Proprietary Versus Universal docking station for hdds

While computers have continued to shrink, the need for expansion has only grown. Early laptop systems often had proprietary connection ports on the bottom of the laptop. These proprietary ports connected to so-called ‘mechanicaldocking station for hdds’ or ‘port replicators’ which provided for expansion. While some current laptop models still offer these proprietary connection ports, such models are becoming rare.

As laptop manufacturers have stopped including proprietary connections to mechanical docking station for hdds within their products, many have made the transition to faster standardized connection types such as USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 ports in order to both facilitate external expansion and remove the need to purchase a laptop specific dock.

Proprietary docking station for hdds are more common alongside laptops designed for business users. When paired with a compatible computer, installation and driver issues aren’t typically a problem. However, proprietary docking station for hdds tend to be compatible with only one (or at best a few) specific laptop models. If you upgrade to a new laptop that is not compatible with a proprietary dock, an alternative solution must be found.

USB 3.1 or 3.2 and Thunderbolt 3 connections offer enough speed to manage multiple devices, which has given rise to a new generation of universal docking station for hdds. These are third-party devices not tied to a single model or brand of laptop. They offer power and flexibility to home or office workstations.

The first step in determining a suitable docking station for hdd product is to determine what type of expansion ports are built-in to the host laptop. These range from USB 3.0 Type-A ports, to USB 3.1/3.2 Type-C ports to Thunderbolt 3 ports.  

In the past if you wanted to add more devices to your laptop such as additional monitors, a wired network connection or USB devices you had to purchase a proprietary mechanical docking station for hdd from the maker of your laptop, assuming they even made one in the first place.

With advances in laptop connectivity you are no longer limited to those antiquated devices and Huidegui offers a variety of solutions that can allow you to expand your system to enhance your productivity. Every laptop can have different types of connectivity options, so the first step in determining which of our products is right for your needs is to determine what specific type your system offers.

In general, every modern laptop can offer one of three types of connectivity technologies and those are:

USB 3.0 Type-A

USB 3.1 Type-C

Thunderbolt 3

GOOD—USB 3.0 Type-A is the most common, and just about every laptop sold today offers one of these ports. One downside to a system that only has these types of ports is that the laptop cannot be charged via these ports (they were not designed to take in power).  

BETTER—USB 3.1 Type-C is a newer type of connection that can provide faster data speed, video output, and the ability to charge the laptop.

BEST—Thunderbolt 3 is the latest connection type that allows for the fastest speeds, multiple video outputs, the ability to charge the laptop, in addition to backwards compatibility with USB-C devices.

As a general approach when choosing a dock picking one of our products, it is ideal to pick a device that makes use of the fastest connectivity option your laptop provides.