Disclaimer: Benfei sent us these items. We did not pay for these items. However, Benfei did not receive a copy of our review before we posted it on Little Big Red Dot.
When we need items like a laptop stand or USB dongles, we will typically just search for such items online and typically we would get the cheapest version of what we need. The reason for such a mindset is because technology has advanced to a stage where even the poorer quality products on shopping platforms are more than capable of doing what 90% of the users require.
So then why bother when a Chinese technology company reaches out to us to review their products?
For context, this is what Benfei sent to us.
I placed my 13 inch Macbook Air as a point of reference as to how large these items are.
The first item which I tested was a 11-in-1 USB C Hub.
Oh this was a little underwhelming. This was rather clunky. Also, the ports were USB 3.0. Which meant that transfer speeds were slower. USB 3.0 has transfer speeds of up to 5 Gbps whereas USB 3.0 has transfer speeds of up to 10 Gbps. Believe me when I say this makes a difference. Especially if you are transferring a large number of files.
The good thing about this USB C Hub is that the power delivery (PD) is up to 100W. This means that it can charge devices extremely quickly. For context, the PD for an iPhone charger maxes out at 35W.
Next up is the Benfei USB-C 3-in-1 Hub. Based on the size and the layout of the hub, this looks like something that you would use on a mobile phone.
The key advantage of this is that the USB A port is USB 3.2. Also, the PD on this is 100W as well.
There is a major design flaw in this dongle. This is something that only content creators like myself will be alert to. The dongle cannot be plugged into the phone when there is a thick case on the phone. For me, my case prevented me from using this dongle.
Next up is the Benfei USB C 4-in-1 Multiport Hub.
Now this is very useful. The speeds that this USB Hub can achieve are the types of speed that would assist in the workflow of those who need to transfer large files across devices. For context, we use Samsung SSDs. Even the Samsung T5 SSD has a maximum sequential transfer that is higher than USB 3.0. In fact, the maximum sequential speed of 540 MB/s can only be reached with USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports. Many who use SSDs and USB dongles do not realise this but if you do not get the right USB dongle, you are not taking advantage of the speeds that your SSDs can attain. In such cases, it would be better for you to purchase an older generation SSD as it would make no difference to you with regards to speed of transfer.
This came in the package as well.
Out of all the items that we received, this is the most useful. And it is impressive.
This is the Benfei Laptop Stand with Docking Station & Magnetic Wireless Charger & KVM Switch.
I do think that there is definitely a better name for this.
This is exceptionally made. It is very solid and has a decent heft to it in terms of weight. The special thing about this product is that it is a hub for your laptop on top of it being a stand.
You plug the power into the USB C port on the left of the Laptop Stand. You then have 4 USB A ports for you to plug in things like dongles for your mouse, keyboards or even connect hard disk drives.
The USB C port in the middle then connects to the laptop itself. It will charge up the laptop and can act as a display outlet as well. There is an ability for you to set up the laptop stand to house two different laptops. This means that whichever laptop is connected to this laptop stand will have access to all items connected to the laptop stand. I am thinking that you could connect a keyboard and mouse to the stand and whichever laptop is connected to the stand will have connection to that keyboard and mouse. The same would apply for hard disk drives and printers connected to the stand.
If you would like to know more about Benfei and their products, you can refer to their website: https://www.benfei.com/
They are also on Amazon: https://www.amazon.sg/s?rh=n%3A6314449051%2Cp_4%3ABENFEI&ref=bl_dp_s_web_6314449051
Yours sincerely,
Daryl
