I think carrying around dongles is a hassle (I know some people are very organised with their peripherals, but I'm not one of them). I like the idea of the docking stations some people have posted about, but it doesn't really account for needing the ports when you're away from your desk. It's not often, but I do find myself needing them now and then.
Laptop Ports: Is USB-C only fine, or should I get HDMI,USB,Audio if I need them?
11–20 of 58 posts
Re: Laptop Ports: Is USB-C only fine, or should I get HDMI,USB,Audio if I need them?
#12I have a Windows laptop with a two USB-C ports - and I only use 1 - and it's connected to my monitor. My monitor acts as a dock. My monitor is powering my laptop, handling the video output, and has the keyboard, mouse, headset, and camera connected to it. All I have to do is plugin one cable and I'm done. It's a good setup. The monitor even has a monitor-to-monitor hub so if I get a second monitor, all I have to do i…
What monitor do you use?
ASUS ProArt Display 27" Monitor
Amazon had a good deal on it a few months ago
Re: Laptop Ports: Is USB-C only fine, or should I get HDMI,USB,Audio if I need them?
#13USB-C will work fine for these things. I've found it very reliable. But will the dongle be a nuisance for you?
If you're only going to be using them in one place (e.g. your home office) then go for a dock - it's nice to have everything connected with a single cable and a number of monitors have suitable docks built in these days.
If you'll want them on the go then yes, I'd at least look for something with the audio and hdmi ports built in just for the convenience factor.
Re: Laptop Ports: Is USB-C only fine, or should I get HDMI,USB,Audio if I need them?
#14What problem with the old laptop is driving your potential purchase?
Re: Laptop Ports: Is USB-C only fine, or should I get HDMI,USB,Audio if I need them?
#15Contrary opinion: USB-C sucks for any sort of demanding use case, especially video (i.e., gaming monitors). There are so many different versions and specs that all fit into one lookalike cable/connector but which will fail in various ways, usually at some combination of refresh rate, resolution, HDR, etc. HDMI is so much more reliable (though not without its issues) and DisplayPort is even better, though that's rare to see on a laptop. If your monitor supports a USB-C input, there's a good chance it will work with your laptop (especially Windows), but the situation on Linux and Mac can be very different. If it only has a HDMI input and you don't want to waste time exploring the different USB-C video modes, a HDMI output on the laptop and good cable will make it much, much simpler.
Audio is probably fine... the standards there don't change as much.
Ethernet is hit-or-miss for me. On my Macbook with an expensive ($300ish) dock, the port works 90% of the time... 10% of the time it'll just randomly shut off until restart. Another USB-C ethernet dongle (with only that one port) works 100% of the time. But either is a PITA compared to a built-in ethernet port in the laptop.
I don't have a choice now that I've gone to Macs, but if I were buying a Windows/Linux workstation PC, I'd absolutely get all the ports I can – ESPECIALLY HDMI and ethernet. USB-C is a nice idea with terrible real-world implementations that are usually 75% compatible but almost never 100%.
Re: Laptop Ports: Is USB-C only fine, or should I get HDMI,USB,Audio if I need them?
#16Look for docks instead of dongles. Check the usb-c spec of the laptop and dock capabilities.
I've tried a variety of those on various Thinkpads and Macs, and they've all had problems of one sort or another. Spent anywhere from $100 to $300 on different brands and never found one that "just works". It's a huge pain... IMO only.
Re: Laptop Ports: Is USB-C only fine, or should I get HDMI,USB,Audio if I need them?
#17Forgot to mention: I have my laptop connected to a USB keyboard and USB mouse
Those are simple and should work fine, unless you have some super special USB gaming mouse with a very high polling rate. It's really video (especially) and ethernet (especially gigabit) that are more demanding.
Re: Laptop Ports: Is USB-C only fine, or should I get HDMI,USB,Audio if I need them?
#18Dongle sucks, but USB-C will be fine. A good hub will set you up for life.
Re: Laptop Ports: Is USB-C only fine, or should I get HDMI,USB,Audio if I need them?
#19USB-C is a form factor.
USB 3.2 and USB4 are ... protocol standards. Thundetbolt 3 and 4 are other things (only supported with Intel tech).
Be more specific, as USB4 w/ TB4 support can be ok for almost anything.
Re: Laptop Ports: Is USB-C only fine, or should I get HDMI,USB,Audio if I need them?
#20Contrary opinion: USB-C sucks for any sort of demanding use case, especially video (i.e., gaming monitors). There are so many different versions and specs that all fit into one lookalike cable/connector but which will fail in various ways, usually at some combination of refresh rate, resolution, HDR, etc. HDMI is so much more reliable (though not without its issues) and DisplayPort is even better, though that's rare…
USB-C IS DisplayPort (among other things). You can get from USB-C to DP "passively", just by signalling the right thing to the USB-C port. The mode is called Alt-Mode and gives you DisplayPort and USB2 or USB3 speeds as a side channel (depending on the amount of bandwidth consumed by the DisplayPort stream). Barring that, some USB-C docks rely on a USB data stream (DisplayLink) and not a DisplayPort stream. Avoid these.