Recommendation for a Universal USB 3 Laptop Docking station

What is the best available Universal USB 3 Laptop Docking station which supports more than one monitor ? (I'm willing to pay upto around €200)

I'm not too fussy about features, as longs as it has USB3 support for docking, support for two monitors preferably DVI or HDMI and a reasonable amount of the standard ports, i.e ~4 USB2 and gigabit ethernet.

Support for linux would be nice too.

Latest generation 15" E Series VAIO (SVE1511C5E) will be docked to it if that makes any difference.

 

I would take a look at the one from lenovo, at least it uses a dedicated gpu for the video outputs otherwise the bandwidth of the usb 3 which is already low would be even more so for that task

 

Thanks Mr MM but I can't seem to find a link for it, only a USB 2 based model on the lenovo site.

 

Here: Lenovo USB 3.0 Dock | Lenovo | (US).

 

Thanks, I was looking on the Irish version of the site where its not available.

Although I have found one on ebay (in the UK) for €187 euros.

Has anyone any experience with the Toshiba dynadock® U3.0 Universal USB 3.0 Docking Station
?

 

Maybe this USB Docking Station in Review: Fujitsu USB 3.0 Port Replicator PR08 - Notebookcheck.net Reviews ? pretty darn amazing it can do 2560x1440, just not gaming though.
here is review for lenovo USB Docking Station in Review: Lenovo USB 3.0 Dock 0A33970 - Notebookcheck.net Reviews
Never used 1 though.

 

Thanks baiii, I think the lenovo looks the better of the two -but It still looks a little flaky - I wonder is there a better solution than a USB3.0 interface -short of buying a new laptop with a dedicated dock!

 

I can't speak for the Lenovo dock - and I'm not sure how you'd implement a GPU over USB so I highly suspect it's just like all the other docks.

These docks work by using Displaylink (not Displayport), a 'virtual GPU' tech which basically models a GPU which spits out optimised display info over USB in software. So yeah - Displayport-equipped models can support 27" monitors for example, but basically your notebook is doing twice the work compared to using it''s IGP or GPU, because that's not used when outputting movies, etc to the Displaylink device.

It's improved a lot over the years - USB2.0 Displaylink devices could seriously wind up the host CPU even at 720p or lower, but it still imposes a notable additional load onto the system. It's not really intended for, or practical for, large or dual-screen multimedia use let alone gaming, but it's more for 'office' users.