Triple monitor docks usually either require DisplayLink drivers or you're paying a premium for a Thunderbolt dock, all just to use an extra screen.The Plugable UD-MSTH3 instead opts to use a feature built into Windows, ChromeOS, and most Linux distros, allowing you to attach three extra HDMI displays over a single USB-C cable.The UD-MSTH3 doesn't just have displays either—it includes a total of 15 ports, including 2.5Gbps Ethernet, card readers, and more.
If you have a compatible PC, you can't go wrong with it.Plugable UD-MSTH3 dock 7.5 Ports 3x HDMI 2, 4x USB A, 2x USB-C (Front), USB-C 30W (Charge Only), USB-C 100W, microSD, SD, 2.5Gbe Ethernet USB Power Delivery PD 100W (rear), PD 30W (Front) Power supply included Yes.Price 150 The UD-MSTH3 dock lets you connect two 4K 60Hz monitors to a Windows PC or Chromebook using only USB-C — no drivers or Thunderbolt required.
Pros & Cons Solid built quality Great assortment of ports 30W USB-C on the front Works with Linux Macs don't support triple monitors with MST See at Amazon Expand Collapse See Our Process How We Test and Review Products at How-To Geek We go hands-on with every product to ensure it's worth your time and money.Posts By Justin Duino Price and Availability The Plugable UD-MSTH3 Dock costs $150 and is available for purchase from Amazon and Plugable.The dock itself comes in one color scheme: silver and black.
The box also includes a 150W power supply and a USB-C cable.Specifications Brand Plugable Ports 3x HDMI 2, 4x USB A, 2x USB-C (Front), USB-C 30W (Charge Only), USB-C 100W, microSD, SD, 2.5Gbe Ethernet USB Power Delivery PD 100W (rear), PD 30W (Front) Power supply included Yes.Color Silver and black Price 150 Expand Collapse A dock with impressive construction It feels rock solid Close When I first took the UD-MSTH3 out of the box, one thing struck me: "This has a nice heft to it." The dock has a metal body (aluminum, presumably) with plastic ends that house the ports.
The metal body is a nice touch and a step-up over the plastic docks in the same price range.After using it for a while, I suspect the metal construction is probably functional—it didn't get hot, but it was warm to the touch (94F).A plastic body would have trapped more of that heat.
The dock also features rubber feet on two faces so that the dock can be used in an upright position or lying flat.It is more stable in the upright position than I expected.Accidentally bumping it or snagging a cable without bracing the dock didn't cause it to tip.
There are no rattles or squeaks and all the ports are snug fits without being tight.The entire unit is very well put together.It has all the ports you need The dock more ports than my desktop motherboard The impressive construction of the UD-MSTH3 is matched by the number of ports packed onto this thing.
The front has three USB ports that support 10Gbps transfer speeds (2xUSB-C and 1xUSB A), a 5Gbps USB A port, a 30W USB-C (charge only) port, a microSD card slot, a full-size SD card slot, and a combo audio jack.But wait! There's more! The back has yet 5Gbps USB A port, a USB A 2.0 port, HDMI 2.0b ports, a 2.5Gbps Ethernet port, a 100W USB-C port, and a DC barrel plug.The 100W USB-C port on the back is the one you use to connect to your laptop or desktop.
I connected the dock to a USB4 port on the back of my motherboard and put the dock through its paces.It handled everything I threw at it To stress test the device, I attached as many different devices as I could, including three monitors, two phones, a mouse, keyboard, a USB drive, and an Ethernet cable, and then attached it to a USB-C port on the back of an X870E motherboard with an AMD 9950X CPU.All the peripherals worked as they should, and I was basically able to use my PC normally.
The dock became a bit warm, but not hot.The monitors also worked, though my specific hardware limited the dock to the output from the iGPU.Triple monitors are great with a few small snags Your PC's specs matter a lot The standout feature of the dock is the triple HDMI ports arrayed along the back.
In theory, the dock supports up to three monitors, but that comes with a few restrictions worth understanding.It all boils down to what hardware is in your PC.Plugable states that you could, connect three 4K monitors to this dock and expect them to work if the computer supports display stream compression (DSC) ratios of 2.4 to 1 or better.
With a 2.4:1 DSC ratio, you would be limited to one 4K monitor running at 60Hz and two secondary 4K monitors running at 30Hz.If your PC supports DSC with a 3:1 ratio, you could run 4K monitors at 60Hz with a third running at 30Hz.Unfortunately, unless you know exactly what level of DSC compression your system supports, you won't know what will work until you try.
Less demanding setups are unambiguously supported, however.You can safely run one 4K display at 60Hz with two 1080P 60Hz monitors, two 4K displays at 60HZ, and other less demanding configurations.My own test involved three 1440p displays that support refresh rates up to 144Hz.
It handled the resolution without an issue, but the refresh rate was limited to 100Hz across all three monitors.Disconnecting one monitor allowed the remaining two to run at their full 144Hz, however.Macs don't really benefit from two of the HDMI ports The UD-MSTH3 manages its three-display trick by using multistream transport (MST)—something Macs don't support.
You can add one display.If you add any extras, they just mirror the desktop or the second screen.I'd argue that isn't especially useful in most situations.
Besides the issues with the video outputs, the remaining ports are every bit as useful on a Mac as they are on any other PC.It works with Linux Officially, the UD-MSTH3 supports Windows and Chrome OS, and I wasn't sure how it would work on a Linux PC.I connected it to my Surface Laptop 4 running Kubuntu.
Technically, the port on that device isn't Thunderbolt 4, 5, or USB4, but it is capable of display out.The rest of the dock was connected to the same three 1440p 144Hz monitors I used for my desktop test.A bit to my surprise, the dock and my laptop worked together instantly.
All three desktop monitors ran at their native resolution and were stable at a 100Hz refresh rate.The Ethernet port worked as expected.While not "officially" rated for Linux, the dock does appear fully compatible as long as your Linux PC also has the right hardware.
Kubuntu is built on Ubuntu, which itself is built on Debian.I didn't test it against Fedora or Arch, but the fact that it worked with Kubuntu is a strong sign you make it work with any distro if you wanted to.Should you buy Plugable UD-MSTH3 Dock? If you have a Windows laptop or PC with a USB4, Thunderbolt 4, or Thunderbolt 5 port, a current-generation Intel or AMD processor, can make use of the three HDMI ports on the dock, it is an excellent buy.
Plugable's UD-MSTH3 has fantastic construction, the video ports deliver on their triple-monitor promise, and every other port you're likely to need is included.You would be hard-pressed to do better at this price point.It even works with Linux, which isn't a guarantee when a dock has this many bells and whistles.
If you have an older PC with an older processor, or a Snapdragon-based Windows PC, then it becomes a bit harder to recommend.You won't be able to make full use of the video ports, which is both a major selling point and a significant part of the cost of the device.Unless you expect that you'll hold onto the dock until you upgrade your PC to a device that support the video ports, you're probably better off buying a different dock that doesn't have as many HDMI ports instead.
Anyone with a Mac is in a similar boat.Despite the otherwise excellent assortment of ports, the headline feature of this dock is the triple monitor support—something Macs can't use.You'd get better bang for your buck by buying something else.
Plugable UD-MSTH3 dock 7.5 Ports 3x HDMI 2, 4x USB A, 2x USB-C (Front), USB-C 30W (Charge Only), USB-C 100W, microSD, SD, 2.5Gbe Ethernet USB Power Delivery PD 100W (rear), PD 30W (Front) Power supply included Yes.Price 150 The UD-MSTH3 dock lets you connect two 4K 60Hz monitors to a Windows PC or Chromebook using only USB-C — no drivers or Thunderbolt required.See at Amazon Expand Collapse
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