Sick of laptop docks and spaghetti cables, I moved my entire daily workflow to a Windows 11 PC no bigger than a bagel

[Windows Central]

A quiet Geekom mini PC proves a far cleaner solution for my busy desk than a docked laptop with a mess of trailing wires and adapters.

Sick of laptop docks and spaghetti cables, I moved my entire daily workflow to a Windows 11 PC no bigger than a bagel : Read more

 

[Brian Grier]

While I understand your pain in jostling cables, you might want to consider using video switch(es) and USB switches to share your monitor(s) and peripherals with multiple PCs

I have 4 PCs (Orange Pi, Mac Mini (m1), thunderbolt docking station (for my work and personal laptops,) and my gaming PC. These all share two monitors (wqhd and fullhd) a single keyboard, mouse, a webcam along with my development android devices and cameras.

The only cable I ever have to move is the thunderbolt cable between laptops. Then I just press the button on the USB switch to select the computer I want to use. The video switches automatically select the correct input, if I only have one device on (otherwise I have to use a remote to change the video source).

 

[systemBuilder2]

1. $999 for an old CPU (8945hs) is a pretty steep price, please shop around.
2. The 6800h is a RDNA2 6800m iGPU (12cu's) so only esports are playable.
3. I use a $12 asus candybar adapter (aliexpress) so my laptop needs only 1 single USB plug-in.
4. I use a KCEVE 4-way KVM so that my desktop, my laptop, and my Raspberry Pi can all share the same 4K TV screen, keyboard, mouse, and camera, all going in via 1 USB and 1 HDMI port. This is a 4K@60Hz KVM and switching between inputs happens instantly (less than 1 second).
5. MiniPCs are cool, but I'd wait ~2 months until the new Ryzen5 Strix Halo ones come out with 4070 iGPU performance !!

 

[BaritoneGuy]

What about a monitor with a built in dock? I have a 34” ultrawide with a bunch of ports.

One USB C cable to my laptop is all that is needed. I get Ethernet, charging, USB and it is less cables than this solution would need. For this PC you need a power brick, monitor cable, Ethernet, and USB upstream for the ports on the monitor to work.

I have power and Ethernet into the monitor which has good cable management.