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Thunderbolt TB16 and Alienware 17r3 15r2 etc
Finally, Dell have released the replacement for their disastrous TB15 thunderbolt dock.
Alienware is clearly not listed in the compatibility matrix for the dock, which is incredibly disappointing as I paid good money for a system (17r3) with thunderbolt functionality, but have never had an approved compatible device to use with it. Dell should have sorted this out years ago.
However, not appearing on the matrix doesn't mean the TB16 doesn't work with Alienware.
Can anybody with access to the new TB16 dock share their experiences and indicate what functionality works with Alienware (specifically the 17r3 or higher)? I would expect most features to work, and be interested to hear what doesn't.
@Dan: I have an Alienware 15 R3 and a TB16 dock that behaves as yours. It refuses to install firmware update and update thunderbolt drivers. I attempted this because the computer recognizes that there is a thunderbolt dock, but the dock behaves like the old TB15 (network and usb dissapears often).
I've got the r3 with 970m so possibly be OK for power draw. TBH I could live with having to use the laptop power, providing the dock functionality is otherwise OK - and stable.
Hoping somebody here has the dock for use with some other Dell product - I know some businesses use these to simplify connections - and can try with an Alienware laptop.
Fingers crossed...
@Dan: I have an Alienware 15 R3 and a TB16 dock that behaves as yours. It refuses to install firmware update and update thunderbolt drivers. I attempted this because the computer recognizes that there is a thunderbolt dock, but the dock behaves like the old TB15 (network and usb dissapears often).
@ E Admin - Just to clarify - Dan I think was referring to the WD15 dock, not the TB15 or TB16.
Are you saying you have an TB16 (the subject of my OP, and it still doesn't work correctly?
@hindesite: You're right. I'm using WD15 as the Port Extension for my Alienware 13 R2 when I’m at home. To be precise, there are the USB-keyboard and mouse, USB wireless headphones and RJ45 LAN. All these working via the dock. I have external monitor connected to the laptop directly, as the dock connection makes distortion on the monitor screen.
It's still better than plugging all wires into computer directly, but the sporadic LAN fallout is a bit annoying. I had expected that the WD15 firmware update would fix my problem. But the original WD15 firmware update has not even start on my Dell Alienware 13 R2.
So, it’s working, but I’m not fully satisfied with it.
@hindesite: You're right. I'm using WD15 as the Port Extension for my Alienware 13 R2 when I’m at home. To be precise, there are the USB-keyboard and mouse, USB wireless headphones and RJ45 LAN. All these working via the dock. I have external monitor connected to the laptop directly, as the dock connection makes distortion on the monitor screen.
It's still better than plugging all wires into computer directly, but the sporadic LAN fallout is a bit annoying. I had expected that the WD15 firmware update would fix my problem. But the original WD15 firmware update has not even start on my Dell Alienware 13 R2.
So, it’s working, but I’m not fully satisfied with it.
These Dell docks (both TD and WD) sound like a disaster; and reports of other 3rd party ones are often no better. So much promise, and such poor results.
Hoping @E Admin will confirm what exact dock he is referring to, 'cos I'm still confused :-)
Eimy_B
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Posted February 10th, 2017 12:00
We haven't gotten any reports and as you said, we can't assure that those docking stations will work properly with Alienware systems due to the high power consumption of these systems. They might work fine but not 100% of the time, depending on the system usage.
Let's see if anyone has already tried it.