HP FQ834UT USB 2.0 Docking Station

**TechyGuy** · 06-07-2009

Docking stations have been present as long as the laptop computers they belong to. A major disadvantage thus far is that each docking station is often only suitable for a minority of machines, and both components must be like to be from the same manufacturer for that thing to work.

Niche company DisplayLink came on the scene in 2003, and soon they had developed a software-and component-based technology that allows transmission of image signals through simpler standards such as USB. It is this technology that Hewlett-Packard now leverage in their latest docking station.

HP USB Docking Station is a self explanatory name. This is a docking station that connects via a USB port on your computer, ie not via a contact on the bottom. Via a single cable, you get transferred both networks, audio, digital and analog image signal. The device also has an integrated flash memory that contains everything you need drivers. Docking station sounds like an exciting and not at least use product, but can you really get as much performance out of a USB connector? Let's find out!

The HP USB 2.0 Docking Station uses universal USB technology to pass through critical signals such as video, audio, LAN and peripheral connectivity (keyboard, mouse, printer). No need for a CD, this docking station has flash memory that stores installation-ready software drivers. This device supports one display output at a time (DVI or VGA).

**TechyGuy** · 06-07-2009

The first theoretical problem we saw with this device, is bandwidth. There is only one cable, USB, which goes out from our laptop. This cable will transfer the image, network and USB as well. Image signals alone chew up much more quickly than the 480 MB/s USB 2.0-standard is clear. How HP has solved this problem, we do not know, but our tests will show whether this is a problem in practice.

When we tested the device, we have chosen to compare how different missions tackled by our test machine, to see if the quality level is maintained or declines when we use the docking station.

On our test machine we put in the time the second movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Image signals were transmitted from the docking station via a VGA cable to the screen that gave a resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels. There we see the whole turn of Gondor to Legoland. Compared with when we saw the movie directly on your computer, or with a monitor connected directly to your computer, it is clear that the docking station makes one or other of the picture that the head is not good. Pixels are large and sharp color separates disappears. To the usual office, such as working in Word, Excel, Internet and in simple imaging we are experiencing no problems with the resolution, in addition to the latest version of MSN messenger graph which is characterized by fat pixels.

Docking station also acts as a USB Hub that gives you four extra connections. We wanted to see if there was a significant performance difference between connecting an external hard drive directly to your computer, or via the docking station. The first problem we faced was that the docking station does not deliver power of connections. 2.0-standard says that it shall be 500 mW available, which works fine directly on the computer, but not via the docking station. The hard disk can not give the power, and it can not ignite the plates. This strikes us with wonder, because the docking station has a separate AC power which should ensure that there was power presence.

We also chose to run a stress test to see how much transfer rate via USB is affected by being run through the docking station. We moved a folder filled with almost 500 files for a total of 1 GB back and forth to a memory stick. At the same time we also ran the video test, while we set google.com to load each 5. seconds. As we see the graphs, there is a noticeable performance difference. Transfer from computer to memory stick is 16% slower via the docking station, and 18 percent by transferring back.

All outputs for signals located on the units back, along with the power connection. The latter will not drive your computer, but it should keep itself, docking station, alive. For some reason HP has placed the connection to the computer on the front, which destroys much of the clear area you could reach on your desk.

For normal office we are very pleased with the device. It is only a USB cable to connect to, and the computer AC power. What you need of the drivers are stored on the docking station, then another click on a new machine that makes everything should work fine.

Suffice it to plug the device straight in, so everything is up and running. When you have your computer in other places, you just bite the plug and everything returns to how it was before you linked to.

The only drawback we see is that it is quite difficult to have set up an external monitor properly. To the office, it is normal that it is the external screen that is used as the primary display, while the laptop computer screen is depreciated. This works just fine, but to get to this setup requires that you must go much back and forth in their Windows settings until everything is correct.

**TechyGuy** · 06-07-2009

HP FQ834UT USB 2.0 Docking Station Specifications

Dimensions (H x W x D): 1.1 x 8.66 x 3.2 in (28 x 220 x 81 mm)
Weight: 11.32 oz (321g)
USB:
- Upstream connector: Type B
- Peripherals: USB 2.0
- Capacity of each port: 0.5A max
- Cable length: 3.28 ft (1 m)
Video: Only one external display supported, either VGA or DVI UXGA(1600 x 1200),WSXGA+(1680 x 1050) resolutions supported DVI 1.0 compliant
Network:
- IEEE802.3: 10Base-T, 100Base-TX compatible
- Wake-on-LAN (WOL) not supported
Audio:
- Stereo headphone jack (green)
- Stereo microphone jack (red)
Power requirements:
- DC input: 5 V
- Rated current: 4A
Temperature:
- Operating: 41° to 95° F (5° to 35° C)
- Non-operating: 41° to 104° F (5° to 40° C)
Relative humidity:
- Operating: 8% to 80%, non-condensing
- Non-operating: 8% to 80%, non-condensing
Agency approvals: CB, CE, FCC, UL/cUL, ICES, C-tick, BSMI, VCCI Class-B, GOST-R, SABS, UkrSEPRO, RoHS
Operating system compatibility: Windows XP (SP1 and 2), Windows Vista (32- and 64-bit)
Option kit contents: HP USB 2.0 Docking Station, AC power adapter, USB cable, documentation

**TechyGuy** · 06-07-2009

Conclusion

HP FQ834UT USB 2.0 Docking Station is definitely an interesting substitute to the conventional docking solutions. We like device that fits all of the notebook computer with a USB 2.0-connection, which means that you can use the same office desk to the various laptops. For clerk and larger businesses the product can be entirely spontaneous. We foresee the use of such a device can be ingenious in meeting rooms, where projectors, external keyboards, pointers, and the like are connected to the docking station, so any computer connected to this again.

Should you see the film through this device, you must prepare yourself for a legoland-world. Pixels blown up considerably and sharp color transitions disappears totally. We also discovered that it is not the recommended power supply for USB connections, which resulted in that our external hard drive is not got started right up.

For normal use, we would rather go for a traditional solution, but in some situations, this serves as external solution like a good alternative.

With the new USB standards on the way with a significantly greater bandwidth, we predict that we are going to see more such devices in the future. USB 2.0-standard is just not good as it is now, but with 3.0 on the path to quality levels increase significantly.

Pros