Targus Universal USB 3.0 DV4K Docking Station with USB-A/C Host Adapter, Black (DOCK162USZ)

With some trepidation, I ordered this docking station to use with my new HP Envy m6-1125dx 64-bit Windows 8 laptop. After using business laptops with custom-made docking stations for years, I hadn't thought too much about the process of finding a docking station for this consumer laptop.As it turned out, it took a bit of a search. I learned about the latest generation of "universal" docking stations which are made possible by USB 3.0, as I understand it. Two reps at HP's Boise Sales Office (who were great, by the way) told me that the Targus ACP71USZ would work with my laptop (which has a USB 3.0 port), in spite of a review to the contrary on the HP website page describing the unit. In fact, they said, the Targus unit was connected to the same laptop in the "playpen" in their office, and they could vouch for the fact that it worked.So, I ordered it from Amazon. When it arrived, I followed advice others had offered in other reviews: (1) update your USB 3.0 host controller driver (mine was current); (2) download the latest drivers from Targus or Displaylink (ignore the CD that comes with the unit). Turns out DisplayLink had a newer version than Targus itself did, so I downloaded and installed it before connecting the unit to my laptop.Contrary to other reviews, the docking station DID have a power tip to fit my laptop, which was a relief, so the laptop charges when it's connected to the dock. Everything else (wireless keyboard and mouse, audio, printer) is powered through the USB 3.0 cable which connects to the dock. Once connected, the laptop recognized the dock, and everything worked just as I hoped, with no noticeable loss in performance!I like the fact that the docking station will accommodate any laptop for which there is a power tip, so this should be the last docking station I need to buy. The unit itself is very well made, and reflects a nice design. It even fits nicely within my monitor stand! Finding the power tips is a bit tricky (the HP reps were helpful here too); you flip up a door on top of the unit to reveal a compartment with 8 different tips.All in all, armed with the advice from previous reviewers and the HP reps, it was a piece of cake, proving it pays to do your research, I guess. Judging from the reviews, I guess the ACP71USZ will work with some laptops and not others, and in the final analysis there is really only one way to find out: order it from a store with a reasonable return policy and try it out!UPDATE: A little more than a year later, and the Targus unit is still going strong, with no problems over the past year. My Windows 8 computer recognizes it as part of the system, and even tells me when firmware updates are available, which was unexpected! This little unit still gets five stars from me!UPDATE 10/06/14: After working perfectly for 1.5 years, my external monitor (attached to the dock) stopped working. Attaching the monitor directly to the computer revealed that the monitor was working just fine. A visit to the Targus web site showed the same driver already installed. On a hunch, I visited the DisplayLink (whose logo appears on the product) web site and found a new driver. Installed it; problem solved. Lesson here: check BOTH the Targus and DisplayLink web sites for driver updates. By the way, tried running "Update Driver" from inside Device Manager, and it pointed me toward the Targus site, but NOT the DisplayLink site.UPDATE 01/18/16 Two years now, and aside from the driver lesson learned that I described in the previous update, it's been nothing but smooth sailing with this well-designed little dock! I'd still give it five stars! The dock is on my mind currently because up until now I've used a 24" external LED monitor, and my laptop monitor as needed. Now I'm thinking of adding a second 24" monitor, using the Targus dock. I'm not entirely sure of the best way to do that, since my current monitor uses an HDMI cable, and there is only one HDMI port on the dock. I'm sure a little study will turn up the answer to the cabling question.

Just like folks say in their reviews, this thing is a bear to set up. It is NOT plug and play by any means. I am not an IT professional, but I am a proficient PC user and it took me quite a while to sort out the driver situation. With the help of Targus's customer support (which was very helpful), I ultimately got this device to do everything I needed.Here was my protracted set up process on a Samsung Series 7 Windows 7 64 bit:-Plug the device into USB 3.0 port, let it automatically download drivers-USB slots work, external monitors do not-Go to DisplayLink website, download updated drivers-Still no monitors-Call Targus-Plug device into USB 2.0-Run driver install again - success, but in USB 2.0-Manually update my USB 3.0 drivers to the LATEST version via google search-Plug into USB 3.0 - success - monitors and USB ports running-Discover audio will not play through device-Call Targus back-They have no idea why, tell me to a run a debugger and send the log-Google searched a solution: [...]-Finally the unit worksMy docking station is now hidden from view and running two external monitors, USB devices, and speakers. It did not come with a compatible power tip for my laptop but Targus is mailing me one for free. When all's said and done, this should do literally everything I intended for it to do with only two cables leading from my laptop.If you aren't comfortable messing around with drivers in device manager, I suggest you don't buy this product. Set up is time consuming and often confusing. If you're willing to put in some effort to get it set up, this thing is pretty great. Targus's customer support was also very knowledgeable and a great resource, although one agent would have had me send the unit in for replacement because she couldn't figure out the audio driver issue.

This product does everything it says it will do, but a couple notable issues can be frustrating. Three problems that stand out:1. video anomalies - I'm driving two external monitors, and video quality on both displays is mostly OK but occasionally poor. Occasionally the video on one or both screens will display as if it was being affected by interference. Out of focus, jittery pixels, etc. Then a few seconds later it snaps back to normal. I'm using two digital outputs, and this is the first time in 20 years of computing that I've seen something like this. Mostly it does the job, so I can work around this problem, but it is annoying and doesn't give confidence as to the product quality.2. network speed - the lan connection reads as 1gb, but throughput on the device is extremely inconsistent. If I do a file copy, throughput jumps up, then drops to almost nothing, then may pause for a second or two, then jumps up again. This inconsistent behavior is confident throughout the file copy. If I do the same copy through my wireless, I get consistent throughput. Also, my wireless throughput is just about the same as what I get through the wired 1gb on this dock - probably due to the strange behavior I already noted. For my uses, this particular issue is the most concerning.3. dock pauses - occasionally the dock functionality pauses for a second, then resumes. Mouse & video lock up, then immediately proceed again. This happens a couple of times a day, so like #1, not frequent enough to be a show stopper. I can work around it, but it is annoying.So the dock does what it says it will do, but doesn't do it in a way that gives me confidence in the product. I'm using an XPS 12 Windows 8 PC with USB 3.0 connection. No issues when using just the PC, only when using the dock. I need the dock for the dual video output and the wired LAN connection. If I knew of any alternatives I would try them, so this will have to do for now.

Just plug in the cables and turn on your laptop; done. Took me literally a minute to set up the whole thing. Using an MSI gaming laptop and didn't create any compatibility issues

It was almost what I expected. Connections was easy. Lots of ports for extensibility. I like the side USB ports which makes for convenient attachment of temporary peripherals (eg audio headsets, CD drive, etc). What I didn't expect was that I still needed to connect a power cable to my laptop - which inhibits the portability of the setup. It means that I still have to plug and unplug the Laptop power cable in addition to the USB3 connection. It would be great if it didn't need that extra power supply or if the unit came with a power supply connection for the laptop from the docking station itself. The blue light at the back of the unit could not be dimmed which can be annoying if you want darkness in the room while sleeping.

The hardware quality is top notch. The simplicity of plugging everything in and connecting it to my Macbook Pro is excellent. The issue I am having is with DisplayLink, the software used to make this hardware work.On Mojave, DisplayLink has a number of known issues that are not yet resolved:- when using high resolution displays, there is noticeable mouse delay and serious lag in code editors, etc- the DisplayLink software causes a significant increase in kernel_task CPU usage, to the point where DisplayLinkAssistant needs to be force quit to allow the CPU to cool down, which temporarily reduces the lag issuesBy the looks of it, DisplayLink is working on fixing these, but in the meantime the dock is borderline unusable as the input lag is so bad that it makes the whole experience painful.Will update review if/when they fix the software issues plaguing it.

Targus is one of the few companies who provide such accessories for laptops, etc. They've been around a long time and have put out a very good product with this docking station. I have a laptop with no docking port so i needed a USB 3.0 dock. I can run 2 screen no problems now.It had everything I could possibly need to connect a monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, etc. The power tips provided make sure you should be able to use it on just about all of the name brand laptops. And it finding a docking station that would also power/charge a laptop without using the laptop's separate power cord was very difficult. In fact, this is likely one of your only viable options. Good thing is that this docking station has you covered with all of the connection options for monitors, USB 3.0, and more. Check out the Targus web site for complete specs, etc. as needed. I would not hesitate to buy this item again.I received this product at a discount in exchange for my honest and unbiased review, all opinions expressed are my own. My rating and review are results of testing and personal use of this product.

5 stars if you have a powerful i7, 1 star if like me you have an old i5. I was indeed able to get 3840x 2160 @60Hz instead but the charge on the processor was too much for my laptop and everything seemed sluggish and I am talking just about productivity..it is just impossible to watch any videos or watch youtube.I really thought the job was done by the hardware but it seems that everything is done by the computer cpu . and gpu.visit the displaylink website to see if you meet the minimum requirements. I wish it was written in the description.