5 ways a USB-C dock can make your PC experience so much better

Over the last decade, devices have moved to favoring the Type-C USB port instead of other options. On the one hand, that’s fantastic, as a single connector can be used for peripherals, cables, and even external displays. But it also means fewer ports on our laptops and other devices, and that can be a problem for streamlining your workflow.

But you can reclaim those ports and improve your computing experience with a good USB-C dock. The simplest ones are hubs that add more USB ports and other useful things like SD card readers, while more fully-featured ones come with their own power supply to charge your laptop and peripherals while connected. Even the most expensive USB-C docks are relatively affordable and don’t carry the premium price of Thunderbolt-branded docks. Whichever USB-C docking station you pick, they’re designed to make your life easier, so find one that has the ports you need.

5 One-step use of multiple peripherals

With a single USB-C cable you gain so much utility

USB-C docks bring many improvements to your computing experience, but to me, the biggest impact is the ability to have multiple peripherals connected to the dock that can connect to your laptop, PC, or gaming handheld with a single cable. That makes it easy to get started when you sit back down at your desk or make it easier to use your laptop away from your desk. After all, nobody wants to sit there plugging in peripherals only to have to reverse the process when they need to.

It also allows for easy cable management, as you can hide the cables that are always plugged into the USB-C dock. That makes your workspace tidier and more conducive to productivity. Unless, of course, you thrive in chaos, but even then, you can’t deny that knowing which USB port has which peripheral attached is the superior option.

If your setup has several PCs, Macs, or a combination of both, you might want to look for a USB-C dock with KVM capability, so you can use the same input devices on every computer with the flick of a switch. That makes a massive improvement to the amount of space needed on your desk, and to how streamlined your setup is.

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4 Add more display outputs

Turn one USB-C port into dual monitors or a display output that is too big for your device

One of the best features of a docking station is the ability to easily use external monitors. While you might think Thunderbolt is the only way to support external monitors, USB-C is also fast enough, and a USB-C dock will work with any device that supports DisplayPort Alt Mode. For example, the Anker 575 PowerExpand 13-in-1 USB-C dock can turn one USB-C connection into dual HDMI and DisplayPort outputs to support up to three external monitors with 1080p resolution (or one at 4K) with a Windows laptop.

But it’s not just laptops that can benefit here. Desktop PCs can also use USB-C docks to add external monitors, which is handy if you have a mini-PC or other AIO PC that doesn’t have the four display outputs that a discrete graphics card would supply. Another awesome use case for USB-C docks is with PC gaming handhelds,to turn them into a fully-fledged desktop environment with a larger screen to enjoy your games on.

It’s worth noting that no docking station can increase the number of monitors supported by your device without resorting to DisplayLink or InstantView. These technologies enable more displays over USB, but they might have compatibility issues, so check your device’s support first.

Source: Apple

MacBooks have their own limitations on external displays, with base-level chips only supporting one external display without workarounds. One of those workarounds is to close the lid of the MacBook so you can use two external displays. MacBook Pros with the M2 Pro and M3 Pro can support two external displays natively, and M2 Max or M3 Max-equipped MacBooks can support up to four external displays.

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3 Adding other ports

From Ethernet to audio, a docking station fixes the shortcomings of modern laptops

One issue with even the best laptops is the lack of ports. Every laptop has USB-C or possibly Thunderbolt, but after that, the designer decides what other ports to include. The shift towards light and portable devices might mean you don’t get any of the usual ports you may need, like HDMI, Ethernet, and USB-A.

At best, this is an annoyance because you might want to use wired connections for faster download speeds, use external monitors, or have an existing crop of peripherals that need USB-A. However, a good USB-C docking station can fix this, with better options adding upwards of a dozen ports so you can easily use all of your peripherals. That could include SD card readers, or other types of memory cards, or anything you’d need a dongle for normally.

This means you can get the dock that fits your workflow without continually switching out dongles and other accessories from your laptop’s limited USB-C ports.

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2 You can add more storage

Some USB-C docks also have user-expandable storage

While internal storage has been increasing in speed, it’s often limited in capacity on modern laptops and other portable devices. Some USB-C docks have internal ports where you can add a SATA or NVMe SSD, so it appears as an external hard drive on your device when connected. That’s awesome for keeping your most used documents in one place so you can use them on multiple devices or for backup purposes. It’s also awesome for PC gaming handhelds in docked mode, so you can store more of your favorite games for use.

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1 Supercharge your charging abilities

Charge as many things as you have additional ports

USB-C allows for pass-through charging, so you can plug your laptop into a dock and use it as a charger. That’s awesome on its own, making it so you only need one port on your laptop to charge and increase the ports you have access to, but the best USB-C docks have enough extra power to charge any peripherals they have connected. That means your headset, mouse, keyboard, and any other battery-powered peripheral can be charged up and ready for use, even if your laptop isn’t connected to the USB-C dock.

To ensure that your USB-C dock can do this, look for one, like the Razer USB 4 dock, that has a dedicated power button. That way, you can turn it on when it doesn’t have a laptop or other device attached to it and provide power to the USB ports on the dock.

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A good USB-C docking station makes computing easier, even if you have a desktop PC

Using a USB-C dock is a game changer for streamlining your workflow. They enable you to dive into work when at your desk while still keeping your laptop easily portable by disconnecting a single cable. The best models add ports that you would otherwise need multiple dongles for, like SD card readers, Ethernet, or external monitors, and will charge your laptop and peripherals as well.