USB C hub questions

[NoTxtWhileDrive]

Its pretty common for laptops to have usb c ports that with hubs/dock be split off to HDMI, ethernet, several usb, etc. Can the same be said for usb c ports from a computer's motherboard/usb c pcie expansion? What do I need to look for in pcie expansion cards to have that capability?

 

I'm in a situation where I need to constantly move my pc between my Living room for and my room fairly frequently until I can save up for a dedicated pc in the living room.  I think having a usb c hub ready in my room already setup to my drawing monitor/monitor/keyboard will save me a lot of time fumbling with ports and shit. 

[minibois]

One thing to keep in mind is the sort of USB Type C the docking station requires.

USB Type C is a physical connector, but with many sorts of protocols behind it, such as USB 2.0, USB 3.2 Gen 1 (USB 3.0/5Gb/s), Thunderbolt 3, etc.

A lot of USB Type C docks will require the USB Type C to be a certain speed, but may also require it to have something called 'DP Alt Mode', or "Displayport Alternative Mode", which means it can share video signals over the USB Type C port.

 

This is something already relatively uncommon on many laptops, but on PC it's even more rare.

There are of course motherboards that have this function, but usually those are the more luxurious motherboards, those with Thunderbolt.

 

A USB Type A ('regular USB') docking station has its own (pretty underpowered) graphics chip in it, good for just displaying an image (such as for Office work and stuff), but it's not powerful enough for more intensive workloads (think playing 1080p60fps/4K video, gaming, etc.). 

When using a dock, you of course would want to use the power of your graphics card. A laptop with USB Type C including DP Alt Mode can do this, by transferring the video through that port.

With desktop motherboards, the only way I've seen them do this, is by having a motherboard with Type C Thunderbolt and then it has a "Displayport In" port, to allow the graphics card to sort of transfer its video stream to the motherboard, which then it goes to the Type C port and then your dock.

Example:

ASUS' upcoming Crosshair VIII Extreme motherboard. Note the two USB Type C ports, with the thunderbolt symbol next to it. It also has a "DP IN 1" port, which is the port that allows your to connect your graphics card, so the USB Type C/Thunderbolt ports can actually transfer video signals from it.

 

TL;DR: So it is possible to do, but requires some compatibility between your motherboard and the hub in question.

[NoTxtWhileDrive]

7 hours ago, minibois said:

One thing to keep in mind is the sort of USB Type C the docking station requires.

USB Type C is a physical connector, but with many sorts of protocols behind it, such as USB 2.0, USB 3.2 Gen 1 (USB 3.0/5Gb/s), Thunderbolt 3, etc.

A lot of USB Type C docks will require the USB Type C to be a certain speed, but may also require it to have something called 'DP Alt Mode', or "Displayport Alternative Mode", which means it can share video signals over the USB Type C port.

 

This is something already relatively uncommon on many laptops, but on PC it's even more rare.

There are of course motherboards that have this function, but usually those are the more luxurious motherboards, those with Thunderbolt.

 

A USB Type A ('regular USB') docking station has its own (pretty underpowered) graphics chip in it, good for just displaying an image (such as for Office work and stuff), but it's not powerful enough for more intensive workloads (think playing 1080p60fps/4K video, gaming, etc.). 

When using a dock, you of course would want to use the power of your graphics card. A laptop with USB Type C including DP Alt Mode can do this, by transferring the video through that port.

With desktop motherboards, the only way I've seen them do this, is by having a motherboard with Type C Thunderbolt and then it has a "Displayport In" port, to allow the graphics card to sort of transfer its video stream to the motherboard, which then it goes to the Type C port and then your dock.

Example:

ASUS' upcoming Crosshair VIII Extreme motherboard. Note the two USB Type C ports, with the thunderbolt symbol next to it. It also has a "DP IN 1" port, which is the port that allows your to connect your graphics card, so the USB Type C/Thunderbolt ports can actually transfer video signals from it.

 

TL;DR: So it is possible to do, but requires some compatibility between your motherboard and the hub in question.

Thank you that is very helpful! I've searched for pcie expansion cards using the terminologies you provided and found some promising results! (Amazon Link) I just cant seem to find out that's in stock

 

[minibois]

On 8/1/2021 at 5:08 PM, NoTxtWhileDrive said:

Thank you that is very helpful! I've searched for pcie expansion cards using the terminologies you provided and found some promising results! (Amazon Link) I just cant seem to find out that's in stock

Those sorts of expansion cards are pretty uncommon.

Usually you see them as Thunderbolt cards, which your motherboard would need a specific Thunderbolt header for (which it doesn't have)