Docking Station Question

Good evening.

First of all, apologies if this thread is in the wrong category, feel free to move if so.

I own a Dell E6410 that I would like to use to replace my desktop machine and to which I intend to plug a keyboard(USB), a mouse(USB) and a monitor(VGA) to enjoy that "desktop feel" I'm so used to.

Now considering that the laptop's native ports suffice for what I need, do you still advice me to purchase a docking station? I mean, besides the additional ports that I don't need, does a docking station bring any other advantages worth mentioning considering that I will be using the laptop for 8+ straight hours?

And finally, since I consider this a great feature of a docking station, if I opt for no docking station, is there a way to use the laptop with the lid closed? Is this achievable with Windows' "When I close lid on my portable computer" > "Do Nothing" and if yes, will this cause over-heating issues and also, is there a way to turn on the machine without opening the lid?

Thank you.

 

There are two buttons on the docking station - one that is equivalent to the power button on your laptop which you can set to sleep/hibernate/shutdown and the release button. A dock is very useful imho and you can get the regular e-port one used/refurbished for under $30 shipped on ebay.

 

Thank you for the reply, nublar, very kind.

And what if I opt for no docking station?

Am I right in saying that the steps to follow in that case would be:

1. Plug keyboard and mouse to USB ports
2. Plug monitor to VGA port
3. Open lid and turn on laptop
4. When window boots, both the laptop monitor and "big" monitor are showing the same thing
5. Close laptop lid, provided "When I close lid on my portable computer" is set to "Do Nothing".

Right?

 

Yes, with no docking station, you will have to open the laptop to turn it on.

You can actually easily change how it handles the second screen with Windows key + P. You can have it duplicate the display, use internal only, external only, or extend the display (different content on the two screens). You can set it to external only and your laptop display will be blank. Or maybe you will find that leaving the laptop open and having a second screen is nice.