(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best laptop docking stations

"Already moving the goal posts"

I'm not "Moving the goal posts", just expanding on the original idea. This is a subject that contains a multitude of caveats on either side of the fence, so I think it's understandable to not attempt to cover everything in a single post, let alone on my phone during a lunch break.

"This isn't going to happen, so you should really not bank on it or hope for it."

That's quite a blanket statement. I have a hard time believing that no schools in the US, or on the planet earth for that matter, would not have the slightest interest in a system such as this (University or not). Even if a school didn't provide the actual dock itself, just supplying a keyboard and monitor would be enough (Which almost all schools already have). A student could easily bring their own device dock ( Like the display dock that exists today for the 950) for use at school If one did not want/could not afford a laptop dock. Which, once again, is MUCH cheaper and easier to carry around than a laptop would be (The 950 dock is currently for sale on amazon for $59 USD - https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Display-Dock-Lumia-HD-500/dp/B01I749CKO ).


"Most universities don't even allow windows 10 on institutional machines."

The school would not own the phones, that would belong to the student.

"take the laptop for a much better experience"

It's easy to just tell someone to "take the laptop for a much better experience", but that is easier said than done for some people. Not everyone can afford a phone and a laptop (as I mentioned above), nor a desire to own one for that matter. There are many people who would only want a device to comfortably type up their homework, do research on, or pay bills on and that's it. Why spend the money on a laptop when I could just dock my phone (Whether it be a traditional dock or laptop dock), do my work, and be done? Why buy another computer (aka phone) when you already own one?

"And those who actually make decisions see phones as phones and laptops and laptops and the cost to upgrade infrastructure to co-mingle those two things are not worth the opportunity cost. "

This is another blanket statement. If the phone is running the exact same operating system as a laptop (Full Windows OS, as per discussion), then the difference should be minimal. Not to mention that there are always is, and always will be infrastructure costs. The fact is, if Microsoft went ahead and implemented the capability into the core functionality of Retail and Enterprise editions of Windows, the support (optional or not) would eventually be integrated or available to integrate into a company via EOL OS upgrades. Even in the current form of individual Phone + Laptop, look at the rate iOS and Android Operating Systems upgrade at. Do you think it's easy and/or cheap to manage the disparity between iOS, Android, and Windows? If anything, there would be a great potential in cost savings vs detriment by using a single OS.

"There is a reason why more businesses run on windows XP than on windows 10. I'm guessing you're a student based on the idea of bringing one to class. The "corporate world" is not nearly as techy as you think it is, unless you specifically work in tech - and very few of those corporations have bought into docks either. "

Actually no, I am not a student. Which is why I said initially "If I was a student". I work in an IT department for a corporation with 150k+ employees. ANY company that still runs on an EOL OS such as XP should seriously question their IT department's competency (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/13853/windows-lifecycle-fact-sheet). A vast majority of our corporate associates (THOUSANDS of associates) use a laptop + Laptop Dock + Monitor + keyboard + Mouse (Unless the associate specifically requests another device such as an AIO), as well as a company phone. The potential savings on laptop hardware alone is staggering. Not to mention less devices to support overall, which leaves to massive time ( time = money) savings. This is just one example. Even if you don't agree with my personal experience, I think this is more than enough to disprove the possibility of it being no more than "marketing fluff".

Are the things that I described going to apply to all people, schools, and businesses? All scenarios? Yourself? Absolutely not. Do I think many could benefit from a single device that could not only double as a Phone/Computer, but also have the potential of being wildly successful? Absolutely. Do I think this is going to happen within the next few years? Not likely, but I do think that's where things are heading, and I think it's rather close minded to say such a device, even in the now, has no potential in the home, in the school, or in the office.

Following on from yesterday's post with a surface dock from /u/SurfaceDockGuy I humbly submit potato quality shots of my two setups.

A little background; I purchased my surface last year right after the refresh to replace my aging Dell tablet but couldn't commit easily to the transition because the Dell docking solution included a drop in stand that worked much better for my needs and didn't leave me hunched over the tablet screen.

Enter /u/SurfaceDockGuy and the VESA Surface Dock and I was instantly able to build a flexabile home and office solution that allowed me to work with the same hardware whether i'm at home, in the field, or sitting in my office, it truly is the first party accessory that Microsoft is missing from the Surface lineup.

My home setup is a single Dell P2416d panel sitting on an Amazon Dual VESA mount with the dock solution. For a desk i'm using a height and tilt adjustable overbed table on wheels, this allows me to move around my house easier and adjust for sitting or standing positions (ensure you tighten the monitor arms to prevent overtilt).

My office setup is three Dell P2418d panels (two running native on the dock, one running through a Plugable USB 3.0 to DP adaptor again utilizing two Amazon Dual VESA mounts

Overall it's a great solution, the Surface adapts perfectly to the changing quantity of panels, thanks to /u/SurfaceDockGuy I can finally get some return on investment from my Surface.

My wife loves her Surface Pro 3 - I won it for her in a hackathon a few years ago. While it only has 4GB RAM and 128GB storage, she's able to do all sorts of advanced graphics arts work on it including running a CNC vinyl cutter. It has completely replaced laptop/desktop, and tablet. I built an ergonomic workstation around it for her as well to clean up her workspace. She can't sing enough praises about the Surface.

The only issue we had with it was buggy Wi-Fi connectivity early on. Those were resolved with the first or second firmware update - no problems since.

After 3 years of use and a couple drops, the screen has developed a crack so I'm using this as an opportunity to get her a Surface Book 2 and build an even better ergonomic workstation around it (shhhh don't tell her!) Just like our Pro lineup, I'll make these available on Amazon and our webstore when the design is ready. But I like to use my wife as a guinea pig since she seems to have bad luck with technology - if it passes the wife test its usually good to go.

As the other guy posted, the easiest way is to get a Thunderbolt Dock and connect everything to that one. Here is a good rundown of what's available.

https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-thunderbolt-dock/

The alternative is to spread the load over the two ports and connect some to each. You could for instance use this one and connect power to the other port:

https://www.amazon.com/CalDigit-Thunderbolt-Portable-Charging-Ethernet/dp/B079H4WTR4/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1538643440&sr=8-1-spons

Or you could get two of my favorite adapters:

https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Multiport-DisplayPort-Ethernet/dp/B06Y5N3YCD/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1538643605&sr=8-4

(note that that one is only DisplayPort, not HDMI, but your displays support that as well, and it's a better cable type anyway).

Switching between a Mac and a PC is best done with a KVM. If you mean to switch two displays, that gets a little bit more expensive, but not insanely so. That is a separate thing from all the other purchases, though.

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You want 16GB or more of RAM, at least one NVMe SSD (boot/os/apps), and a 2nd hard drive (hybrid 2TB or 2TB SSD), Ryzen 2 cpu (not intel) if possible as it handles more threads/cores thus better for editing/rendering, USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports, 4K or HD display, I prefer HD on laptops as 4K is often very small and even with good eyes can be hard to read, and a dedicated GPU with 4GB or more RAM. The MSI looks pretty solid. They have an option for a 1070 GPU, I would go that way. They also have an option for 2 x 512Nvme. Dont go that way. Grab the 1070, 32GB RAM and buy yourself a separate 2TB NVMe drive (if you have the money). Not sure if there is room for a 2.5" SSD, if so, that is great.. Crucial MX500 is the way to go there. If not, but room for 2nd NVMe, get the largest you can afford. OR..

It has Thunderbolt 3.. that is awesome. Get yourself a good TB3 dock (this one I got and is really good: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078F9W8N1/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and then look at an external Thunderbolt HD setup, or you can grab a USB 3.1 Gen 2 external dock.. that provides 10Gb/s speed and you can plug in an SSD and get max speed or a large Sata3 HD for storage. I would look at 2 bay dock options if possible so you can have both SSD for editing with and a larger HD for backup/project files.

HTH

I have a Razer Blade 15 and I personally use this dock.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T2RW54X/

I originally had a USB-C dock instead of the thunderbolt 3 and whenever I would run anything that used the NVIDIA graphics card it would make the screens flicker. (USB-C is 10gbps while thunderbolt 3 is 40gbps)

This dock runs everything perfectly and is the best I could find for a reasonable price.

Note: if you have non display port monitors you need an active dongle instead of a passive one. I have two HDMI monitors (1080p & ultrawide 1080p) and I had bought two dongles but they were passive so I returned them and got active dongles (linked below).

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M5DX296/

As for charging, the Razer Blade 15 needs a 200+ watt charger while both USB-C and thunderbolt 3 max out at 90w. I really wanted the single cable setup as well, but the two cables are a must.

Hope this helped fellow gamer

This is a good dock. I have someone using a elitebook 1040 using this dock 24/7 and it works well including power delivery. StarTech.com Dual Monitor USB C Dock - for Windows Laptops - 4K MST - with 60W Power Delivery (USB PD) - Laptop Docking Station https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078MPQ36T/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_O8OIBbHZHGB4S

Also pluggable - Plugable USB-C 4K Triple Display Docking Station with Charging Support for Specific Windows USB Type-C/Thunderbolt 3 Systems (1x HDMI & 2x DisplayPort++ Outputs, 60W USB PD) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0779K9DG2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_6.OIBbJ5X90EB


The HP usb C docks I’m not a real fan of, they haven’t been updated for a bit. You can pretty much use any USB C dock with PD (power delivery) so it’s just a single cable. That’s what you’ll want to search. I like the star tech one above. I also have a bunch of the small travel ones for my elitebooks that I use for dual monitor when I’m on business which work fine but if your using it full time stick with one that’s powered like above. For displays it’s thunderbolt C port is pretty capable, most of the docks use display link technology which is going to have a max resolution and monitor count depending on price.

I don't have one but I've been looking around at some docks as well.

There's this OWC dock with 5 USB A ports, 2 thunderbolt 3 ports, and a USB C and apparently 85W power.

This Elgato pro dock has 5 USB A ports, 2 thunderbolt 3, 2 USB C and 60W of power. Looks nice but pretty pricey.

These two docks by Promise and Cable Matters look to have the same features: 5 USB A, 2 thunderbolt 3, and 60W of power.

They all have some other things like HDMI, SD card slots, headphone inputs, etc.

My understanding is that if you have a 13" then 60W should be fine but if you have a 15" then you'll need the 85W.

Full View : https://www.reddit.com/r/MusicBattlestations/comments/ck6f79/complete_view_of_my_home_studio_stacked_sitstand/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x

https://imgur.com/gallery/FR36P0H

Some more photos :

https://imgur.com/gallery/FR36P0H

https://drive.google.com/open?id=11ye0iLpMpWgtjylLOZmUWG2m9eAZEylb

Sketch Plans:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Ez0g_PjKXiPOKbEZ4OKhXuapxJ1vdjMP?usp=sharing

I had drawn plans for the desk and pretty much every single thing in this room but I can no longer find a few of them.

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Details:

Desk Frame: 2 x Autonomous AI 2 Dual motor frames

Desk Top: Birch Counter Tops from Home Depot

Monitor Setup : 2 x Samsung U590 controlled by 3x1 HDMI Switches

Computers: Mac Mini 2018, Macbook Pro 2017 15", Hackintosh, i7 8700K, Asus Maximus X Code, Vega 64 Liquid, iPad Pro (using Duet Display for Superior Drummer)

Macbook Dock: Thunderbolt 3 Dock by Elgato

Speakers / Monitors: Mackie CR3, Yamaha HS5, Google Home Mini (really nice as a cheap speaker test for mixes)

Monitor Stands: K&M 26772 Monitor stands

Sound Booth: Wooden Frame with MDF Walls filled with Rock wool

Fwiw I have the dock. And t charges at close to double the rate with the screen on (according to battery bar) which means it probably actually charges at double the rate with the screen off.

I got my dock of Amazon warehouse deals for 37$ about a month ago I think they went up in price a bit but it said used very good condition and that it may have some scuffs but those were just dust that wiped right off. Was basically brand new in box, though the box was a little beat up.

Batter bar shows me between 4000-4500 charging rate in the dock, vs 2000-2500 charging rate with the supplied charger.

While that extra power is for displays it naturally has to provide more power to the tablet so that it won't drain during use (which can happen with the stock charger depending on your activities). It makes sense if you think about it as the dock doesn't use the micro USB (2.0) port but the full size USB (3.0) to provide power to the tablet.


Edit: just checked, looks like some people bought the cheap ones to realist for some profit. There are a bunch around the 40-50$ price point, but for one from Amazon warehouse deals it's 65$ but says like new.

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Docking-Station-compatible-GJ3-00001/dp/B00VGJI1RS

Assuming you don't already own a docking station, I would suggest looking into a Lenovo Thinkpad. There are a number of options that would fit your needs depending on how much portability you think you'll need.

You can buy a docking station for ~$150 new.

Other options to look into is the Lenovo X1 Carbon or the T470s. Both are incredibly light and well built - the x1 Carbon weighs in at 2.58 (battery up to 10hrs or so), while the T470s is a bit more at 3.0 lbs (battery up to 8hrs or so). If you want a bit better value, you could look into the even heavier Thinkpad E470 for just over $1000 which has an entry level dedicated GPU.

You could also look into the normal T470 as well, which weighs a bit more than the T470s and a bit less than the E470.

Great timing!

I actually just found a dock that works well for what I need (2 1080p Monitors, speakers, and 3 USB Peripherals). Only possible downside is that it doesn't use a USB-C connector, but it does everything I need it to so it shouldn't really matter anyways.

WavLink USB3.0 Docking Station

If you wanted to take advantage of the Thunderbolt 3 port you'll have to do a bit of testing. I actually went through 2 of them from Amazon and their support was iffy (USB Peripherals worked sometimes, but monitors wouldn't receive signal).

If you're looking for a one plug solution that charges the laptop and connects to your peripheral, it doesn't exist since the laptop needs 230W to charge whereas Thunderbolt 3 only supports up to 100W.

Buy a used T440p and upgrade components as desired. I absolutely love mine and only dropped $200 to bring it home.

Some recommendations if you go that route:

• Buy a dock (found mine on sale from a local shop for an insane $20) for your desk setup. Essential gear - I have a dual (external) monitor setup and it's a total joy to use with the dock.
  
  
• Swap out the optical drive with an Ultrabay caddy for an additional HDD/SSD. Also...
  
  
  • There's an available M.2 slot which would permit you to add an M.2 SSD for a total of three drives... although you could also chuck this adapter into one (or both) of the drive bays for a RAID 0 or RAID 1 setup (or just for the fun of having an absurd amount of storage (JBOD)). I hope to do this next weekend; ostensible maximum number of internal drives = 5 M.2 SSDs.
    
    
• I haven't felt the need to upgrade my stock i5, but you can go all the way up to the i7-m910MQ if that's something you'd like to do. Frankly unnecessary IMO nor does it sound necessary based on your stated preferences.
  
  
• Beef up the RAM. 4GB ram is stock but anemic if you're doing video editing or graphic work; you can bump it up to 16GB using 2x 8GB sticks.
  
  Here's a fairly recent guide that may help guide you along as you make your choices.

There are a few Thunderbolt 3 option for 4K60 HDMI (x2), USB-A, Ethernet etc, off a single (USB-C) port like this one from CalDigit:

https://www.amazon.com/CalDigit-Thunderbolt-Portable-Charging-Ethernet/dp/B079H4WTR4

It costs US$100 but for what it does, it’s a pretty good value.

Thank you for your input! Thought so but wanted to ask anyway... I could even maybe try with a Notebook Cooler to see the results.

Saw that T3 dock on Amazon, seems pretty good for the price, but I don't know about the build quality:

https://www.amazon.com/WAVLINK-DisplayPort-Thunderbolt-Charging-Ethernet/dp/B07T2RW54X/ref=sr_1_15?keywords=thunderbolt+3+dock&qid=1573060587&sr=8-15

I think something along the lines of a "tech HD" screen protector.

Carrying cases are eh from what i have seen. However I know USB hubs are great. You can also get a cheap 2.0 usb hub for like 10 bucks.

However, if you want to get super fancy:
http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-UD-3900-Universal-2048x1152-Ethernet/dp/B00ECDM78E/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1381347622&sr=8-8&keywords=universal+docking+station

or

http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Universal-Docking-Ethernet-USB3SDOCKHD/dp/B008YT59Q4/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1381347622&sr=8-11&keywords=universal+docking+station

My home setup I still have an l-shaped glass and steel desk (I prefer glass for how cold to the touch it is and clean it looks), triple monitor, desktop pc on the centerpiece, and an older 32 inch lcd tv with a setup for my laptop or projects on the other desk to my right. If I were to do it over again, I would get one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/VIVO-Workstation-Ergonomic-Adjustable-DESK-V102E/dp/B071KGDGNK/

And go to home depot and get a big 24x48x2 piece of wood, sand it, stain it till it's good, do a thin polyurethane top coat, etc...

https://www.amazon.com/ECHOGEAR-Triple-Monitor-Mount-Screens/dp/B079NNC2YQ/

And use this for my 3 monitors at home, instead of the stand I currently have. Fixed mounts with a curve, all the way. For value if I were doing a new build, I would get 3 of these as my monitors:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1102898-REG/dell_s2715h_27_1920x1080_led_monitor.html

I prefer 1080p as it's still the end-user style often used.

https://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Charging-Specific-Thunderbolt-DisplayPort/dp/B0779K9DG2/

This is the dock I would use for the triple monitor setup. Displayport-to-hdmi cables are all over the place, adapters too. Cheap. This dock does some modest charging, but these Plugable ones have been super solid in our workplace so far.

Dell D3000

Verbatim USB C dongle

I'm not saying this is the optimal setup or anything as there are more efficient ways to do this but it's what I had at work for my XPS!

I made a diagram here: https://i.imgur.com/KmGTX5c.png. Hope that helps!

This is the dock I bought for my S3 Non-Pro ( paid around $20 on liquidation for it a few years ago )

https://www.amazon.ca/Microsoft-Surface-Docking-compatible-GJ3-00001/dp/B00VGJI1RS/ref=sr_1_3?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhdWKiPWR4gIVnEwNCh0M0g5CEAAYAiAAEgLDm_D_BwE&hvadid=230004443165&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9000501&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t2&hvqmt=e&hvrand=8441531048072773104&hvtargid=kwd-295506217860&hydadcr=1533_10290167&keywords=surface+3+docking+station&qid=1557524010&s=gateway&sr=8-3

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I bought it for VERY cheap, but it works great. The S3 charges up beautifully, faster and more reliably than with the stock Microsoft power brick.

Good question, this took me some time and money to figure out, but it was important to me to be able to run this whole setup through 1 port.

My setup is that I have two ASUS PB258Q 25" monitors. I run those through Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Dock, one is connected via display port and the other is connected to a usb-c port using a displayport -> usb-c adapter.

Then I just connect the macbook to the USB-c dock and the dock supplies power + display connection to the monitors.

The ThunderBolt 3 dock is highway robbery but all of the docks that supply 85W of power are expensive, and it does work perfectly for my setup.

Usb-c Thunderbolt 3 docks are expensive as shit. I needed one that I could connect the two monitors to, while charging, and have plenty of other ports if I needed them. There was another cheaper one I was considering, but I figured I may as well pay the extra ~40 and get the best lol

https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Thunderbolt-Dock-Windows-Docking/dp/B07F94KD1L/ref=pd_cart_vw_crc_2_9?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07F94KD1L&pd_rd_r=81b41595-fc86-4ff9-8aa4-9dfad7074506&pd_rd_w=q8GeB&pd_rd_wg=KXPdV&pf_rd_p=7b1a11cb-b9d6-4645-a52e-34c86ca37029&pf_rd_r=T3XVKTSAKRQDA1NG9FCT&psc=1&refRID=T3XVKTSAKRQDA1NG9FCT

Lovely setup. I was about to get the Lenovo dock, then read some reviews from people about a firmware update knocking out some ports. At the same moment, Caldigit released their newer no-driver-required Thunderbolt 3 / dual displayport dock. I've been using it for a week now and totally loving it. I own a Lenovo P1 Gen 2 with 64 GB ram. Dock as follows:

1. USA: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VL675DT
   
2. Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07VL675DT

If no one else has any better suggestions, you can pretty easily disassemble that external HDD to get to the 3.5" drive inside.

Once you've got the drive, you could hook it up to the computer with a dock like this.

Acer Predator Helios 300 would be a good pick and a third party docking station such as the StarTech Docking station

• Display 15.6" Full HD IPS 1920 x 1080
  
• Processor: Intel Core i7
  
• Graphics: GeForce GTX 1060
  
• 16GB DDR4
  
• 256GB SSD (HDD can be added for extra storage)
  
• Weight 5.95 lbs
  
• Battery life 6 hrs
  
  The specs are wonderful for the price which provides a good gaming performance. Under excessive load the laptop can run warmer than you want but not enough to hinder performance
  
  
  Detailed Review

https://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Dynadock-Docking-Station-PA3927U1PRP/dp/B006ZGWJU2

looks like it connects with 1 usb 3.0 cable and can run dual monitors. this way you don't have to use a cloud save between laptop/desktop. if you feel like studying at the library you just unplug and roll out.

Yes I have a native thunderbolt 3 on my laptop but I am using a thunderbolt docking station. I plan on connecting the Samsung T5 SSD to the thunderbolt docking station and connecting the thunderbolt docking station to the native thunderbolt 3 on my laptop.

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I am streaming these sessions using a camera and tablet so that I can do this.

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I could potentially edit them in post but I wanted to record them simultaneously to make it easier on myself when I am teaching. I also wanted to do live sessions in the future.

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I havent tested the Magewell yet and OBS. I just got all my equipment in so I am going to troubleshoot tonight.

I just picked up a Microsoft Display Dock HD-500 secondhand for £10 (designed for Lumia), it works perfectly and has 3 x USB ports for external storage/peripherals. It works a lot better than the generic USB-C dock that I got a while back.

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EDIT: Added link

The Surface Pro 3 dock allows you to connect two external monitors and other peripherals.

This sounds pretty much exactly like what you were describing. I was tempted to grab a setup like this, but I'm waiting to see what Windows 10 and the SP4 are like before breaking my Linux-only habits.

I was just suggested this laptop (or at least one very similar ).

I have a few questions that weren't readily answered on the Amazon description.

1. Do you have a docking station? If so, what kind? I think this one might be a good choice.
   
   
2. Have you ever hooked up more than one monitor to the laptop?
   
   
3. I am looking to use this laptop for working on programming projects from work and school. How well do you think this laptop will run those computational tasks?

You can get the docking stations cheaper on Amazon.

A docking station solution would be the fewest cables to connect and exposed.

There are two Microsoft docking station options. The bulky SP3 dock
https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Surface-Pro-Docking-Station/dp/B00N3J8NRW

or the smaller Surface Dock released with the SP4/Surface Book which is also compatible with the SP3.
https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Surface-Dock-Compatible-Book/dp/B0163HP38W/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

I would avoid Bluetooth keyboards. The wireless Keyboards & mouse combos work with a single USB dongle which you can plug into your docking station and they are much more reliable.

I don't care for the bulky style dock, but some people like it.
The smaller one works through the Power Connector aka Surface Connect. So you just have a single cable to connect. Note that there are other pins on the connector beside power for all the interfaces.

Connect your monitor, keyboard & mouse (wireless dongle), Ethernet, printer, etc, to the Dock and you're all set.

There are also USB docks from third parties for about $90 but at the $129 price for the Surface Dock they aren't worth it.

Yeah stick it in the freezer for 24 hrs. Make sure its in a ziplock plastic bag with as much air removed as possible. I'd recommend buying a SATA usb cradle. Remove the drive from the outer casing. Shouldn't be too difficult most have easily accessible screws. Freezing it shrinks the moving parts ever so slightly and it should free up long enough to get your data off.

I've resurrected 4 drives like this. The last time I froze the drive and then wrapped the cradle and the drive in a towel and put it in the freezer and plugged it in and shut the door. Worked a treat.

It won't cure all HD failures but in my experience if its making a ticking noise and won't boot then this method has worked for me in the past and only costs around $20 in comparison to the hundreds of dollars that a data recovery service will charge you.


http://www.amazon.co.uk/NEWlink-USB-Docking-Station-SATA/dp/B001FB6WPK/ref=pd_cp_ce_0_img

I bought this one for work to use with my T480 and I'm quite happy. As the network administrator, I've noticed no issues with it except that I can't do a hyper-V switch using its network interface. It does drive three 1080p monitors quite nicely too.

I've had good luck with this dock switching between a surface pro and a MacBook Pro. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008YT59Q4/.

It's called a KVM switch, but they can be expensive. If the laptops are modern you can use docks with just a single USB C 3.0 plug for everything, but that is also costly.

Edit: so something like two of [these] (https://www.amazon.com/Targus-Universal-Docking-Charging-DOCK120USZ/dp/B019M3QRPW/) (if you have modern USB-C based laptops and want a 1 plug solution) and one of these, though I've never really shopped for these and you can probably do better than the first Amazon results.

We use
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F94KD1L/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_1HAQDbV1EK7PC

But I haven't looked into the difference between these models. Maybe weve been overpaying by $200 for each dock we buy haha. Definitely investigating this today

Assuming it is a reasonably recent hard drive, it'll probably have a SATA connection. If you aren't very confident installing hardware, or only have access to a laptop, one of these might be useful:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/NEWlink-USB-Docking-Station-SATA/dp/B001FB6WPK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1332885120&sr=8-2

In terms of software, you'll need something pas passes over the drive with a few write of random data. Just formatting it isn't good enough. CCleaner has tools for wiping hard drives:

http://www.piriform.com/docs/ccleaner/using-ccleaner/wiping-free-disk-space

I suggest you avoid the most basic wipe, and do multiple passes with a more secure algorithm. The highest levels of security are probably overkill for your needs, but three passes of random data should be sufficient.

edit: Also, you might get a better response in a different reddit, this isn't a science question.

Pretty sure it is for the Surface Pro 3: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B00N3J8NRW/ref=mp_s_a_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1479146689&sr=8-11&pi=AC_SX280_SY350_QL65&keywords=surface+dock

We have a couple of these at work and it works great: https://www.amazon.com/Targus-Universal-Docking-Charging-DOCK120USZ/dp/B019M3QRPW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1522695103&sr=8-3&keywords=targus+usb+dock

But depending on your needs you might want to look at their line-up: https://www.targus.com/us/docking-stations

General question about Nvidia laptop GPUs, thunderbolt, and docks:

If I have a laptop with an Nvidia GPU and a Thunderbolt port, and I hook it up to a dock like this via TB3, will my Nvidia GPU be used for the HDMI and Thunderbolt3 outputs on the dock, or is it like those Displaylink docks where they have their own GPUs inside powering those ports?

I have used this one and been very happy with it: https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Triple-Monitor-Docking-Station/dp/B012VKW900/ref=sr_1_10?keywords=startech+usbc+4k&qid=1571935735&sr=8-10

There's no docking station for the X1 Carbon that connects via the bottom. There's just the OneLink dock, which... I believe acts like a USB 3.0 port or several.

The T440s has a docking port on the bottom and can be used with Thinkpads' latest generation of docks.

See here: http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/accessories/dock-port-replicators/conventional-docks-port-replicators

In particular, the latest generation of Thinkpads is incompatible with the older generation of docks, so you need the new Basic/Pro/Ultra docks, like those you see at the link above -- this amazon page has a decent picture so you can recognize them: www.amazon.com/ThinkPad-Pro-Dock-Canada-Mexico/dp/B00G6T8EK2/ (and I guess you can see the list of systems it supports in the listing -- the *40 models).

If you are OK with a "two cables" solution this works well and it's a lot cheaper: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B079H4WTR4

Sure, $240: https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Thunderbolt-Dock-Windows-Docking/dp/B07F94KD1L

A better idea would be to throw the VGA monitor in the trash - or eBay/Craigslist.

For the quickly switch to a laptop portion of your post I can tell you what I did that works well. This was the cheaper more universal route for my use.

First start with a kvm switch or just a USB switch for your k/b mouse, one click and your peripherals switch over. Next with my dual monitors they actually support multiple inputs so I run both dvi and hdmi cables off the back of both monitors, one click per monitor, and they switch.. The last peice of the puzzle is a USB 3.0 docking station that both the monitors and kvm stay attached to so that it's a single cable into my laptop when I want to use all of my stuff.

I'm using the [Toshiba DynaDock] (http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Dynadock-Docking-Station-PA3927U1PRP/dp/B006ZGWJU2) with my Surface Pro and it's great. I have one at work and home and each is connected up with two 24" mointors and I've never had any performance issues in the last 3 months of use. I'd much rather buy the Toshiba dock for $140 than the MS dock for $200. If i decidce to buy an Ultrabook later on at least I'll already have a docking station.

This one has worked great for me. https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B01LX8LQ8Y

I got the elgato TB3 dock and it works fine. Have it hooked into my 4k monitor via DP, speakers, Razer Black Widow, Naga and Goliathus along with ethernet. Its a pretty complete little package unless you need more USB ports.

​

Photo :)

Amazon Link

Your setup is BEGGING for a dock.

The OEM Microsoft Surface 3 dock is only $17 on Amazon brand new! Which has the added benefit of charging your S3 at the same time.

If your wife uses the space more often, you might opt for a universal USB dock.

Imagine having all those peripherals and monitor through 1 single cord. Your life will change.

Just tossing this in here: A good deal for something to allow you to run dual monitors via DVI (so you don't need a DP hub or any other adapters...):

http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Dynadock-Docking-Station-PA3927U1PRP/dp/B006ZGWJU2/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1404417157&sr=1-1&keywords=toshiba+dock

Lots of people with Surfaces use this, and you can find some owners in the reviews talking about it. It's cheaper than the OEM Surface dock, and you don't need new monitors (if yours don't already have DP), or extra adapters...

In an office setting, I dont see any problem.

However, if you want to make sure. Just make sure its 3.0, and quality may affect resolution/frame-rates.

We use this brand on the small ones like you have, but you can look at this:

http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Universal-Laptop-Docking-Station/dp/B008YT59Q4

You're not gonna be able to run anything above 1080p but there are socks like this WAVLINK USB 3.0 Universal Laptop Docking Station Dual Video Monitor Display, HDMI, DVI & VGA, Gigabit Ethernet, 2X USB Charging Port, 4 USB Data Ports Audio for Laptop, Tablets, Ultrabook-Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LX8LQ8Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_vz4GDbZAKQ89K

The Dell dock is bulky and doesn't have a lot of useful ports. Check out https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078F9W8N1

This dock is exactly what you need and much better than the Surface Dock: Plugable USB-C 4K Triple Display... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0779K9DG2?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

The one I have for work plugs in USB to my laptop and then has all kinds of outputs you can use, works for me with triple screens but not sure on gaming performance like frame rates though..

This is the one I use, didn't realize how pricey it was since I didn't pay for it myself.

StarTech.com Triple Monitor USB 3.0 Laptop Docking Station - 4K HDMI, 2X DisplayPort - Universal USB Dock for Windows & Mac OS (USB3DOCKH2DP) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012VKW900/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Luv3DbPGF8861

If you have the one with a Thunderbolt 3 port, you should be able to use a Thunderbolt 3 dock like this maybe


https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Display-Docking-Station-Universal/dp/B012VKW900


You'd have to get 2 displayport to HDMI cables, and 1 HDMI to HDMI.

Do you have USB 3? There's a new-ish display standard that transmits over USB. I use a dock like this on my surface:

https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Ethernet-Charging-Ultrabook-PC-Black/dp/B01LX8LQ8Y

You can use the DVI and HDMI outputs at the same time.

I've used this Toshiba USB 3 dock with my laptops before. Works really well, driver is non intrusive, and just plugs right into USB 3: Amazon Link

maybe something like this could work
https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Triple-Display-Docking-Station/dp/B012VKW900/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1500475217&sr=8-3&keywords=usb%2Bdocking%2Bstation%2Bdisplayport&th=1

You can simply leave it on the desk and only have to switch the usb cable from the other dock to the laptop

Not OP, but I bought it off of Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078N7TB44/

Any USB 3.0 dock will do the trick. The downside, is it will not power the Surface, so you'll need to use the power supply as well.

The official dock for the SP2 will work with dual monitors, via displayport daisy chaining, if you have monitors that support it. It would power the surface, but STUPIDLY only has a 100mb ethernet port.

I'm liking the Dell dock, personally. http://accessories.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=452-bbpg

Also the Toshiba Dynadock worked well. https://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Dynadock-Docking-Station-PA3927U1PRP/dp/B006ZGWJU2

I use it with this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006ZGWJU2/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and it works flawlessly

It's $50 off on amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Surface-Pro-Docking-Station/dp/B00N3J8NRW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417225399&sr=8-1&keywords=surface+pro+3+docking

Amazon is selling the dock for $160: http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Surface-Pro-Docking-Station/dp/B00N3J8NRW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427141378&sr=8-1&keywords=surface+pro+3+docking+station

My docking station has been priceless.

My dock is hooked to my TV. I use my Surface as an XBMC machine, I read comics on a very large screen (I have a wireless dongle for turning pages) and as a charger that is always plugged in (the one that came with it is always in my bag).

For me, I removed a media center pc, an iPad and an eReader and combined them into one device. The dock was the keystone for the whole transition.

The dock is different than the keyboard. It's this: https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Docking-Station-compatible-GJ3-00001/dp/B00VGJI1RS. However I see that you're better off ordering here. Than from me. :/ I'd be willing to throw it in with the keyboard for 10(basically to cover shipping)

This docking station is compatible with the X240.

You might be able to find it for a bit less on eBay if you serach for 40A10090US

Copied Directly from r/ElgatoGaming Sticky

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here's one

that's if you wanted up to 4k@60hz so it's expensive.

or this for dual 4k@30hz but every other port under the moon

there's so many docks so it just depends on your needs

Is this valid for the older Surface Pro Docking Station? This one:

https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Docking-Station-Surface-3Q9-00001/dp/B00N3J8NRW

https://www.amazon.ca/StarTech-com-Triple-Display-Docking-Station/dp/B012VKW900/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536878820&sr=8-1&keywords=startech+triple+display+dock

USB-C dock https://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Charging-Specific-Thunderbolt-DisplayPort/dp/B0779K9DG2/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?keywords=plugable+usb+3.0+docking+station&qid=1569751354&sprefix=pluga&sr=8-6

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Surface-Pro-Docking-Station/dp/B00N3J8NRW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421776250&sr=8-1&keywords=surface+pro+3+dock

I was thinking about this Caldigit dock. It has dual display ports. What are your thoughts on this dock?

Are you running dual displays with the TS3 Plus?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MZ2ATGK

This one should work for you.

saw some folks hype this up a month or 2 ago
https://www.amazon.com/Elgato-Thunderbolt-MacBook-charging-Ethernet/dp/B01MZ2ATGK

I have had my eyes on it since.

They're working through USB with DisplayLink. The dock has ports for HDMI and DVI.

Here's a link to what I'm using https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LX8LQ8Y/

I have purchased it and will return it if it doesn't work for me. I'm trying to one of the display ports at 144hz but purchased a cable for the other one to run as hdmi at 60hz. Here's a link to the dock

As for the dual 4K support, this is the one I found, they explictly state it drives the second monitor with a DisplayLink DL-6950, DisplayLink explictly states they support Ubuntu.

Just understand that if you get such a dock, the video card is USB, if you're using it for excel or something it's probably fine, but it's reasonable to assume most 3D stuff won't work, and even some videos may be questionable (likely not able to play 4k video) these cards are usually really slow.

I have charging set up with a Microsoft USB c dock. It charges. I got it on Amazon for $50, but it's a bit harder to find now.

And I have it with mouse, keyboard, screen. It's literally a computer.

Microsoft Display Dock for Lumia 950 or 950 XL (HD-500) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01I749CKO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_qdqRBbCAMV9FJ

Not sure tbh, I thought that was a mac thing. Here is the link

I use a Surface 3 dock which charges through the mini display port. Amazon has them for $22.98 https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Docking-Station-compatible-GJ3-00001/dp/B00VGJI1RS/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=surface+3+dock&qid=1571526142&sr=8-3 .

I just got a Darter Pro and bought a Cable Matters TB3 dock for it. Everything works with the exception of the second monitor. I read somewhere that some laptops don't support dual displays through Thunderbolt, regardless of OS. I couldn't find anything specifically about the Darter (Clevo N151ZU), but it seems likely from my experimentation that you won't be able to get two displays out of the Thunderbolt port.

I also noticed that with a fully updated installation of PopOS, the dock is basically unusable when TB security is in place. I disabled it in the EFI firmware, but just keep in mind that without security enabled you'll need to be careful about what you plug in there. When I had security enabled, the system would frequently fail to authorize the dock on boot, and would also often hang on shutdown.

Even with security disabled, sometimes if I remove and replug the dock while the system is running, the network and USB ports will fail to initialize. However, I have had that same experience on Lenovos and Dells in Windows, so I think that's more of a Thunderbolt issue than Linux or Darter Pro.

We had this exact same problem with laptops having hdmi/mini displayport/vga/etc and decided on this: http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Dynadock-Docking-Station-PA3927U1PRP/dp/B006ZGWJU2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1394051000&sr=8-2&keywords=toshiba+u+dock

It works for usb2 & 3 and basically once the software is installed, they plug in USB (which everyone has) and they get a 2nd monitor up on the display. We put a little 1GB flash drive hooked up to it with the software on it so it auto mounts that drive with the software when users hook up to it.

No stickers on the individual boxes, and no packing label showing my actual order. The shipping label, on a 16" square box, has my address with a shipping weight of 1 lb. My Amazon app shows the items (a total of 6 USB cables) were delivered in one shipment.

Inside the box is three of these

There is one from Caldigit, but no additional usb c. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079H4WTR4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_fHR0DbG3AE574