The D-Link DUF-E01 is a laptop docking station that streamlines connections to your desktop setup. With triple monitor support, fast file transfer speeds, and plenty of onboard connection ports, it keeps up with your workstation needs.
Once you’ve set up the docking station with monitor and peripheral connections, you only need to plug one cable into your laptop for charging, monitor output, and keyboard and mouse connections.
That makes it easy to move from a portable workflow to a desk-based system. Just one plug and your laptop is charging, displaying on multiple monitors, and your mouse and keyboard are automatically connected.
Overall: 4 / 5
Pros
- Easy connection between your laptop and workstation setup
- Fast data transfer from storage devices
- High number of ports gives great flexibility
Cons
- Included cables are really short
- Three different monitor plugs means multiple cable types
- Triple monitor support has caveats
Price: $599.95 | For people looking to level up their home office
Setup & First Impressions
The D-Link DUF-E01 is easy to set up – just plug in the power, your monitors, and any other peripherals, and it’s ready to go. With a single Thunderbolt 4 cable from your laptop, the dock takes care of data transfer back and forth as well as supplying your laptop with 60-watt fast charging.
There’s not even any driver installs required. On macOS the dock worked immediately, and because it’s Thunderbolt-compliant, there’s no drivers needed on Windows either.
An issue I noticed right away is that the dock provides three different plug types for connecting to monitors. That’s fine if you’ve only got one monitor as there’s a high chance your existing cable works, but if you have more monitors, you’ll need different cable types on hand.
I also noticed that the included Thunderbolt 4 cable is incredibly short at under 50 centimetres. You’ll need to buy an additional Thunderbolt 4 cable if you want flexibility in where you place your laptop in relation to the dock.
The power cable is also quite short, meaning if you have a sit-stand desk you’ll need to consider the power brick placement or risk the whole dock being pulled down when raising the desk.
Design & Aesthetics
Overall the D-Link DUF-E01 dock is reasonably attractive. It’s a white and silver tower made from aluminium and plastic that doesn’t distract from the work at hand.
It doesn’t exactly match my other peripherals, but it doesn’t look too out of place.
The dock is designed to sit on its included magnetic stand that has a rubber foot to prevent it slipping around when you plug devices into it. You can place it horizontally as well, but it’s slippery on its side and there’s no rubber feet included.
Most ports are located on the rear, and this is where you connect your monitors, the laptop cable, power, and any peripherals you’ll use all the time like a keyboard and mouse.
The front of the dock features two more 10-gigabit USB-A ports suitable for external storage, a 10-gigabit USB-C port, high-speed SD card slots and a headphone jack.
Life With The D-Link DUF-E01
I’ve been using the D-Link DUF-E01 as my main dock for three weeks, and for the most part it’s been a great experience.
Positives
The highlight here is the one-cable solution for attaching your laptop to your desktop setup. With just one cable you can connect three 4K monitors or one 8K monitor at a lower frame rate, along with all your peripherals.
That meaningfully speeds up workflows. I have been able to get the bulk of writing done on my laptop, then bring the machine back to my desk and connect for editing without fussing with multiple cables.
File transfer is fast with minimal slowdown. Thanks to high speed USB ports, compatible drives allow you to transfer large files at a quick pace. The SD card slots support UHS-II card read speeds for fast transfer.
With so many ports available, it doesn’t feel like you’re sacrificing any functionality from a regular desktop setup. It’s easy to connect all the devices I typically use, including my monitors, keyboard, mouse, audio interface and camera.
The dock supports fast charging with up to 60 watt output to your laptop, helping to top up your battery when you return to your desk for work.
Negatives
The biggest issue I’ve had with the dock is the short cables as I mentioned earlier. After unboxing the dock, the first thing I did was go to find a Thunderbolt 4 cable that’s actually a reasonable length, because with my desk depth the included one was insufficient.
Because each of the monitor ports is different, I also had to order new monitor cables so that I could connect everything to the dock. D-Link has made this choice to ensure wide compatibility with monitors, but it’s an annoyance if you want to use all three ports.
The dock does not feature DisplayLink certification, limiting compatibility with Apple laptops. If you’re using a MacBook Neo, MacBook Air, any pre-M5 MacBook Pro or the base M5 MacBook Pro, you’ll be limited to two external monitors with the third in mirror mode.
Performance & Reliability
I’ve not noticed any issues when running multiple displays and peripherals. Even under sustained load, the dock stays cool, and since it’s fanless, it’s completely silent in operation.
Transfer speeds were as expected, and during large transfers I didn’t notice any meaningful slowdown. The SD card slots support up to 2-terabyte cards which is more than enough, and the transfer speed is great for pulling photos from your camera cards.
Practical Considerations
One key issue here is the additional cost of buying a longer Thunderbolt 4 cable. I bought a 1-metre cable that added an additional $40, and the extra monitor cables ran another $45. It’s a meaningful increase on a dock that’s already $599.95.
Make sure to check your laptop’s external display compatibility before investing in a laptop dock like this, as the D-Link DUF-E01 itself doesn’t increase the monitor count your laptop supports.
Value & Alternatives
The D-Link DUF-E01 is fairly competitive among Thunderbolt 4 laptop docks. It’s priced right alongside the rest of the market; slightly more expensive than Chinese options like Wavlink and slightly less expensive than the Logitech Logi Dock.
Thanks to its strong mix of features, the D-Link DUF-E01 is fairly good value.
Would I Buy It With My Own Money?
Yes. If I was in the market for a laptop dock, the D-Link DUF-E01 ticks the right boxes. It’s priced according to the market, has good functionality with its ports, and the downsides are fixed by buying a few cables.
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