Docking Alternatives to D3100 for XPS 13 2015 Infinity

Hi, I am looking for a docking station for my XPS, and while I like the specs of the dell d3100, the reviews and forum post are far from encouraging.
Does anyone have an alternative docking station they can recommend with similar specs?

 

Well, can you be a bit more descriptive?

What didn't you like from the reviews?

Because almost all docking stations are identical... They connect extra porta (Ethernet, USB, video outputs, audio) through USB 3.0. You're not going to find major differences there. But if your dislike is more of a "minor" difference, you might have more options.

 

Sure, from the link in the OP, here are a selection of the reviews that caught my concern:
Overall reviews :1.7 / 5
Select Quotes:

"Do Not Buy this Product ...This is the worst computer related product I have ever purchased. I bought it because it was advertised as a "docking station". My prior Dell docking stations actually "docked" the computer. Not this one. It is simply a USB port replicator. So, you have to connect your power chord directly to the laptop. OK, 2 cords (docking station USB and power). I can live with that. Nope. I bought a Dell p2715Q 4K monitor to go with my XPS 15 laptop with NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 750M 2GB GDDR5 so I could enjoy 4k video on my external monitor. What the "details" on this product don't tell you is that you get reduced resolution and refresh rate if you use the "docking station" as opposed to connecting a 4K monitor directly to your laptop (the paperwork in the box does tell you this once you've paid for and received the product). 3 cords. OK, not great, but I can begrudgingly live with it. Nope, external speakers hooked to the "docking station" create the worst audio latency I've ever experienced. Hooking external audio directly to the laptop eliminates the problem. Up to 4 cords. The only thing I'm now using the "docking station" for is my USB external keyboard/mouse. So far so good with that, but what's the point? Terrible product.
"



"The ONLY thing this product does......is provide a 1gb network connection, however file transfers are still pretty slow. The D3100 won't charge the laptop. And the D3100 won't derive it's power from the laptop. This requires me to have a 2nd power supply attached to my laptop in addition to the 65W that is attached to the D3100. The quality of sound through my externally powered high end speakers is lousy, they sound much better plugged directly into the laptop. The monitor replication is interesting - I'm using HDMI to DVI, however when the laptop enters sleep mode, it requires a reboot of the laptop and unplugging the D3100 to get the monitor to display properly after waking up."

"Product is mislabeled - Its a Port replicator not a Docking station"

 

Ah. Customer Reviews. That explains it all. This customer is an idiot.

• It doesn't "dock" with your computer if your computer doesn't have a docking port, just like every USB docking station.
• It runs 4K resolution (3840x2160) at 30Hz through DisplayPort. Just like every USB docking station
• It doesn't provide power to your laptop, doesn't draw power from your laptop, and requires its own power. Just like every USB docking station.
• Audio latency? That's a legitimate problem.

Basically, everything about this negative customer review stems from the fact that this person didn't do his/her homework first. Every USB docking station will behave in similar ways as to what the reviewer mentioned. Most of the "negative" aspects of this customer review are from the fact that the customer doesn't like USB docking stations when they are working as intended. Just about the only legitimate negative part of the review is the audio lag.

 

I picked one up recently for my HP x360.

My only gripe is the increased CPU utilization for video compression (I'm assuming that's what's happening) but I have not tried anything higher than two FHDs.
I've not experienced any problems with audio (latency or otherwise). I powered up one FHD, copied a 4GB file from a USB3.0 drive @60MB/s and managed 70Mbps internet downloads speeds (over the D3100's Ethernet port) simultaneously without any issues.

I'm quite satisfied with the DisplayLink chip (DL-5910) in the D3100, just not certain I can live with the added CPU impact on the Ultrabook side (from the DisplayLink's drivers) given the fact that the fan kicks in every time a video loads on Facebook (example only)... . For standard content (text and graphics), utilization's not too serious making the D3100 quite functional.

EDIT: Just copied from PC2PC, both connected via Ethernet and managed 70~90MB/s transfer rates for a single, 4GB file.

 

Wouldn't cpu utilization be high for any kind of YouTube or Facebook video, even if it wasn't running through a USB docking station?

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

To get real docking, you have to buy a business laptop with a docking port. Meaning in general, the midrange and upper models in the line as a rule.

 

Indeed processing video content requires CPU but I use the task manager to track utilization and DisplayLink adds up to 15 % to the billl. While that may not sound like much it's enough overhead to make the difference between a quiet viewing experience... .

I fear Kent is right - only a business-class combo will really provide an effective solution.

 

Gs30. Or thunder bolt dock, coming soon hopefully.

Sent from my 306SH

 

As already discussed above, now with a real-world example. I guess I was using the Notebook (plugged in) for ~5hrs for some light surfing incl. maybe half a dozen short (5min or less) Ytube / Adobe Flash videos.



So excluding the odd Windows Service(s) that appears and disappears and of course McAfee's daily [multiple-] update installation processes, DisplayLink is second only to the actual Browser(s) in CPU utilization and the occasional burst of the fan's RPM...

 

Yeah, 15% CPU overhead using the docking station (that you mentioned a few posts back) seems to be about right for any device that is sending a decent amount of data through the USB bus. You'll see that with any USB docking station when sending a lot of data through USB (such as video playback).

On a related note, your CPU utilization of DisplayLinkManager.exe in Task Manager (current CPU utilization and overall CPU time) isn't a problem at all. I suspect that if your fan spins up, then it's a result of multiple processes contributing to CPU utilization, and not just DisplayLinkManager. DisplayLinkManager may just have been the straw that broke the camel's back.

If the fan noise really bothers you, then you might be able to get away with either cutting down some background processes (like McAfee), or running a utility where you can modify fan profiles to control spin-up temperatures and spin-up speeds.

 

Of course, hence my expression "adds up to 15% to the bill"... .

Simply put, on the lap watching a video (and well yes, battery "profile") vs. plugged-in [profile] and connected to the docking station makes a world of a difference acoustically... .

I'll have to monitor the temps & fan speed when on battery to see if the profiles vary the Temp-RPM ratios. It wouldn't be fair to blame the docking station for a noisy solution if in reality it's more a case of battery vs. plugged-in profile differences. I any event, "System Cooling Policy" is Active for both states by [HP's] default and my preferred setting in any event.

 

I'm getting ready to grab a Dell xps 13. I will also be getting the d3100 (in hopes it performs well) so that I can use an external monitor and wireless keyboard and mouse. I was thinking of getting the i5 4gb model. Since the docking station draws more power, should I opt for the 8gb model? Would the extra ram help the docking station run smoother?

 

No, the Docking station is not using any memory to speak of, only processing power. It will run smoothly enough, but as I noted above, you may hear the fan kick in more often.
Regarding memory; one can never have too much, even with today's fast SSD "hardrives". More importantly, make sure your XPS 13 has removable RAM; if not, you'll definitely want to get as much RAM as you can afford to! The RAM in my HP x360 is soldered in place and thus I took 8GB (the current maximum). The SDD, on the other hand, is replaceable so I was satisfied with the 250GB package.

 

So the next interim report...
...I've manged to overlook the additional [fan] spin-time and generally-speaking, it's a pretty decent solution for €150.

There are more thorns on this rose, though; the "system" (=HP x360 + D3100) occasionally doesn't see a D3100-connected USB device on startup. Twice I noticed my external WebCam wasn't properly recognized (Device Manager) and once my keyboard wasn't functional and I had to reboot. you could unplug the D3100 from the Notebook, but Windows will strongly urge you to log out/in (to avoid potential issues with rendering on the ext. monitor(s)). It doesn't happen often so not a show-stopper.

What bothers me a whole lot more is that I cannot wake the Notebook by using any device attached to the D3100 (keyboard, mouse). Just to be sure it wasn't a "power-option" issue , I toggled several options, such as the "USB selective suspend" but to no avail. I plugged a mouse directly into the Notebook and was able to wake up the system w/o problems.
Just picture a real-world scenario; dual (and preferably identical) monitors, notebook lid is down. Not many use the notebook's screen along with dual monitors. To save desk real-estate, the notebook/docking station is often placed [partially] under a monitor. Lifting the lid becomes more than annoying in such a configuration...

That's not to say I've tried everything in the book; if you can give me a tip on how to make all USB devices wake the system, please drop a line. I would be more than happy to hear such good news and "clear" the D3100 of any wrong-doing

 

I would also like to know if there is a way to do this. I keep my xps closed and use an external monitor. But it is a pain to pull the xps out and open it, just to turn it on and close it back and tuck it away.
What is the best way to close the xps when using a external monitor so that it doesn't shut everything down? Currently, I chose the option under power management to do nothing when closed. However, if I'm not plugged into the dock, I would like it to sleep when closed. Would I need to toggle the setting every time?

 

Sounds like you are referring to two different topics, or? In regards to the latter one, it's not possible to toggle any power-management option based on whether the dock is plugged in [to the Notebook] or not. At the end of the day, it's a docking station without a power source so the only way to toggle the lid action is to unplug the notebook from the Power Supply.