WavLink WL-UG75PD1-DH2 docking station evaluate

WavLink WL-UG75PD1-DH2: 30-second evaluate

The WavLink WL-UG75PD1-DH2 docking station is positioned within the premium, high-performance tier of DisplayLink docks, and its value is mostly comparable or barely decrease than competing merchandise with comparable specs. The primary differentiator is its potential to assist an intensive quad-monitor setup at 4K decision, which is unusual even amongst premium docks.

This makes use of DisplayLink know-how to compress video into the obtainable bandwidth utilizing a software program driver on the pc finish.

With the ability to join a number of gadgets to the dock with a single cable and cost a laptop computer concurrently is good, particularly when these gadgets might be exterior screens with as much as a 10K decision.

Nevertheless, to realize a number of screens over the restricted bandwidth of USB-C comes with just a few catches, and compressing video on the fly can be a demanding course of for some laptops.

Its benefit is that it’s going to work on virtually any laptop system, virtually no matter the OS working, and this know-how bypasses some well-documented limitations of Apple MacBook {hardware} with respect to the variety of exterior screens supported.

Alongside the monitor connectivity, the WavLink WL-UG75PD1-DH2 has loads of USB ports, twin SD card readers and a 2.5GbE LAN port.

That degree of flexibility comes at a price, making this one of many dearer USB-C docks round.

If, for no matter purpose, you refuse to improve to a laptop computer with Thunderbolt ports, then this dock is likely to be a stable funding, however I’d learn all this evaluate earlier than spashing out.

Value eliminates this from our greatest laptop computer docking stations, however it’s an attention-grabbing different for these with solely USB-C.

WavLink WL-UG75PD1-DH2: Value & availability

How a lot does it value? $279/£223/€260When is it out? It’s obtainable nowWhere are you able to get it? Direct from WavLink

Many manufacturers of docking stations have high-cost USB-C docks as a result of they assume corporates will purchase them, and WavLink is not any exception with the WL-UG75PD1-DH2.

Direct from the maker for US prospects, this dock prices an eye-watering $279, which, contemplating you will get a much less bold USB-C design for simply over $50, appears extreme.

That stated, Plugable makes an identical product, the UD-3900C4, for nearly precisely the identical value. And, they’re not the one makers with a product on this space.

European prospects pay €260.36, and within the UK, the value is ￡222.95. That these costs have moved considerably from the greenback to pound or euro value factors of the previous demonstrates that the USA doesn’t get the perfect offers for Chinese language-made {hardware} nowadays.

For these looking for an identical product however at a extra reasonably priced value, StarTech presents a quad-monitor USB-C dock that utilises the identical DisplayLink know-how, obtainable on Amazon for under $231.99, representing a major discount.

What’s really sobering is that StarTech additionally makes a USB4/Thunderbolt dock with 4 monitor outputs, and that’s solely $229.69.

When you’ve got USB4 or Thunderbolt, that dock will provide a greater person expertise, because it’s received 4 instances the connecting bandwidth.

WavLink WL-UG75PD1-DH2: Specs

WavLink WL-UG75PD1-DH2: Design

Aluminium construction13 portsProprietary cable

Oddly, the WavLink web site states that this machine is fabricated from ABS plastic in its specs. That’s clearly a mistake, as a result of it feels metallic and I’d contest it was largely aluminium on the skin. That features the highest, sides and underside.

On the entrance left is a four-layer 3.5mm audio jack that can be utilized for headphones or a microphone, then a few SD card slots, one for MicroSD and the opposite for traditional SD.

Then there are two USB-C ports, with one with the ability to cost at 30W, after which a single USB 3.2 Gen 2 Sort-A port.

On the far proper is an influence button that lights inexperienced when within the on place. There isn’t any constructive click on to this button, and it may simply be knocked, making it higher than nothing, however solely that.

The rear has two DisplayPort and two HDMI outputs, alternating from one to the opposite, a 2.5GbE LAN port, and two USB-A ports. For these counting, that’s 13 ports, not the fifteen WavLink mentions.

That’s as a result of the maker contains each the facility connection and the uplink USB-C to the pc. Because the dock received’t work with both of those disconnected, they shouldn’t be included within the obtainable ports.

Relying on how arduous you’re employed them, docks can get scorching, and WavLink put slots on the underside and either side to permit airflow by the dock. That is completely passive cooling, and the metallic case does radiate among the warmth away to assist out.

This unit is designed to take a seat on the sting of a desk, and doesn’t provide the potential of getting used vertically or mounted to a desk or wall.

The facility provide is a laptop-style one that’s rated for 160W, which appears slightly low contemplating the uplink can ship 100W and one of many USB-C ports one other 30W.

One slight curiosity, and a function I’ve seen on different WavLink docks, is that the supplied uplink USB cable has a customized finish with a retaining screw that holds it onto the dock. On the different finish, it may be each a USB-A and a USB-C with an adapter that’s linked to the cable.

I like the concept the cable can’t simply be indifferent from one finish, however ought to this cable get by chance broken, solely WavLink can present a substitute.

General, there isn’t something radical about this design. The end and styling are minimalist, making it wonderful for one thing prone to be considered on a desk, but it surely’s hardly the slicing fringe of docking station design.

WavLink WL-UG75PD1-DH2: Options

Bandwidth managementPower managementDisplayLink

We are actually shifting into the part of the evaluate that discusses dock sources and the extent of their oversubscription, which all docks usually expertise.

Even Thunderbolt docks function on the premise that customers might not utilise each port concurrently as a result of bandwidth limitations. This problem turns into extra pronounced with USB docks, since the place a Thunderbolt connection is likely to be as much as 40Gbps, or a minimum of 20Gbps, USB 3.2 Gen 2 is barely 10Gbps.

Understanding the specs of this dock requires some studying between the traces, as a result of in keeping with WavLink, the WL-UG75PD1-DH2 is appropriate with Thunderbolt 3 and 4, USB-C, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Sort-A and even USB 2.0.

However, the satan on this element is that on Thunderbolt connections, an assumption is made that the port can downgrade to USB-C, and utilizing this dock with USB 2.0 would possibly technically work, however virtually it wouldn’t. Not all Thunderbolt ports can downgrade to USB-C.

And, if it does connect with Thunderbolt, it isn’t as a Thunderbolt 3 or 4 system, however as a USB-C dock. Subsequently, the efficiency of this dock is identical no matter what port you utilize to drive it, except for USB 2.0, which might be horrible.

An important side of most docks is energy distribution, and like bandwidth, producers prefer to oversubscribe that useful resource as effectively.

Beginning with 160W to play with, this dock presents 100W to the uplink for charging a laptop computer. It has one other 30W obtainable on one of many USB-C ports, and I’d assume that 7.5W is allotted to every of the 4 USB ports. I’ve no concept how a lot energy the SD card readers draw, the LAN or the video ports. Nevertheless, I’ve already described 160W of potential use, and working the dock {hardware} would require a minimum of 20W, I might assume.

I suppose that should you use all of the USB ports, lower than 100W is shipped to the uplink to keep away from exceeding the facility provide’s specs. However that could be a guess, and I didn’t wish to experiment to the purpose the place I let the magic smoke out.

This state of affairs, the place the facility sharing assumes that the dock is partially used, isn’t distinctive to WavLink. Most dock makers do it, however I didn’t need anybody to purchase this and assume that utilizing each port doesn’t include penalties, each in respect of efficiency and energy allocation.

The large promoting level of this dock is that it helps 4 screens, two by way of DisplayPort and one other two by way of HDMI. The specification declares that utilizing DisplayPort, the dock can join to 2 8K screens with a decision of 7680 4320 at 60Hz. Or, it helps 4 4K shows at 3840 x 2160 at as much as 144Hz.

There’s even an possibility for a single 10K display screen at 60Hz, for the dozen or so individuals who have a type of.

The caveats to this functionality are vital, with the primary difficulty being that it received’t work with out a software program set up of a driver from DisplayLink. And, I’d additionally advocate that you simply set up the DisplayLink Supervisor from the Microsoft Retailer, because it makes configuring shows a lot simpler.

How a enterprise IT division would possibly really feel about these installs may very well be a problem, since most company PCs aren’t configured to permit the person to put in drives and apps.

One other snag is that DisplayLink is consuming into the bandwidth that different ports on the dock would possibly wish to use.

The DisplayLink know-how on this dock utilises the Synaptics DL-7000 sequence {hardware}, one among a brand new era of DisplayLink Professional chips designed to assist considerably increased bandwidth, enabling a number of high-resolution shows.

A major benefit of DisplayLink is that it really works throughout a broad spectrum of working methods, together with Home windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS, and even Android. On the Mac, it additionally conveniently will get across the Apple-imposed restrict of a single exterior show on the M1 and M1 MacBooks. However the best way this resolution works does have some downsides.

What’s important to know is that uncompressed 4K 60Hz video requires about 12 Gbps, greater than the entire connection to the dock. DisplayLink utilises a most of 5Gbps, half that of the uplink, and it makes use of compression to make this work.

Subsequently, the extra screens you utilize, the extra compression is required, which reduces the standard of the shows. This would possibly create artefacts in shifting graphics and vital lag in case you are making an attempt to do one thing interactive. It additionally requires the laptop computer to compress its output, placing additional calls for on the host system.

Curiously, the Synaptics DL-7000 sequence can also be beginning to seem as a function in Thunderbolt docks, the place the quantity of bandwidth makes the extent of compression required a lot much less.

There are some conditions the place this might turn out to be impractical, however till you have got the dock and screens in your laptop computer, it is arduous to say if yours is a type of.

That any of this works is fairly wonderful, but it surely isn’t with out some boundaries as to how it may be used and the place it may not present exactly what the purchaser would possibly count on.

WavLink WL-UG75PD1-DH2: Efficiency

As I’ve talked about in different docking station opinions, these gadgets function in a method the place there’s a bandwidth pie that’s sliced and diced by the {hardware} to assist the linked gadgets.