Precision 7530 & Precision 7730 owner's thread

With Dell I wouldn't assume anything is easy. When I ordered my 7730 I automatically used the shipping information that I had my account. After placing the order, I realized that the buzzer number was the old number (our building dropped the zeros in front of the unit numbers). No problem, right? The address was correct, just the buzzer number had changed slightly, so that's simple.

Well, no. That turned into an ordeal of being told I couldn't update the buzzer number, jumping through hoops to have the original order cancelled and replaced (which was a hassle because at first they wouldn't honor the sale price), and that all delayed the order by a couple of weeks.

So I wouldn't expect it to be easy to swap the docks on this order. You might be better off trying the TB18DC first and returning it if it doesn't work well for you.

When my TB18DC works, it's good. But when it doesn't... I swear at Dell.

 

I can only go with my gut here but I would suggest that you spring for the WD19DC if you can. The issues with the Thunderbolt dock all seem to resolve around its... Thunderbolt...ness. The WD series of docks basically just have a USB hub inside and everything is connected to that (aside from the displays which run over USB-C DisplayPort connection), much simpler. However to my knowledge no one posting here has a WD19DC yet so you would be our guinea pig...
Though multiple users (including me) have reported the WD15 having basically no issues (and basically all of the TB1X docks having some sort of issue), I think it is a good bet.

Can you mention what devices you will have connected? How many and what types of monitors? We do not have confirmation that 2x 4K monitors are supported (at 60 Hz).

You are right that the WD19DC dock is cheaper. I am surprised by this. It looks like the TB18DC has had a price hike since I purchased ours last year. I am pretty sure they were originally $330 and Dell lowered them to $230 because we were buying multiple, with systems.

 

@frostbytes @Aaron44126

Morning guys! Ha, yes... The "Thunderboltness" seems to be an issue, doesn't it? At least with PCs...

My setup will look like this:
- 3x Dell U2417H 1080p monitors (daisy-chained via DisplayPort if possible)
- USB device (Plantronics headset charging dock)
- Ethernet
- USB iPhone charging cable

That's it. A seemingly basic setup, right?

I just contacted my company's IT order fulfillment department-- they should be able to just order the WD19DC while I wait for the TB18DC. The TB18DC is bundled in an order with all my other accessories, like keyboard, mouse, briefcase, etc... so we figured it's best not to cancel that order.

P.S. I will gladly be the thread guinea pig.

 

Perfect, you can just return the TB18DC when it arrives (or try both and see which works better for you).
From your setup I think that it would be fine with the WD19DC dock. Chaining three 1080p monitors "should" work fine if they are DisplayPort 1.2 or better. But the dock has plenty of display outputs anyway.

Do make sure to update the BIOS on your 7530 when you get it. There was a note in one of the most recent updates about adding support for the new WD19 docks. I believe after that using a WD19DC dock would be basically plug-and-play. With the TB18DC dock you have to hop into the Intel Thunderbolt control panel software and "approve" it for connection before anything besides the displays will work.

 

Ok, the IT guy is working on the laptop now... Should be on my desk tomorrow with updated BIOS and the company image installed. I'll update here when I get it!

 

Looking forward to your updates about the WD19DC.

 

I've been running two external Dell monitors via my TB18DC. One via the dock's mDP, and daisy-chaining the second via a DP port on the monitor.

I just tried adding a third external monitor via the dock's DP port but although Windows detects the monitor, it's disabled. And the daisy-chained monitor turns off.

Have a hit a limit with the dock or with DP?

 

What resolution are your monitors? I think that 4x 1080p is supposed to work but only 2x 4K. It was similar for me when I tried adding a 1080p to my 2x4K setup. Three monitors would appear in Windows but only two of them would work.

 

Laptop: 3840 x 2160
External 1: 2560 x 1600
External 2: 1440 x 2560

The third external is smaller so probably the same as external 2. I don't have it hooked up anymore.

 

Installed the latest Thunderbolt firmware and Realtek drivers, released from Dell yesterday, on my 7730 with TB18DC - no issues so far. This is on Windows 10 1903 18362.116