Discuss before Purchase USB C/TB Dock, D3100/WD15/D6000/TB16

The D6000 uses a DisplayLink chip rather than tapping into the system’s native GPU outputs, which comes with a lot of drawbacks, so take that off your list. It’s aimed mostly at businesses that need to support both USB-C and USB-A systems with a single dock model. I can go into more detail here if you want, but you really don’t want that model. The D3100 is the older version of the D6000 that’s meant for systems that don’t have a “real” docking station connector like USB-C, TB3, or a legacy style underside docking connector, and it too uses DisplayLink, so take that off your list too. You wouldn’t be able to charge your laptop from that docking station.

For the WD15 and TB16, the main difference other than the fact that the latter requires Thunderbolt (which your system has, so no issue there) is that the TB16 gives you 4x more display bandwidth to run your displays. The WD15 can handle dual displays up to 1920x1200 or a single display up to 2560x1600 (or 4K but only at 30 Hz). The TB16 can handle dual displays up to 4K at the standard 60 Hz and even some triple display configurations. Hopefully this helps. If you have any other questions, feel free to reply or PM me.

Hello jphughan, 

Thanks for the answer. Could you explain more why the model D6000 is not good ? I was thinking of buying one. I have a dell XPS 15 9570 (has USB - C), but I also use an old notebook that only has old USB-A port. But I was wanting to plug the new Dell on a 4k 60 Hz monitor.

The Dell 6000 cannot use 4k at 60 hz?

Thanks.

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@RGBR wrote:

Hello jphughan, 

 

Thanks for the answer. Could you explain more why the model D6000 is not good ? I was thinking of buying one. I have a dell XPS 15 9570 (has USB - C), but I also use an old notebook that only has old USB-A port. But I was wanting to plug the new Dell on a 4k 60 Hz monitor.

 

The Dell 6000 cannot use 4k at 60 hz?

 

Thanks.

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Hey there,

The D6000 can run up to three 4K 60 Hz displays simultaneously. That’s one other situation where a DisplayLink dock can be superior to “normal” docks that tap into GPU outputs, because the way DisplayLink works means it can avoid limitations normally imposed by the GPU and/or regular display connections in terms of maximum resolution and maximum number of displays. In terms of more detail about how this works and its downsides, see my first post in this thread (the post marked as the solution) where I provide all of that detail: https://www.dell.com/community/Alienware/Docking-Station-D6000-Very-Bad-Video-performance-for-gaming/td-p/6193369

@RGBR, in addition to my reply to you above, I forgot to point out that the D6000 only provides 60W for charging an attached system. The XPS 15 requires 130W for proper performance, so you’d either have to connect the system’s regular AC adapter in addition to the dock or deal with significantly throttled performance when the system is only getting 60W. By comparison, the TB16 can provide up to 130W to attached Dell systems as long as you get the version that comes with a 240W adapter (the TB16 is also available with a 180W adapter, which wouldn’t work well with an XPS 15). And since it can also handle up to two 4K 60 Hz displays, it’s the way to go for your purposes. Unfortunately it won’t be usable by your old system at all, but there’s no single dock model that would offer full functionality with both of those systems.

Thanks for the attention, it helped me.

Wow, thank you so much, for a very in-depth and clear concise reply!

Yep great, totally 3100/6000 off my list, I would rather use something with more of a direct link to the CPU etc.

I do have an okayish knowledge of PCs and do repair them sometimes but it's always great to get a second opinion and learn more.

Also, thought could be a good post with all the answers in one!

So the TB16 has a lot more capability due to its bandwidth, but it would be overkill,

however, that leads me to my next question, will having this headroom help at all, as I do not want a bottleneck.

Currently using an 'LMP' dongle and the displays are certainly not smooth, I understand this is not powered but just making me have extra thoughts.

But due to the price, if I really won't notice it, I will just get a WD15, 130W

Many Thanks,

p.s this forum is great

Much appreciated, will see now if I can get a good deal on the TB16, if not ill just get the WD15

Will need to get a DP - HDMI adapter too!

Can't wait for the clean set up, thanks again, I know it may just seem obvious to some, 

but specs just were not clear!

Yep BIOS, all controllers and TB drivers/firmware updated today, windows was a clean install

Unlike my usual self, I did add the Dell Command, Dell Support assist,  Dell power manage (will be useful when the laptop is in AC mode all day)

And of course, did the remaining manually,  (SSD BIOS etc)

A lot better than the old day headache utilities!

Cheers

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@burgattti wrote:

Much appreciated, will see now if I can get a good deal on the TB16, if not ill just get the WD15

Will need to get a DP - HDMI adapter too!

Can't wait for the clean set up, thanks again, I know it may just seem obvious to some, 

but specs just were not clear!

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Happy to help! You can use any DP to HDMI adapter or cable with either dock, nothing special required there. I agree the documentation and mix of products makes it all a bit confusing, but on the other hand relatively few people would read the gory technical details even if they were presented with them, so it’s a tough balance. I’ve often found in situations like these that just reading the manuals on support.dell.com is helpful because they have more technical information and less marketing, but of course that’s less useful for less technical people, so that’s not a perfect solution either.

Also remember to update your system’s BIOS and its Thunderbolt 3 controller firmware beforehand, FYI. For the latter, you’ll first need to install the Thunderbolt 3 software/drivers if you haven’t already. Good luck!

I am really sorry to bump an old thread but I am having difficulty understanding which docking station to get. I have a Dell Latitude 3379 (2-in-1). My goal is to have a docking station Like my old Latitudes where I could essentially click it into the dock and would be good to go. I’ll be buying two 24” LCD monitors and an external wireless keyboard/mouse. I would want full charging capabilities. Could anyone provide some advice on how to handle this?

@mreakus  looking at the Owner's Manual and Quick Start guide for the Latitude 3379, there's no indication that its USB-C port supports video output or system charging, both of which are optional on USB-C ports and would be required for having a traditional docking solution that you're used to.  The documentation suggests that the USB-C port on that system can only be used for USB data, in which case you wouldn't have any traditional docking station options available.  In that situation, the closest you would be able to get would be a Dell D6000, but that wouldn't charge the system or give you an external Power button to turn the system on and off.  The D6000 also uses DisplayLink technology (not to be confused with DisplayPort) for video rather than tapping into native GPU outputs, and that introduces some drawbacks that can be very problematic for certain use cases.  I wrote about those in detail in this thread, specifically the post marked as the answer.  The question in that thread was about gaming, but my answer applied more broadly than that.

Of course in theory it's possible that the system's USB-C port supports more functionality than the documentation suggests, but Dell typically notes that in their documentation when that's the case, so doubt it.

And fyi it's not likely to matter in this particular case given the issue I just called out above, but when talking about proposed display setups, it's much more important to specify the resolution(s) of the display(s) you intend to use, not the physical size, because higher resolution requires more bandwidth and therefore sometimes creates additional considerations, whereas the physical size of the display doesn't matter to the system.  24" displays are commonly available in resolutions ranging from 1080p to 4K, the latter of which is 4x more resolution than the former and therefore requires 4x more display bandwidth from the system, so the range is quite large.

@jphughanthank you so much for the reply. If I read it correctly, Dell does not offer a plug and play solution to fit my needs? Neither the D6000 nor the D3100 will be able to charge or have an external power button. The monitors are 1080p. 

Would you have any recommendations to purchase that would fit my needs?

@mreakus  from what I can tell looking at the documentation, the Latitude 3379 only seems to accept power from its AC adapter connector.  It doesn't have a USB-C port that accepts power or the previous traditional underside docking station connector, which means there's no way for a dock to provide power to it.  And the D3100 and D6000 don't have power buttons that can control the system because they do everything over a conventional USB data channel, and external power buttons can't work that way, at least not in all cases such as when the system is off.

@jphughan 

thank you. So if I understand you correctly, either of those docking stations will help me with using multiple displays but it would really only be used for that. I’d still have to use my charging cable and would most likely need to make sure the computer remains powered and active when docked (as in not allowing the screen to sleep/etc).