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Laptop Ports: Is USB-C only fine, or should I get HDMI,USB,Audio if I need them?

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Re: Laptop Ports: Is USB-C only fine, or should I get HDMI,USB,Audio if I need them?

#31

Post by oefnak »

bestham wrote: post #20
solardev wrote: post #15

Contrary 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 the…

No, you're talking about Thunderbolt. USB-C is the shape of the port, but Displayport over USB-C is called Thunderbolt.

I have had laptops that had USB-C ports that didn't support video.

Re: Laptop Ports: Is USB-C only fine, or should I get HDMI,USB,Audio if I need them?

#33

Post by f1shy »

sam29681749 wrote: post #11

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.

I agree it is a hassle, BUT, in my use-case I use them very little. I try to get everything BT (Head-phones (-set), mouse, keyboard). And also have a docking station in places where I'm lot of time.

So for example, at home and work have a docking with all cable (headset, keyboard, mouse). If I'm "outside" I will typically NOT take calls, and NOT use keyboard or other peripherals....

Last but not least, for many laptops there are "dongles" without cable, that act like a little extension of the housing of the laptop. They are pretty convenient.

Re: Laptop Ports: Is USB-C only fine, or should I get HDMI,USB,Audio if I need them?

#34

Post by bsder »

solardev wrote: post #15

Contrary 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…

> Audio is probably fine... the standards there don't change as much.

As long as you don't care about latency.

For example, if you wind up with your 4K monitor sharing the same PCI-E lanes as your low latency audio device, you're in for a world of hurt.

Note: the problem here isn't USB-C, per se, as much as the fact that a device over USB-C can request so much data that it can hog the backend bus enough to cause issues with latency.

Re: Laptop Ports: Is USB-C only fine, or should I get HDMI,USB,Audio if I need them?

#35

Post by pastage »

It is the future when it works, but I still need those extra Jacks. I have one device with only USB C and it really is hit and miss, unless you have a dongle I do not want to carry that. Works at office and home, but everywhere else it is just a bother.

Re: Laptop Ports: Is USB-C only fine, or should I get HDMI,USB,Audio if I need them?

#36

Post by acchow »

The USB-C to your monitor will carry the 4K video signal, charge your laptop, and include a usb hub within the monitor itself so that you can attach an Ethernet adaptor to it.

You could also attach a USB audio DAC for headphones which might be handy since non-Apple laptop DACs aren’t very good.

Re: Laptop Ports: Is USB-C only fine, or should I get HDMI,USB,Audio if I need them?

#37

Post by maxidorius »

I recently bought a Tuxedo InfinityBook Pro 15 [1] which has 2 USB-C ports with one being USB 4 (equivalent to Thunderbolt4), 3 USB-A, 1 Ethernet, 1 HDMI, 1 audio jack and 1 SD card reader.

I'm very much happy with the laptop and its build quality. But most of all, I love the flexibility to not be stuck with just 2 USB-C and needing dongles/docks. I can have them if I want to, but I don't need to rely on them.

I think you don't need to compromise: laptops do exist that can have everything.

[1] https://www.tuxedocomputers.com/en/TUXEDO-InfinityBook-Pro-1... - Laptop is fully configurable, you can choose to have Windows as the primary OS and can choose between AMD or Intel CPU (my link is for the AMD one)

Re: Laptop Ports: Is USB-C only fine, or should I get HDMI,USB,Audio if I need them?

#38

Post by silon42 »

oefnak wrote: post #31
bestham wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 the…

No, you're talking about Thunderbolt. USB-C is the shape of the port, but Displayport over USB-C is called Thunderbolt. I have had laptops that had USB-C ports that didn't support video.

But there is DP Alternate Mode which is basically allows USB PD + Display Port + USB 2.0

One of the use cases is "almost passive" USB-C dock (typically it has USB 2.0 hub + Ethernet on it).

Re: Laptop Ports: Is USB-C only fine, or should I get HDMI,USB,Audio if I need them?

#39

Post by blahlabs »

oefnak wrote: post #31
bestham wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 the…

No, you're talking about Thunderbolt. USB-C is the shape of the port, but Displayport over USB-C is called Thunderbolt. I have had laptops that had USB-C ports that didn't support video.

I don't think this is correct either. The USB C port has to support DP Alt Mode, which not all do, but it doesn't have to be a Thunderbolt port.

More than anything this probably highlights what a mess the standards are.

Re: Laptop Ports: Is USB-C only fine, or should I get HDMI,USB,Audio if I need them?

#40

Post by hnbad »

If you're going to connect to a monitor most of the time, the ports don't matter as long as you can connect a docking station. If you're going for Windows that probably means USB-C with Tunderbolt 3, or Surface Connect (the proprietary connector used by the Surface line of devices and laptops).

If you need to work in more than one place frequently enough that you want monitors there, buy two docking stations. Compared to the laptop itself they're extremely cheap. Docking stations allow the one cable going to your laptop to act as your power cable, your HDMI cables, your audio cable, your ethernet cable, your USB cables to your external camera etc, and so on, all at the same time.

Another benefit of docking stations is that you only need to handle a single cable when unplugging or connecting your laptop. This may save you a few minutes but more importantly it will also reduce the hassle by reducing the number of things that can go wrong and that you have to pay attention to. If there's no docking station from your laptop's manufacturer just make sure it supports Thunderbolt 3 and get a docking station compatible with that, e.g. the ones from Lenovo. They also almost always come with multiple video ports.

Yes, there are scenarios where you might not want to lug around an entire docking station but still would like to be able to connect something to your laptop other than a power cable, e.g. when giving a presentation externally, but in those cases just bring a USB-C dongle for whatever you need. You're probably not going to need to set up an entire workstation for that and if you do need a second cable (e.g. HDMI for presentation, ethernet for Internet access) that's literally still a battery-powered device we're talking about.

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