In mid-September we spent a week in Canada visiting with family. This picture is one of the docks at Birchland Cottages, a small resort run by my brother, near Iron Bridge, Ontario. It’s a beautiful spot, with dock for each cottage.
Now, that’s a dock. Note how each boat is tied right to the dock. Secured. That’s as it should be.
I always like to have two power supplies for my laptop; one that lives in the house/office and a second for my computer bag. In 2019, I bought my current Lenovo X1 Carbon. It was the first laptop I’ve had that used USB-C power. So, I had to go looking for a second power supply.
At that time, I found that a Lenovo ThinkPad Ultra Docking Station with a power supply brick was the same cost as just a simple 65 Watt USB-C power supply. So, in my office the X1C has a home base where it charges. While docked it has access to a large monitor and wired Ethernet.
There were times when I needed to do some serious work away from my desk. Sometimes just for an afternoon. Other times, for a few days, or even a week. This was often driven by bad weather and/or accompanying power outages. In those cases, I’d take the dock and a spare monitor to the dining room. This would serve as a nice, if temporary, workstation.
I appreciate the way that the X1C locks onto the docking station. It makes it a simple matter to go mobile for a bit, and easily return to the dining room later on. Just one connection, that firmly and positively locks in place and charges.
“Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone?” – Joni Mitchell
That was then…
Just before we went to Canada this month I ordered a new laptop. It’s been a long time coming, driven by growing frustration with my now-very-old Airtop-PC. It marks my attempt to transition from a desktop + a laptop to just one computer.
I considered another X1 Carbon (now at Gen 13) but opted for something more potent to be my primary workstation. After several months of window shopping, I succumb to a discounted offer of a Lenovo P14s Gen 5.
The details are as follows:
- Intel Core Ultra 7 155H Processor (E-cores up to 3.80 GHz P-cores up to 4.80 GHz)
- Windows 11 Pro 64
- NVIDIA RTX 500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU 4GB GDDR6
- 64 GB DDR5-5600MHz (SODIMM) – (2 x 32 GB)
- 1 TB SSD M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 Performance TLC Opal
- 14.5″ 3K (3072 x 1920), IPS, Anti-Glare, Non-Touch, 100%DCI-P3, 430 nits, 120Hz
- Non-touch Screen
- 135W power supply
I was on the fence about this, but this offer was exactly what I would have spec’d, including 64 GB of RAM. I had recently tried to upgrade the memory in the Airtop-PC, but found that was simply not possible.
I’m still getting to know this new machine. There’s certainly a lot to like about it. It’s better in just about every way. But it will take some adjustment, too.
The 14” form factor is ideal. The display is great. And built-in Ethernet means one less dongle. But it’s definitely heavier than the X1C. That really shouldn’t matter, since I just don’t travel much these days.
There’s no opportunity to equip the P14s with cellular data. It does not have the built-in antennas. So, I’ll be tethering to my mobile phone when away from home base.
Battle Docking Stations!
I set about to search for a dock, but I was surprised to find that there aren’t any available. At least not a “dock” as I know them.
What I’ve found thus far are what used to be called “port replicators.” Lenovo offers the Lenovo ThinkPad Thunderbolt 3 Dock Gen 2 135W for $200!
This “dock” has a couple of connectors on the front, and a diversity of connectors on the back.
It seems that you connect to one of the Thunderbolt 3 connectors on the laptop, which then enables all the other connections. Power flows from the dock back the laptop to charge, while all other signals go the other direction.
That’s not a whole lot more functionality than the old dock, which cost just $30.
There is no mechanical connection. Anyone involved in video production knows that USB-C/Thunderbolt is not a locking connector, so inherently insecure. Sonnet, a maker of TB accessories used in video production, has their own, custom ThunderLok connectors with a thumbscrew to secure the cable to the frame of the host device.
Of course, not many devices have the requisite tapped hole to receive the ThunderLok screw.
IMHO, a port replicator is not a docking station.
Change is hard. Hey, you kids…get off my lawn!