Thunderbolt Port Replicator / Dock for Defiance 15.6" Laptop

[ardigital]

Hi all, I've been looking for a thunderbolt 4 dock / port replicator only there are too many to choose which mostly focus on being DELL XPS or M1/Macbook compatibility.

Can anyone recommend thunderbolt 4 docks/port replicator I can use with my Defiance 15.6" laptop or that has worked well with their PC Specialist laptop?

Something else I find confusing is how some docks claim to "power/charge" your device - I'm not aware the thunderbolt port on my Defiance will accept a charge is that correct?

Any advice/feedback - would be most welcome

Kind Regards
Andy

 

[Scott]

The thunderbolt port was specifically designed for power as far as I'm aware. It should have a little lightening symbol on it.

There are limitations though as the docks output a certain value, if that's not enough to sustain your laptop then it won't work. I currently have my laptop connected to a Dell D6000 which can power up to 65w IIRC. I believe there are 90w options too, but unsure of anything past that.

They're designed to power less powerful laptops so high end powerful options likely won't power properly.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I believe Thunderbolt 4 port on the laptop allows for 100W charging.

Be sure you're referencing actual thunderbolt and not USB C as they're different things. Thunderbolt has the lightning symbol.

But at full pelt 100W won't be able to actually charge it, but should stop the battery running down too fast. At full pelt the system will use more like 140W

 

[SpyderTracks]

If you’re just looking for a simple port expander at low cost rather than a full on dock, I’ve been using this for a good 4 months now daily and it’s absolutely superb

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It’s USB C but that’s compatible with Thunderbolt 4

 

[Scott]

Interestingly I just had a look at my laptop and it doesn't have the lightening symbol. Instead I have the DP symbol. Not sure if this will pull through but it just shows that the little thunderbolt symbol isn't universal, I thought it was.

Edit: I don't think it's thunderbolt, looking into it more, but it definitely powers my laptop(s).

Dell Latitude 5480 Owner's Manual | Dell UK

Edit Edit: Well there you go. USB-C & Thunderbolt use the same charging protocol so if your device supports it, it'll charge regardless of standard.

4. HOW FAST DO THUNDERBOLT CABLES CHARGE DEVICES?​

A Thunderbolt 3 cable charges devices at a standard 15 watts of power. But any devices with Power Delivery protocol are charged at up to 100 watts, which is the same as USB-C. For charging most devices, including laptops, a Thunderbolt 3 cable will give you virtually identical charging speeds compared to USB-C.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Interestingly I just had a look at my laptop and it doesn't have the lightening symbol. Instead I have the DP symbol. Not sure if this will pull through but it just shows that the little thunderbolt symbol isn't universal, I thought it was.

Edit: I don't think it's thunderbolt, looking into it more, but it definitely powers my laptop(s).

Dell Latitude 5480 Owner's Manual | Dell UK

Edit Edit: Well there you go. USB-C & Thunderbolt use the same charging protocol so if your device supports it, it'll charge regardless of standard.

4. HOW FAST DO THUNDERBOLT CABLES CHARGE DEVICES?​

A Thunderbolt 3 cable charges devices at a standard 15 watts of power. But any devices with Power Delivery protocol are charged at up to 100 watts, which is the same as USB-C. For charging most devices, including laptops, a Thunderbolt 3 cable will give you virtually identical charging speeds compared to USB-C.

That's a display port over USB port, so that's USB C

Some USB C ports do accomodate power delivery, it's a complete minefield with USB C to identify the actual port

 

[Scott]

That's a display port over USB port, so that's USB C

Some USB C ports do accomodate power delivery, it's a complete minefield with USB C to identify the actual port

View attachment 39967

The last one with the battery also supports charging over USB, it's just that it won't display on a monitor (Just been reading up on this too). Not much good for a hub, but good to know regardless

 

[ardigital]

Awesome thanks guys - the Defiance 15.6" laptop I have is Thunderbolt 4 i.e. with lightening icon.

PC Specialist replied and said my laptop requires 180W AC Adaptor for power and so 100W via Thunderbolt will not work.

If this is the case then what is the risk of damaging the laptop if a Thunderbolt Dock is trying to send a 100W charge into a port that is not designed to power the laptop?

Or is Thunderbolt by design clever enough to recognise this and just provide me high transfer rates of USB-C for additional 4k display and USB A and C ports?

Finally would thunderbolt by design allow for ethernet compatibility if I already have an RJ-45 socket elsewhere on the laptop?

 

[ardigital]

The last one with the battery also supports charging over USB, it's just that it won't display on a monitor (Just been reading up on this too). Not much good for a hub, but good to know regardless

here you on the "minefield"

 

[SpyderTracks]

PC Specialist replied and said my laptop requires 180W AC Adaptor for power and so 100W via Thunderbolt will not work.

It will work, it won’t always be taking 180w, only under full load. It will charge but not at full rate when under heavy use.

There’s no damage to using lesser wattage, just means it won’t be enough to keep the laptop from also having to use battery when on high load

Thunderbolt includes display port for graphics, same as USB C with DP

Thunderbolt allows for Ethernet. It pretty much allows any data connection.

 

[ardigital]

awesome thank you for your quick replies - really helpful