I have once again started work on improving my desk setup. In my last attempt, I upgraded from a random small bare-bone table to Ikea Fredde and bought a new Framework laptop that you have to assemble yourself. While I have been ricing the Linux on the laptop, the desk has been ignored.
Considering I now have two laptops and just a single monitor, I have decided to upgrade to a Dual Monitor + Dual Laptop setup. The vision đź” is to connect the two monitors to a single laptop with its lid down and seamlessly swap between two laptops. One laptop is for work and the other for personal use.
To achieve this, I bought:
- 🖥️ Dell P2723D 27-inch QHD Monitor
- This matches my existing 27-inch Dell Monitor. I wanted to buy the exact existing model but it’s too outdated.
- ⚡Dell WD19TBS Thunderbolt Docking Station 180W Power Supply
- I need a docking station to connect all my peripherals. That way, I can swap everything between laptops by just swapping the docking station.
- With a 180W power supply, it can easily charge my bulky work laptop.
I wish I could say the journey with Docking Station has been smooth, but unfortunately, I use x-session so I have to configure everything manually. With two monitors and a docking station, I now have new problems like:
- The system doesn’t know how to order the new displays. Which one is on the left and which is on the right? (Fixed using autorandr)
- What should the system do when the lid is down while connected to two monitors? (Fixed using autorandr)
- My work laptop doesn’t authorize Thunderbolt docking stations by default.
- How do I update the firmware of the Docking Station?
- With two monitors, I don’t have space for my desk lamp. I need a lightbar now.
- When I close the lid on my laptop, it suddenly makes the chrome font size small on the monitors. Weird right? (Fixed by creating custom lid open/close event).
All of the above problems have been solved. I just had to spend a lot of time. Each fix, however, led to more new problems. Feels like an eternal cycle. Well, at least I have more topics to write about now 🤷♂️.