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My wife and I each have company laptops but we are looking to purchase a cheap personal laptop for our own use. I work for an entity where I have access to protected data so my company has installed some software on our computers that has the ability to track and store logins and passwords, among other things. I totally understand the company's position, the company has to protect its assets and data, I'm just not in love with my banking and finance logins and passwords residing with the company.
So to my scenario and question. My wife and I both use docking stations for our work laptop. Mine is a Dell, hers a Lenovo and both have Thunderbolt. The connection both charges the laptop as well as transmits data (I'm sure you already knew that, I'm just trying to leave no stone unturned) My question is - what spec should I be looking for to ensure whatever laptop we purchase has the capacity to transmit data to our docking stations? Is it simply a Thunderbolt connection or is that some sort of trade name and any USB-C connection should work? I just don't want to buy a laptop and find that we can't use our docking stations if we chose to.
The goal is to just purchase a cheap laptop because we're not doing heavy lifting, simply paying bills, planning travel, that type of stuff. We won't be running formulas on spreadsheets or storing massive databases on this machine. Frankly I'd get a Chromebook, but wife specifically said she didn't want one. I think the Microsoft stranglehold is tough to shake.
Hope the question makes sense but if I'm missing anything let me know!
It's an Apple trade name whcih is why it's odd to see you using it. Any laptop made within the last 2 years (and many older) will have a USBC port that will work with a USBC dock.
It's an Apple trade name whcih is why it's odd to see you using it. Any laptop made within the last 2 years (and many older) will have a USBC port that will work with a USBC dock.
The limited research I did shows that Thunderbolt is a collaboration between Intel and Apple which is why many non-Apple products have it.
What I couldn't find in my research (maybe I didn't look long enough or maybe I'm not looking for the right terminology) is if Thunderbolt is a requirement for connectivity to a docking station and charging at the same time. In other words, does a non-Thunderbolt USB-C have the throughput and wiring to support both? I want to be able to move the laptop without worrying about having to find a power source when we use the docking station.
To provide more info, my docking station is a Dell WD19TB, I looked on the Dell site for compatibility which should show the answers I'm looking for, but the compatibility chart only shows Dell laptop models. I know this docking station works with other manufacturers because I'm on an hp laptop and as far as I know I'm getting full functionality.
It's an Apple trade name whcih is why it's odd to see you using it. Any laptop made within the last 2 years (and many older) will have a USBC port that will work with a USBC dock.
The Lenovo Yoga 7i I just bought last week has what it calls Thunderbolt 4 ports, which are the USB-C ports, except with a little lightning bolt icon next to each.
OP, it's a USB-C port, regardless of whether Apple calls it something else. A docking station with either Thunderbolt or USB-C will work just fine.
Some Thunderbolt docks have USB-C/PD fallback, others do not. Look at the docks to see if they are Thunderbolt docks or just USB-C ones. It's different protocols. If you have Thunderbolt docks they'll either need to have USB-C/PD fallback or you'll need a laptop with Thunderbolt 3/4 support. If you have USB-C docks those will work on a laptop via USB-C protocols regardless of whether the laptop supports Thunderbolt or not.
If you just want to make life simple, just buy a laptop with Thunderbolt 4. It'll be slightly more expensive but it's no longer the days where you have to spend over a grand to get Thunderbolt ports on a laptop. It supports both so no matter if it's a Thunderbolt dock or a USB-C dock it will work. Maybe. USB-C is kind of finicky, especially for monitors. It's a lot better than it used to be but still sometimes wonky.
To provide more info, my docking station is a Dell WD19TB, I looked on the Dell site for compatibility which should show the answers I'm looking for, but the compatibility chart only shows Dell laptop models. I know this docking station works with other manufacturers because I'm on an hp laptop and as far as I know I'm getting full functionality.
For work I am in charge of all PC operations. We are 85% Windows (Dell), 15% Mac. I pair the Macs with the WD19 Docking stations. Works perfectly. The USB-C docks from amazon are pure junk
I'm going to disagree with Malloric, which is something that doesn't happen much. Currently typing with my external keyboard using my USB-C dock with my Dell laptop that works 100% of the time.
The older USB standard is very wonky when it comes to monitors but I don't have any issues with the half dozen USBC docks my employees use at the job.
Caveat, the docks I use are NOT cheap.
My wife and I each have company laptops but we are looking to purchase a cheap personal laptop for our own use. I work for an entity where I have access to protected data so my company has installed some software on our computers that has the ability to track and store logins and passwords, among other things. I totally understand the company's position, the company has to protect its assets and data, I'm just not in love with my banking and finance logins and passwords residing with the company.
So to my scenario and question. My wife and I both use docking stations for our work laptop. Mine is a Dell, hers a Lenovo and both have Thunderbolt. The connection both charges the laptop as well as transmits data (I'm sure you already knew that, I'm just trying to leave no stone unturned) My question is - what spec should I be looking for to ensure whatever laptop we purchase has the capacity to transmit data to our docking stations? Is it simply a Thunderbolt connection or is that some sort of trade name and any USB-C connection should work? I just don't want to buy a laptop and find that we can't use our docking stations if we chose to.
The goal is to just purchase a cheap laptop because we're not doing heavy lifting, simply paying bills, planning travel, that type of stuff. We won't be running formulas on spreadsheets or storing massive databases on this machine. Frankly I'd get a Chromebook, but wife specifically said she didn't want one. I think the Microsoft stranglehold is tough to shake.
Hope the question makes sense but if I'm missing anything let me know!
As other's have indicated - Thunderbolt is Apple's terminology. The older version is compatible w/ mini-display, the newer version is basically USB-C. So it will work with just about anything that is USB-C compatible. I have a Dell docking station at work that I actually plug my MacBook Pro to.
The bolded stuck out to me - is this a confirmed scenario? Like IT sent out communication about this? or is that just what someone said? 'Cause as an InfoSec professional, that doesn't sound right.... as in it would be a terrible practice. The liability would far exceed any benefit.
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