As great as laptops are, their limited screen and keyboard size can make them a little rough for long hours of gaming or working. If your main device is a laptop, and you have single or multiple fixed workplaces with many peripherals and monitors, a docking station will make a lot of sense.
There are many laptop docking stations on the market, each with various features. However, don't just select a dock depending on the number of ports available. So, how do you choose a laptop docking station?
Similar to a USB C hub, a laptop docking station is generally used to expand the available connectivity of a laptop to a more desktop-like experience. Unlike a standard USB C hub, though, a docking station has much more to offer than just more USB ports. A fully-fledged docking station will also include one or more video outputs for use with larger displays, as well as Ethernet connectivity.
There are just as many laptop manufacturers as docking station manufacturers. Indeed, not everything is created the same way. Compatibility is a crucial consideration when buying a laptop docking station. After all, if the docking station isn't compatible with your laptop, it will be pretty much useless.
Universal laptop docking stations work with a wide variety of laptops and support several platforms out of the box. The only limitation is some features may not work on some platforms. For example, Windows system can support both Multi-Stream Transport (MST) Mode and Single Stream Transport (SST) Mode, but macOS doesn't support Multi-Stream Transport (MST) Mode.
One of the key reasons to buy a laptop docking station is to add more ports to your device. However, that won't be the case if the laptop docking station you get doesn't have a wide array of ports available. In generally, docking stations include a variety of ports, the most common ports available include charging port (USB Type C, Type A), data transfer port (USB Type C, Type-A, Gigabit Ethernet), 3.5mm headphone jack, Thunderbolt 3 or 4, video ports (DisplayPort, VGA, HDMI) for dual or triple display. You will also find an SD and microSD Card reader.
Fullink develops all kinds of laptop docking stations, including USB docking stations, thunderbolt docking stations, USB C docking stations and USB4 docking stations, like 13-in-1 USB4 MST Dual Display Docking Station.
There are several video ports you can use to connect your laptop to an external display. You can use DVI, VGA, USB-C, Thunderbolt, HDMI, DisplayPort, or Mini DisplayPort. The critical thing to consider is your laptop's native display resolution and the refresh rate. It's best to buy a docking station that can output a similar resolution and refresh rate. So, if, say, your laptop has a 4K display with a 60Hz refresh rate, look for a docking station with a video output port that supports similar specs.
Most of the universal docking stations for laptops have a USB-C PD charging port. This port helps to power the laptop. But some high-end laptops need more power, like – 87W or more. And if your docking station supports 60W, then it does no good to the high-end laptops. That’s why compare your power requirements and then take the final call.
Wi-Fi can be pretty good, especially if your router and your laptop are up to snuff. But even the best Wi-Fi doesn’t match the speed and sheer stability of an Ethernet connection. So, having a convenient dock with a built-in Ethernet cable allows you to get desktop-class Internet connectivity whenever you’re settling down with your laptop in one place.
For a home-office setup, the ability to wake up your laptop from sleep without using its power button is convenient. Some older proprietary docks offered this functionality via a power button on the dock itself, but modern generic docks lack this functionality.
The closest you'll get today is Thunderbolt 4's support for wake from sleep via a connected keyboard or mouse. USB4 also supports this, but unlike Thunderbolt 4, it isn't required to do so by the spec. Thus, if wake from sleep is important for you, you'll need one of the newest laptops with a Thunderbolt 4 port, and a dock to match. Fullink 13-in-1 USB4 MST Dual Display Docking Station has this function, there is a fingerprint button on the top, which can be used to wake up the computer and then unlock the computer. If you want sale this USB4 docking station, and want to brand your own dock, please contact us.
