@Mar70 every USB-C port is required to support USB 2.0 data transfer. That is the only mandatory requirement. Some USB-C ports also support USB 3.1 Gen 1, USB 3.1 Gen 2, video output (called DisplayPort Alt Mode), USB PD output for high-powered peripherals, and USB PD input in order to allow the system to be charged through its USB-C port. But all of those additional features are optional on USB-C ports, not mandatory, and not all systems with USB-C ports support all of those features. If the USB-C port on that system is indicated as data-only, it probably supports USB 3.1 Gen 1 or Gen 2, but would NOT support video output or system charging, which means that if you tried to use a docking station or USB-C display, it would not perform as expected with that system.
If you want to use a docking station or a USB-C display that includes built-in USB ports and provides power to charge the attached system, make sure you find a system that supports video output and system charging. The XPS, Latitude, and Precision systems almost always do because they're designed to be used with docking stations. But if you want an Inspiron model, you might have to look at the Inspiron 15 7000 Series models instead of the Inspiron 15 5000 Series models. I don't buy or work with Inspiron models myself, so I'm not as familiar with which specific models offer which capabilities. And apparently even the same model can be different in different parts of the world. For example, I live in the US, and when I checked Dell's US online store, the Inspiron 5593 doesn't have a USB-C port at all.
I bought the new 5593 (iCore 7, Gen10) with the WD19 dock. Found that there is no USB-C port on my laptop (my smaller, less power Latitude 5300 have). So should I return the dock to Amazon? If there other dock (non-DELL) that I can use? Need multiple monitors and USB3 for external hard drive. Thanks!
@Rick CA it's always a good idea to look closely at specs and product photos to figure out what ports a system has and their specs. And if you're a heavy user of keyboard shortcuts, checking the keyboard layout isn't a bad idea either. The Latitude line is Dell's business-oriented line, so those systems will be more likely to have ports and functionality relevant to that use case, including support for docking stations. That's less common on consumer-oriented systems, and typically only found on the higher end.
In any case, with a system like the Inspiron 5593, the only types of docks you could use would be those that run on "indirect display" technology like DisplayLink. The Dell D6000 is one such dock. They work because DisplayLink is a combination of software and hardware that compresses video data and sends it as regular USB data, which means you can have a dock that plugs into a regular USB port and can still get video out of it. That's handy when you don't have any other option, but the way DisplayLink works comes with some drawbacks that can be significant for certain use cases. I wrote about that in detail in the post marked as the answer in this thread. But even if you're ok with that, the D6000 wouldn't be able to charge the system when connected via a regular USB connection because regular USB connections can't be used for that purpose like USB-C can be.
If you can still return the system, I personally would do so, especially if you wanted USB-C anyway. Find a system that includes a USB-C port that supports video output (not all systems with USB-C ports support video) and ideally one that also supports being used for charging the system. And if you want futureproofing for potentially higher-end display setups, consider finding a system that supports Thunderbolt 3, although to take advantage of that, you'd need to move up from the regular WD19 to the WD19TB instead. You didn't specify the resolution(s) of the multiple displays you intended to run, but the WD19 when used with most systems on the market today would be limited to dual displays up to 1920x1200 each, with a small handful of systems on the market today being able to run dual displays up to 2560x1440 each. By comparison, a Thunderbolt 3 system paired with a WD19TB could run dual displays up to 4K 60 Hz each.
You also didn't specify the wattage of the power supply you ordered with the WD19. It's available with both a 130W and 180W power supply. The former can pass up to 90W through to the attached system, whereas the latter can pass up to 130W through. So if you get a different system that supports being charged via USB-C but is designed for a 130W power source -- like an XPS 15 -- but you only have the 130W version of the WD19, you'd want to address that too. Otherwise, if you tried to power a 130W system from a 90W power source, you'd see behavior like slower battery charging and possibly performance throttling. The WD19TB comes standard with a 180W power adapter, for what it's worth.
Thanks for your reply. I got the WD19 180W but since there is no USB C port, it doesn't matter.
I should have studied more before I made the purchase (and made assumption that all new DELL model will work with the new USB C port dock. Lesson learn for me - no big deal since I can return the dock to Amazon.
@Rick CA happy to help, glad you found that information useful. However, I feel compelled to give you fair warning about another aspect of the Inspiron 5593. I didn't immediate make the connection when I read that model name, but you should be aware that the system's HDMI output is limited to just 1080p. This is despite the fact that it is expressly advertised as an HDMI 1.4 port, which should allow 1440p 60 Hz or 4K 30 Hz. This issue affects all Inspiron xx93 systems and has come up multiple times in various threads, such as this one where I've posted more information and thoughts on the matter and Dell's handling of it, as well as linked to other longer threads that have even more discussion.
Since the HDMI port on that system is the only external display output available, other than resorting to DisplayLink as mentioned above, I personally would consider that another reason to consider returning that system and getting something else while you can. It's a bit bizarre that a system made in this day and age would be limited to a display resolution that first arrived about 15 years ago.
yauoe
3 Posts
3823
0
Posted March 12th, 2020 17:00
I don't think it will work, as the USB-C is data only. I have tried a USB-C HDMI connector on my 5593, and there is no hdmi output