Keep in mind there’s Dell WD19, and WD19S. The WD19S is short for shortage. Apparently, Dell had supply chain issues, and made the same dock without 3.5mm audio jacks on the front and on the back (the entre audio IC),. Funnily enought, since it’s a “newer” model, it costs more on a second-hand market. The benefit is that market research may have shown nobody’s using 3,5 mm audio jack, and you don’t need a driver on Windows.
Total list of docks offered at the same time:
- WD19 130W – Dell Dock – 90W PD
- WD19S 130W – Dell Dock – 90W PD
- WD19S 180W – Dell Dock – 130W PD
- WD19TBS – Dell Thunderbolt Dock (130W PD
- WD19DCS – Dell Performance Dock (210W PD with dual USB)
I bought the Dell Dock WD19 for under $60 (1,200 CZK including VAT) with the 130W power adapter, including shipping. That’s a bargain. The dock is used in companies, and gets discarted after only several years of use when replacing laptops.
A little while after ordering, I’ve found out this docking station – and many newer Dell docking stations – has a fan. I just can’t comprehend how could someone conceive a docking station with a fan. You have two giant bricsk – one is power brick, the other is the dock. They are separate (Dell sells the same dock with a different power brick and a slightly different, but same, name, so it’s easier for them.
The hilarious part is that the fan is not needed, but actually is due to a boched design. There’s a metalic plate on the bottom that’s supposed to cool the chips, but a) the chips are not touching the plate, and b) the metalic plate is covered by a thick rubber mat to prevent heat dissipation.
The fan is quite noticeable. With a Dell laptop powered on, it would not be an issu. But a Mac computer with Apple silicon is silent, without the coill whine and other obnoxious sounds common for many PCs.
I had my previous dock due to its DisplayLink support, which was necessary to connect external screen to the original M1 MacBook Air.
| Apple USB-C Host | External Displays | Port Functionality |
| MacBook Pro, MacBook Air w/ Thunderbolt 3 or 4 ports (USB-C) | Up to Dual 4K@60Hz* Up to Single 5K@60Hz | Thunderbolt, USB and Ethernet |
| MacBook w/ USB-C port | Up to Single 4K@60 Hz** | USB and Ethernet |
| iPad Pro w/ USB-C port | Up to Single 5K@60 Hz** | USB and Ethernet*** |
Sources:
https://cdn.competec.ch/documents2/4/1/5/194304514/194304514.pdf
https://old.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/lpras7/wd19s_wd19tbs_vs_wd19_wd19tb/
Notes on firmware: The WD19TBS dock with v1.0.14.1 update (which includes NVM43 firmware) and the WD22TB4 dock with 00.00.07.01 update (which includes NVM36 firmware) and the SD25TB4. The known functionality provided by the dock when connected to an Apple USB-C host is outlined below.
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