Hey all,
Looking to purchase a USB C docking station for my laptop; I don't need to move the dock around, I just want it to sit and stay on my desk where I can easily access the front ports.
I've been looking around and weighing up a few options but there's so many that I'm not sure which one to go for. Not looking to get a hub like this as I already own one and the attached cable is too short for what I need.
My minimum reqs:
- Allows PD (min. 65w)
- 3.5mm combo jack
- HDMI/DisplayPort ports (running 1-2 external 1080p monitors, nothing special)
- A few USB ports in front (a mix of 2.0 and 3.0 is fine) and back - plugging in peripherals, external SSDs/USBs on occasion
- Long enough cable (20cm+) so the dock doesn't need to sit/dangle 5cm away from my laptop!
Since I'm not looking to chuck $600+ for a Caldigit TS4, I've been snooping around eBay, Amazon and AliExpress for docking stations between $75-$150. Here's a few I've been eyeing:
Amazon AU - WAVLINK Multiple Display Docking Station 12-in-1 85W - $70 - Looks to be a solid option? Not sure why it's so cheap compared to others that offer similar functionality. Has a 50cm cable which is what I'm after.
Amazon AU - WAVLINK Dual/Triple Display Docking Station 13-in-1 65W - $119 - Any reason why this requires a power supply and is $50 more than the above one besides having more USB 3.0 ports?
Amazon AU - Selore USB C Docking Station USB C Dock Single 8K Triple 4K 15-in-1 87W - $119 - A generic product, can find 'Mokin' branded ones on AliExpress that are identical, but works to be more expensive than buying off Amazon. Any major advantage of this over the $70 Wavlink?
eBay AU - Various refurbed docking stations from Lenovo, Dell, HP, etc. - $50-$150 - There's so many that I'm not sure which ones to consider!
Anything glaring that I'm missing/not considering? It doesn't need to be super fancy or portable; again, it's sitting on my desk permanently. The laptop I'm using if it helps.
Cheers,
CC
Buy a USB C extension cable.