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ThinkPad Dock II

2005-03-21T00:01:02Z

217.230.174.160:

{| cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="0"
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== IBM ThinkPad Dock II ==
The IBM Dock II (Model # 287710U) is the most feature-packed dock IBM sells. In addition to supporting all the features of the [[ThinkPad Mini-Dock|Mini-Dock]], the expansion capability of the Dock II can transform a regular Thinkpad into a full blown workstation with multiple monitors (PCI video card), higher fidelity audio (PC Card audio), and additional storage [[UltraBay|Ultrabay 2000]]. These expansion features are not supported by all Thinkpads, therefore the Dock II does not support as many Thinkpads as the [[ThinkPad Port Replicator II|Port Replicator II]] or [[ThinkPad Mini-Dock|Mini-Dock]].

=== Features ===
* everything the [[ThinkPad Mini-Dock]] has
* 1x half-size PCI card slot
* 2x additional PC Card slots
* 1x Ultrabay 2000 slot

===Pros & Cons===
* Positives: Expansion capability
* Negatives: Cost ($399), internal fan is loud, large, less compatible
* Compatibility: X20/30, T20/30/40/41/42, R50/R51 and A20/30 Series notebooks.(does not support the R40/40e, R50e/51e or A21e).
* Warranty: One Year
</div>
* [http://www-132.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=-840&langId=-1&storeId=1&partNumber=287710U IBM Website for Dock II]
|}

==PCI Slot==
Note this is a Half Size, or 'low profile' slot. Separate brackets are required for low profile PCI cards. Normal cards will not fit.

Many use the half-size PCI slot for peripherals like secondary video cards, TV tuners, audio cards, etc. This is considered by many to be the highlight of the Dock II, and is a feature that few other docks have. The Dock II does not support AGP or PCI Express. The Ultrabay 2000 slot can be used to connect other IBM peripherals, such as second hard disks or CD/DVD drives.
Potential owners of the Dock II are often concerned about compatibility and recommendations of video cards. See the [[#Compatible Video Cards|compatible video cards]] list below for more information.

''Dock II owners: anybody tried to shoehorn a larger card in? What are the dimensions? Anyone have pictures?''

===Video Cards===
The PCI slot is most often used for installing video cards to allow for multiple monitors. This feature is especially useful for anyone that requires visualizing a large amount of information, including stock brokers, artists, etc. Due to the slow PCI bus, gaming is generally not improved much by external cards.
One of the chief concerns of low profile video cards is whether they support the monitor setup you desire. As more monitors these days are LCDs, quality DVI support is essential. Additional concerns include driver support, ability to hot-swap (add or remove the thinkpad without rebooting), and noise/heat.
====Quality DVI====
One way to work around the [[Problem with DVI throughput|limitations]] of the docks DVI pass-through port is to use a PCI graphics card which features a PCI port. Note that while this probably will work, the performance of the PCI graphics accellerator will be poor because of the limitations of the interface.
=====Widescreen Support=====
Unofficially, *good* DVI transmitters can support 1920x1200 at 60Hz which is a newer widescreen (16:10) resolution used in monitors such as the [http://www.apple.com/displays Apple Cinema Display 20" and 23"], [http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?sku=320-4221&c=us&l=en&cs=19&category_id=2999&page=external Dell 24" 2405FPW], [http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/monitors/tft/l2335/index.html HP L2335], and others. However, not all DVI transmitters can push this resolution, due to poor signal quality from cheap manufacturing or weak TDMS transmitters. '''It is unknown whether IBM docks and port replicators can do 1920x1200 at 60Hz.'''
If your transmitter cannot push this resolution, you must use a 'reduced blanking' option (through your video card driver) or create a custom timing through [http://www.entechtaiwan.com/ps.htm Powerstrip] with slower refresh rate, both of which can reduce performance especially in fast refresh-sensitive work (reduced blanking less so though). For more information on TDMS transmission, see the [http://www20.graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20041129/ DVI Compliance Testing] article at [http://www.tomshardware.com/ Tom's Hardware]. <BR><BR>
[http://www.apple.com/displays Apple's 30" Cinema Display], with a 2560x1600 resolution, requires what is known as [http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20041129/tft_connection-06.html Dual-Link DVI], a technique of piggybacking 2 DVI connections into one physical DVI plug. This is not to be confused with a card having 'Dual DVI', or two physical DVI ports. Very few video cards support Dual-Link DVI, and they are usually very expensive. No known PCI cards exist that support Dual-Link DVI. There is hope for users of large displays though - newer TDMS transmitters, such as the [http://www.siliconimage.com/products/product.aspx?id=4 SiI 1172], can push 225MHz and above through a single link, which is enough to drive 2560x1600 at 55Hz, enough for most work. These transmitters have not yet made it to many video cards - only Asus' V9999GE card is known to use one.

====Hot Swapping====
'''It is unknown whether hot swapping is fully supported.'''
Check the [http://forums.thinkpads.com/ thinkpads.com forum] for more information.

====Noise/Heat====
Since the [[Dock II]] has been reported to be a bit noisy, some people have taken to unplugging the fan inside (or possibly replacing it). While this likely voids your warranty, it may be necessary if you really want it quiet. Adding a video card increases the heat inside the dock, and may likely have a fan on board as well, meaning it will increase the noise level. While adding one of the below video cards is likely well within the thermal limitations of the dock, you should take into consideration the noise and heat it may add.
<BR><BR>
'''Anybody care to add some anecdotal information about this here?'''
====TV Tuners====

====Compatible Video Cards====
This is a list of the most popular low-profile PCI video cards used with the IBM ThinkPad Dock II.
{| cellspacing="10" cellpadding="0"
|- style="text-align:left;"
!Card !! Chipset !! RAM !! DVI Ports !! Max DVI Res !! TDMS !! Compatibility !! Price
|-
|[http://www.matrox.com/mga/workstation/audio/products/pseries/p650_low_profile.cfm Matrox Millennium P650 Low-Profile]
|P650
|64MB DDR
|2x
|1920x1200
|Unknown
|Unknown
|[http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=321649&affiliate=yahoo $219.95]
|-
|[http://www.pny.com/products/quadro/nvs/280Nvspci.asp PNY Quadro NVS 280 PCI]
|Nvidia Quadro 280
|64MB DDR
|2x (reqs cable)
|Unknown
|Unknown
|Unknown
|[http://www.computerbrain.com/applications/search/itemdetails.asp?sku=VCQ4280NVSPCIBK&sc=frg $157.99]
|-
|[http://www.naplestech.com/pages/xentera_gt2_pci-dvi.htm NTI Xentera GT2]
|ATI Radeon 9000
|64MB DDR
|2x
|Unknown
|Unknown
|Unknown
|[http://www.provantage.com/buy-7colc00h-xentera-2-pci-profile-screen-dvi-video-adapter-colorgraphic-communications-612532-shopping.htm $213.91]
|-
|[http://www.naplestech.com/pages/xentera_gt4_pci-dvi.htm NTI Xentera GT4]
|ATI Radeon 9000 x2
|64MB DDR x2
|4x
|Unknown
|Unknown
|Unknown
|[http://www.axiontech.com/prdt.php?src=FG&item=49218 $448.95]
|}

===Audio Cards===
===Other PCI Cards===

==Ultrabay 2000==
In contrast to the Full Dock I the Full Dock II has a full featured (= hotswap capable) [[UltraBay|UltraBay 2000]] slot.

Note to T4x owners: [[UltraBay|UltraBay 2000]] is an older Ultrabay technology, not compatible with the [[UltraBay|UltraBay Slim]] in the T40/T41/T42/T43 lineup. Many [[UltraBay|UltraBay 2000]] accessories are available on [http://search.ebay.com/ultrabay-2000 Ebay].

The docks IDE interface is a CMD 648, so you should enable the according kernel option (compile it into the kernel if loading as a module doesn't work), if you want to use anything else than a floppy in the docks UltraBay.
Note that the interface will most likely be ide2 and ide3 then, so the docks UltraBay drive will be hde.

==PC Card Slots==
''Todo...''

==DVI pass-through==
LCD monitors are getting larger and higher-resolution. Currently, DVI based on 165MHz TDMS transmitters can only (officially) support 1600x1200x32 at 60Hz, which is the resolution of your average 20" non-widescreen LCD. IBM's driver support for this resolution through DVI ports on docks has been inconsistent. Also in Linux you might experience [[Problem with DVI throughput|problems]] even with this resolution and IBM officially states that the pass-through DVI port only supports resolutios up to 1280x1024. Read [[Problem with DVI throughput|our page]] of information on how to solve these troubles.

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ThinkPad Mini-Dock

2005-03-21T00:00:40Z

217.230.174.160:

ThinkPad Port Replicator II

2005-03-21T00:00:18Z

217.230.174.160:

Docking Solutions

2005-03-20T23:59:37Z

217.230.174.160:

Docks allow users to connect a variety of external peripherals simply by attaching their ThinkPad to the dock. IBM sells three types of docks for current ThinkPads, the [[ThinkPad Port Replicator II]], [[ThinkPad Mini-Dock]], and [[ThinkPad Dock II]]. Additionally, IBM's line of ultralight notebooks, the X-series, have a on-the-go dock called the [[UltraBase X4|UltraBase]]. IBM's docks are known to be some of the most flexible and useful docks available among all notebook manufacturers.
==Availabe Docking Stations and Port Replicators==
* [[SelectaBase]]
* [[SelectaBase 2]] <tt>(TP 600/E/X)</tt>
* [[ThinkPad Port Replicator (I)]] <tt>(A20-A31p, R30-R32, T20-T30, X20-X31)</tt>
* [[ThinkPad Dock (Type 2631)]] <tt>(A20-A31p, R30-R32, T20-T30, X20-X31)</tt>
* [[ThinkPad Port Replicator II]] <tt>(A,G,R,S,T,X series models)</tt>
* [[ThinkPad Mini-Dock]] <tt>(A,G,R,S,T,X series models)</tt>
* [[ThinkPad Dock II]] <tt>(A,G,R,S,T,X series models)</tt>
* [[UltraBase]] <tt>(TP 570)</tt>
* [[UltraBase X2]] <tt>(X20, X21, X22, X23, X24)</tt>
* [[UltraBase X3]] <tt>(X30, X31)</tt>
* [[UltraBase X4]] <tt>(X40)</tt>

==Future Docks==
It is only a matter of time before IBM (or Lenovo) updates the Dock II. With the release of the Intel 915 mobile chipset, it is likely that the Dock III will support PCI Express components. This should be a great boon for Thinkpad owners - greater dock performance and greater expansion possibilities will mean there's even less of a reason to use a desktop PC.

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