It will give 4K support to laptops that lack it

Dec 10, 2014 10:43 GMT  ·  By

The 3840 x 2160 pixel resolution has become quite popular, and for the most part, quite affordable to own as well, as long as you don't buy a monitor or TV too large. There is, however, one problem: most PCs still don't support that resolution.

It's not so bad on the desktop front, where you can solve the problem by the simple expedient of acquiring a new graphics adapter.

However, that's not as easily accomplished on laptops. Also, notebook owners buy new ones pretty rarely compared to desktop and desktop hardware. They are expensive and not easy to customize after acquirement.

StarTech decided to give laptop owners a way to use 4K resolution without having to spend thousands of dollars on a new notebook.

After all, it would kind of defeat the purpose of 4K monitors (acting as secondary laptop display) being priced at just $350 / €282 if it took another two thousand to get a laptop capable of using it.

StarTech intros the 4K Ultra HD Laptop Docking Station

The docking station connects to a PC through the USB 3.0 interface but supports a 4K monitor through DisplayPort technology, as well as an HDMI one.

You can run both a DisplayPort and an HDMI-based monitor or TV at the same time, yes, via a single USB 3.0 connection. That 5 Gbps bandwidth is really coming in handy now.

That means you can use your laptop as a desktop, or as a multi-monitor workspace. For example, you can have two 4K monitors showing CAD design software independently, and use the laptop's own screen for Internet browsing and such.

Resolutions below 4K are, of course, supported over the dock, but they kind of defeat the purpose. Although we suppose you could find yourself in a situation where you want to use two monitors besides the laptop's own screen but only have one 4K one.

In addition to the DisplayPort and USB 3.0 PC link cable, the StarTech 4K ultra HD docking station features a Gigabit Ethernet Rj45 Port with Wake-on-LAN, a security lock slot, and a 3.4 mm 4-position headset port.

Availability and pricing

The 4K Ultra HD Laptop Docking Station from StarTech has a price of $229 / €185, and £192.99 in the United Kingdom no matter what exchange rates say. Amazon, Newegg, and PC Connection are only a few of the online retailers where you can find it for sale.

StarTech intros 4K dock for laptops (7 Images)

StarTech 4K laptop dock
StarTech 4K laptop dock interfacesStarTech 4K laptop dock in use
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