Not if you get a hub with passthrough power delivery. This one would fit your needs nicely. If you want a slightly nicer package with more bandwidth on hub's USB-A ports you can go with an office dock like the Dell WD19.
Dell Alienware is very stingy with details on the USB-C port, just saying it's USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 with DisplayPort.
Since the Alienware M15 Ryzen Edition is fairly recent, let's hope that it supports DP 1.4 with MST and DSC. If so, your laptop can do dual 4K60 with USB 3 speed over 2 HBR3 lanes for video and 2 SuperSpeed lanes for data.
But I don't know of any USB-C dock that could do dual 4K60 with USB 3 speed yet.
The Cable Matters Dual Monitor USB C Hub with DisplayPort 1.4 can do dual 4K60 with 2 x USB 2.0 ports.
Single 4K60 with USB 3 speed is supported by tons of USB-C docks. Have your pick!
> Edit 2: The Cablematters 201355 is another inexpensive option with dual video, and also includes Ethernet. > > > > https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085VLPYDR
It says it uses Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4. Does that mean that some of the promised features only work because of them? I ask because my machine is AMD then there is no Thunderbolt capability in it.
If you want dual 4k @ 60Hz, then you would need Displayport 1.4 with DSC. The T14 Gen 2 AMD does support that, so if you have that machine then the challenge is to find a dock that supports it.
The Thinkpad Universal USB-C dock (40AY) definitely supports it. If you wanted something cheaper, then I think the Cablematters 201355 might work. The specs don't mention dual 4k @ 60, but they do mention DP 1.4 with DSC, and it appears to use all 4 high speed lanes for video, so in theory it should be able to support dual 4k @ 60.
Wow, thank you.
To narrow things down I think the price for the 40AS is too high at the moment, as I do not need all of that currently nor do I plan on having a second monitor for some time.
This seems like a perfect option, except that it only has two USB connections.
https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-201355-BLK-Computer-Docking/dp/B085VLPYDR?ref_=ast_sto_dp
Is there something that offers all of that, with a additional third USB connection so that I can leave a storage device connected in addition to my mouse and keyboard, or possibly another workaround?
It would not be the end of the world to just plug my storage devices in when needed but it would be more convenient.
This is not exactly how it works, unfortunately. Monitor choice affects what is left for peripherals - background here.
If you decide that you need dual 4K 60Hz - something like https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-201355-BLK-Computer-Docking/dp/B085VLPYDR (dual DisplayPort outputs) is the cheapest option, but it provides only USB*2* ports (and slower Ethernet connected via USB2, still good enough for most "home Internet" speed requirements).
If you need only up to one 4K 60Hz or dual 2560x1440 60Hz - https://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerExpand-Adapter-Delivery-Ethernet/dp/B087QZVQJX (single HDMI2.0) or https://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerExpand-Adapter-Delivery-Ethernet/dp/B0874M3KW4 (dual HDMI2.0) or https://www.amazon.com/CalDigit-USB-C-Gen2-10Gb-SOHO/dp/B08FF3BDW5 (dual via HDMI2.0 + DP1.2). These docks support USB3.
If you have a 20-series NVIDIA GPU https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086DXLF37 may be able to support dual 4K 60Hz + USB3 (depends on DSC support).
These options outline limits of what is doable with cheap docks (<=100$), every option with a detachable USB-C charger. It will be easier to pick monitors keeping in mind that dual 4K 60Hz is more difficult to achieve (may require USB2-only docks or depends on DSC support from GPU to get dual 4K + USB3 via a single USB-C cable to the dock), but I would still suggest figuring out what monitors you want first. I would guess you know at least is it more like 4K 120Hz+ or dual 1080p/1440p 60Hz. Then it will be easier to dial in other stuff (if possible within limits) - card reader, Ethernet, the number of ports.
> Then it seems it's better I get a Thunderbolt 3 dock, right?
Yes, if you want USB3 + all monitors from the same TB3 cable at least.
Another cheaper alternative - USB2-only docks https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-201355-BLK-Computer-Docking/dp/B085VLPYDR (they say Windows only, but really mean macOS is not supported - DisplayPort MST is not supported on macOS; Linux can support it, but I have less experience with it, and it depends on drivers - I suspect Intel is probably the easiest to handle). This dock should handle up to dual 2560x1440 60Hz on DP1.2 systems. But then all USB3 stuff needs to go via another USB3 hub or ports on the laptop itself.
2560 x 1440 @ 60 Hz requires 5.63 gbit/s, two of those require 11.26gbit/s.
https://rog.asus.com/ca-en/laptops/rog-strix/rog-strix-g15-series/ says "the USB 3.1 Type-C™ with DisplayPort™ 1.4" (funnily the specs page omits the version!) and half of DisplayPort 1.3/1.4 uncompressed bandwidth is 12.96gbit/s.
So you can use an adapter which runs two DisplayPort 1.4 lanes, two high speed USB lanes passes power, splits the DisplayPort signal and Bob's your uncle. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085VLPYDR
It's possible to have 2560x1440 at 144 Hz and 10 bpc with DP 1.4.
I'd suggest Cable Matters Dual Monitor USB C Hub with DisplayPort 1.4 although it only has 2 USB 2.0 ports. You can complement it with a simple USB hub.
It uses all 4 high-speed lanes for video, so it doesn't have USB 3.2 ports, see https://www.bigmessowires.com/2019/05/19/explaining-4k-60hz-video-through-usb-c-hub/
Without DSC, it supports the full DP 1.4 bandwidth of 25.92 Gbit/s. With DSC, it should support two to three times more.
See Linus Tech Tips Data Rate Calculator to calculate the data rate needed for a given resolution, refresh rate and number of bits per color.
The things to look for when you want 2 or more monitors at high resolutions and refresh rates are DP 1.4, MST and DSC.
I'd suggest Cable Matters Dual Monitor USB C Hub with DisplayPort 1.4 although it doesn't have a 3.5mm jack and only supports Ethernet up to 480Mbps.
It uses all 4 high-speed lanes for video, so it doesn't have USB 3.2 ports, see https://www.bigmessowires.com/2019/05/19/explaining-4k-60hz-video-through-usb-c-hub/
Without DSC, it supports the full DP 1.4 bandwidth of 25.92 Gbit/s. With DSC, it should support two to three times more.
But Cable Matters Support Team says it can't support two 2K 144Hz monitors, only two 2K 120Hz monitors.
So maybe you can get one monitor at 2K 144Hz and one monitor at 2K 60Hz. See Linus Tech Tips Data Rate Calculator to calculate the data rate needed for a given resolution, refresh rate and number of bits per color.
Well, 2560x1440@120Hz consumes 11.59 Gbit/s calculator. That's a little less than what a 4K @ 60Hz monitor needs. So any hub advertising triple 4K@60Hz will work.
In detail: uncompressed DisplayPort 1.3 bandwidth is 25.92Gbit/s. So if you take a Thunderbolt dock which support DP 1.4 and has two DisplayPort outputs and hang a DP 1.4 MST hub off one of them then you are already golden. I am unaware of a single device doing this but you can just plug two devices together to achieve desired results. And since you would need to do so anyways, despite you said costs doesn't matter as always I would recommend playing Lego with the JEYI Thunderdock Mini. It's just 125.5 USD on eBay right now. You will need to add a 100W USB C brick, and split one of its display outputs, the downstream TB3 port could be used very effectively for this with https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085VLPYDR . Potentially also you will need a USB 3.0 hub for more USB 3.0 ports.
Further, my understanding is it's possible for the laptop-MST hub connection to use DSC compression and the hub-monitor connections not and so it's also a possibility to just use this hub for it but by going this route you will not get any USB ports. This claims "4K: Triple 3840x2160 @ 60Hz displays" with this note:
> Graphics card must support Display Stream Compression 1.2 (DSC) to achieve the resolutions above. Non-DSC enabled sources will achieve half of the above resolution/refresh rate. Available on NVIDIA RTX or newer graphics cards and Intel's next-gen Tiger Lake chips.
If the ROG Flow Z13 display driver supports DSC, this $63 USD Cable Matters Dual Monitor USB C Hub can handle Dual 4K 60Hz or Dual 1080p 240Hz.
Likewise, this $65 USD Cable Matters Triple Monitor USB C Hub can handle three 4K 60Hz or three 1080p 240Hz.
I'm pretty sure this laptop doesn't have Thunderbolt/USB4.
4K@144 over DisplayPort 1.4 already requires DSC, and there absolutely exist USB 2 only hubs that provide all four lanes of DisplayPort.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085VLPYDR (mentioned on https://dancharblog.wordpress.com/2021/01/03/4k60-monitor-plus-usb-devices-from-single-usb-c-laptop-port/) is a notable example.
With that said, plugging in the monitor directly is a far better option if Thunderbolt/USB4 isn't available, even setting aside price.
The one example I gave you does exactly that ... it can do 4K@60hz and usb 2.0 and it uses 4 lanes.
If you are talking about DisplayPort 1.4 with 4 lanes than look at a similar product: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085VLPYDR/ -this one looks like it will do what you want.
You're going to want to use the 300W power adapter (USB-C limited to 100W), so at best we can minimize the number of attached cables (no single-cable solution).
Whatever you do, buy from a vendor with a good return policy in case it doesn't work out 😜
You might consider whether you want a portable vs. desktop-class/full-size dock. The former tend to cost less, have a captive (permanently attached) cable, and have fewer ports (but are portable), while the latter cost more, have more ports, may have a detachable cable, but less portable.
​
TWO LAPTOP CABLE SOLUTION
It seems you have two possibilities for a single-dock solution:
Option #1:
At the moment, limited availability of USB-C DP1.4-capable docks limited to USB2.0 speeds. E.g., the Cable Matters 201355-BLK seems unavailable for some time now.
USB-C DP1.2-capable docks limited to USB2.0 speeds:
Option #2:
These docks seem to support DP1.4 and DSC, so they might do more with 50% (2 lanes HBR3) of USB-C DP Alt Mode with USB3 support:
​
THREE LAPTOP CABLE SOLUTION (DOCK)
This will support G-SYNC on one external monitor:
​
THREE LAPTOP CABLE SOLUTION (MST HUB)
Note: G-SYNC may not work with this option--due to use of a MST (Multi-Stream Transport) hub--but you said "it's OK". The MST hub also provides only video--not power delivery or USB ports (note: a 100W Power Delivery variant does exist, as curious).
​
REFERENCE
Lenovo Legion 7 16ACHg6 Platform Specifications (c. 2021)
Processor
Chipset
Graphics
Monitor Support
Power Adapter
Ports
Manual
​
27" MSI Optix G271 - Product Specifications (c. 2020)
Data Rate Required: 8.00 Gbit/s (per display)
Video Format: 1920 × 1080 (16∶9 ratio) at 144 Hz 8 bpc (24 bit/px) RGB color Uncompressed CVT-R2 timing format
You're going to want to use the 180W power adapter (USB-C limited to 100W), so at best we can minimize the number of attached cables (no single-cable solution).
Whatever you do, buy from a vendor with a good return policy in case it doesn't work out 😜
TWO LAPTOP CABLE SOLUTION
Note: G-SYNC may not work with either option--due to use of a MST (Multi-Stream Transport) hub--but you said only "would be nice".
/u/hubsdocks recently addressed what seems to me like a similar request re: an ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 and a 240 Hz display (note: some other considerations as well, like working with a Mac, which you might ignore):
If I am summarizing their post correctly, you have two possibilities for a single-dock solution for your 2021 ROG Zephyrus G14 and its NVIDIA GeForce 30 series GPU, which seems to support Display Stream Compression (DSC):
Option #1:
At the moment, limited availability of USB-C DP1.4-capable docks limited to USB2.0 speeds. E.g., the Cable Matters 201355-BLK seems unavailable for some time now.
Option #2:
These docks seem to support DP1.4 and DSC, so they might do more with 50% (2 lanes HBR3) of USB-C DP Alt Mode with USB3 support:
​
THREE LAPTOP CABLE SOLUTION (DOCK)
This will support both G-SYNC and HDR:
​
THREE LAPTOP CABLE SOLUTION (MST HUB)
Note: HDR will work, but G-SYNC may not work with this option--due to use of a MST (Multi-Stream Transport) hub--but you said only "would be nice". The MST hub also provides only video--not power delivery or USB ports (note: a 100W Power Delivery variant does exist, as curious).
​
REFERENCE
Data rates:
USB-C DisplayPort (DP) docks supporting USB3 speeds halve the laptop DP data rate output. So DP1.4 = 25.92 Gbit/s (uncompressed) * 0.5 = 12.96 Gbit/s (uncompressed) data rate to the display.
Uncompressed, to support data rates above 12.96 Gbit/s, you'll need a dock limited to USB2.0 speeds, so you get up to the full DP1.4 25.92 Gbit/s data rate.
Compressed, you're still limited to 12.96 Gbit/s on docks supporting USB3 speeds--but compression allows greater throughput (up to 3x).
> so I could just connect the displays by HDMI to my laptop (and leave out the 1080p) and by displayport separately to my desktop.
Right, so you can even automate switching between 2 via https://haim.dev/posts/2020-07-28-dual-monitor-kvm/ with 30$ USB2 or USB3 KVM (software should handle switching display inputs).
> Lenovo Thunderbolt 3 Essential Dock
I tried making Wacom Link Plus work with Lenovo 40AN (a similar TB3 / USB-C Titan Ridge dock with MST hub functionality) and could only get USB2 and no video signal at all. But USB2 + 4 lanes DP1.2 USB-C-only docks seem to work fine (201355-BLK, didn't try dual display and it would definitely require using miniDP on Wacom Link Plus; but HDMI1.4 input on Wacom Link Plus + 201355-BLK seems to work for 3440x1440 60Hz; miniDP should enable at the very least 4K 60Hz and if MST actually works out - 4K 60Hz + 1080p 60Hz).
With no PCIe cards and no integrated TB3/TB4/USB-C with DP on the motherboard or GPU, you are forced to use external converters. In theory, some devices based on http://cn.lontiumsemi.com/UploadFiles/pdf/LT6711_Product_Brief.pdf could provide USB3 + half of the DP1.2 bandwidth. But in practice, all I can get is actually limited to USB2 + full DP1.2 bandwidth (including UGREEN mentioned in the article). So I don't know an external converter product that does better than USB2 + DP1.2 for your desktop. (e.g., Wacom Link Plus appears to be the cleanest of available, albeit a bit expensive: ~70$)
If you don't care about "adaptive sync" - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085VLPYDR should be good enough (when back in stock...) - has USB2 only, but leaves more bandwidth for displays (will be useful if you upgrade; since no need for USB3 in your requirements, I stopped on this option for now). If you want to try to make it work on the main AOC 1080p 144Hz display (I don't know how well is it supported on Lenovo 5 15ARH05H, though) - I would suggest https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Multiport-DisplayPort-Ethernet/dp/B06Y5N3YCD (100M Ethernet only) + second 1080p 60Hz monitor via laptop's HDMI. Charging will still have to go via separate cable - slim tip Lenovo charger, since these gaming laptops need more than 100W than USB-C PD can provide. (unlike Razer Blade Stealth 2018 from LTT video that appears to ship with 65W USB-C charger and CalDigit TS3+ with its 80-90W charge is more than enough)
USB2 is the most limiting part of https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085VLPYDR - flash drives/SSDs will be slower, Ethernet is not reaching true 1GbE speeds. But it does provide Power Delivery pass-through and a 60W charger will be good enough (pass-through docks reserve some power for themselves, usually not more than 15W - so almost any 60W USB-C charger is good enough to provide 45W via pass-through in practice). And it should work with both Acer and XPS 9300 fine too.
"Thunderbolt-compatible" in the title is a marketing trick. Thunderbolt ports on the laptop can work as USB-C with DisplayPort - therefore manufacturers try not to scare you away from buying USB-C-only docks if you have proper Thunderbolt ports. Not every Thunderbolt dock works on USB-C with DP laptop, though (but WD19TB does).
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085VLPYDR provides enough DP bandwidth even on Acer to drive 4K 60Hz + 1920x1080 60Hz, but it's limited to USB2. Since Acer doesn't seem to support Thunderbolt, adding USB3 on a USB-C-only dock means losing half of DP1.2 bandwidth and then only something like 2560x1440 60Hz + 1920x1080 30Hz works. Universal TB3 docks pretty much all support USB3 + half of DP on non-TB3 systems, e.g., WD19TB on Acer will also fail to work better than 2560x1440 60Hz + 1920x1080 30Hz. You can recheck via calc - 2560x1440 60Hz is 5.63Gbit/s + 1920x1080 30Hz is 1.58Gbit/s = 7.21Gbit/s < half of DP1.2 (0.5 * 17.28 = 8.64Gbit/s), but even bumping 1920x1080 to 60Hz - and you are over the limit. So Acer appears to be the biggest pain, since no TB3 and only USB-C with DP1.2.
One dongle for 4K 60Hz + laptop's HDMI for 2nd monitor + USB3 hub - is not a bad choice and much cheaper in general, unless really into a "single cable" solution. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085VLPYDR is marginally better because it can support 4K 60Hz + 1080p 60Hz (via 4x HBR2) on both machines and has at least USB2 for keyboard/mouse, but not by much...
If you plan 2560x1440 144Hz+ - it gets a bit tricky. It needs [2560x1440 144Hz needs 14.08 Gbit/s](https://linustechtips.com/topic/729232-guide-to-display-cables-adapters-v2/?section=calc&H=2560&V=1440&F=144&calculations=show&formulas=show bandwidth, which is more than 50% of DP1.4 bandwidth (without DSC): 25.92 * 0.5 = 12.96Gbit/s. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085VLPYDR works, but note that it doesn't support USB*3, only USB2*. Also, it's a pass-through charging dock - you have to connect 100W cable and USB-C charger and it may pass only 85-90W to the laptop (only docks with proper proprietary power supply >100W can provide 100W since they have something left to run the dock itself). If USB2 is OK and trying slightly slower charging is not a problem, this is a sensible choice.
Another option - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086DXLF37 that supports USB3 (and loses 50% of DP bandwidth), but supports DisplayPort DSC (compression that allows using less bandwidth) - if mobile NVIDIA 3070 GPU supports DSC it should be able to drive 2560x1440 144Hz at least in theory (and the same 85-90W out of 100W pass-through charging issue applies). Information about DSC on mobile NVIDIA GPUs is limited, but I hope from 20-series it will work similarly to desktop NVIDIA GPUs (I didn't test it).
Continuation of the previous thread, but in case someone finds this question first - https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-201355-BLK-Computer-Docking/dp/B085VLPYDR (while expecting 200-300Mbps Ethernet speed in practice)
BTW I found https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-201355-BLK-Computer-Docking/dp/B085VLPYDR USB2 + DP (dual, but you will use only one DP) + marketed as "480Mbit Ethernet" (at least can expect 200-300Mbit without any back thoughts about why they decided to write 100Mbit on the label).
Your laptop supports DisplayPort 1.2 (but not 1.4) over USB-C and Thunderbolt 3. There are some cheaper options for USB-C-only docks 4K 60Hz + USB2 in the first table: https://dancharblog.wordpress.com/2021/01/03/4k60-monitor-plus-usb-devices-from-single-usb-c-laptop-port/ or this one will work for single 4K 60Hz https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-201355-BLK-Computer-Docking/dp/B085VLPYDR (supports pass-through USB-C charging).
Thunderbolt 3 is required to get 4K 60Hz + USB3 via a single cable, but the price will be higher (HP Thunderbolt Dock G2 120W is not a bad choice, though).
What did you use with Probook for docking? (checking in case it's compatible)
This one should run two external monitors via DisplayPort on the left plug. I would verify with the seller that it is NOT a DispayLink adapter before purchasing. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085VLPYDR
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085VLPYDR
This looks like it might work for what you are after. I've been using their single port DP hub since the g14's launch and it's been working great for me. I'd have grabbed this one if they sold it here in the UK.