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Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. Laptops haven't completely replaced the desktop PC yet, but they're getting close. Especially since most spend more time actually on desks instead of laps. This usually means that laptops live in a nest of cabling to connect to displays and other peripherals. The tool to solve this is a dock. And if you get a good dock, you can let that become the hub of your command center. Also: The best laptop docking stations you can buy This is exactly what the Baseus Nomos NU1 Air Spacemate 12-in-1 docking station does, packing a lot of power into its small footprint. Compatible with both PCs and Macs, this palm-sized dock measures 6.54 x 4.37 x 3.74 inches and features two HDMI ports, two DisplayPort ports, two USB-C (10Gbps) ports, two USB-A (5Gbps) ports, a pair of USB-A 2.0, a 100W PD input port, and a Gigabit Ethernet port. Note that the dock doesn't come with a USB-C charger, but the input USB-C cable is permanently attached. It works best with a 100W charger, which can be the same one you use for your laptop, or you can pick up a spare for under $25. This is enough ports to allow you to connect your MacBook to twin 4K displays at 60Hz, along with a mass of peripherals. And the high performance ports mean that it's ideal for video editing, 3D rendering, and other heavy-duty workloads. This dock is also built specifically to prolong battery life and speed up charging for laptops by using dynamic power allocation. While most cheap hubs for laptops that assign the maximum power for all ports (even ports that aren't unused), this dock reallocates that unused power back to the laptop. Also: Finally, an international travel charger capable of powering my MacBook (and has a useful bonus) This is definitely a professional-grade docking station. And there's more. On the top of the dock is a glowing button that with a tap will lock the screen on the connected Mac, and with a two second press will switch the dock into low-power mode that prioritizes power delivery charging. While I've been talking about Macs here, the dock also works with Windows, Linux, and ChromeOS. So you're covered no matter what operating system you're using. Also: This battery analyzer I discovered is a power users' dream - how it stands out One test I think separates the wheat from the chaff is attaching as many peripherals as you can to the dock and pushing as much data as possible through it to see if it falls over. You'll notice that poorer-quality docks will start to throttle data throughput, or the display it's connected to becomes flaky. I tried to make this dock fail, but in all my tests it remained rock solid. Just what I'd expect from a pro-grade dock. ZDNET's buying advice Hubs and docks are a fact of life, and there are a multitude of options out there. While some are designed for portability and connecting your laptop to a few devices, others are aimed at transforming your laptop into a full-on workstation. The Baseus Nomos NU1 Air Spacemate 12-in-1 docking station (that name is a handful) falls into the latter category, and is just what you need if you want to connect a couple of displays and a whole bunch of peripherals to your system. The NU1 is not cheap. It has a list price of $200 (I said this was a professional bit of kit), but currently you can get $40 off, which sweetens the deal and brings this down to a more mainstream price point. If your needs are more modest, you can get away with a much more reasonably priced docking station, but if you want a dock that can perform under pressure, you have to pay the big bucks.
