Review: ACASIS TBU405Plus Thunderbolt SSD dock with DisplayPort

Review sample provided by ACASIS

The ACASIS TBU405Plus is a Thunderbolt 4 dock with support for one NVMe SSD, two DisplayPort 1.4, two USB-A 3.1 and one USB-C 3.1.

This product is for people who need a fast external storage with support for fast file transfers and external displays.

Price of this is USD 119 on Amazon USA after a $20 coupon. This is also available on Shopee SG for SGD 133.

Things included with the purchase are:

• The dock
• USB-C Thunderbolt cable
• 2x rubber stoppers to hold down the NVMe SSD
• 2x thermal pad
• Quickstart guide
• Plastic holder for NVMe SSD

ACASIS did not mention the controller used but just know that this can work with TB4 and USB 4 and is backwards compatible.

There’s a power input USB-C port (DC 5V) but no power adapter is included. This dock can be powered by a single USB-C cable, but additional power may be needed if you want to use all the ports. E.g. I was able to connect an external SSD to this dock and it worked fine.

If the dock does need extra power, you can use any 5V USB power adapter.

I’ve fitted a WD SN770 with speeds up to 5,150 MB/s (advertised) for testing. There are additional holes inside to make this dock compatible with 2242, 2260 and 2280. The company mentioned 2230 but there are no holes for that.

The tool-less installation is a smart design and convenient. The size is also quite compact.

Beneath the dock is a fan that runs silent and hot air exhausts out from both sides. The huge rubber feet lifts the dock up so that the fan can suck air in.

Transfer speed with the TB4 port is satisfyingly fast at 2700 MB/s read and 2400 MB/s write. That’s fast enough for editing 8K DCI 60 videos. I've tested this on Mac and Windows.

The USB-C and USB-A 3.1 ports have transfer speeds up to 900MB/s read and 850MB/s write which is fast enough for 8K DCI 24 video editing. I've tested this with Samsung T7 SSD on Mac and Windows.

There are two DisplayPort v1.4 ports that can support video connection for a single 8K 60FPS or two 4K 60FPS. If you’re using a Macbook, please find out whether your Mac can support 3 displays (including the laptop display).

Downsides for video connection is, the USB-C port cannot transmit video, and there are no HDMI ports. If you need USB-C video or HDMI, you may have to look at other products from ACASIS. The company did mention they will be creating another model with HDMI in the future, but there's no launch date for that.

This is a sleek looking TB4/USB4 dock with useful ports and a fan for cooling. I’ve reviewed several ACASIS products in the past and they are all well made, just like this one. Pricing seems reasonable so this is definitely something I can recommend easily if you happen to need the ports that this dock provides.

PROS AND CONS AT A GLANCE
+ Beautiful design
+ Tool-less installation
+ Solid metal build quality
+ Support for one NVMe SSD at TB4 or USB4 speeds
+ Supports 2242, 2260 and 2280 NVMe SSDs
+ Has USB-A and USB-C 3.1 ports
+ Has 2x DisplayPort 1.4
+ Has fan for cooling
+ Can be powered by one USB-C cable depending on usage
+ Reasonable price
- No HDMI ports
- USB-C does not transmit video

Availability

There are three models for the ACASIS TBU405 so make sure you don't get the wrong one. Links below are to Amazon:

• ACASIS TBU405 - Thunderbolt USB 4 NVMe enclosure
• ACASIS TBU405 Pro - Thunderbolt USB 4 NVMe enclosure with fan
• ACASIS TBU405 Plus - Thunderbolt USB 4 NVMe enclosure with fan, USB-C, USB-A, DisplayPort