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I am looking at purchasing a Dell laptop which can connect to a docking station via DisplayPort over USB-C. I would like to be able to connect to two 4k displays, but the only "compatible" docking station from Dell supports just a single 4k display (or dual FHD).
Now I am looking at other non-Dell products, but because I'm mixing brands, I am having trouble getting a straight answer for what products will or will not work together. I can find docking stations which support the monitors I want, but I want to make sure the laptop will still support multiple higher resolution monitors.
So, to the question in the title, when using DisplayPort through a docking station, are the number and resolution of monitors limited just by the dock or by the computer as well?
David K
Posted 2018-06-20T14:05:40.573
Reputation: 265
Do you want different content or duplicate content on each 4K monitor? Docking stations just provide connection points. – fixer1234 – 2018-06-20T19:57:31.170
@fixer1234 Different content - a standard extended desktop setup. – David K – 2018-06-20T20:01:38.530
The Dell built-in graphics would need to support two extended 4K displays. If it does and the only limitation is that it's missing a second port, a docking station that provides an independent port (not a pass-through of the laptop's port), that the internal graphics can see as a different output, could let you do it. But it's really driven more by the laptop than by the docking station. – fixer1234 – 2018-06-20T20:22:55.957
@fixer1234 Thanks, could you put that in an answer? – David K – 2018-06-22T12:04:43.050
I posted that as a comment because I don't think it's really an answer. You could post a real answer when you determine what is actually possible with your hardware. That would be much more useful to other readers. – fixer1234 – 2018-06-22T18:15:42.913
@fixer1234 My question was really geared at getting a generic answer, not product-specific. Another way to phrase it, if I determine that a docking station can support X number of monitors, and that a laptop is compatible with said docking station, does that therefore mean that the laptop combined with the docking station can support X number of monitors? Or do I need to determine that the laptop can support that many monitors as well? I think your comment answers that question. Also, I want to make sure the laptop can support the monitors before I purchase it. – David K – 2018-06-25T12:55:50.280