These days, it's rare to find a laptop with multiple ports or anything bigger than USB-C, even if it's a gaming laptop like the Razer Blade 14. That's why it's even more important that there are quality docking stations to make up the shortfall. Even the best laptops need a docking station to turn them into a desktop workstation with external monitors and other peripherals, and that's where this Razer USB 4 Dock comes in.

The Razer USB 4 Dock is one of the best docks I've ever used. It has fourteen ports, including the upstream USB 4 port with 100W Power Delivery that you'd use to connect to your laptop. You also get a few more USB-C ports, four USB-A ports, two display outputs (HDMI and DP), SD and microSD card slots, gigabit Ethernet, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Oh, and one extra USB-A port that's supposed to be used with 2.4GHz dongles, like the ones that enable 8K polling rates on Razer's gaming mice. It's a huge list of ports, but because it's USB 4 and not Thunderbolt, it's substantially cheaper than similarly specced docks, making this a winner.

About this review: Razer supplied us with the USB 4 Dock for the purposes of this review. The company had no input into this article and did not see its contents before publishing.

Price, Specs, and Availability

Razer announced the Razer USB 4 Dock on November 14, 2024, for $230. It is available in Black or Mercury and can be purchased on Razer's website or larger retailers such as Amazon. It has the usual ports you'd expect from a fully featured dock, a USB-A port dedicated to 2.4GHz dongles so they don't get interfered with by your other connected devices, and a dedicated power button so it can charge other devices while your computer is no longer connected.

It's worth mentioning that because Razer went with USB 4 instead of Thunderbolt, the price is much lower than you'd expect for this level of connectivity. Make no mistake, this is a premium docking station in every regard, and it even beats Razer's own Thunderbolt dock.

What I like about the Razer USB 4 Dock

Plenty of ports and a thoughtful power button

The utilitarian nature of docking stations doesn't lend itself to good-looking hardware, but the Razer USB 4 Dock is an exception—at least until you start plugging cables, dongles, and USB drives into it like a techno-hedgehog. It's only 21.5mm in height and is slightly less wide than other docking stations like the Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Multi-Display Docking Station. It feels as premium as any of Razer's other aluminum-clad devices, so it'll perfectly match up to Razer Blade laptops.

But back to the utilitarian nature, because it's not all flash and no substance. You get pretty much every port you could ask for, including HDMI and DisplayPort outputs that can do 4K120. I don't have a 4K display with that refresh rate on hand, but it powered a 3440x1440 ultrawide at 165Hz just fine. A single USB 4 USB-C with 100W Power Delivery connects to your laptop or other device. Then there are four USB-A ports, two USB-C (one with PD 20W), gigabit Ethernet, microSD and SD card readers, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a power button.

There's also one more USB-A on the thin side opposite the power button, which is for 2.4GHz dongles, so they are kept apart from the other ports to reduce the chance of interference. If you've got fast polling rate mice or keyboards from gaming companies like Razer or want trouble-free wireless audio, that's the port to use. In testing, I didn't notice any interference differences between that port and the other four USB-A ports, but I'm sure some hardware configurations might cause issues.

What I didn't like about the Razer USB 4 Dock

There's not much to dislike except the size of the power brick

Overall, there's not much here that I can fault Razer for this USB 4 Dock. The 100W USB Power Delivery upstream USB 4 port is great, but it does come with one drawback. The 180W power brick that this dock needs is larger and heavier than the dock, so it limits how portable it is. That's perhaps not a huge deal, as this is meant to turn a USB 4-equipped laptop into a workstation, but it's worth pointing out.

That's a trade-off between having a chunkier dock with an internal power supply, like the OWC Thunderbolt Go Dock, and the slimline Razer offering. Although, the OWC model has a $70 higher price tag, mainly because of the Thunderbolt branding. Sticking with USB 4 by Razer means no licensing is necessary, so the dock can be produced cheaper and pass that savings onto the user.

Should you buy the Razer USB 4 Dock?

You should buy the Razer USB 4 Dock if:

• You have a USB 4 laptop or computer and need more ports
• You want to use one or two external monitors at up to 4K@120Hz
• You have peripherals that use a 2.4GHz dongle

You should NOT buy the Razer USB 4 Dock if:

• You don't need two external monitors
• You want a cheaper option
• You don't need that many ports

The Razer USB 4 Dock is a slim, fully-featured docking station that packs fourteen ports into a tiny package—loads more than most USB-C hubs. There are no glaring omissions, either, with DisplayPort, HDMI 2.1, USB-C, USB-A, both sizes of SD cards represented, and a gigabit Ethernet port. Razer also thoughtfully added a physical power button, so you can use it to charge your peripherals even while your laptop is being carried around.

It's also worth mentioning that while this dock works with Macs, it has the same display output limitations as the Mac, so you can't add more than one external display to an M1 MacBook without closing the lid. Any docking station has to deal with this, so it's not unique to the Razer USB 4 Dock.

The only thing I can really fault the Razer USB 4 Dock for is that while it's pretty portable, the power brick it needs is hefty. That might not affect your decision-making, and thankfully, the power cables attached to it are long, so you won't have trouble plugging it in. Other than that, this is a fantastic docking station that will work with USB 4 and also Thunderbolt 3/4/5 devices without the price tag Thunderbolt asks for.