If you work on your laptop (at home) for a long time, a separate screen and a set of input devices are not a superfluous luxury. You can use a dock to easily connect such peripherals. If you have a laptop with a USB-C connection, you can connect your charger, screen and input equipment in one go with a LINQ USB-C multiport Hub. We have tested various variants.
LinQ USB-C Multiport Hub (4-in-1)
price € 49.99
Image connections HDMI (4K 60 Hz), VGA
Other connections USB 3.0
Laptop connection USB-C, USB-C input for charger
Website www.linqbyelements.dk
8 Score 80 
- Pros
- Build quality
- Maximum 4K with 60Hz output
- No additional drivers required
- VGA connection
- Negatives
- Relatively high price for functionality
LinQ USB-C Multiport Hub (6-in-1, 8-in-1)
price € 69.99 (6 in 1), € 89.99 (8 in 1)
Image connections HDMI (4K 60 Hz)
Other connections 2x Usb 3.0, usb-c (usb3.0 speed), gigabit network connection, card reader (8 in 1)
Laptop connection USB-C, USB-C input for charger
Website www.linqbyelements.dk
6.5 Score 65 
- Pros
- Build quality
- Maximum 4K with 60Hz output
- No drivers needed
- Lots of connections
- Negatives
- Network adapter sometimes via USB 2.0
- Card reader via USB 2.0 (8 in 1)
- No video output via USB-C
LinQ USB-C Multiport Hub (5-in-1, 7-in-1)
price € 59.99 (5 in 1), € 79.99 (7 ​​in 1)
Image connections HDMI (4K 60 Hz)
Other connections 2x Usb 3.0, usb-c (usb3.0 speed), card reader (7 in 1)
Laptop connection USB-C, USB-C input for charger
Website www.linqbyelements.dk
8 Score 80
- Pros
- Build quality
- Lots of connections
- No additional drivers required
- Maximum 4K with 60Hz output
- Negatives
- No video output via USB-C
- Card reader via USB 2.0 (7 in 1)
LINQ makes various USB-C Multiport Hubs. We got five versions to try out: the 4 in 1, 5 in 1, 6 in 1, 7 in 1 and the 8 in 1. These are all USB-C hubs with which you can at least display an HDMI USB-C laptop. The hubs differ in the number and type of connections, I will discuss these differences later and you can also see them in a table below. All hubs are encased in an aluminum housing that is very close in color to the Space Gray used by Apple (and some other laptop manufacturers). You connect the hub to your laptop with the integrated USB-C cable and then connect your charger to the USB-C input of the hub. The whole thing then works without having to install drivers. You get a dock with a monitor connection, USB ports and, depending on the type, also a network connection. You can connect your USB-C laptop to all the peripherals you need at your workplace with one cable.
Your laptop must meet an important requirement: in addition to USB signals, the USB-C port must also be suitable for video output and charging. An image signal over USB-C uses the DisplayPort standard and is also called the DisplayPort Alt Mode. Windows will give you an error if your USB-C connection is not suitable for this. In addition to laptops, the adapters are also suitable for smartphones and tablets. What is possible next depends on the device.
All power delivery
With all five USB-C hubs tested, you can still charge a connected laptop that is powered by USB-C. All five tested hubs are equipped with a USB-C input for this. You connect your charger to this so that the charger can still power your laptop. This works with a USB-C charger of up to 100 watts, so in practice you can use any USB-C laptop with the hubs. Of course, this only works if your laptop actually supports charging via USB-C. Whether the USB-C port is also suitable for charging, you will usually notice from the charger supplied with your laptop. Although I have also tested laptops that you could charge via USB-C despite a separate charging connection and accompanying charger. In that case, you will probably have to purchase a USB-C charger, because you need your own USB-C charger, which you then connect to the dock.
HDMI connection
All five hubs tested are equipped with an HDMI connection that converts the DisplayPort signal supplied by the laptop to a maximum of 4K at 60 Hz. The latter is especially nice, because there are also similar hubs that are maximally suitable for 4K with 30 Hz. Of course it depends on your laptop itself whether 4K at 60 Hz can actually be delivered by the GPU, but with most laptops this is possible nowadays. The 4 in 1 Usb-c Multiport Hub is the only one that also offers a VGA connection in addition to the existing HDMI connection. Perhaps useful if you occasionally come across beamers with VGA. Some of the hubs offer a USB-C connection, but that is also not suitable for connecting a screen if you have a USB-C screen. The DisplayPort signal is only used for the built-in HDMI and VGA connection.
Difference in USB connections
All five hubs tested offer a type a USB connection that works at the USB3.0 speed (5 Gbit / s, nowadays also called USB 3.1 / 3.2 Gen 1). The 4 in 1 Usb-c Multiport Hub offers one USB connection, the four other hubs tested two USB ports. That is not the only difference in the USB area, because the other four hubs also offer a USB-C connection that works at USB3.0 speed (5 Gbit / s). In a speed test, the USB connections appear to achieve a speed of about 451 MB / s in combination with an external SSD that achieves 556 MB / s without a hub. Slightly slower than the theoretical maximum, but you get the convenience of the hub in return.
Confusing network connection
The other distinction between the hubs is made by whether or not there is a card reader and network connection. The 7 in 1 usb-c Multiport Hub contains a micro and SD card reader while the 6 in 1 usb-c Multiport Hub has a network connection. If you want both the network connection and the card readers, the 8 in 1 usb-c Multiport hub offers all the possibilities.
I think a network connection is an important part of a USB-C hub and you will only find it on the 6 in 1 and 8 in 1 version. The network controller used is a gigabit copy of Realtek and is recognized by both Windows and macOS without additional drivers. The network adapter itself connects neatly via gigabit. Unfortunately, the speed achieved in our test turns out to be a lot lower and in our speed test we achieve a maximum speed of about 340 Mbit / s instead of the expected 940 Mbit with both the 6 in 1 and 8 in 1 variant. / s. A look at the macOS system overview shows that the network adapter is connected via USB 2.0. This appears to be due to a peculiarity in the chipset used in the hubs. It is possible to have the network connection work at full speed by connecting a USB3.0 storage device such as a USB stick or hard disk to a USB port. Then the built-in usb3.0 hub switches on and the network adapter is connected via usb 3.0, after which 940 Mbit / s is achieved neatly. It’s nice that a gigabit speed is possible with a trick, because you probably want the network connection precisely because you need a high speed. You must know this trick, because you will not get feedback. Only with a speed test will you find out that the network speed is not optimal.
The card reader is suitable for both the micro-SD and SD format. A disadvantage is that the card reader is always connected via an internet USB2.0 hub. I also achieved a maximum speed of 26 MB / s with a fast SDXC card. This is useful if your laptop does not have a built-in card reader, but if you often use an SD card, it is better to use a faster card reader.
Conclusion
The tested USB-C hubs from LINQ are wrapped in a sturdy and pleasant-looking aluminum housing. Handy is that all functionality works on both Windows and macOS without having to install drivers yourself. It is nice that they are all suitable for a 4K signal with a refresh rate of 60 Hz. After all, many USB docks do a maximum of 30 Hz at a 4K resolution. It is a pity that the card reader on the 7 in 1 and 8 in 1 is connected via USB 2.0. Really inconvenient is that the network connection is connected to the 6 in 1 and 8 in 1 depending on whether you have connected a USB3.0 storage device via USB 2.0 or USB 3.0. Fortunately, you always have a network connection, but possibly not at gigabit speed. That is an important disadvantage because you do not receive any feedback about it and may therefore work much less optimally than you might have thought. In themselves the 6 in 1 and 8 in 1 offer the most functionality, but the unclear implementation of the network connection results in a lower judgment. After all, you do pay a clear additional price for that network connection.
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