Docking Station for M14x.

Hi guys,

Apologies if this is a duplication of another thread - I did a bunch of searching but can't seem to find an answer.

I'm opting for the the M14xR2 for what I believe to be the best trade-off of portability and performance, but I'd also like to do some big screen gaming at home with my 22" LCD, speakers, gaming mouse / keyboard etc.

Is there an official, or highly recommended docking station for the M14x's that will allow me to click it in without the hassle of connecting / disconnecting all my peripherals individually? My dell laptop for work clicks into a dock on my desk from a port underneath the unit - but I'm assuming this is more common for business machines.

Any suggestions woud be really welcome.

 

I can tell you know that your dell @ work is basically designed for a docking station. The M14's do not have the bottom adapter built in to sit on a docking station. You would have to basically plug everything in when you are ready to use the screen.

Next time your @ the office look at the bottom of your laptop and you will see what I mean.

I apparently jsut reiterated what you said...

 

But you also confirmed what I've been guessing - that such a dock for Alienware probably doesn't exist.

Would be nice if there was some kind of USB hub box that I could just stick HDMI / DisplayPort + 1 USB hookup for keyboard+mouse+audio though. Am gonna keep searching!

 

Yes they do exist.
Targus ExpressCard Docking Station with Digital Video and Audio Review
That's very old example from our sister site.

Current ones usually connect to USB3 and they might have digital video output. However video is the problem, since those bypass computers built-in GPU with a usb-connected video card built into the dock they are good only for office work.

....and right after sending the message I found this one:
http://www.targus.com/us/productdet...evel1=products&cp=&bannertxt=Docking Stations
Also from Targus.

 

Thanks for that KLF.

I can't seem to tell from the tech specs - but that one you linked to does it have a separate video input on the dock so I don't have to bypass my GPU? I realise I'd have to hook two cables up each time rather than one, but that's still better than five. Or six. Or seven.

 

I learned something new. I was just basing it off experience with the laptops I had knowledge of. So its basically a replicator?

 

What do you mean by replicator?

I guess keyboard / mouse functionality on the dock is exactly how a KVM works. Audio would be a pass-through if able or if not it would emulate system audio (not ideal). Printers / external HDDs etc would be dealt with how any ordinary USB hub works.

The video is the kicker. If the dock powers its own video it will suck for most things i.e. as KLF said only office work - and even that might be a push if you get all fancy with your board presentations

EDIT: Major eureka moment. Well, more of a slap myself in the face moment. I should just by a KVM that'll hook up to my mouse+keyboard+speakers and hook the video straight from the laptop to the monitor(s). Not ideal, but it's as close as I'll get to having a dock. Guess it'll save me a bit of cash too!

SECOND EDIT: Muskytaru I see what you mean now. In my experience a docking station isn't a replicator. The docking station I use for work allows full native use of the laptop with three screens and various other peripherals (importantly still uses the laptop's graphics card). It's specially made by Dell for some of their business laptops we have so probably not something I can hope for that will hook up to USB on the M14x.

 

This is the way to go

You could say that a port replicator is a light version of a docking station. It does many same things but just not as good as the real thing.

 

Pretty much.

 

Cool thanks Muskytaru / KLF.

All I need now is an M14x to plug the KVM into haha - time to get ordering!

 

So, did you like it?
I'm at the moment looking at Alienware laptops, but as they don't have a docking port (like Dell Latitudes have), I'm searching for reviews of USB dock stations.
My particular question is whether the USB dock stations are suitable for gaming. Doesn't it add lags to video/mouse/keyboard?

Sorry for too many questions and thanks in advance.

 

I realize I'm doing some thread necromancy here, but I also have an M14X and I wondered if the original poster ended up going with the KVM solution. I'm also really curious about the disadvantages of a USB3 dock like this one. (The link the mod posted previously seems to have broken since then.)

 

Did I like it? The laptop hell yes! In fact, almost 3 years later I'm typing this on my lil M14xR2. It's still a little beast and has been awesome for gaming. I'll be sad to see it go (will be looking to buy a new one this year) as it's in pristine condition and still plays most games fine. Of course, with games like Evolve now are starting to stress the hardware, but for three years I can't complain. Great investment.

As for USB dock see answer below.

Nope I didn't go with a dock in the end - they are useless for gaming if video is going through USB. I believe some high end gaming docks exist, but the prices are ridiculous and really not worth looking into. As I didn't end up switching back and forth too much, I decided to just bite it and plug / unplug 3 cables quickly which wasn't too much hassle given the frequency I did it.

BUT I've had an idea (I should probably start a thread on this elsewhere). When I get my next gaming laptop (will still be AW) I'm tempted to go a step further and use a second laptop (maybe this old M14, but preferably a cheap mini cube shaped desktop box for tidiness) and have it permanently hooked up to my big display and keyboard / mouse / other stuff etc. Then it's just a simple case of getting the streaming working in Steam (which is pretty easy from my first experiment). Et voila, all I need to do is connect my powerhouse laptop to the network, and the ghost gaming machine will come to life all hooked up and ready to play.