Building a docking station, what do you want in it?

Been mulling over this for a few days and since my tablet is on hold till I can get a crapped out m11x for under 200$ I want to start a new project.

I want a docking station for my m11x that holds it upright on its side so that I can just drop it in the dock at my desk and have it turn into a instant desktop.

My plans at first was to be just like the macbook docks shown here.


But have now evolved a little to Include a 3.5in external hdd in the base, or perhaps a seagate freeagent docking station built into the front.

On the back side of the docks base there would be a group of ports that match the left side of the laptop. There would be a VGA port, 4 usb, network, hdmi, display port and 1394 port.

When the laptop is installed into the dock you would need to use the hdmi for audio, or you could just plug into the headphone jacks on the top of the computer (as its sitting on its side). The power plug would require that you manually plug that in as there is no real way to get the power to plug in with the rest of the ports when you dock it.

Right now I am just designing one for the r1 since I dont have access to a r2/r3 but Once I build the thing it would not be very hard to just realign the plugs to work with the r2/r3s.


So now looking at what I have listed, what are some things that you think I should change or add or remove from this idea?

Oh and I think this would be great for those who also use their m11x to play movies on their bigscreen tv one dock at your desk and one dock at your tv. If I can make a good working prototype I have a few contacts over in shanghai who do large production projects for me, im sure they would be willing to build a few hundred of these too.

 

The only design issue that may be a problem is the power adapter plug. as it sits almost i the middle of the back side of the laptop. so you would have to manually plug this in each time after sliding it into the dock.

On the sound note you could try to grab the audio signal off the hdmi out.

 

Plus the M11x needs to be opened first to power on.

Plugging in a HDMI, DisplayPort and USB while it powers up is not to much of a pain.

Plus yer stumped, if you need to switch from integrated to discrete GPU on the M11xR1.

You could see if a USB 3.0 daughter card fits in a M11xR1 and then find a USB 3.0 dock.

 

Yea I have been watching ebay for a r3 usb card to pop up so I can try that out.

I do wish there was a way to turn on the PC without opening it up, but I can switch the graphics with out the fn keys. I can just click the nvidea logo in the corner to change it out... but then again, if Im docked I dont think I would switch to intel graphics as it wouldnt transmit to the hdmi port.

 

Cant you just set it to wake on usb?

 

HMM, Yeah I guess, but then it would just have to go to sleep each time.

 

You could do a drop/swing/clamp station, with a bar at the back that swings up to make contact with the power, then clamps down to connect to the audio and USB.

 

On a related note, I need to get a alien head from a lcd screen and get some LEDs for it, then somehow get it to tie into alienfx... hmmmm... I think I should try to style it like the new ALX cases.

 

Thought about it, but it would be just as easy to manually plug the power cord in. The dock itself would plug into all the left side ports.

 

Don't clamp too hard, the hinges may suffer or leave marks on screen.

 

Just make sure the dock is deep enough. the M11x is heavier on the right side due to the battery location. you dont want the dock to be too snug of a fit but at the same time it has to be tight enought that it wont be relying on the ports alone to be anchored as that could cause some motherboard flex which could cause a ton of different problems. one of which could be the heatsink not laying flush on all 3 chips. the spring tension is really weak on this design.

 

I was going to have the sides of the dock go up about 2 inches to hold the laptop, the inside of these would be lined with a soft fabric too.

Im going to use the alien head from the m11x power button to put on the front.

Picked up some plexiglass last night to start cutting up to make the shape of it all.

 

Thats only for the right side though. Im assuming you are wanting the left as so to have hdmi (so sound and video in one). Which in that case, no matter the version is still 2.0.

 

True, but if one can get a USB 3.0 daughter card fired up in an M11xR1, one questions all other efforts when one could just plug in a USB 3.0 dock which'll probably have 100Mbit Ethernet (Maybe 1Gbit), a few more USB, 3.5mm Audio and maybe at least one DVI interface/HDMI. That'd do me very nicely.

Docking station aside, I'm just the guy that says, "What about a USB 3.0 on an M11xR1". Aye, aye....aye.

After thought - So, M11xR3 owners, don't be to alarmed if you wake up in a bath tub full of ice, remembering nothing of the night before, a note stuck to you saying, "Call DELL" and your M11xR3 USB 3.0 daughter card missing.

 

Not sure if anyone else noticed this but it seems like us r1 owner are the like the crazy uncle who likes to screw around with things to make them better.... while everyone else just buys the better version.

 

I think thats the only reason i could use to justify opening this thing up one last time...

Fighting the urge.... you cant make me do it!

 

Ive been searching for a usb 3 board for a little while now, not coming up with much. But im sure with in a few months I will be able to find something.

I did confirm though that my 13.3 inch lcd panel, while being a plug and play for the m11x, doesnt fit into the m11x lcd housing

 

Is there hope of modifying it to fit? Out of interest what model did you go for?

 

I used model LP133WH1 (TL)(A1)
It sticks out the sides a little bit and it comes in contact with the hinges.

Ninja edit:
On paper it looks like the lo133wh1 will fit perfect, but when I got it in there, it was just too close to everything.

 

So I did some mocking up of the dock today using a junked m11x base and parts of a palm rest. I cut the m11x chassis down so that its about 5 inches wide, and then cut the palmrest to be the same width (remove most of the palm rest so I just had the front lights)

The back of the dock has a cheap belkin 7 port USB hub on it. A laptop hdd fits in there perfect with enough space for the cables to be in there too.

The left side of the dock is basically the left side of a m11x, so all the ports are the same with exception of the card reader thats there along with the USB port (this one is hooked to the inter HDD). The right side of the dock is the right side of a m11x, but audio ports removed. So 4 usb on the backside, and 2 on the right side.

Now, as of right now, the grill light up white with the light from my hdds leds (seagate freeagent thats been gutted for the usb controller) But I hope to somehow wire up the leds from my m11x parts bin. Also I need to find a way place to install the alien head from a spare power button I have.

I think I may be able to get this done by modding a junk tactx mouse.... or I can install some thing that will take the light from the m11x grill light and display it on the docks grills (kinda like taking a fiber optic cable, putting it up the the m11x grill and then routing them down into the dock)

Still in the development phase here, so nothing is set in stone. If I find something that works better, I may go that way.

 

I will follow this thread very closely as I was in the process of making a docking station too.
I think holding the computer in a vertical manner is an excellent option, didn't think about it before.
keep this thread alive, it's too good an idea to let it die!

 

Im on vacation right now in florida with my wife, but I should be back home next week and will be getting back to work on the dock while I wait for parts for my tablet project.

 

today I went back to thinkng about the design of the dock,grabbed my m11x and noticed that the ventilation grill was on the left side, holding the computer verticle would put this ventilation at the bottom of the dock.
I was wondering if having the main cooler at the bottom wouldn't tend to "trap" hot air on the upper part of the chassis where very little airflow is possible?

 

I had thought about that too, not sure if it would be a problem, I guess i will find out.

 

I cheat when it comes to docking my M11xR1

I just plug in a DisplayPort or HDMI cable and a USB 2.0 cable which is connected to a USB switch with Unifying mouse, keyboard and USB farm.

Audio is via the HDMI/DisplayPort and a 3.5mm audio out on the monitor(s) which is managed by an audio switch box.

My WiFi runs at 300Mbps, no need for 100Mbps Ethernet.



I have a circa 1998 Toshiba Portege which has a true dock. The dock cable is just a single interface and provides VGA, 3.5mm audio, Ethernet, USB and etc. So anything less than a single cable connection is only creating additional complexity. Sorry to sound such a downer.

Most USB 2.0 docks are less than optimal.

But a USB 3.0 dock may have some possibilities.

Now an M11xR1 with a USB 3.0 daughter card....

 

Just saw an other vertical dock but holding lengthwise:
http://twelvesouth.com/products/bookarc/

 

Yeah, macbooks have a few docks, one of them holds the laptop the way I plan to.

 

LOL at the idea that you can be more productive with a single monitor. If there are zero performance or stability impacts then a second monitor will no lower your productivity - you can even choose to ignore it.

I suspect dual monitor mode isnt so sweet in the land of apples. (actually I suspect its fine)

 

Productivity and my m11x dont really go together... infact, my m11x makes me less productive due to the fact that all I want to do is play video games on it

 

Hahahaha, thumbs up on this one, I bought this laptop for "university" "projects"...

This is a procrastination machine!!!!

 

Ejohnson: I saw this dock too, read some reviews about it, there are some interesting comments out there regarding the ease/difficulty to dock/ undock and the cable management.
Things to keep in mind for the m11x design.
Did you make progress on this lately?

 

Still trying to figure out how to mount the cables in there.... I was thinking about plugging them into the computer then sticking the whole thing into the base filled with epoxy... then let it harden.

 

thats what i would do.

 

Im thinking im going to use one of my spare cases along with a spare dead motherboard... just so I dont ruin a good working unit.

 

i cant wait to see one finished!

would do this too, but i use the KB every time i use mine at my desk.

 

positionning the cables right seems to be crucial, you proposed a nice and easy way to avoid the hassle of measuring every single parts with the risks of misalignement in the end.
I'd make sure the "lock" feature of the display port is removed before glueing everything to prevent issues when unplugging your computer.

 

Good point, I will have to cut and remove all locks from the cables. I am almost wondering if I should mod all the plugs to be a little loose. That way its not a struggle to remove the laptop from the dock.

 

I would really love to talk to you about the blueprints about this; got an msn or something of the sorts?

 

No, I never really got into the chat clients. I did when aol first came out, but then stopped after the only messages I would get were a/s/l.

You can pm me though, I am usually online from 5am to 5pm while Im at work.

 

ejonson I thought if I could put into the docking station:
A video card nvidia quadro and a powerful processor, even more than one type core i7 or Xeon to do with modeling or rendering software 3d maya, 3d studio.
What do you think as an idea?
It can be done?

 

I know the grafix card could be done, but not sure about the i7 in there. The size though would be huge to include cooling and everything for a nice gpu.

 

And a graphics card nvidia 4000m or 5000m quadro mobile type to fit in from the docking station?
Sorry for my English but I live in rome taly

 

It might be challenging to plug the external gpu because it needs to fit in the internal pcie port in place of the wifi card.
I think that although this is a very desirable feature, the m11x is just not fit for this kind of modification, best would be to use a laptop with an express card slot.
What I would include in the dock:
- usb hub
- external hard disk
- dvd drive
- cooling fan
- audio amp?

Seems reasonable, what do you think?

 

I wonder why computer manufacturers assume that only their professionnal laptop models are worthy of docking connections... It's quite a shame because I think this is something that would benefit to a large extent of "non-professionnal" users, was just wondering.
I would love to extend the possibilities of the M11x through a docking station that would allow me to plug express cards and other missing formats to it.