@ElliotDG The best solution I can come up with would be a multi-purpose USB-C adapter that included a video output, some USB ports, and a USB-C power passthrough capability, plus a USB-C to DisplayPort or USB-C to HDMI 2.0 dongle, which would be connected to a cable that you would leave attached to the display at each location. That would only require two ports on your system, but it would get both displays, power, and USB peripherals all running together.
For the former device, Dell has the DA310, but there are other options from companies like Anker, which makes a wide variety of these adapters depending on what combination of ports/capabilities you want (USB-A, USB-C data, Ethernet, audio, SD card reader, etc.) One thing to be aware of though is that when you run USB-C power through a multi-purpose adapter, the adapter will skim some of the power capacity to run its own electronics and provide power to USB peripherals you might connect to it. When you do NOT have a power source connected, it draws the necessary power from the laptop, but when you’re using the power passthrough feature, it can’t draw power from the laptop and provide power to it at the same time, hence the skim. The reason I mention this is that if you use the laptop’s own power adapter, that skim will likely result in the system warning about an undersized power source. That’s especially likely when using an XPS 13 since its power adapter is only 45W to begin with, and some of these multi-purpose adapters can skim as much as 15W. The solution to that is to buy a higher wattage USB-C power adapter so that you have enough power even after the skim. Fortunately, 60W USB-C wall chargers are relatively inexpensive and small (although the very small ones cost more). But you’ll still be spending way less than you would on a dock.
Side note: It doesn’t matter in this specific case, but fyi "2K resolution" is a dangerous thing to say because so many people use it incorrectly to refer to 2560x1440, and the difference can matter for technical reasons. 2K resolution is technically a film resolution of 2048x1080, but when used to refer to "consumer" resolutions, it actually refers to the nearest and slightly lower consumer equivalent, which is 1920x1080, aka Full HD or 1080p. Similarly, 4K is also technically a film resolution of 4096x2160 pixels, but when used in the consumer world refers to the slightly lower resolution of 3840x2160, aka Ultra HD or 2160p. If the display you’re referring to is 2560x1440, that resolution is rightfully called 1440p or QHD. The latter is only one extra character to type, but it adds a lot of disambiguation value, and that can be valuable. For example, if the solution I proposed above would only have worked for 1920x1080 but not 2560x1440 but I thought that would be fine because I figured that’s what you meant by “2K”, then that might not have ended well. Unfortunately “2K” is used so inconsistently that it’s no longer clear what anybody means when they say it, and therefore it’s useless. It’s sort of like saying you want to have meetings “biweekly”. Some dictionaries have given up and now have both “twice per week” and “every other week” as definitions — rendering the term completely useless for scheduling purposes.
@ElliotDG One note I forgot to add is that not all USB-C multi-purpose adapters will be created equal when it comes to video output capabilities. Some will only support up to 1440p 60 Hz or 4K 30 Hz. A small handful will support 4K 60 Hz. If you’ll only ever have a single 4K 60 Hz display, then this isn’t an issue because you can run that display through the USB-C to DP/HDMI 2.0 dongle, which would handle 4K 60 Hz fine, and then run the 1440p display through the multi-purpose adapter. But if you want to allow for the possibility of 4K 60 Hz, you’ll need a multi-purpose adapter that supports receiving a DisplayPort 1.4/HBR3 over USB-C signal from the laptop; some adapters only support DisplayPort 1.2/HBR2 over USB-C. (Video over USB-C is always DisplayPort, even if the adapter will convert that to HDMI.) Very basically, when a USB-C link is configured to run both video and USB 3.x data simultaneously, as a multi-purpose adapter would configure it to do, the available video bandwidth gets cut in half. Half of a DP 1.2/HBR2 link is enough for 1440p 60 Hz or 4K 30 Hz, but not 4K 60 Hz. Half of a DP 1.4/HBR3 link is enough for 4K 60 Hz. By comparison, the USB-C to DP/HDMI 2.0 dongle you’d be using for the other display isn’t an issue because that won’t be running USB data at all, so it would have a full bandwidth DisplayPort link available, and even DP 1.2/HBR2 is enough for 4K 60 Hz display when a full bandwidth link is available.
@ElliotDG Sorry for the triple post here, but having reread your post, it sounds like you only have ONE display at each location? I thought each location had a 4K display AND a 1440p display. If you’re only dealing with up to a single 4K 60 Hz display, then you just need the right sort of USB-C multi-purpose adapter, no need for the additional USB-C to DP/HDMI 2.0 dongle to be plugged into the other port on the XPS — although if you ever do decide to add a second external display to one of those locations, that’s how you’d do it.
For that multi-purpose adapter, I personally have this one and have successfully run a 4K 60 Hz HDR display through it. You’ll also get two USB-A ports, a USB-C data port, Ethernet, an SD card reader, and a USB-C power input port for power passthrough. And as long as you only have one display, you could even sidestep the power skim issue I mentioned in my first reply by simply connecting the XPS charger directly to the XPS rather than using the adapter’s power passthrough capability. The only limitation you might encounter in that setup would be that higher-powered USB devices, such as USB-powered hard drives, might not run reliably through the multi-purpose adapter when its only power source is whatever it can get out of the laptop — and you wouldn’t have any other port on your laptop to connect such devices to either. So if that becomes an issue, then connect the XPS power adapter to the multi-purpose adapter, which should allow it to handle higher-powered USB devices more reliably. And if that triggers a warning about an undersized power adapter and you want to deal with that, then you can buy a 60W or better USB-C charger.
@ElliotDG Glad you liked them! Yes you can certainly buy a higher wattage charger if you like. Any wattage capacity beyond what your setup would actually use -- which would probably be at most 60W (45W for XPS + 15W skim) -- wouldn't deliver any benefit in that specific case, but of course USB-C is becoming more and more ubiquitous, so if you might want to use that charger with other devices, having 90W capacity might make it more useful elsewhere. I personally have a 90W dual port RAVPower charger that I like because it can split its 90W capacity across its ports in multiple ways, i.e. 90/0, 60/30, and 45/45. So it can cover a variety of scenarios that are relevant to me. I think they've got a new dual port 100W charger now though, if you can find it in stock anywhere these days.
jphughan
9 Legend
•
14K Posts
1
November 17th, 2021 21:00
@ElliotDG The best solution I can come up with would be a multi-purpose USB-C adapter that included a video output, some USB ports, and a USB-C power passthrough capability, plus a USB-C to DisplayPort or USB-C to HDMI 2.0 dongle, which would be connected to a cable that you would leave attached to the display at each location. That would only require two ports on your system, but it would get both displays, power, and USB peripherals all running together.
For the former device, Dell has the DA310, but there are other options from companies like Anker, which makes a wide variety of these adapters depending on what combination of ports/capabilities you want (USB-A, USB-C data, Ethernet, audio, SD card reader, etc.) One thing to be aware of though is that when you run USB-C power through a multi-purpose adapter, the adapter will skim some of the power capacity to run its own electronics and provide power to USB peripherals you might connect to it. When you do NOT have a power source connected, it draws the necessary power from the laptop, but when you’re using the power passthrough feature, it can’t draw power from the laptop and provide power to it at the same time, hence the skim. The reason I mention this is that if you use the laptop’s own power adapter, that skim will likely result in the system warning about an undersized power source. That’s especially likely when using an XPS 13 since its power adapter is only 45W to begin with, and some of these multi-purpose adapters can skim as much as 15W. The solution to that is to buy a higher wattage USB-C power adapter so that you have enough power even after the skim. Fortunately, 60W USB-C wall chargers are relatively inexpensive and small (although the very small ones cost more). But you’ll still be spending way less than you would on a dock.
Side note: It doesn’t matter in this specific case, but fyi "2K resolution" is a dangerous thing to say because so many people use it incorrectly to refer to 2560x1440, and the difference can matter for technical reasons. 2K resolution is technically a film resolution of 2048x1080, but when used to refer to "consumer" resolutions, it actually refers to the nearest and slightly lower consumer equivalent, which is 1920x1080, aka Full HD or 1080p. Similarly, 4K is also technically a film resolution of 4096x2160 pixels, but when used in the consumer world refers to the slightly lower resolution of 3840x2160, aka Ultra HD or 2160p. If the display you’re referring to is 2560x1440, that resolution is rightfully called 1440p or QHD. The latter is only one extra character to type, but it adds a lot of disambiguation value, and that can be valuable. For example, if the solution I proposed above would only have worked for 1920x1080 but not 2560x1440 but I thought that would be fine because I figured that’s what you meant by “2K”, then that might not have ended well. Unfortunately “2K” is used so inconsistently that it’s no longer clear what anybody means when they say it, and therefore it’s useless. It’s sort of like saying you want to have meetings “biweekly”. Some dictionaries have given up and now have both “twice per week” and “every other week” as definitions — rendering the term completely useless for scheduling purposes.
jphughan
9 Legend
•
14K Posts
1
November 17th, 2021 21:00
@ElliotDG One note I forgot to add is that not all USB-C multi-purpose adapters will be created equal when it comes to video output capabilities. Some will only support up to 1440p 60 Hz or 4K 30 Hz. A small handful will support 4K 60 Hz. If you’ll only ever have a single 4K 60 Hz display, then this isn’t an issue because you can run that display through the USB-C to DP/HDMI 2.0 dongle, which would handle 4K 60 Hz fine, and then run the 1440p display through the multi-purpose adapter. But if you want to allow for the possibility of 4K 60 Hz, you’ll need a multi-purpose adapter that supports receiving a DisplayPort 1.4/HBR3 over USB-C signal from the laptop; some adapters only support DisplayPort 1.2/HBR2 over USB-C. (Video over USB-C is always DisplayPort, even if the adapter will convert that to HDMI.) Very basically, when a USB-C link is configured to run both video and USB 3.x data simultaneously, as a multi-purpose adapter would configure it to do, the available video bandwidth gets cut in half. Half of a DP 1.2/HBR2 link is enough for 1440p 60 Hz or 4K 30 Hz, but not 4K 60 Hz. Half of a DP 1.4/HBR3 link is enough for 4K 60 Hz. By comparison, the USB-C to DP/HDMI 2.0 dongle you’d be using for the other display isn’t an issue because that won’t be running USB data at all, so it would have a full bandwidth DisplayPort link available, and even DP 1.2/HBR2 is enough for 4K 60 Hz display when a full bandwidth link is available.
jphughan
9 Legend
•
14K Posts
1
November 17th, 2021 21:00
@ElliotDG Sorry for the triple post here, but having reread your post, it sounds like you only have ONE display at each location? I thought each location had a 4K display AND a 1440p display. If you’re only dealing with up to a single 4K 60 Hz display, then you just need the right sort of USB-C multi-purpose adapter, no need for the additional USB-C to DP/HDMI 2.0 dongle to be plugged into the other port on the XPS — although if you ever do decide to add a second external display to one of those locations, that’s how you’d do it.
For that multi-purpose adapter, I personally have this one and have successfully run a 4K 60 Hz HDR display through it. You’ll also get two USB-A ports, a USB-C data port, Ethernet, an SD card reader, and a USB-C power input port for power passthrough. And as long as you only have one display, you could even sidestep the power skim issue I mentioned in my first reply by simply connecting the XPS charger directly to the XPS rather than using the adapter’s power passthrough capability. The only limitation you might encounter in that setup would be that higher-powered USB devices, such as USB-powered hard drives, might not run reliably through the multi-purpose adapter when its only power source is whatever it can get out of the laptop — and you wouldn’t have any other port on your laptop to connect such devices to either. So if that becomes an issue, then connect the XPS power adapter to the multi-purpose adapter, which should allow it to handle higher-powered USB devices more reliably. And if that triggers a warning about an undersized power adapter and you want to deal with that, then you can buy a 60W or better USB-C charger.
ElliotDG
3 Posts
0
November 22nd, 2021 02:00
All 3 replies were outstanding! Thanks! Very educational too!
ElliotDG
3 Posts
0
November 22nd, 2021 02:00
Could I buy a 90W + Charger instead of a 60W? will that make much difference?
jphughan
9 Legend
•
14K Posts
0
November 22nd, 2021 06:00
@ElliotDG Glad you liked them! Yes you can certainly buy a higher wattage charger if you like. Any wattage capacity beyond what your setup would actually use -- which would probably be at most 60W (45W for XPS + 15W skim) -- wouldn't deliver any benefit in that specific case, but of course USB-C is becoming more and more ubiquitous, so if you might want to use that charger with other devices, having 90W capacity might make it more useful elsewhere. I personally have a 90W dual port RAVPower charger that I like because it can split its 90W capacity across its ports in multiple ways, i.e. 90/0, 60/30, and 45/45. So it can cover a variety of scenarios that are relevant to me. I think they've got a new dual port 100W charger now though, if you can find it in stock anywhere these days.