Dell G15 5520 Laptop - Docking Station Suggestions

Alan6984 on 10/07/2023 - 16:45
Last edited 10/07/2023 - 17:04 by 1 other user

Hi All,

I have been asked about this, but I am really only a software guy - I don't know much at all about hardware, so figured I'd ask here.

They want a 'docking station' for a 'Dell - G15 5520', preferably with both (VGA or MiniDisplayPort) and also HDMI outputs, Keyboard, Mouse, and at least one spare USB slot.

I suspect the 'VGA or MiniDisplayPort' is due to them having a MiniDisplayPort to VGA converter (if that matters I can clarify) and one of their monitors is VGA.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Alan.

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  itakestime on 10/07/2023 - 17:13

  I presume any sort of USB-C dock will work. I'd stay away from the DisplayLink docks as they've always given me trouble.

  Something like the Dell WD22 should do the trick, WD15 (I've got a spare if you want to buy it off me for cheap, it has VGA ;) )
  Also, if the laptop has Thunderbolt, get a Thunderbolt dock - extra bandwidth for monitors.

  VGA has gone out of fashion these days as much better digital interfaces have come along, but I don't see why a DP or HDMI to VGA active converter won't work.

  The only caveat is that the user will also need to plug the power for their laptop in as well as it's a hungry beast, not sure of what docks support 240w+ over USB-C.

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    Alan6984 on 10/07/2023 - 19:44

    I've got a spare if you want to buy it off me for cheap, it has VGA ;)

    Where are you located (roughly) and how much for your WD15?

    I'll pass it on.

    • 

      itakestime on 10/07/2023 - 23:21

      I'll PM you.

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  Everettpsycho on 10/07/2023 - 17:24

  +1

  Dells wd15 is fine for most users as long as you only want two monitors. Has the exact ports you're after with vga, mini dp and HDMI.

  I got both if mine for about $80 off trade me so if you don't mind keeping an eye out they can be had at a reasonable price.

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    PANiCnz on 10/07/2023 - 18:08

    Was going to suggest a WD15, a few on TM at the moment for $80 - $100. Sometimes also get listed under K17A.

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      Alan6984 on 10/07/2023 - 19:46

      Was going to suggest a WD15, a few on TM at the moment for $80 - $100. Sometimes also get listed under K17A.

      Thanks for the other code too :-) I'll let them know.

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    Everettpsycho on 10/07/2023 - 18:39

    I've suggested this but didn't see the laptop specs this was for. The WD15 is fine but you might not be able to one cable it as it is limited to 65W charging. We have a laptop with a gtx1050 inside and it complains the dock doesn't offer the power it needs to charge it when in use.

    You'll also find limitations that the docks will tend to use the on board graphics so if there's any gaming to be done as the specs of the laptop suggest may be a requirement, I wouldn't suggest it and would plug the HDMI cable in to the laptop directly. Laptop GPUs and external docks are a bit of a funny one to get working properly and need configuring properly in the Nvidia control panel otherwise the gpu literally does nothing.

    • 

      Alan6984 on 10/07/2023 - 19:47

      if there's any gaming to be done as the specs of the laptop suggest may be a requirement

      As far as I know, they are not a gamer (not sure if the laptop model implies it?), but I will mention the potential issue.

      • 

        Everettpsycho on 10/07/2023 - 19:58

        The main thing when I googled it was it has a dedicated GPU which is usually for demanding workloads, like video editing, graphics software, or more commonly playing games. Obviously there's the chance that in reality a salesman has said it's worth the upgrade for someone who really doesn't need it at all and doesn't know any better, I suspect they probably fall in to the latter category.

        Both of my WD15 models were from trade me second hand and never ever had any issues that I haven't experienced on laptops in general.

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          Alan6984 on 10/07/2023 - 20:02

          @Everettpsycho: You never know - I play games myself (not graphics heavy ones though - I'm more into turn based strategy games), and I suspect most of my associates would not guess that of me :-)

          Also, to be fair, I think my previous laptop might have been a 'gaming rig' (?) but it was the only way at the time I could get 16GB of RAM to comfortably run VMs.

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    Alan6984 on 10/07/2023 - 19:45

    Dells wd15 is fine for most users as long as you only want two monitors. Has the exact ports you're after with vga, mini dp and HDMI.

    I got both if mine for about $80 off trade me so if you don't mind keeping an eye out they can be had at a reasonable price.

    Good idea about TM. No idea if they would want to go second-hand, but for a dock I would not be too concerned myself.

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  Alan6984 on 10/07/2023 - 20:09

  Hi All,

  I appreciate I might be asking a stupid question here, but is it sufficient to search TradeMe with the following terms:

  Dell Dock WD15
  Dell Dock WD22
  Dell Dock K17A

  Are there any 'sub-models' of a WD15 (or WD22 or K17A) that could catch out someone who knows little about these things, or is each of those a very well defined specific product?

  Thanks,

  Alan.

  • 

    Jexla on 10/07/2023 - 20:33

    https://www.pbtech.co.nz/search?sf=dell+dock&search_type=

    Dell WD19S
    Dell D3100
    Dell WD22TB4
    Dell WD19TBS

    Plenty of other options.

    Personally though, I'd search "Dell dock"

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      Alan6984 on 10/07/2023 - 22:07

      Personally though, I'd search "Dell dock"

      Do you mean that any Dell Dock at all would meet the above requirements?

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    ace310 on 11/07/2023 - 09:26

    I believe he wants dual display. Secondly, there are way better usb c hub then the promate at almost half price. Promate only has 4k@30hz. Considering G15 has gpu, I am pretty sure it supports displays at 60hz.

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    Everettpsycho on 11/07/2023 - 19:31

    Dell do weird things with power on the USB specs, I got given a tablet from work that has a micro USB charging port that was running well over the limits of what the connector was rated for. Similarly their docks are all over the place with wattage going far higher than USB C was originally intended for on some models. It's definitely possible they offer a dock capable of charging this laptop considering what else they have done with the USB specs in the past, but cheap docks won't cut it, you really will need a good dock from dell to stand a chance of delivering the full power over one USB cable.

    Similarly I would not go using any cheap USB dongles passthrough either. I had a cheap one that got really toasty just from a 65W charger. It was hot enough that I never wanted to plug it in like that again.