USB-A Dock with DisplayLink

USB-A Dock with DisplayLink: a dock that connects to USB-A 3.0 on older laptops.

Docks by the port they plug into rather than by a marketing name. Thunderbolt, USB-C with DisplayPort Alt Mode and DisplayLink are three different things and they are not interchangeable, so every listing states which one it is and what it will drive on your laptop.

Specification

• Connects to: USB-A 3.0 on older laptops
• Ports: two HDMI four USB-A ethernet and audio
• Power delivery: none; the laptop charges from its own charger
• Display support: two screens through DisplayLink drivers
• Weight: about 1.1 kg
• Warranty: three years

What arrives

• Dock
• Power supply
• Host cable

Will it connect to your laptop

Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 carry 40 gigabits per second and will drive two 4K screens from one cable. USB-C with DisplayPort Alt Mode carries video but at lower bandwidth, usually one 4K screen at 60 hertz. Plain USB-C carries data and power only, and a dock on that port needs DisplayLink drivers to show anything at all. The port on your laptop decides which of those you have, and the symbol beside it tells you: a lightning bolt for Thunderbolt, a D shape for DisplayPort Alt Mode, nothing for data only. Apple silicon has a display limit that catches people out. The base M1 and M2 chips drive one external screen; M3 and later in the Air drive two with the lid closed; the Pro and Max chips drive more. A dock cannot raise that limit, and any dock that claims to do it on a base chip is using DisplayLink software, which works but uses processor time and is not the same as a native connection. We say which one you are buying. Power delivery matters as much as the ports. A 65 watt dock will charge a 13 inch ultrabook and will slowly lose ground on a 16 inch workstation under load. Check the wattage of the charger your laptop came with and buy a dock that matches it or beats it. Tell us your laptop make and model at checkout and we check the port, the power and the display limit against it before we dispatch. If something we sent does not connect first time we pay the postage both ways, because a returned dock is our mistake rather than yours.

Which option to buy

Standard is the specification listed. With Cable is with the right cable in the box for your laptop. We sell office tech filtered by what it will actually connect to. Every listing states the port it needs, the power it delivers and the screens it will drive, and where a cheaper product does the same job for your laptop we say so.