A Dock Station for a multi-display configuration

warning: English isn't my native tongue so be cool with me.


I am on the market to buy a new laptop. Some of the models I am looking at are:

• HP 8510w and 8710w
• Dell Precision M2300, M4300 and M6300
• Lenovo ThinkPad T61p

The notebook will be used as a desktop/workstation replacement.

I need to have a multi-display configuration. After doing some research, I believe my options are the following:

• notebook LCD + external LCD: bad because I would need to use a small LCD panel (from the notebook) and would need the notebook to be open while I wouldn't use it's keyboard.
• Matrox (Double|Triple)Head2Go: bad because (I believe) it is very software centric.
• MaxiVista: bad because it is a 100% software solution and seems to work best only with WinXP.
• Dock station with a PCI expansion card: seems to be the best option as it would (I guess) be a hardware solution.

So I came to the conclusion I would need to go with a laptop that can be used with a quality dock station that offers a PCI expansion slot for installing a video card.

I have a few questions with regards to that option. Which manufacturers offer such a dock station? I know:

• Lenovo offers the ThinkPad Advanced Dock (model #250310U) in which I could plug a full height, half length PCI-Express 1x card.
• Dell offers the D/Dock Expansion Station and it seems it is possible to plug a PCI (non-Express) video card in it.
• HP offers the HP Advanced docking station (model #EN489AA). It seems it is NOT possible to plug a PCI video card in that dock station.

Other manufacturers offer similar options?

I find it very hard to get documentation on these dock stations. For example, Lenovo makes available the User's Guide on their website but the User's Guide says:

Anyone knows how that (and the other) dock station (with a PCI slot) work?

• Do the video card in the dock station becomes the video card of the whole system or is it just a pass-thru for the video signal coming from the video card inside the notebook?
• What is the electrical connection between the two? Is it connected directly on the PCI bus of the laptop? Is it slower?
• What is the interface at the software level? Does it need a special driver? Is it compatible with OSes other than Microsoft Windows?

Thanks !

 

The ThinkPad dock with a video card is good if your laptop has an intergrated video card such as an Intel X3100 or if your looking to run 2 external monitors at very high resolution. I'm not sure about the Dell's, but both the Thinpad and the HP would be able to run an external monitor without a card needed with their Discrete video cards; as long as its not a 24" wide screen LCD.

 

Exactly what configuration are you looking at? Almost all laptops these days can support one additional screen hooked up to the laptop in addition to the laptop screen. If you disable the laptop screen, you should be able to support two external from the laptop direct.

From a docking station, if it fits a PCI card like the Dells, you can put an addition 2 screens running from the PCI card.

In terms of resolution, most laptops will run 1920x1200 fine. My laptop with ATI x300 128MB ram can do it. For your PCI card, you have to read the spec of the PCI card. But even a low end ATI 9200 PCI card can do 1920x1200, I know cause I have one.

There is also 2 other options you haven't considered. One is to use a VTBook PC card adapter. I don't suggest this as it doesn't work very well, I used to own one. The other option is more unique and cost about >$500. I forget the name of it, so you have to do your own search, but there there is a device that hooks up to an express card slot and gives you a PCIe x16 slot. You install your own video card in it. There is a single slot and dual slot version for bigger graphics card. This will enable you to fit video cards that can drive 30" LCD screens. They are electrically x1 because your express card is an x1 device.

 

while we are on the topic of dual display...if a regular docking station(the one which DONOT take PCI cards) has DVI port and a VGA port. Can you run two external monitors from it? One from each port, if you have Intel GMA X3100.

According to this link (pg 3) GMAX3100 supports Reso up to 2048x1536. so runing 24" shouldn't be a problem?

http://download.intel.com/products/graphics/intel_graphics_guide.pdf

 

Not with an integrated video chip on ThinkPads. With discrete video it is possible.

 

If your laptop can drive the external display without a dock, then the only difference if you add a dock (without PCI ) is that the connections will pass though. If it works without the dock, it will still work with the dock. If it didn't work without the dock, it won't work with it either. FAFIK.