Recommended inexpensive docking stations for Latitude 7490

Question

Hi, I would like to buy a docking station for my Latitude 7490. I have read that people have had lots of problems with some docking stations so I am asking this community for recommendations on one that will work easily and is plug-and-play.

I read here that the Dell WD19 works well, but it seems a bit expensive and I don't need it to have its own power supply. Can anyone recommend one that is less expensive? I am ok with a non-Dell product if it works well.

I use 2 monitors:

One ViewSonic X2776

One portable ASUS 168B, which is powered via the USB-C connection to the laptop.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

jphughan · Accepted Answer

@azlefty Lots of questions and clarifications to cover here, so here goes.

The first time you said your MB168 used a USB-C port, I thought it was an error. But then you said it again. The MB168 doesn't use USB-C; it uses USB-A "regular USB". So if you're using USB-C, you either have some sort of adapter or you have a display model other than the MB168.

In any case, if you want a USB-C data port (DisplayLink-based displays use USB data, not native video), plus HDMI, plus 3x USB-A ports, plus an audio output, then you really need a proper dock. That's especially true if you plan to charge your phone and run a USB-powered display from this device. Typical USB-powered mini-docks like the Anker unit I mentioned specifically advise against using their USB ports to charge smartphones and tablets because if it works at all, the amount of power that will come through will result in relatively slow charging. If you only use that phone cable to sync data back and forth, then fair enough, but if you're currently relying on that as a charging solution, you should really consider a proper USB power source, preferably a USB-C power source if you have a newer phone that can take advantage of the higher power levels offered by USB PD. iPhones for example have supported USB PD since the iPhone 8/X, even though they haven't come with USB-C cables and chargers in the past, and when you charge them using the proper cabling and power source, you can get up to 18W charge rates, compared to PC USB ports that might offer as little as 2.5 to 5W. And even that assumes they're considered "powered", which a USB port on a USB-powered hub won't necessarily be.

But to answer your other questions:

Typical docking stations, including the WD19, come with their own power supplies that are meant to run the dock and provide power to the system. That's partly why they're more expensive. As a result, your laptop's current power adapter will no longer be needed wherever you use this docking station, which frees it up to be used somewhere else, such as some other place in your home where you spend a lot of time or kept in a laptop bag as a dedicated travel charger rather than being a charger you have to unpack and pack up every time you work at home. You don't have to worry about "melting" anything. A dock that comes with a power supply will size the included power supply to run the dock, any USB peripherals you attach, and provide up to a specified amount of power to the attached system. The WD19 can supply up to 90W when ordered with a 130W power supply, or up to 130W when ordered with a 180W power supply. You'll be fine with the former with a 7490, since the 7490 only requires 65W. And no, the dock won't fry your laptop by being able to provide 90W. The dock advertises the power levels it supports to the attached system, and the system then decides what it wants. This prevents the dock from pushing more power than the system can provide, and also prevents the system from trying to draw more than the dock can provide. In any case, all of the USB ports on a WD19 would be considered fully powered, meaning they'll provide at least the 900 mA / 4.5 W required for USB 3.0 ports. So they may not charge your phone as fast as it can possibly handle, but that's certainly enough power to run your ASUS display.

Anker products are not designed specifically for Mac products. Some of the colors and finishes they use on some of their products happen to match Apple's colors and finishes, but they work perfectly fine on Windows. The reason Mac products are advertised is because more often a product might be Windows-only and not work a full functionality on a Mac. But seeing Macs in product photos doesn't mean they won't work on Windows. I have that Anker hub that I linked, and it works at full functionality with my Latitude 7480, my wife's XPS 13 9350, my ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 2, and even my 2020 iPad Air. But I have that device as a travel device in order to gain some additional ports on some of those systems that don't have them built-in. When I'm home I have an actual docking station.

I would really recommend that you consider a WD19 130W w/ 90W passthrough. Alternatively, if your Latitude 7490 has Thunderbolt 3, which was optional on that model, then you might want to consider the WD19TB. Whereas the WD19 when paired with that system can handle dual displays up to 1920x1200 each, the WD19TB's use of Thunderbolt 3 means it can tap into 4x more display bandwidth than the regular WD19, and therefore when paired with that system it can handle dual displays up to 4K 60 Hz each or triple displays up to QHD/1440p each. Note that your ASUS MB168B wouldn't count as one of those displays since its use of DisplayLink means it is considered a USB data device, not an actual display -- assuming that is in fact the display model you have, since again it's not clear to me how you're using an MB168B with a USB-C port. And one item you gain with Dell docks that you wouldn't gain with any third party option is the ability to use the dock's Power button to control the system. If you want to be able to power on the system with the lid closed, you'll need a Dell dock for that. Otherwise, you'll have to open the lid, press the built-in Power button, and close it, but that can become a bit tedious if you have the "Lid close action" set to put your system to sleep.

Hopefully this helps.

jphughan · Answer

@azlefty Most USB-C docks will provide power to the attached system since power has been a fundamental expectation of a docking station pretty much since docking stations were created. You didn't specify what connectivity you DO want to have on this docking station though -- USB-C ports? USB-A ports? Ethernet? Speaker/headset jacks? HDMI? DisplayPort? VGA? If you don't want the "default" Dell docking station choices, then the more specific you can be about what you need, the more likely you'll be able to get useful recommendations. I will say however that your combination of displays will remove some options. There are a variety of USB-C "mini-dock" dongles like this one that I have. It's designed mostly for travel, but it includes a lot of connectivity. That same manufacturer makes a variety of those at a variety of price points depending on what connectivity you want.

But most mini-docks like that will only support one display at a time even if they offer multiple display outputs. The fact that you're using an ASUS MB168B means you can sidestep that restriction since that display relies on "indirect display" technology called DisplayLink rather than using a native GPU output. However, the complication that using that sort of display adds is that it relies on being able to draw a lot of power from the USB port it's plugged into, and those types of "mini-docks" may not be able to pass through enough power from the host to run a USB-powered display like that, since the power coming from the host will have to be used to run the mini-dock itself plus whatever else you plug into it. For example, if you planned to connect something like a USB-powered hard drive at the same time, that would almost certainly not work. The specific mini-dock I linked above has a USB-C power input that can be used to provide power to the mini-dock itself and pass through the remainder to the system, which is a handy capability, and in that setup you might be fine running higher powered USB devices through it. But I don't know for sure, and you might not want a solution that only works for you when you've got external power. Or if you're happy continuing to connect your MB168B directly to the system, I'm back to my original question of what sorts of connectivity/capabilities you expect out of this inexpensive docking statino you're envisioning.

On a side note, if you really have the original MB168B (1366x768) rather than even the MB168B+ (1920x1080), you might want to think about upgrading. Even if you do have the latter, those displays are relatively dim since they can only count on drawing regular USB power levels to maintain compatibility rather than being able to count on USB PD levels by requiring USB-C. And the fact that they use DisplayLink rather than a native GPU output can create some issues of its own since you need DisplayLink software installed, and DisplayLink itself has quite a few drawbacks that I wrote about in the post marked as the answer in this thread. I replaced my MB168B+ with a Lenovo ThinkVision M14. It relies on DisplayPort Alt Mode rather than DisplayLink, which means it requires a video-capable USB-C port, but it also means it works with devices that don't have DisplayLink software installed or don't even support it (like iPads). It's also significantly brighter than the ASUS displays, and it's matte rather than glossy, which I prefer for productivity, and the panel overall is fantastic. It's also incredibly light, and the stand design is elegant in its simplicity. And as a bonus feature, it supports USB-C power passthrough, so although the display can be powered by the laptop, if you instead connect a USB-C power source to the display and then connect the display to the system, you can charge the system through the display from that power source.

azlefty · Answer

Thanks for your comments @jphughan .

In addition to the HDMI and USB-C ports for the monitors, I'd like to have at least 3 more regular USB ports for my wireless mouse, wireless keyboard, and phone cable. And an earphone/mic headset jack. I don't need ethernet, since I use the wifi on the computer. Just something basic so I don't have to disconnect everything whenever I take my laptop off my desk.

One thing I guess I don't understand is: do I plug my laptop's power supply into the docking station, and power my laptop via the USB-c connection from the docking station to my laptop, so I don't need to plug another power supply directly into my laptop while it is docked? If so, if I got a more heavy-duty power supply to leave in the docking station, do you think it could handle powering the ASUS screen and charging my laptop? Could that melt the docking station or damage the Latitude? I have no plans to connect a remote hard drive or any other unusual peripherals via USB so that is not an issue. I don't think I could get approved to upgrade my screen right now so I'll be sticking with the MB168B.

In case the following is useful information: I primarily use my laptop and screens for python programming, plus usual office word processing / powerpoint / excel kinds of things, web surfing, etc. I run windows 10 on the Latitude and have a Linux Ubuntu guest in a HyperV virtual machine and connect to the VM using windows Remote Desktop, and I would want to be able to use the remote desktop on all 3 screens or at least the ViewSonic and one of the others. I do my development in the linux VM. I don't play video games.

If the Anker you suggested could handle all of that, it would probably work. Has it worked well for you and do you have a similar Latitude to the 7490? I would prefer one that stands upright but that isn't very important.

Thanks again for your thoughts.

azlefty · Answer

@jphughan  I took another look at the Anker page and it appears to be intended for a Mac.  Will it work for a Latitude?

azlefty · Answer

It absolutely does.  Thanks very much.

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Recommended inexpensive docking stations for Latitude 7490

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