GIISSMO MacBook Pro Docking Station

I needed a docking station set up for my 2018 MacBook Pro, and a lot of the options out there were well over $100 just for the station itself. This one seemed like it would be decent quality, and the price was quite good too, so I went for it. It's completely made of aluminum, so it does get quite warm when in use, but that's to be expected for something that puts 100W through itself. When it's standing up, it almost looks like a mini Mac Pro, which is quite neat. The heat has to go somewhere. I have it connected to two HDMI high refresh rate monitors @ 144Hz, and it performs flawlessly in that respect. No issues whatsoever when connected up. The double USB-C cable it comes with is quite short, about 2.5-3 feet long, which would be sufficient for most people's desk setups. I wanted to place my MacBook underneath my desk to free up space on the desk, so I decided to get two Thunderbolt 3 cables and connect them up just like the cable that came in the box, and it works just as well. The only downside to doing this is that I have to plug two cables in now instead of 1, but it's well worth it for the freed desk space. One thing of note is that while on the product page it specifies that it takes 100W max input, you need to make sure that the power adapter and cable you use also can keep up with this. Under heavy loads, like rendering video, I noticed that my battery percentage was dropping by a significant amount, and that the battery wasn't being charged. I checked the output from the USB-C power adapter I was using (rated 100W) and found that it was only drawing about 65W at peak load using a USB-C power tester, which would explain why the battery percentage was dropping under load. I was using an original Apple USB-C cable, so I swapped it for another cable that specifically was rated for 100W, and now it draws about 90W under load, which is more in line with what I expected. If you buy this dock and notice your battery level dropping while under load, check the power adapter and the cable to make sure that it's pulling close to 100W, otherwise your laptop will lose charge with this. All of the ports work flawlessly, though be aware that the MicroSD card slot does stick out a significant amount when plugged in, so try not to force it in, lest you break your SD card. My setup consists of two high-refresh rate monitors, a USB DAC/Amp combo going to external speakers, keyboard, mouse, and an external hard drive all plugged in at once, and it takes it all with ports to spare. This is a very excellent dock for my needs, and if you have a 2016-2018 Intel MacBook Pro and need a docking setup for it, this is a good option to look into.