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Surface Pro Usb 3.0 Docking Station Review - Plugable Ud-3000

Dewain27

By Dewain27,
in Surface Pro Gen 1

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Dewain27

Dewain27 0

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I wanted to give a quick review of the Plugable UD-3000 USB 3.0 Docking Station in use with Surface Pro

 

41VsBEa9XFL._SL500_.jpg

 

The Plugable UD-3000 USB 3.0 Docking station can be leveraged by any USB 3.0 device, however I have purchased this for use with my Surface Pro.  I really enjoy the portability of my Surface Pro, however it is nice to rip the keyboard off and sit it on my desk and go dual monitor with full keyboard and mouse to rock out those Visio, Word, or Power Point documents.  This device can be bought at Amazon at the link below:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-UD-3000-Docking-2048x1152-Ethernet/dp/B008N06I2I?SubscriptionId=AKIAJ27KPV45VTL2XA5Q&tag=plugabltechno-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B008N06I2I

 

The docking station has the following ports:

  • 4 USB 2.0 Ports
  • 2 USB 3.0 Ports
  • 1 Headphone
  • 1 Mic
  • 1 DVI
  • 1 10/100/100 Ethernet Port

The device comes with converters for DVI to HDMI or SVGA.  It also comes with the USB 3.0 cable required to plug into your device (Surface Pro).  This is impressive as for the price this is a great deal.

 

I have mine plugged into a secondary monitor using the HDMI converter and am running a full 1080p screen along with my Surface Pro screen in the dual monitor extended mode.  I have seen no issues with video performance.  I wouldn't suggest that you try to play a game on this screen, but it performs well under typical scenarios.

 

The Ethernet port is working great and I am getting no issue with running at full 1000 Mbs.

 

Drivers for the device come down from windows update with no issue, however do take a few minutes to install.  Keep in mind the number of ports and devices this is installing so that is understandable.

 

The device is mostly shiny plasic finish, but looks nice sitting your desk.  The main issues you run into is that the USB and the power are on different sides of the Surface Pro and you still will need an extra power cable if you want to charge while docked.  This can be combersome if you don't do some simple cable management.  The other negative that I have is the size of the power plug of the device.  Unlike the Surface Pro, this device uses one of those huge power converters in the actual plug that can cause you to eat up several ports on a powerstip.  So, try to plan for the one on the end if you don't have one of the ones that accomodates this type of plug well.

 

Overall, I would give this a 9 out of 10.  It is a great device and works as expected.  There are some things like the power plug that irritate me, but hey it does its job and makes the Surface Pro an awesome desk machine.

 

Let me know if you guys have any questions about this device and I am happy to run any tests that you might want...

 

Dewain

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RWalrond

RWalrond 0

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I purchased the Toshiba Dynadock 3.0. http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Dynadock-Docking-Station-PA3927U1PRP/dp/B006ZGWJU2/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1367684449&sr=1-1&keywords=dynadock+3+0

 

I drive a 27 inch monitor using the HDMI and temporarily driving an old 32 inch dell TV/Monitor with the DVI to VGA connector.

 

This whole setup has replaced my older iMac as my desktop computer (which I ran Windows 99%). I unplug it and take the Surface to work with me during the week and bring it home each night.

 

The dock had some video issues with the Metro Netflix app but they recently released an update to fix that problem.

 

 

Edited by RWalrond
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essedbl

essedbl 0

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Thanks for the review, and for all the comments. I just ordered the plugable dock. I can't wait to get it set up. I am going to use the surface as my main personal computer.

Edited by essedbl
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