Thank you. The information of how the different docks work is very helpful. Using that I've been able to achieve what I want:

I have all 4 monitors working (laptop display + 3 external monitors) and only the USB-C cord plugged into my laptop. The way I achieved this was to use my old DisplayLink dock (the D3100) to plug into the back of the new dock (TB16) and plug in the fourth monitor there. I have also switched out the VGA cord for DVI as I was also noticing the display issues.

While I still have both docks, I now have all 4 monitors working and the only thing plugged into my laptop is a USB-C cord. No power, no monitor cables, etc! Thanks!

Glad I could help!  Since you'll still be using the D3100, I would recommend connecting your least important or least "active" display to the D3100 for reasons I'll detail below.  If you use all of your displays for roughly the same content, then connect your lowest resolution display via the D3100.

First, DisplayLink's compression is not lossless, which means that you can end up seeing compression artifacts (blocky areas) and slow or inconsistent motion under certain conditions.  That's most likely when lots of the display area is changing at the same time, such as when watching full screen video or gaming, because there's more work to do in that scenario.  It can also occur when there's a shortage of resources, such as when your CPU and GPU are already heavily utilized with other tasks, and/or when your USB bus is already busy carrying other traffic, such as transferring large files to a hard drive.  And even when that isn't happening, DisplayLink itself consumes CPU and GPU resources for the compression, which is why I said that if all else is equal, connect your lowest resolution display this way to minimize the performance penalty.  Lastly, an additional drawback in your case is that in systems like yours that have both an Intel GPU and a discrete GPU, only the system's primary GPU can be used with DisplayLink GPUs.  The Intel GPU is always primary when it exists and is active (which is always in your system), so that in turn means that the NVIDIA GPU cannot be used to accelerate any content on displays attached via DisplayLink.

Of course given that you've been using the D3100 for a while already, you may not have encountered any of these problems in your use case.  DisplayLink is completely fine for displays that are used for basic productivity scenarios.  But if you've previously noticed any of the behavior I just described, now you know what you can do to potentially mitigate it.  And fyi if all you need now from the D3100 is an extra video output, there are basic USB to HDMI adapters on the market that use DisplayLink or an equivalent technology that would be much smaller than the D3100 and don't require external power.  Of course that would involve buying something else, but just fyi in case you ever want to reduce clutter.

Finally, did you make sure to get the TB16 with a 240W adapter?  Given that you have a Precision 5510, that will be required to charge your system properly.  The TB16 is also available with a 180W adapter, and that will not work properly for you.

Excellent information. Helped me connect up a new Precision 5530, a TB16, a D3000 and three external monitors for one of my users.

Can you provide some help?  I have a Dell 5530, TB16 and 2 dell monitors (1920x1200 max) connected to the TB16 via hdmi and displayport-to-hdmi cables. 

The computer will never detect another monitor.  I can have it display on either external monitor, but never both simultaneously.  As soon as I unplug 1, the other starts working, so theres no hardware issue.  But trying to "detect" other displays constantly says that none are detected.

@jbhenley  if each display works without any cabling changes when it's the only attached display, then my only suggestions would be to make sure you're running the latest versions of the following, or update them in this order if not:

- System BIOS/firmware
- Thunderbolt software/drivers
- System Thunderbolt 3 controller firmware
- TB16 firmware
- Intel Graphics drivers

If you're current on all of those and this still isn't working, my guess is that it's a hardware issue with your TB16 unit.

I am currently having the same problem keeping my laptop display on with 3 external monitors. My laptop is a Dell Precision 5510 using the Dell K16A Docking Station.

Here is my current setup:

For background info, I’m using the Display Port, Mini Display Port, and the HDMI ports on the side of the docking station to connect the 3 external monitors.

The three external monitors I am using are:

1. Dell S3219D 32” monitor set at 2560 x 1440 resolution
2. Two (2) AOC e2775SJ 27” monitors set at 1920 x 1080 resolution

The cables connecting the monitors are straight connectors without any adapters at either the monitor or docking station ends.

Thanks,

Bryan

Were you able to get this setup to work? 

I have a similar setup and can't get 3 monitors to work with the TB16.

I have two HDMI which work without issue but when I plug in the displayport to the 3rd monitor, it hijacks the signal and becomes the "2nd" monitor.  The HDMI signals then cut out.

If I unplug the displayport plug from the TB16 dock, the signals are resent to the two HDMI monitors and that works flawlessly.  

I can't get all 3 to work even though the laptop monitor is off.

@Chet_M  What laptop model? What OS? What resolution of the displays? When asking for technical assistance, it’s a good idea to provide basic technical details so that the people willing to help here have something to work with.

Sorry - my error.

It's a Dell XPS 15 9560.  TB16 thunderbolt dock with 3 monitors attached.  Two are at 3840 x 2160 (attached with the mini DP connector and the other with the HDMI connector).  These two are TV's bought at Costco but used as computer monitors. When these two are plugged in together, everything works fine.  The video option is set to Extended Desktop and I can see everything on both monitors (laptop screen set to off but if on, it also works fine --- so 3 displays no problem).

The 3rd screen is a computer monitor (smaller) which only has two input plugs. One is a standard VGA port and the other is a DVI port.  I tried the VGA port first but didn't like the resolution so bought a displayport to DVI adapter and have the DVI plug from this monitor going to the dock via the DP port.  That seems to be the issue.

If the two TV's AND the monitor are plugged in at the same time, the video source ONLY goes to the monitor.  TV's are blank with no signal.  The display settings do not show the two tv's either and only the monitor is listed under "multiple monitor" settings. 

The moment I disconnect the display port plug from the dock, the screens flicker and the source goes to the two tv's and I have the extended display again.  

I'm trying to get all 3 to work at the same time.  And, please note that the whole time, the laptop screen is set to "NONE" under 3rd monitor.

Hope that helps and I appreciate your help in trying to get this to work for me.

Chet