolt 5 doubles the bidirectional bandwidth of TB4 from 40Gb/s to 80Gb/s, and the TS5 Plus goes further with Bandwidth Boost — dynamically reallocating up to 120Gb/s toward displays when connected monitors need it, then returning to symmetric 80Gb/s for data when they don't. This happens automatically, without any user action. In practice, it means a single-cable connection to a laptop can simultaneously drive high-refresh-rate or high-resolution monitors (up to 8K) AND sustain external SSD speeds up to 6,200 MB/s — roughly twice what a Thunderbolt 4 dock can achieve. For setups where storage performance and display quality both matter, no previous generation of dock came close.

Guaranteed 140W Laptop Charging

Many competing Thunderbolt 5 docks advertise 140W charging but ship with power supplies that cannot sustain that figure when peripherals are connected — power is silently redistributed to attached devices, leaving the laptop with less than it needs. The TS5 Plus ships with a 330W external power supply specifically sized to always deliver the full 140W to the host, regardless of what else is plugged in. This matters most in demanding laptop-dock setups: a 16-inch MacBook Pro with M3/M4/M5 Pro or Max requires 140W at peak load, and insufficient charging during heavy work means the battery drains even while docked. With the TS5 Plus, that concern is eliminated.

20 ports. One cable. No compromises.

2-year warranty · NDAA Compliant · Includes Thunderbolt 5 braided cable (1.0 m)

Built-in 10 Gigabit Ethernet

The TS5 Plus integrates a PCIe-based 10GbE port — four times faster than the 2.5GbE on the previous-generation TS4, and ten times faster than the 1GbE found in most docks. This eliminates the need for a separate Thunderbolt-to-10GbE adapter (typically €100–€200 extra) and frees up a downstream Thunderbolt port. It is backwards compatible with 5GbE, 2.5GbE, and 1GbE switches and NAS devices, so existing network infrastructure is not disrupted. For studios or offices running 10Gb NAS or switching infrastructure, users get full wire-speed file transfers without any additional hardware on the desk. Note: 10GbE requires a Thunderbolt or PCIe-capable USB4 host; Windows users must install a driver.

Dual USB Controllers for High Bandwidth Peripherals

Standard Thunderbolt docks share a single USB controller across all USB-A and USB-C ports, creating a bottleneck when multiple high-bandwidth devices compete for bandwidth simultaneously. The TS5 Plus is, according to CalDigit, the only dock with two independent 10Gb/s USB controllers, giving devices on separate controllers their own dedicated bandwidth lanes. This is directly relevant in workflows with multiple high-speed peripherals active at once — for example, running a UHS-II card reader and an external SSD simultaneously at full speed, or connecting a USB audio interface alongside a high-speed USB capture card. The second controller requires PCIe support on the host (available on all Thunderbolt hosts and PCIe-capable USB4 hosts).

Up to Four Displays Including 8K and High Refresh Rates

The TS5 Plus can drive up to four external displays on an Apple M5 Max MacBook Pro — three monitors on M5 Pro and supported Thunderbolt 5 Windows PCs. Display outputs include two downstream Thunderbolt 5 ports (supporting USB-C and Thunderbolt monitors natively), a dedicated DisplayPort 2.1 connector, and Bandwidth Boost mode enables resolutions up to 8K and multi-monitor configurations at 4K 144Hz or 6K 120Hz. The critical compatibility nuance for IT resellers: M1–M4 Macs are limited to one or two displays regardless of dock capability, while M5 Max unlocks quad-display support through the TS5 Plus specifically. Windows Thunderbolt 4 hosts cannot drive triple displays; only Thunderbolt 5 Windows PCs unlock that configuration.

Rear Host Port for Clean Cable Management

Most Thunderbolt docks place the host cable connection on the front panel, which means the cable connecting the dock to the laptop sits prominently on the desk and disrupts an otherwise tidy workspace. The TS5 Plus routes the host Thunderbolt 5 port to the rear of the unit, so the laptop cable disappears behind the dock alongside all other permanently connected cables. This design detail — present since CalDigit's earlier Thunderbolt Station generations — is particularly valued in clean desk environments, reception desks, broadcast setups, and office hot-desk installations where cable tidiness directly affects the professional impression of the workspace.

Dual UHS-II SD and microSD Card Readers

Both a full-size SD 4.0 and a microSD 4.0 card reader are built into the front of the TS5 Plus, and both can be used simultaneously. UHS-II performance is significantly faster than the UHS-I readers found in lower-tier docks, which makes a practical difference when offloading footage from high-bitrate cinema cameras or fast mirrorless cameras. For photographers and video editors, having both slots available at the same time — without occupying any USB or Thunderbolt ports — streamlines dual-card workflows and reduces the need for a separate card reader on the desk.

Offline Charging on Key Ports

The front USB-A port, the front 36W USB-C port, the two downstream Thunderbolt 5 ports (36W each), and two rear USB-A ports all continue to supply power even when the TS5 Plus is not connected to a laptop. This means the dock can serve as a charging hub overnight or when the workstation is away — phones, tablets, headphones, and accessories stay charged without the host computer needing to be present. The 36W available on the front USB-C port and downstream Thunderbolt 5 ports is sufficient for iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPad Pro, and Apple Vision Pro Battery Pack, eliminating the need for separate chargers at the desk.