Question 1

what are the dimensions of the docking station?

Accepted Answer

6.4 x 13.6 x 2.2 inches ; 3.7 pounds

Question 2

Is the 90W AC adapter included? I just don't want to buy another power adapter for a dock.

Accepted Answer

Yes, this includes the 90W AC adapter, the 40A10170US is the exact same dock except with a 170W AC adapter (which you would probably only need if you have a W-series Thinkpad).

Question 3

does this owrk with vga?

Accepted Answer

I am using 2 extra monitors with my Lenovo laptop with this docking station. One is using USB & the other is an older DELL 19 inch VGA monitor.  They both work perfectly.  You must spend some time setting them up etc. But once they are no problems

Question 4

Is this docking station compatible with other laptops?

Accepted Answer

No, this only works with Lenovo Thinkpad line. Please check lenovo website for more info.

Question 5

how does the laptop connect to the docking station?

Accepted Answer

There are mounting holes on the bottom of the laptop that align with the mounting studs on the Dock.  The actual electronic connection to to the laptop from the Dock is achieved via the connector on the dock between the mounting studs.  The corresponding connection on the bottom of the laptop is covered bit it opens automatically by pressing the computer onto the dock.  DO NOT BE VERY AGGRESSIVE WHEN PRESSING THE LAPTOP ONTO THE DOCK.  But, you must hear and feel the mechanical click when they connect.

On the left side of the dock are two buttons - one for system power and one to release the laptop from the dock.  The release button is lockable with the supplied key.  There is also a Kensington lock port on the Dock so unless you're obsessive about physically securing your laptop, I would leave the release button unlocked and put the keys away somewhere since you would also require a Kensington lock to fully secure your system.

Question 6

will this allow me to close the laptop and support two monitors?

Accepted Answer

It works fine with the laptop lid closed - just be sure that you set your Power preferences to do nothing when the lid is closed and the laptop is on AC power.

As far as two monitors, when I need a second active monitor (which isn't terribly often) I simply open my laptop.  There are 2 video ports - 1 standard VGA and 1 DVI.  I don't know if they can both be active at the same time.

Question 7

How does the dock connect to the ThinkPad? Is it through a PCI slot or through a USB connection?

Accepted Answer

Neither. There is a special slot on the bottom of the laptop that fits into the docking station.  In the pictures, you can see it in the middle of the docking station.  There are no wires or other things required - the docking station just allows you to permanently attach USB devices, monitors, network cable, etc. directly to the docking station and the laptop picks them up when it is placed into the docking station.  This is the way to go if you go portable often - keeps you from having to connect/disconnect your wiring anytime you want to take the laptop somewhere.  I would highly recommend it and love mine.

Question 8

I don't know anything about these things....so can I connect 2 monitors to it to use at the same time?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can connect one external monitor using a VGA cable and another external monitor using a DVI cable.  You can even use the laptop's monitor as well as the 2 external monitors.  Of course this depends on your computers capabilities too.  No issues with a T440p or T440s.

Question 9

Will a T430 work on this?

Accepted Answer

No. This new series of docks (Pro Dock and Ultra Dock) only work with the newer series of Thinkpads T440, T440p, 20AQ, T540p, X240, etc.

The docks that will work with the T430 are these Docks: 433715U, 433815U, 433835U.

Question 10

does this work with T450S?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it does for integrated graphics models only (Discrete graphics models not compatible):
Google "LENOVO OPTIONS COMPATIBILITY MATRIX (FOR ACCESSORIES)"

Questions & Answers