Hola hardcore gamers! When you start looking for a PC to buy, you’ll be faced with two options. You can either buy a desktop or a laptop. Now we won’t get into how they’re different and what makes what better. We’re just here to tell you that you don’t have to compromise and choose just one.
How? By buying a laptop and getting a laptop docking station along with it. Boom! You get the best of both worlds. The issue with most laptops is that they don’t offer a lot of connectivity options. This is especially true with newer laptops that just give you a couple of USB Type-C or thunderbolt ports and call it a day.
This can hamper your productivity and be a handicap on your laptop. Laptop docking stations take care of this by letting you connect to all the devices you please, thereby basically turning your laptop into a desktop PC.
Laptop docking stations are useful products that give you the connectivity that you enjoy with Desktop PCs. These docking stations exist to act as neutralizers that let you experience the convenience of a desktop PC without taking away the portability of your laptop.
For many, the idea of a laptop docking station might seem confusing and hard to understand and that’s completely normal, but you’d be surprised to find out how simple they are despite solving such a major problem. Finding a good laptop docking station can be difficult, considering the host of options you have and the configurations they come in.
That’s where we come in, we’ve scoured the web to find the top 7 best laptop docking stations for gaming in 2023. You can select a laptop docking station off our list to convert your gaming laptop into a gaming desktop computer, with all the bells and whistles you need to enhance your gaming experience!
In a hurry? Here are our top 3 picks when it comes to the best laptop docking stations for gaming in 2023!
Best Overall
Budget Pick
Premium Pick
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What Do Laptop Docking Stations Consist of?
Laptop docking stations solve perhaps the biggest caveat of laptops. Their limited number of ports. How many times have you wanted to plug in another pendrive to your laptop and it didn’t have any ports open?
Or maybe you needed to hook it up to an external monitor but you didn’t have the port for it. If you’re anything like us, this has happened to you way too many times and it can get pretty annoying. Purchasing a laptop docking station is an easy fix to this issue.
If you’re wondering what all you get with a docking station, let us tell you. Think of a laptop docking station as an extension of your laptop’s ports. The docking station usually connects to your laptop through a single fast port and then gives your laptop access to a multitude of new ports that enable you to connect to other devices.
The specs and features of docking stations vary across models, but having these ports is the norm and you’ll find that laptop docking stations will have some combination of the following. These docking stations tend to have extra USB ports, the latest and a couple of old ones for backward compatibility. Display ports like an HDMI or VGA port, an ethernet port, possibly an SD card reader and some even charge your laptop for you!
Are Laptop Docking Stations Worth It?
The answer to this question completely depends on how much you need them. Being a gamer, you know the value of ports and how frustrating it can be when you don’t have access to the right port. You can’t connect to a good monitor or add another pendrive or an extra microphone when you want them.
Laptop docking stations turn these barriers into problems of the past. If you value productivity, there’s another reason why you should purchase a laptop docking station. There aren’t a lot of laptops around that come with SD card readers anymore. And display ports are at a premium too.
Manufacturers are just itching to take off more and more ports and brag about how “simple and sleek” their laptops are. If you need to edit videos and need a bigger, better display, you just can’t with some laptops. Additionally, without a fast SD card reader, you can’t view and transfer photos and videos from your camera to your laptop.
You might say “I can just buy a small dongle or an external SD card reader, why do I need a laptop docking station?’ While it sounds like an easy solution, this can be problematic because how many dongles, external devices, and cables are you going to carry around with you? Traveling with so many extra appliances can be tiresome and there’s always the possibility of misplacing the little gadgets.
Furthermore, if you need to use more USB connections for the dongles and you’ve already connected something else to them, how are you going to make the decision of which connection to keep and which one to sacrifice? Docking stations don’t just solve this issue, they solve another issue too.
If you have a docking station that allows you to charge your laptop with it, then you don’t even need to carry a bulky charger with you wherever you go. Your laptop docking station can do it all and then some. Long story short, yes. They’re completely worth it if you’re someone who genuinely needs the ports and convenience. Not so much maybe if your daily laptop usage doesn’t require too many ports.
Does a Docking Station Affect Gaming?
Gamers are always trying to improve their skills and think of ways that they can gain a competitive edge over their competition. So it’s safe to say that you’re trying to do the same and are wondering whether or not a docking station could help with your gaming. Let’s try to answer that question.
As with any equipment or piece of tech you buy for gaming, its benefit depends on how good you are at using it. You can get the latest processor, GPU, low latency router, keyboard, and mouse, but they’re of no use if you don’t know how to use them to their fullest potential. That being said, we can’t ignore the benefits that they do get you.
Similarly, you have laptop docking stations. While they don’t provide any noticeable boost to your gaming itself, they can be a handy tool to have, thanks to the selection of ports laptop docking stations come with.
These docking stations can be the upgrade your laptop needs. One of the most important parts of gaming is the viewing experience. Laptop docking stations can let you connect to 4K monitors with high refresh rates around 144Hz or even 240Hz. This is possible because of the DisplayPort 1.4 that most of these laptop docking stations come with. If you have a laptop docking station and a monitor that both offer support for DisplayPort 1.4, you can enjoy playing games on a high resolution and refresh rate monitor.
Another key benefit that a laptop docking station will give you is the simple convenience of not having to plug in and take out every single device that you use with your laptop each time you have to leave with it. Laptops are meant to be portable computers. It’s obvious that you’re going to take them with you if you have to work outside or go to a friend’s house to play games.
If you find yourself leaving the house with your laptop frequently, you know how tiring and cumbersome it can be when you have to reconnect each wire to your laptop after coming back home. You might have an external gaming keyboard, a mouse, a couple of displays, an ethernet cable, and whatnot. Are you going to waste your time and energy playing around with wires?
A laptop docking station solves this by keeping all the wires and cables connected to it, instead of having them directly connect to your laptop. Now after getting a laptop docking station, when you come back home after a long day, all you have to do is connect your laptop to your docking station and you’re ready to kick back and play some games!
7 Best Laptop Docking Stations for Gaming in 2023
1. Plugable USB 3.0 Horizontal Docking Station UD-6950H – Best Overall
First up, we have the Plugable USB 3.0 Horizontal Docking Station. This is our pick for the best laptop docking station that you can buy in 2023. Let’s see why. The Plugable UD-650H lets you connect to dual 4K, 3840×1080, 2560×1440, or 1080p displays using its DisplayPort or HDMI port.
You also have the option to connect a mic or speaker to it along with a Gigabit Ethernet port. It doesn’t hold back on the number of USB ports either and gives you 6 of them to use.
Specifications
- Compatible with: Windows 10, 8,x, 7/macOS 10.14+./not compatible with Linux or Unix
- Number of USB Ports: 6
- Number of HDMI Ports: 2
- Total Number of Ports: 12 ports in total. 2 DisplayPort++/HDMI Ports, 6 USB 3.0 Ports, 1 3.5mm Headphone Jack, 1 3.5mm Microphone Jack, 1 Gigabit Ethernet Port, 1 Power Switch
- Orientation: Horizontal
- Maximum Resolution Support: Dual 4K Displays up to 60Hz
- Dimensions: 3.25 x 9.5 x 1.25 inches
Why is this the best laptop docking station in 2023?
What really makes the Plugable UD-6950 the best laptop docking station in 2023? For us, it came down to two major reasons. Firstly, the UD-6950 offers you 6 USB ports, which is two more than most other laptop docking stations. The extra ports are certainly good to have.
Second, this laptop docking station is one of the most compatible ones on this list, offering support for Windows versions from 7 up and also for macOS 10.14 and up with driver installation. With these two features, along with 4K support, audio in and out ports, and a Gigabit Ethernet port, it’s easy to see why the Plugable UD-6950 is our pick for the best laptop docking station in 2023.
2. VENTION 10 in 1 Docking Station – Budget Pick
At number two, we have the Vention 10 in 1 Laptop Docking Station. This is the laptop docking station that you should buy if you’re on a budget. The Vention 10 in 1 Laptop Docking station gets you all you really need at a price that will make you happy. From its name, you can gather that it offers you 10 ports in one station.
You can use this laptop docking station to hook up your laptop to a 4K display. You get a 100W Type C PD Charging Port, a 1080p VGA port, 2 USB 3.0 Ports, two USB 2.0 ports, a Gigabit Ethernet Port along with an SD/TF Card Reader, all at an incredible price.
Specifications
- Compatible with: Majority of Type-C(USB-C) devices. MacBook Pro/MacBook Air/iPad Pro/Dell XPS 13/15/Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+ and many more
- Number of USB Ports: 4
- Number of HDMI Ports: 1
- Total Number of Ports: 9 Ports in total. 1 4K HDMI Port, 1080 VGA Port, 2 USB 3.0 Ports, 2 USB 2.0 Ports, 1 100W type C charging port, 1 TF SD Card Reader, 1 Gigabit Ethernet Port
- Orientation: Horizontal
- Maximum Resolution Support: up to 4K
- Dimensions: 7.48 x 3.66 x 1.14 inches
3. Lenovo USA Dock Gen 2 – Premium Pick
In the box, you get the docking station itself, a 90W AC power adapter, a power cord, and a USB type C cable. The docking station has 1 HDMI port and two DisplayPorts and supports a single 4K display at 60Hz or a dual 4K display at 30 Hz. You receive 5 USB ports on this device, with three of them being the latest USB 3.1 ports and the other two being 2.0 ports. The ThinkPad dock comes with a combo audio jack for audio in and out and a Gigabit Ethernet port for the internet.
Specifications
- Compatible with: Lenovo Machine Types: Think-Pad T490: 20N3, 20N2, 20QH, 20Q9; Think–Pad T590: 20N5, 20N4,; Think-Pad X280: 20KF, 20KE; Think-Pad T480: 20L6, 20L5; Think-Pad X1 Carbon 6th: 20KG, 20KH; Think-Pad X270: 20HN, 20HM, 20K5, 20K6; Think-Pad T480s: 20L8, 20L7.
- Number of USB Ports: 5
- Number of HDMI Ports: 1
- Total Number of Ports: 10 ports in total. 1 HDMI port, 2 DisplayPorts, 3 USB 3.1 Ports, 2 USB 2.0 Ports, 1 Combo Audio Jack, 1 Gigabit Ethernet Port,
- Orientation: Horizontal
- Maximum Resolution Support: up to 4K 60Hz single display or dual display 4K 30Hz
- Dimensions: 2.95 x 6.22 x 8.3 inches
4. Plugable USB Docking Station
Our fourth entrant and the first vertical laptop docking station on the list is the Plugable UD-3900. This laptop docking station has individual 3.5 mm ports for headphones/speakers and for a microphone. There are also three USB 3.0 ports and two USB 2.0 ports. In addition, you get a Gigabit Ethernet portal, one HDMI port, and one DVI port too. The display ports can support resolutions up to 2K at 60Hz. The laptop docking station is in a vertical orientation.
Specifications
- Compatible with: Windows 11, 10, 8. x and 7, and macOS 10.14+. Requires adapter for systems that use USB Type C only.
- Number of USB Ports: 5
- Number of HDMI Ports: 1
- Total Number of Ports: 11 ports in total. 1 HDMI port, 1 DVI Port, 2 USB 3.0 Ports, 4 USB 2.0 Ports, 1 3.5mm Headphone Jack, 1 Microphone Jack, 1 Gigabit Ethernet Port,
- Orientation: Vertical
- Maximum Resolution Support: up to 2560×1440 at 50Hz for single or dual 1920x1080p monitors
- Dimensions: 8.5 x 5 x 4 inches
5. Targus USB-C Docking Station
Moving on, at number five we have the Targus USB-C Docking Station. A nifty feature of this laptop docking station is that along with Windows and macOS, it is also compatible with Android. It can charge your laptop using USB type C up to 60W. You get 2 HDMI Ports and two DisplayPort that support dual monitors up to 4K. The docking station also has an integrated lock slot.
Specifications
- Compatible with: Windows, macOS, and Android
- Number of USB Ports: 4
- Number of HDMI Ports: 2
- Total Number of Ports: 11 ports in total. 2 HDMI ports, 2 DisplayPorts, 1 USB type C, 4 USB 3.0 Ports, 1 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack, 1 Gigabit Ethernet Port
- Orientation: Horizontal
- Maximum Resolution Support: Dual 4K UHD Monitors
- Dimensions: 3.6 x 1.5 x 6.75 inches
6. Dell Docking Station – High-Quality Docking Station
Coming in at number 6 is our pick for the docking station that doesn’t compromise on quality one bit. It’s the Dell WD19 130W Docking Station that is perfect for Dell laptop users. It can deliver a decent 130W of power to your laptop to charge it while you’re using it.
The docking station can support dual 4K monitors at 60Hz and uses the latest USB 3.1 ports for connectivity. This laptop docking station vows to be future-proof, with a first-in-industry modular design that lets you upgrade connectivity at a margin of the price it would cost you to get a new docking station.
Specifications
- Compatible with: Windows but works best with the following Dell systems: Latitude Series: 3301, 3390, 3400, 3490, 3500, 3590, 5280, 5285, 5290, 5300, 5400, 5401, 5480, 5490, 5500, 5501, 5580, 5590, 7200, 7280, 7285, 7300, 7380, 7389, 7390, 7400, 7480, 7490. Rugged Series: 5420, 5424, 7424. Xps series: 9360, 9365, 9370, 9380
- Number of USB Ports: 4
- Number of HDMI Ports: 2
- Total Number of Ports: 11 ports in total. 1 HDMI port, 2 DisplayPorts 1.4, 1 USB type C Multifunction DisplayPort, 4 USB A 3.1 Ports, 1 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack, 1 Gigabit Ethernet Port, 1 Audio Out
- Orientation: Horizontal
- Maximum Resolution Support: Dual 4K Monitors at 60Hz
- Dimensions: 3.5 x 1.1 x 8.1 inches
7. Hiearcool USB C Hub
The final laptop docking station on our list is the Hiearcool Premium Triple Display Multiports USB C Hub. This docking station will support dual displays up to 3840×2160 at 30Hz using HDMI. Alternatively, it can also support 3 1920x1080p displays at 60Hz using VGA.
It features a VL817 chip that prevents overloads, shorts circuits, and keeps the temperature under 45°C. This docking station supports PD fast charging for your laptop. It also has a Gigabit Ethernet port with backward compatibility. In addition to the ports, you also receive an SD/TF card reader that enables you to transfer data at speeds up to 5 Gbps.
Specifications
- Compatible with: Partial Compatibility: Microsoft Surface Book 2, Surface Go, Dell XPS 9350 / 9360 / 9370 / 9380 /9550 / 9560, Lenovo Yoga 720 13″ & Carbon X1 5th/6th Gen, most 13″ HP Spectre x360 models, MSI GS65 /GS75
- Not Compatible With: All Acer Series, iPad Pro 2018, Apple USB SuperDrive, Surface Book 3, and Nintendo Switch.
- Number of USB Ports: 4
- Number of HDMI Ports: 2
- Total Number of Ports: 11 ports in total. 1 PD Charging Port, 2 HDMI ports,1 VGA Port, 1 SD/TF Card Slot, 2 USB 3.0 Ports, 2 USB 2.0 Ports, 1 Gigabit RJ45 Port, USB type C
- Orientation: Horizontal
- Maximum Resolution Support: Dual 3840 x 2160 Displays at 30Hz
- Dimensions: 3.6 x 1.5 x 6.75 inches
How to Choose the Best Laptop Docking Station for Gaming?
So now you know which laptop docking stations are worth your hard-earned money. It’s time for you to select one that will best suit your wants and needs. To help you make your decision, we have made a quick buyers’ guide for laptop docking stations. Let’s jump right into it!
Compatibility
The first thing that you should check while buying a laptop docking station is if it’s compatible with your system. Some manufacturers like Dell and Lenovo have docking stations that are tailor-made for their laptops.
Ports
After compatibility, look at how many ports it has and which ones they are. The port selection that a laptop docking station offers is its primary value addition to your setup. Try to go for current-gen ports that will last a few years into the future, with at least one HDMI port, USB type C connectivity, an audio input/output, and a DisplayPort. If your laptop doesn’t have an SD card reader, make sure your docking station will.
Vertical Or Horizontal
Laptop docking stations come in either vertical or horizontal configurations and which configuration you choose will depend on how much space you have on your desk or simply which one looks cooler. An advantage to some horizontal docking stations is that they can fit under your laptop and act as a stand for it, taking up virtually no extra space.
Charging Capability
Buying a laptop docking station that also doubles as a charger is a good idea because it can charge your laptop while you’re working without you having to manage another cable for charging. PD fast charging is a handy feature to have on a laptop docking station.
Final Thoughts
To sum up, laptop docking stations are an incredibly useful invention that upgrades your laptop’s connectivity, thereby improving your productivity and making your life easier. We hope that through this article, you have found a laptop docking station that you can add to your setup.
(5 votes, average: 4.60 out of 5)
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