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which dell laptop to choose for a WD15
Hi, For work I will be getting a latitude 7490 with a WD15 docking station, connected to 2 24inch screens. At home I would like to have the same setup as at work, so I can easily work from home. As such planning now to place an order with dell for 2x24inch screens, wireless mouse+keyboard and a WD 15 docking station. But... as I also need a personal laptop replacement (cannot use work one for private as all kind of security on there), of course I want to chose a dell laptop that can as easily be connected to the WD15 as my work latitude one. So which laptop to buy????? Since it is for personal use (nothing fancy, just the normal stuff) I would be inclined to go for an Inspiron 5000 or 7000 in 13 or 15 inch (since it will anyway most of the times connected, to the dock, don't need a big one?) but wondering about the connectivity with the WD15 ? will it work? Managed to get someone on the phone from Dell, but this guy said I would better go for a Latitude as to have easy connection with the WD 15; this although when checking the WD15 compatibility, it does also state inspiron ones? Just want to make sure I got good use for the WD15 for both my work latitude as my personal laptop, so which one to chose? Thanks
jphughan
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March 18th, 2019 07:00
For best results, I would recommend looking at the System Compatibility Matrix on the WD15 Frequently Asked Questions page <ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>. Technically you can use other systems with the WD15, but you might not get full functionality. At a minimum, you would want a system that had a USB-C port that supported video output (aka DisplayPort Alt Mode). If you want to be able to charge your system from the WD15, then you would need a system that supported being charged from its USB-C port, and not all systems do. Then there's a question of how much wattage the system you're using needs. If it's 60W or less and the system supports charging over USB-C, then you should be good to go. If the system requires more than 60W, then it will have to be a Dell system (the WD15 only provides up to 60W to non-Dell systems), and in some cases you might need to make sure the WD15 itself had a higher wattage adapter in order to charge systems with higher power requirements. There's a table on that FAQ page explaining that too. Lastly, systems that are NOT on the actual compatibility list might be unable to use the WD15's built-in Power button or perform firmware updates to the WD15, even if everything else works. My wife has a WD15 that she uses with her personal XPS 13 and work-issued Lenovo ThinkPad T480. The ThinkPad works perfectly with the WD15, including being charged, but the dock Power button doesn't do anything, and she can't update the dock firmware from that system. The reason is that those functions are proprietary rather than part of any USB-C standard, so you need support within the system for those functions.
speedstep
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March 18th, 2019 09:00
WD 15 Docking Station has
So I would presume you just need a laptop with USB-C
They list these as compatible
System Model with Dell Dock-WD15 Dock AC Adapter Wattage Required USB Type-C output Max
jphughan
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March 18th, 2019 12:00
And that presumption would be incorrect. Just having a laptop with USB-C is not enough. Some laptops have USB-C ports that only support USB data. In that case, the WD15's display outputs would be unusable, because using the display outputs requires you to be using a system that has a USB-C port that also supports DisplayPort Alt Mode. And if you wanted to use the WD15 to charge your system, you'd need a laptop with a USB-C port that supports charging the system, and not all laptops with USB-C ports support being charged through that port.
Also, the table you posted is from the exact same page I already linked in my post, but for some reason you decided to post the "AC Adapter requirements" table rather than the more relevant "System Compatibility Matrix" table.
Subartje
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March 19th, 2019 06:00
So which one do I buy as to have optimal use of the wd15? :)
jphughan
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March 19th, 2019 07:00
Anything on the System Compatibility Matrix on the WD15 FAQ page I linked, although if your WD15 only has a 130W adapter, also check the AC Power Adapter requirements table to make sure the model you want can be charged from the WD15 when it only has a 130W adapter attached.
Subartje
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March 19th, 2019 09:00
Well the dell inspiron 13 7000 has following specs
1 USB 3.1 gen 1 Type-C™ (DisplayPort/power)
and per the link it should be compatible with the wd15 but simply not convinced since the dell guy said better to take the latitude as to have no problems but if I check specs of the latitude 7490 then
1 DisplayPort over USB Type C™ With optional Thunderbolt™
So not seeing power?
lost...
jphughan
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March 19th, 2019 10:00
"Inspiron 13 7000" isn't a specific model. That's refers to an entire lineup that includes several models introduced over several years, sort of like "BMW 3 Series". An exact model would be something like Inspiron 13 7378. But if you're looking at the Inspiron 13 7380 currently on Dell's site, it's designed around a 45W AC adapter, which the WD15 can supply even if you have the version with the smaller 130W adapter, and as you can see the USB-C port supports video. So you should get the majority of the dock's functionality. The only functionality you might NOT get with that system would be the ability to use the WD15's Power button to control the system and the ability to update the firmware on the WD15. Both of those require firmware support from the attached system, and Inspiron systems might not have the necessary firmware for that. The Latitude models on the System Compatibility Matrix do. But if you don't care about those things, then it appears the Inspiron 13 7380 would work well. My wife's Lenovo ThinkPad T480 works just fine with the WD15 except for not being able to use the Power button and perform dock firmware updates.
gregory.jones
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March 19th, 2019 11:00
Subartje
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March 19th, 2019 11:00
Thanks!!!