The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Most laptop docking stations I've seen made specifically for laptops plug into a special port on the laptop itself which neither of these two have. If you wanted a generic docking station what difference does it make that it fits an M17x or M15x, of course it fits it plugs into an ethernet port. Duh!
What do you want to connect to the docking station? There are a whole range of high- and low-end docking stations. If you only want to connect a few USB devices, then a regular USB hub would work. For something very advanced, take a look at the Toshiba dynadock:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5264
The Dynadock U is the non wireless version and is the only generic one that can display 1920 X 1200 instead of the usual 1680x1050 that generic USB dock deliver.
i'm considering getting the Alienware monitor which has USB connections and audio connections on it.
I just wondered though if i plug a lot of devices into the monitor and then connect the monitor to the laptop with just one USB connection will that affect performance since all those devices are connected to my laptop with just one USB connection?
Some of the devices might not work properly, but it should tell you that.
I have a laptop keyboard/stand thing with a mini USB hub on it (2 ports) and when I plug my mouse (Microsoft Sidewinder) into it, I get a pop up saying that the mouse will not work because there isn't enough power from the USB hub.
USB Hubs that have an external power source do not have this issue. In theory you can connect 254 devices to one USB port provided they have auxiliary power.
A pc monitor with built in USB connections will have a a dedicated power supply so does that mean there won't be any issues with connecting USB devices that need a power supply to the monitor's USB connections?
If you daisy chained 25 10-port USB Hubs to your monitor and none of them had an external power source would the monitor be able to power them all? Probably not. Its best to provide power to every hub along the way.
That being said, all of the devices in that daisy chain would work fine through that one USB plug on your monitor (which goes to a single USB Port on your laptop) if each hub was plugged into external power.
I wasn't talking about daisy chaining loads of usb hubs. I ment if for example i connect an Alienware Keyboard, Alienware mouse and some speakers to the Alienware monitor and then connect the monitor to the laptop with a single usb connection and obviously an HDMI connection, would i notice any lag when using the keyboard and mouse when gaming or would i notice any problems with sound quality?
Sorry, no docking stations or port replicators for the M17x or M15x. Not that they really need one in my view. A good cooling stand (everyone like the Cryo) put your laptop in the right position....
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.
