Dell WD19 Docking Station to Switch between Work and Gaming PC

LVislian on 09/06/2021 - 21:06
Last edited 10/06/2021 - 14:25 by 1 other user

Hi all,

I have a home setup at the moment with 2 monitors, a work laptop and home laptop (XPS 15 9550) that I switch between with my WD19 docking station (this one https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07SFYV111/ref=pe_2361882_28370…).

I am thinking of upgrading my home laptop to a mid-range gaming PC with some EOFY deal but I'm wondering 2 things:

1. will I be able to hook up a pc to the docking station as well? (And if yes, would this kill or limit the performance at all?)
2. If it can be done, do I have to plug it in at the back of the pc each time? Is there a way around that?

I'd be grateful for your input.

Cheers

• 

  S2 on 09/06/2021 - 23:06

  I have a Dell PC and laptop and one 1440p monitor in use with a D9000. The docks look similar, but I'm unsure how different they are.
  My monitor and accessories are all connected to the dock. Using Thunderbolt, I connect directly to the laptop and it all works fine.
  The PC is older and doesn't have Thunderbolt. The D9000 has a USB 3 adaptor which allows me to plug it into the PC and use all the peripherals, including the monitor. But there is a performance hit to the monitor when gaming. To solve it, I also connect the PC to the monitor via DP. My monitor always picks the DP if it's available over whatever is plugged into the D9000.

  • 

    Vislian on 11/06/2021 - 07:33

    Thanks for sharing. Reading your comment I figured 'maybe I just look for a pc with thunderbolt' but then apparently they are quite a rarity.. I'll have to check if I have multiple ports on my monitors to see if I can use your solution as well.

    Thanks

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  [Deactivated] on 09/06/2021 - 23:35

  I got an old Lenovo USB 3.0 Pro dock, works well.

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    Vislian on 11/06/2021 - 07:34

    And you switch that back and forth between pc and laptop? Are your monitors on the dock as well?

    • 

      [Deactivated] on 11/06/2021 - 10:58

      2 laptops and 1 desk top.

      Yes. A full hd and a qhd monitor.

      • 

        Vislian on 11/06/2021 - 11:56

        Thanks for the response. Guess I'll just have to take the plunge and go for it :)

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          [Deactivated] on 11/06/2021 - 12:44

          @Vislian: They are cheap on ebay. 50-80ish. Problem is, this is an old dock and only has a display port and a dvi port (which is not found in many modern monitors).

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            Vislian on 13/06/2021 - 19:58

            @[Deactivated]: Yeah I'll try it with my WD19 dock first and see what that brings me. Also, I checked my monitors to see if they offered a DVI port as well but was actually surprised to see 2 HDMI ports on them so I'm hoping maybe I can hook the monitors directly and just need to worry about the peripherals. I don't think thunderbolt is required anymore then so I'll just need to see if I can find a way to plug it in easy enough without having to fiddle at the back of the pc the whole time. Thanks again.