Dell’s D3100 provides a great way to connect two or three monitors to your laptop. This device offers affordable connectivity to computers with 4K displays. D3100 is a $165.99 docking station and workstation device with five USB ports, an Ethernet port, and an audio jack. Its HDMI port also allows for video transfer over Type-C connections.
Pros:
- It offers you an easy, reliable, and faster data transfer. The USB 3.0 in this device is fully compatible with all ports offering ultra-fast speed.
- This Dell Docking station is compatible with all Dell laptops having a USB port.
- You can easily connect up to three monitors with this device.
- It comes with a sturdy and minimalistic design that is long-lasting and durable.
Cons:
- This Dell universal docking station is only compatible with Dell laptops.
- It is not compatible with devices running on Windows XP or below.
Specification
Following are the specification of this device:
- Ports: It comes with 3 x super speed USB 3.0, one network port of – RJ-45, Also with type, A 9 pins of USB, and it has two video output HDMI with 19 pins having type A with one HDMI and DVI adapter.
- It also has two USB 2.0 having USB Type A of 4 pin, and one 3.5 mm headphone input/output.
- It can also be used for two Full HD monitors and one Ultra HD monitor having a maximum Ultra HD 4K resolution.
- The weight of this dock station is 10.63 Pounds with a dimension of 20.7 x 15 x 11.2 inches.
Design and Built
The D3100 computer docking station is designed to look like other Dell docks and attaches to any flat surface. It is a matte-black plastic box that sits horizontally on your desk and has dimensions of 6.5 x 2.98 x 1.1 inches. Plugable’s UD-3900 also has a tiny base, but it stands 7.5 inches tall.
Dell’s logo is displayed on the top of the dock made of reflective black plastic with the DisplayLink logo to the left in a small font. On the front, there are two USB ports and on the backside, some nonslip rubber to keep it in place under your monitor or laptop. The power adapter for this particular model is small and fits into its charging port like that of other laptop devices.
Ports
The D3100 comes with ports for all of your devices that you can plug into it. It has three USB 3.0 inputs, one more than both the WD15 and UD-3900, plus a headphone and mic combo jack, making it great for business use. There are two USB 2.0 ports, an audio port, and a DisplayPort on the back of this monitor. The input for an external power source and ethernet connector is also available on the back.
The Nikon D3100 camera comes with an HDMI-to-DVI adapter. If your monitor doesn’t support the HDMI input, you can get around this by connecting through a USB Type-C adapter (which is not included with the camera).
Performance
The Dell D3100 worked consistently and was easy to set up. It’s a nice departure from the WD15, which abandoned DisplayLink for USB-C’s alternative architecture. The Dell Inspiron 15 5585 (4 CPU, 8 GB RAM, 500 GB HDD) that I connected to the dock.
4K monitors have become more common and are even compatible with older computers. The first test involved hooking up one monitor to the dock over DisplayPort, which output in beautiful, detailed 4K. Sample video featuring scenes of nature, a speeding car, and trains moving in slow motion was clear and didn’t stutter at all, and there was barely a dent in CPU usage.
I hooked up the second 4K display over HDMI – that one maxed out at 2560 x 1440 and the DisplayLink-connected monitor still output at 4K. (Only the DisplayLink port will drive monitors at 4K. HDMI will not.)
The HDMI-connected screens showed 2048 x 1152 and the DisplayPort monitor running at 4K, with the screen built into the laptop. I used everything on the 4K display, including TweetDeck and OpenOffice. I also had plenty of space for browsing the web on the third monitor and running a sample video on the laptop.
Performance hiccups were intermittent in OpenOffice and Google Chrome. The dock used about 2 to 7 percent of CPU resources on two or three displays connected. Using a USB-A to USB Type-C adapter, I was able to connect my 12-inch MacBook with three displays and the D3100 docking station without any problems.
Though, the CPU does not notice a difference because it is overpowered by 4K video and web browsing. If you use a USB Type-C adapter, it won’t charge the laptop. Be sure to keep your power brick at the ready when using it.
Final Thoughts
Dell D3100 Docking Station is a budget-friendly option that supports 4K displays, 2 PCI 3.0 ports, and 2 USB 3.0 ports and is unobtrusively priced. It’s not a USB-C compatible device, so you’ll need to look elsewhere (like Plugable’s upcoming USB-C Triple Display Dock) for a better solution. It provides users to expand their horizons with high-speed and reliable connectivity.
