Sabrent USB 3.0 Universal Docking Station with Stand for Tablets and Laptops Supports Windows & Mac (DS-RICA)

I recently purchased a portable 15.6" external/second monitor (amazon.com/gp/product/B07RGPCQG1) to use with my laptop. This form factor is great for use both at home and on the road. This monitor is powered by USB C (at least 2.1A) and connects via either USB C or HDMI. Using the cables which come with it is great for on the road, but a mess at home.Enter the Sabrent docking station. If I was going to design a docking station to work with this portable external monitor, I could not have done a better job than Sabrent.First, the Sabrent has a deep groove in the front of the dock. The slim external monitor sits in there perfectly, and a great viewing angle.Second, the dock has two USB A ports whose sole purpose is to deliver 2.4A of power for charging. I connected one of the ports to the USB C power port on the monitor and yahoo! it powered right up.Third, the dock has a HDMI out to connect to the monitor. It also has DVI (with a VGA adaptor) if that's your thing.I purchased 1 foot USB C and HDMI cables to make the connections, which eliminate the rats nest of cables you get using 3 foot cables.What else? Two USB 2 and two USB 3 ports. Why USB 2? Because keyboards and mice sometimes don't play well with USB 3, so you have that flexibility. Also audio in/out and an Ethernet CAT5 jack, if that's your thing.Even better, it's 100% plug-n-play. No drivers required (although up-to-date video drivers are recommended).For me, this means inserting one USB 3.0 A plug into my laptop and I get an external monitor, external audio/microphone, and connection to my external 2TB drive. No rats nest of cables. No cable swapping. It all works seamlessly.OK, what would I change? I'd love an on/off switch on the dock so I could power it off when I'm not using it (because I don't use it every time). Absolutely not a showstopper, though. I can always just unplug it power supply from the back of the dock if I want to.Again, the two features that are a game changer for me are the groove in the front and the two USB A power-only ports at 2.4A each (which can also be used to quick-charge your mobile devices).Plus, it's Sabrent. I've been using their gear for years and never had an issue.You really can't go wrong with this dock, and the price simply can't be beat.

I don't know what to say but I love this docking station.I use this so I could add extra screen real estate. I didn't want to get a desktop since I was always about portability. I never needed a powerhouse desktop, but I did need the extra screens. I use this for a 17" laptop and a 13" ultrabook. I really love having the extra usb ports for my ultrabook at times as well.I went with this docking station because of the dimensions. Sits comfortably underneath my monitor riser and monitors.UPDATE:I have been using this now for a few months now and I have to say, I'm still very happy to have purchased this. There is one drawback that I did not notice before and that is the headphone jack. Before I ran my audio off my monitor which is connected to the dock through the HDMI port. I plugged in my speakers into the dock instead of my monitor and started noticing a ticking/clicking/static-like noise. I chalked it up to old speakers. When I plugged my headphones into the docking station, the noise became apparent and annoying. Even with my computer muted I could hear the ticking. I switched my headphone to different devices and it goes away. I assume it's coming from the docking station because the noise is gone when plugged into other devices that are plugged into my computer; such as my monitor and laptop. This annoyance is not a deal breaker to me. It is an annoyance that I avoid. I say annoying because it's not loud but very annoying when there is silence. I don't see this as a high performing graphics adapter or high end audio so I'm not disappointed by a little noise running through this. Especially since I have an external hard drive , two monitors, one 2.0 in use, two 3.0 ports in use, one of which is connected to a usb hub.My two devices I use this for are both 3rd gen Intel processors. When plugged into my 3rd gen i5, my i5 is pushed to it's limits when I put my daily load. Operates fine, does not overheat, just that the processor is taking on the extra load of this dock.When used with my 3rd gen i7, the dock does not seem to phase my CPU. Yes the load is there but it does not normally go beyond 70-80% capacity, but that's easy to do without the docking station. I'm only stating that my average use ultra book runs without any problems, it just gets pushed harder than normal. My i7 on the other hand feels like it's just shrugging it off. Also, I've tested this many times and yes, you can definitely run three additional monitors; two off the docking station and one out the HDMI port on the computer(if you have one).

Update - 1/15/2016I raised the review based on the outstanding customer service I've received. Sabrent called to see if they could help me set up the video, but my company has a strict policy about downloads. I set this up on my personal computer to see if it works - and it works great. I don't need this device on that computer, but I can report that it works well.***********************************The device arrived quickly and is sleek looking. And if you're planning to use it for home or personal computer use, it may be perfect. I was not, and hence my review.I purchased this docking station to use with my work computer (Windows) while working at home - instead of the similarly priced Dell docking station - because of the product's high reviews. The product does not plug-and-play for video functionality with my work computer. I don't have admin rights to download updated drivers, so for me, it is essentially a very expensive USB port extender. I suspect it may be fine for personal computers, but I can't say for sure.As a second point (and I definitely should have realized this, so it hasn't affected my review, but) for clarity: this device does not provide power to the computer. So if you're thinking about an actual docking station - where you connect to the computer once, and then receive the benefit of mouse, keyboard, monitor and any other peripheries, as well as constant battery charge, this is not that device. With this device, you plug in the power as well as a USB for peripheries (and in my case, also plug in the video) in order to have a true docking station experience.