Is it good to have the UD-3900PDZ continously connected and charging a HP Sprectre laptop? I also use this dock to connect direct to a cable Net connection, ie not use WiFi. It seems that it would be better to charge the laptop, then drop the charging and let the laptop battery cycle down rather than hooked to a continous charge, but to drop the “C” conection with the charging circuit means the wired Net connection would be out too. Some advice please.
Hi,
Thanks for contacting us, I am happy to help!
Lithium-Ion batteries, used in all modern laptops, do not need to be routinely discharged to maintain the battery’s maximum charge or longevity. In fact the batteries rated life is based on the number of discharge/charge cycles and using the computer on battery when not necessary actually reduced the life span of the battery. Periodic discharging and recharging or “training” the battery is a legacy recommendation from NiCad batteries which are no longer used in laptop computers or most modern electronics.
Laptops have built-in battery charging controllers to protect the battery from excessive over charging. Modern laptops can be used connected to either the docking station or original power supply without damaging the battery.
The UD-3900PDZ USB-C Triple HDMI Docking Station powers the computer using the USB-C Power Delivery specifications, this is a negotiated connection to the computer where the computer can set the voltage and draws only as much power as required by the laptop.
We also sell a variety of USB 3.0 docking stations that do not power the computer, if you would like to discharge the laptop while using one of these docking stations simply connect the dock without the computer’s power supply. This may result in reduced graphics performance on the externally connected displays if the computer is set to a power saving mode when on battery power.
For example our USB 3.0 Dual Display Horizontal Docking Station ( https://plugable.com/products/ud-3900h ) includes both USB 3 Standard-A and USB-C connections for the computer but does not power the computer which would allow discharging the battery while in use. This docking station is very similar to the UD-3900PDZ in form factor and has many of the same ports and connectivity, except it only supports two external displays ( both with DisplayLink USB Graphics Technology ), and some of the
Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to help or if you have any additional questions, and have a great day.
Pat
Plugable Technologies
support@plugable.com
Hello,
We’re closing this thread due to inactivity, but if you have any further questions please feel free to contact support@plugable.com and we’ll be happy to help.
Thanks,
Pat
Plugable Technologies
support@plugable.com