Compatibility Inspiron 13 5000 with Dockingstation D 3100?

@Lok611  Fyi "Inspiron 13 5000" isn't a specific model.  It's an entire model line that includes multiple current and historical models, sort of like "BMW 3 Series".  The exact model of your specific Inspiron 13 5000 Series unit would be something like Inspiron 5378 or whatever.  But yes, the D3100 would be compatible with it.  However, it might not an ideal choice.  First of all, since it connects via regular USB, it would not charge your system.  Second, it's been replaced by the Dell D6000 dock.  That dock CAN charge the attached system, but both the D3100 and D6000 use DisplayLink "indirect display" technology, which introduces drawbacks all on its own.  Depending on the Inspiron 13 5000 Series model you have, your system might have a USB-C port that supports both system charging and native GPU video output.  The Inspiron 5391 is like that, for example.  So if you have that type of system, the WD19 dock might be a better choice.  It would partly depend on the type of display setup you wanted to run.  The WD19 when paired with those types of systems can run dual displays up to 1920x1200 each, or a single display up to 2560x1600 (or 4K but only at 30 Hz rather than the normal 60 Hz).  By comparison, the D6000 when paired with the by comparison could run up to triple 4K 60 Hz displays -- but it can only do that by incurring the drawbacks of DisplayLink, whereas with the WD19, the displays are driven natively by the GPU.

If you indicate which model you have and what sort of display setup you want to run, I can provide more specific guidance if you'd like.

@jphughan I have a Dell laptop (Model: Inspiron 13-5378) and am looking for the best docking station to project to 3 external displays. My usage is limited to stock trading (it's web application, charts etc) + ad-hoc youtube (rarely in parallel)

Please advice if D3100 or 6000 is the way to go or if there are better/newer ones' that are a better fit

Many thanks

@Rainii  Your system model is going to impose some limitations here, so if you were willing to consider a newer and better laptop, you’d have some better options. But I’ll address options for both for your existing laptop and a better laptop.

The D3100 and D6000 when paired with your system can both only run dual displays. The difference between them will be in the maximum resolution of the displays they can run. The D6000 can run dual displays up to 4K 60 Hz each, while the D3100 I think is limited to 1080p when running two displays, but check its documentation to confirm since I can’t remember. So if you want three displays from that system, you’ll need to connect the third display to your system’s HDMI output. And neither dock will charge your system. (Note: The D6000 technically can run three displays, but that’s only possible when the D6000 is connected to a USB-C port that supports video output, since the third display is driven by DisplayPort Alt Mode, i.e. a native GPU output that can optionally be wired to a USB-C port. But you don’t have that, so you can only use two.)

If you were willing to get a newer laptop, I’d suggest one that supports Thunderbolt. In that case, you would be able to run triple displays up to 2560x1440 each (or dual 4K 60 Hz + single 2560x1440 with some systems) AND charge your system, all through a single cable connection to the dock. There are a variety of systems that can achieve that, so if you wanted to explore this option, you’d have to provide more info about what sort of laptop you want, but for example the current XPS 13 and 15 systems would both be able to do that through the Dell WD19TBS dock.

@jphughan thank you very much for a detailed response: exactly what I was looking for! Truly helps me make an informed decision. thanks again!