OWC TB5/USB4.2 vs TB4/USB4 Hubs
Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2025 5:18 pm
First off, I should probably post a thumbnail of myself looking shocked behind an oversized microphone like some idiot who doesn't understand what I've discovered. Oh wait... this isn't YouTube... moving on...
This started off as a comparison between OWC's new Thunderbolt 5 hub
https://www.owc.com/solutions/thunderbolt-5-hub
and older Thunderbolt 4 hub
https://www.owc.com/solutions/thunderbolt-hub
Amazon has it for $99.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NWL5V86?th=1
Both add a pair of USB-C TB ports and a USB-A port to your Mac. Yes there are actually four TB ports but one is the uplink to a TB port in your computer while another replaces that TB port so you are only adding two+one USB 3.2 Gen 2 (was USB 3.1) USB-A.
In addition, you get downloads for manuals and OWC Dock Ejector (a solution looking for a problem?)
https://www.owc.com/solutions/dock-ejector
Both work fine with any TB3/4/5 Mac. TB4/3 is based on the USB4 standard while TB5 is based on USB4.2. Intel Certifies and licenses Thunderbolt but not USB4/4.2. This plays havoc with backward compatibility on Windows. What I wanted to test was backward compatibility on the Mac. I'm happy to report that both hubs are compatible back to USB 1.1. Old MOTU USB MIDI boxes are 1.1 including my MOTU MTP AV USB. Both support AV over HDMI (specs differ) but neither can add more monitors than Apple allows (bigger issue with the Mini/MBP and MBAir than the Studio)*
You may need adapters and/or cables depending on your uses. This picture shows my Apple TB2–TB3 adapter in white and a USB-A to USB-C adapter on the opposite side. The TB adapter has my 828mkII FW plugged into a TB2 dock. The USB-A adapter has my MTP AV USB at the other end. The USB-A port is charging my keyboard over a USB 2 to Lightning cable. The macOS does not support 2000MB/s (USB 3.2 gen2+2) except over TB5/4/3 (or TB2 with the Apple adapter).
So what are the differences besides TB4 vs TB5? There are a few:
Power supplies are incompatible.
The TB4 hub has puts out 60W bus power and is limited to a theoretical 4000MB/s data + AV. Real world is a 2700MB/s limit because of the 4-Lane pipe. OWC's higher claim is marketing nonsense. No switch or fan. The uplink port is on the front. It has a logo on top that glows blue when the uplink port is connected properly and white when connected wrong—my wife loves this feature.
The TB5 hub has puts out 180W bus power and is limited to a theoretical 8000MB/s data + AV. Real world is probably around 5500MB/s limit — so, twice as fast as TB4. The housing is nearly twice as big, it has a power switch and fan. No 2-color LED on the top (booo!), instead a blue dot underneath to tell you if the uplink is working/off when it isn't. There's a white LED underneath to tell you if the power switch is on. Also, the uplink port has moved to the back — OWC Support gets lots of calls about this.
OWC support tells me that the LEDs on both units should be the same but he is wrong. I'm sending him pictures in case that there's supposed to be one on the top of the TB5 and I got a defect.
This picture shows the TB5 box on the left with my TB4 box on the left showing the Blue/White LEDs under the logo. Below that is the underside of the TB5 hub. My boxes still have the plastic over the top.
Having a TB4/3/USB4 Mac Studio, I have no use for this TB5 hub and after I get an answer on the top LED, I will return it and buy another TB4 unit.
*Additional monitors are possible on Apple Silicon Macs through DisplayLink USB boxes with GPUs built in.
This started off as a comparison between OWC's new Thunderbolt 5 hub
https://www.owc.com/solutions/thunderbolt-5-hub
and older Thunderbolt 4 hub
https://www.owc.com/solutions/thunderbolt-hub
Amazon has it for $99.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NWL5V86?th=1
Both add a pair of USB-C TB ports and a USB-A port to your Mac. Yes there are actually four TB ports but one is the uplink to a TB port in your computer while another replaces that TB port so you are only adding two+one USB 3.2 Gen 2 (was USB 3.1) USB-A.
In addition, you get downloads for manuals and OWC Dock Ejector (a solution looking for a problem?)
https://www.owc.com/solutions/dock-ejector
Both work fine with any TB3/4/5 Mac. TB4/3 is based on the USB4 standard while TB5 is based on USB4.2. Intel Certifies and licenses Thunderbolt but not USB4/4.2. This plays havoc with backward compatibility on Windows. What I wanted to test was backward compatibility on the Mac. I'm happy to report that both hubs are compatible back to USB 1.1. Old MOTU USB MIDI boxes are 1.1 including my MOTU MTP AV USB. Both support AV over HDMI (specs differ) but neither can add more monitors than Apple allows (bigger issue with the Mini/MBP and MBAir than the Studio)*
You may need adapters and/or cables depending on your uses. This picture shows my Apple TB2–TB3 adapter in white and a USB-A to USB-C adapter on the opposite side. The TB adapter has my 828mkII FW plugged into a TB2 dock. The USB-A adapter has my MTP AV USB at the other end. The USB-A port is charging my keyboard over a USB 2 to Lightning cable. The macOS does not support 2000MB/s (USB 3.2 gen2+2) except over TB5/4/3 (or TB2 with the Apple adapter).
- Screenshot 2025-03-28 at 5.17.31 PM.jpg (283.65 KiB) Viewed 2240 times
So what are the differences besides TB4 vs TB5? There are a few:
Power supplies are incompatible.
The TB4 hub has puts out 60W bus power and is limited to a theoretical 4000MB/s data + AV. Real world is a 2700MB/s limit because of the 4-Lane pipe. OWC's higher claim is marketing nonsense. No switch or fan. The uplink port is on the front. It has a logo on top that glows blue when the uplink port is connected properly and white when connected wrong—my wife loves this feature.
The TB5 hub has puts out 180W bus power and is limited to a theoretical 8000MB/s data + AV. Real world is probably around 5500MB/s limit — so, twice as fast as TB4. The housing is nearly twice as big, it has a power switch and fan. No 2-color LED on the top (booo!), instead a blue dot underneath to tell you if the uplink is working/off when it isn't. There's a white LED underneath to tell you if the power switch is on. Also, the uplink port has moved to the back — OWC Support gets lots of calls about this.
OWC support tells me that the LEDs on both units should be the same but he is wrong. I'm sending him pictures in case that there's supposed to be one on the top of the TB5 and I got a defect.
This picture shows the TB5 box on the left with my TB4 box on the left showing the Blue/White LEDs under the logo. Below that is the underside of the TB5 hub. My boxes still have the plastic over the top.
- Screenshot 2025-03-28 at 5.24.56 PM.jpg (431.25 KiB) Viewed 2239 times
- IMG_5294.jpg (190.48 KiB) Viewed 2239 times
Having a TB4/3/USB4 Mac Studio, I have no use for this TB5 hub and after I get an answer on the top LED, I will return it and buy another TB4 unit.
*Additional monitors are possible on Apple Silicon Macs through DisplayLink USB boxes with GPUs built in.
