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Hello all,
I'm thinking on getting a docking station.
I've seen two tendencies and I can see advantages in both:
- Normal docking station that connects to the laptop using a special dedicated connector placed at the bottom of the same laptop.
- As advantages I can see that:
- It seems to power the laptop after plugging it to the docking station (even I have not been able to confirm that in the manufacturer site (lenovo)).
- It is easy to plug and it doesn't occupy more space than the one the laptop takes.
- It should work flawlessly without drawbacks as no software is involved (therefore no versions affecting the performance...)
- As disadvantages I can see that:
- It is laptop model dependant, therefore after changing the laptop there is no guarantee it will keep working.
- USB docking station that connects through the USB 3.0 port.
- As advantages I can see that:
- It will keep working after changing the laptop.
- As disadvantages I can see that:
- It doesn't power the latop.
- Software issues from time to time.
- It consumes some processor power to show video at the other displays.
Both devices cost more or less 300€ which is not a small amount...
I'm using two DVI external displays.
All this said...
Which would be your choice?
Any recommendation?
Any experience that is worth sharing?
Thank you all! 
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Joan Murt wrote: Which would be your choice?
A desktop. 
Joan Murt wrote: Any recommendation?
Get a desktop. 
Joan Murt wrote: Any experience that is worth sharing?
Upgrading a desktop is easy... 
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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Yes, I know, but I'll be travelling a lot, then having to synchronize all the programs and job done across computers can be a problem and time consuming.
PS: I have a desktop, where do you think I'll place all those devices?
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I use this one: click[^]
It's work sponsored though and probably specific to Dell. It's very convenient because all the external cables like Power, HDMI, Mouse, Keyboard, NW are already plugged into it and you just plug the laptop into the station. It also lifts the laptop off the desk for some ventilation and cooling. It seems to disable the laptop's own nw interface though while plugged in, but that's not an issue for me. It also gives you extra usb ports if required.
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I'd go for the normal docking stations. As you said it powers the computer and does not depend on software, it helps you keeping plugged the devices you only use while docked, it has less disconnection problems (USB are hellish when they get old and the connectors move inside), it keeps an USB free - in notebooks there are already way too few ports normally...
GCS d--- s-/++ a- C++++ U+++ P- L- E-- W++ N++ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t++ 5? X R++ tv-- b+ DI+++ D++ G e++>+++ h--- ++>+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X
If you think 'goto' is evil, try writing an Assembly program without JMP. -- TNCaver
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I'm with den2k88. Go for the docking station that is made for your laptop. That's always better and less trouble.
Joan Murt wrote: As disadvantages I can see that:- It is laptop model dependant, therefore after changing the laptop there is no guarantee it will keep working.
You're wrong. The docking station will still work even if you switch laptop - just not necessarily with the new laptop... 
Anyway, if you get a new laptop, get a new docking station as well! They're not that expensive, and you don't switch laptop THAT often. Unless you're the poorest developer I've ever met (or the most stingy), surely you can afford that! 
Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
Anonymous
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The problem with quotes on the internet is that you can never tell if they're genuine
Winston Churchill, 1944
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I'd just like a chance to prove that money can't make me happy.
Me, all the time
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Same as Jaquers except it's the plus version[^].
I would personally never get anything else.
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I would go for a 4K sceen
In Word you can only store 2 bytes. That is why I use Writer.
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No need for 2 screens!
In Word you can only store 2 bytes. That is why I use Writer.
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Now I understand what you mean...
Having two 24" displays with 1920x1200 allows me to have four windows docked (left/right) only pressing windows+left/right, I can maximize each window at it's display...
It is very easy to get used to have more than one display. It's not the amount of information shown (which of course it is also important) but the convenience of having those extra displays which allows to handle windows much more productively.
Of course it can be a matter of taste too, but in my case two or even three displays is the way to go.
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One of my friends is a gamer, and he has 250 screens.
A bit overkill, eh?
What do you get when you cross a joke with a rhetorical question?
The metaphorical solid rear-end expulsions have impacted the metaphorical motorized bladed rotating air movement mechanism.
Do questions with multiple question marks annoy you???
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Nice GPU your friend have...
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Yeah. His 'computer' is actually a network of 50 high end gaming computers with everything maxed out. RAM, CPU, Graphics, etc. are all shared between units and all of them are synchronized in real time.
Don't ask how he did it, as I don't know. He tried to explain it, but my mind blue screened at the first sentence.
All I know is that it is VERY complicated...
What do you get when you cross a joke with a rhetorical question?
The metaphorical solid rear-end expulsions have impacted the metaphorical motorized bladed rotating air movement mechanism.
Do questions with multiple question marks annoy you???
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Pix, or it didn't happen.
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I haven't heard from him since 2013. I do remember seeing his setup, and wondering how the hell he powered and cooled the thing.
All emails I sent to him get bounced back with a mailbox is full error.
Sent one yesterday. Same result.
He wasn't much for taking pictures. Any photo he took looked like it was taken at through a storm with 5" visibility.
He went to school, did his homework, and gamed. That about sums up his life. He wanted to be a video game tester.
What do you get when you cross a joke with a rhetorical question?
The metaphorical solid rear-end expulsions have impacted the metaphorical motorized bladed rotating air movement mechanism.
Do questions with multiple question marks annoy you???
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Perhaps his desk and monitors fell on top of him and crushed him to death.
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Joan Murt wrote: It's not the amount of information shown (which of course it is also important) but the convenience of having those extra displays which allows to handle windows much more productively
I had three 1920x1200 24" monitors. When one of them died, I replaced it with a 4K 40" display. The other two monitors are still hooked up.
4K's great, but it doesn't mean I'd want to go back to a single monitor either.
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When do you expect to change laptop next? If it's soon a and you wish to change laptop like some people changes phones then USB. Otherwise normal docking station.
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Forget the USB one ! I had to take one to replace my dedicated docking station, and 
0 - no power supply = 2 cables to plug & unplug, and if you forget to plug in the power supply before plugging the docking station, it can damage the USB port.
1 - switching between 2 DVIs and the laptop lasts ... about 30 seconds. Which is an eternity, as opposed to almost instant switch with the real station.
2 - the cable plugs are more stable on the flat docking station (I do not know exactly how to describe what I mean).
3 - my usb port is .. well.. loose because of the dock/undocking.
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It seems clear to me that I will go for the normal dock station and not the USB one...
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Agree with Rage. We had some USB ones at work (Toshiba) and they were nothing but trouble. They are now all in the bin.
If your neighbours don't listen to The Ramones, turn it up real loud so they can.
“We didn't have a positive song until we wrote 'Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue!'” ― Dee Dee Ramone
"The Democrats want my guns and the Republicans want my porno mags and I ain't giving up either" - Joey Ramone
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Will post CCC tomorrow
We can’t stop here, this is bat country - Hunter S Thompson RIP
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How many letters? 
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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