Docking station MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015) & ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 5 (14" Intel)

[kamash]

Hello lads,

 

I currently have my personal laptop ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 5 (14" Intel) and will soon receive MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015) from work (yes, it's a startup and we're on budget ). I'm moving to a new house and I'm going to build a new setup/working station that is good for both my personal laptop as well as the MacBook. To do so, I need to figure out how I can easily switch between both using a docking station where I don't need to switch more than one cable (ideally have both connected). However, I'm not sure if there's such a docking station that support both systems. Can you please recommend how I can achieve this? and If it's not possible, what's the maximum I can achieve? 

 

My setup will consist:

• GIGABYTE G34WQC A 34" 144Hz Ultra-Wide Curved Gaming Monitor, 3440 x 1440 VA 1500R Display, 1ms (MPRT) Response Time, 90% DCI-P3, VESA Display HDR400, FreeSync Premium, Black (G34WQC A-SA)Portable Monitor 15.6,
• UPERFECT 2022 Portable Computer Monitor, FHD 1080P HDR Frameless Ultra-Slim Lightweight Gaming Screen with Foldable Kickstand, VESA, Mini HDMI 2 USB C for Switch Laptop PS4 XboxLogitech MX Keys Advanced Illuminated Wireless Keyboard for Mac - Bluetooth/USB
• Logitech MX Master 3S - Wireless Performance Mouse with Ultra-fast Scrolling, Ergo, 8K DPI, Track on Glass, Quiet Clicks, USB-C, Bluetooth, Windows, Linux, Chrome - Graphite
• Edifier R1280DB Powered Bluetooth Bookshelf Speakers - Optical Input - Wireless Studio Monitors - 4 Inch Near Field Speaker - 42w RMS - Wood Grain

 

Appreciate your help!

[killswitch6000]

hey. ok. so connect one of the laptops to the USB dongle and the other to bluetooth on the mouse and use the easy switch button to switch btw the two inputs.

 

as for the speaker, just make sure that the speaker is connected to the analog input on the back of the monitor and set the audio output of both the laptops to HDMI connection or in some cases, the name of the monitor will appear instead of HDMI connection.   

 

As for the keyboard, connect one of the laptops to the USB dongle and the other via bluetooth. there is a key on the keyboard (F15 key) that u can use to switch between the two inputs, similar to the mouse.

 

so u should not need to change any wires theoretically. just connect it as explained above

 

[kamash]

3 minutes ago, killswitch6000 said:

hey. ok. so connect one of the laptops to the USB dongle and the other to bluetooth on the mouse and use the easy switch button to switch btw the two inputs.

 

as for the speaker, just make sure that the speaker is connected to the analog input on the back of the monitor and set the audio output of both the laptops to HDMI connection or in some cases, the name of the monitor will appear instead of HDMI connection.   

 

As for the keyboard, connect one of the laptops to the USB dongle and the other via bluetooth. there is a key on the keyboard (F15 key) that u can use to switch between the two inputs, similar to the mouse.

 

so u should not need to change any wires theoretically. just connect it as explained above

 

Hey man! Thank you for the response, really appreciate it. This sounds great in fact. How about the other small monitor? how do you recommend I connect it?

[killswitch6000]

13 minutes ago, kamash said:

Hey man! Thank you for the response, really appreciate it. This sounds great in fact. How about the other small monitor? how do you recommend I connect it?

i assume u r not gonna use this monitor when u dock the laptops ?? then, connect the lenovo laptop via type c to the monitor and use HDMI from the macbook. since u r using speakers, i dont think u will be carrying them around to connect them to the monitor. If u do, u can use the same setup above

 

[kamash]

9 minutes ago, killswitch6000 said:

i assume u r not gonna use this monitor when u dock the laptops ?? then, connect the lenovo laptop via type c to the monitor and use HDMI from the macbook. since u r using speakers, i dont think u will be carrying them around to connect them to the monitor. If u do, u can use the same setup above

 

I'm planning to use the UPERFECT monitor as a second monitor when on the station. Do you believe there's any kind of docking station that supports both laptops? even via adapters? 

 

I just came across this, what do you think?  use a TB3 docking station and connect it to the 2017 MBP with the TB3 cable it comes with. Use the TB2-TB3 adapter and a TB2 cable to connect it to the 2015 MBP (the adapter from Apple can be used to connect TB3 devices to TB2 computers as well as the other way around). The difference will be that the 2015 requires the power adapter it comes with whereas the 2017 can get its power from the docking station.

[killswitch6000]

2 minutes ago, kamash said:

I'm planning to use the UPERFECT monitor as a second monitor when on the station. Do you believe there's any kind of docking station that supports both laptops? even via adapters

not that i know of. but here is what u could do. u could get an ultrawide monitor that supports split screen or picture by picture mode. then u wouldnt need this at all and u could work on both laptops. here is an example

https://www.amazon.com/LG-34WP65C-B-34-Inch-Borderless-Adjustable/dp/B093TB6HZH/ref=sr_1_7?crid=33CL5H2HM4H2&keywords=1440p%2Bultrawide%2Bmonitor%2Bwith%2Bpicture%2Bby%2Bpicture%2Bmode&qid=1657118539&sprefix=1440p%2Bultrawide%2Bmonitor%2Bwith%2Bpicture%2Bby%2Bpicture%2Bmo%2Caps%2C334&sr=8-7&th=1

and here is a cheaper one

https://www.amazon.com/346E2CUAE-Frameless-UltraWide-Adjustable-Replacement/dp/B08KFSMGJ8/ref=sr_1_9?crid=33CL5H2HM4H2&keywords=1440p+ultrawide+monitor+with+picture+by+picture+mode&qid=1657118539&sprefix=1440p+ultrawide+monitor+with+picture+by+picture+mo%2Caps%2C334&sr=8-9