Dell 3593 - docking stations

The system is the limiting factor is most of your requirements.  You'll find it does not support USB charging, so no dock is going to change that.  And unless you can find a dock with its own ethernet adapter built in, you can't override the fact that the system supports only 10/100 wired Ethernet.

You're looking for a higher-end feature set than your entry-level system will support on both elements.

If the system is new, consider returning it for a minimum of the 5000 series or better yet, the 7000 series -- making sure the system has a Thunderbolt port aboard.  That will unlock the possibility of charging the system by dock, and likely include faster Ethernet and better external video support as well.

thank you for your answer! If I am happy to give up on the charging requirement which docking station would you recommend for my current setting?

thank you again for the help!

@GeorgeKov  Did you make sure to plug the D6000 into a USB port on the left?  The Inspiron 3593's USB port on the right only supports USB 2.0.  You should absolutely have been able to run the D6000 displays independently of each other and achieved Gigabit Ethernet through that dock.  I've personally achieved both through a D6000 with multiple systems.  Did you also make sure you were running the latest DisplayLink software from DisplayLink.com?  If you were definitely plugged into a USB 3.x port and running the latest software and still have both of those problems, then you may have a bad dock.

But there's another drawback to the D6000 that will apply to any type of docking station solution you might try to use with this system, and that is its reliance on the "indirect display" technology called DisplayLink that I mentioned just above.  I wrote about these drawbacks in the post marked as the answer in this thread.  Unfortunately if you wanted real docking station support, you needed a system with a USB-C or TB3 port.  Your system only has an HDMI video output and it only has regular USB ports.  HDMI outputs cannot run multiple independent displays from a single output as DisplayPort and USB-C can, and regular USB cannot be used to charge a laptop.  And making matters worse, the HDMI output on the inspiron 3593 is limited to just 1920x1080, despite the fact that it was introduced in 2019.  It was originally advertised as supporting HDMI 1.4b, which should have allowed 1440p 60 Hz or 4K 30 Hz, but it didn't perform as advertised, so Dell retroactively scrubbed references to that and put up this KB article explaining the problem and claiming that it was normal for that system.  It seems somebody bungled the design and/or manufacturing of that system and a few others in a way that made this issue unfixable, and Dell decided against recalling the systems.

Anyhow, hopefully the port change and/or software update I mentioned resolve your issues.  But if you still find that the drawbacks of DisplayLink described in the thread I linked are a problem for you, then you will need a system that is able to support proper docking stations.

Thank you very much for the detailed response @jphughan !

I have downloaded the drivers mentioned in the set up manual (speedlink) and my hardware setup has a USB C port. The display issue persisted despite using the USB C port (I have one on the left hand side of the laptop). I am sorry if I am not getting everything clear from your answer - but I was wondering whether the issue was that I was using the two Displayports on the Docking station. I have seen Dell docking stations with two Hdmi ports, and was wondering whether they would do a better job at handling my screens? Would this help in your view?

Thank you very much!

@GeorgeKov Well first it's important to understand that having a native GPU output (called DisplayPort Alt Mode) and supporting charging are both optional features of USB-C ports, and therefore not all systems with USB-C ports implement both of them, or even one of them.  Some laptops have USB-C ports that are data-only ports.  In the case of the D6000, it will rely on DisplayLink, i.e. sending video as USB data rather than as a native GPU signal, even if you connect it via USB-C.  The only exception is that if you have 3 displays connected, in which case whichever display is connected via HDMI will rely on the USB-C port's DisplayPort Alt Mode capability (with a conversion to HDMI occurring within the dock), because the DisplayLink chipset in that dock only supports 2 displays.  As a result, running 3 displays from that dock is only possible when connected to a system via USB-C and when the system supports DisplayPort Alt Mode on its USB-C port.  But if you only have 2 displays as in your case, then both displays will use DisplayLink, regardless of which 2 outputs you're using.

In terms of whether DisplayPort makes a difference one way or the other, no it won't in your case, and in fact DisplayPort in several ways is a superior interface over HDMI anyway.  The D6000's two DisplayPort outputs can each support a 4K 60 Hz display, and the HDMI port can support a 4K 30 Hz display -- and I've seen people use the D6000 to run triple 4K displays all in Extend mode.  So using DisplayPort on both of your displays definitely wouldn't have accounted for your results.  But since it sounds like you already returned the dock, that rather prevents troubleshooting.  If you still had it, I would've wanted you to confirm the latest DisplayLink software from DisplayLink.com rather than Dell and also updated the firmware on the D6000.

But in terms of options going forward, if you didn't want to rely on DisplayLink, you'd have to check whether your system's USB-C port supports DisplayPort Alt Mode.  If it does, then a "native GPU output" dock like the WD19 would allow you to run dual 1080p displays as you have, without any of the drawbacks of DisplayLink.

Thank you again @jphughan ! Very helpful. Regarding your last comment: “you'd have to check whether your system's USB-C port supports DisplayPort Alt Mode. ” can you please explain how I can do that?

thank you again!

@GeorgeKov  Look at the documentation for your system available on support.dell.com.  See if the USB-C port specs mention anything about video output or DisplayPort.  If they don't, then the system probably doesn't support it.  Or do some Googling and see if you can get an answer one way or the other from another user.  Or get a USB-C to DisplayPort or USB-C to HDMI cable/adapter and see if you can get an image to a display through it.

Thank you very much @jphughan - i will check it and then I know what options I have. Your help is much appreciated!

have a nice day!

Hello! I too am searching how my 3593 can display 2K or 4K through its USB-C port through Dell's Adapter USB-C to HDMI 2.0. So I would like to ask @GeorgeKov if you found solution to your problem with the adapter.

@KostGrey  The vast majority of USB-C to HDMI adapters/cables require the USB-C port to support video output, technically called DisplayPort Alt Mode.  (A converter chip within the adapter/cable switches the signal to HDMI.)  This requires that the USB-C port have a GPU output wired to it.  But this is an optional feature of USB-C, and therefore not all systems with USB-C ports have it.  The Inspiron 3593's USB-C port is a data-only port.  The relevant page from the system's Setup and Specifications document here specifically say that the USB-C port does not support audio/video output, i.e. DisplayPort Alt Mode.  And since the HDMI output on that system is limited to 1920x1080, the only way you'll be able to run higher-resolution display setups would be through a USB adapter that used DisplayLink.  I discussed that in my earlier posts in this thread, including its variety of drawbacks.  If you don't want a full dock, then there are DisplayLink USB adapters that only provide a single HDMI/DP output.  However, all of the adapters I've seen like that only support 2560x1440 60 Hz or 4K 30 Hz.  The next step up from there would be adapters that support dual 4K 60 Hz.  I haven't seen any single 4K 60 Hz adapters for some reason.  Maybe DisplayLink chipsets went from 4K 30 Hz to dual 4K 60 Hz, so the savings of only offering a single output on an adapter didn't justify reducing functionality if the chipset had to be the same anyway.  But if the cost of a DisplayLink adapter and/or the drawbacks I described in another post of mine that I linked within an earlier post here aren't acceptable to you, then unfortunately you have the wrong system for your purposes.

@jphughanthank you very much for your reply. So even for 2K I would need an adapter like this one? Can not something else be done?

An HDMI to Display Port adapter like this wouldn't work because of the HDMI limmitation?

Another question... If I buy the 2K Dell monitor then with the HDMI port it will downscale to 1080p? Is it safe?

@KostGrey Happy to help.  Yes, that type of adapter would work, and Plugable is a good choice as a brand.  They also have a version that gives you a DisplayPort output if you'd prefer, but it has the same capabilities.

No, there's nothing else to be done.  The DisplayPort to HDMI adapter won't work at all because typical passive adapters and even most active adapters like the one you linked only allow you to connect a DisplayPort source to an HDMI input, not the other way around.  The product page even says that.  There are a tiny handful of active adapters specifically meant to go the other way, but as you said, you still have a limitation on the system side.  An adapter can't add capabilities that aren't there at the source.

And just as a general tip, especially when asking technical questions about limitations and capabilities, I'd strongly recommend that you avoid using the term "2K" because so many people incorrectly use it to mean 2560x1440.  2K is actually a film resolution of 2048x1080, and when used in the consumer space it actually refers to the nearest and slightly lower resolution of....1920x1080 -- just like 4K is a film resolution of 4096x2160 and in the consumer space refers to 3840x2160.  Unfortunately so many people started using it to refer to 2560x1440 that when somebody says "2K" now, it's no longer safe to assume what anybody means.  It's a bit like saying you're having a "biweekly" meeting.  Some will figure you'll be meeting twice per week, and others every other week.  The resolution 2560x1440 is rightfully called QHD or 1440p.  The former is only one extra character to type, but it adds a lot of disambiguation value, and that can be important in contexts like this.  For example, if you simply said, "Can this system run a 2K display from its HDMI output?" and I had figured you were using it properly to mean 1920x1080, then I could have said "Yes" -- but I wouldn't have been confirming what you thought I was.

Thanks again for the answer and the tip . By 2K yes I meant 1440p. So 1440p can downscale to 1080p by what I understand. I want to buy Dell 27 – S2721DS (or s2721QS for 4K) so that's why I am asking.

Is there another brand that you know except from Plugable?

@KostGrey  Sorry, I forgot to address the downscaling question.  Yes, you can send a 1080p signal to a 1440p display, but that really won't be a great experience for two reasons.  The first is that the pixels of a 1920x1080 image do not map cleanly onto a 2560x1440 physical pixel grid, so you might see some scaling artifacts, especially on text, to the point that it may not even look as good as a 27" display with an actual 1920x1080 native resolution.  But that leads to the second issue, which is that a 1920x1080 image spread out over 27" results in a pretty low pixel density, which can cause general graininess even apart from any scaling issues you'd have by using a 1440p display.  27" 1080p tends to make sense in these cases:

• Kiosk displays that will be viewed from a distance, which means size matters more than sharpness
• Users with suboptimal vision that want a 27" display to make their existing 1080p workspace larger rather than gaining additional workspace.
• Gamers with low-end GPUs who want a bigger display without the extra GPU load of running a higher resolution or having to deal with scaling artifacts.

If you're not in one of those camps, 27" 1080p probably isn't a great choice, and 27" 1080p displayed on an actual 1440p panel will be worse still.

27" 4K is a problem for an entirely separate set of reasons.  Very briefly, that setup creates a pixel density that's high enough that you have to enable display scaling, which some applications still don't handle well, but not high enough to give you a truly "Retina display" type of experience.  So it's sort of the worst of both worlds in my book.  Meanwhile 27" 1440p can be used without scaling by many people.

In terms of adapter brands, I don't personally have another brand to recommend since Plugable in my experience makes quality products and offers knowledgeable tech support if you need to ask them questions, but DisplayLink themselves maintains a product database you can look through here if you'd like.

I also noticed that the DP to HDMI adapter you linked was in fact active rather than passive, but it's still active in the wrong direction, i.e. DP source to HDMI input.  I've edited my earlier post based on that, but the reason those active adapters exist is because typical passive adapters rely on the DP source supporting Dual Mode DisplayPort, aka DP++, which allows the source to send a native HDMI signal.  But not all DP sources support that capability, and some technologies such as AMD EyeFinity don't allow using it even if it's available; they require the GPU to use native DP signaling.  And often a DP output when using DP++ can't run the same display setups that it can when using native DP signaling, such as 4K 60 Hz.  Active DP to HDMI adapters address all of those scenarios.  But an active HDMI to DP adapter incorporates a different type of signal converter chip meant to go in the opposite direction.

Thank you again for all the detailed answers and your time @jphughan.I have found also this by search through the net. Is it safe to be done?

I can not decide what to do though... Instead of Dell s2721DS (QHD) would it be better to get an external FHD monitor like Dell s2721HN or Dell s2721HGF? I want the monitor for programming, office work and media creation. So I thought QHD or UHD would be a good choice to go since I want to upgrade from the laptop's monitor...