Thinkpads Forum

When the Ultrabase is attached to the X230, will the ports on the X230 work in addition to the ports on the Ultrabase?

Thanks.

Here's what I know from an X220. The X230 is probably the same:

USB: Yes, the Ultrabase provides a USB hub, but the ports on the chassis are not affected.
Audio: Yes, with the following priorities (highest to lowest): Chassis combo-port --> Ultrabase Line-out --> Built-in speakers (meaning that plugging something into the ultrabase mutes the speakers, and plugging something into the chassis mutes both the speakers and the ultrabase)
LAN: No (chassis port is disabled when the laptop is docked)
VGA: No (chassis port is disabled when the laptop is docked)
DisplayPort: Yes, although I don't know if both can work at the same time
Power: Remarkably, yes - the Ultrabase does not disable the built-in power jack and does not block it. All previous docking solutions I know of block the power socket on the chassis so that you can not accidentally connect both. I am not sure I want to find out what happens if you connect AC to the laptop and the Ultrabase at the same time.

dr_st wrote:Here's what I know from an X220. The X230 is probably the same:

USB: Yes, the Ultrabase provides a USB hub, but the ports on the chassis are not affected.
Audio: Yes, with the following priorities (highest to lowest): Chassis combo-port --> Ultrabase Line-out --> Built-in speakers (meaning that plugging something into the ultrabase mutes the speakers, and plugging something into the chassis mutes both the speakers and the ultrabase)
LAN: No (chassis port is disabled when the laptop is docked)
VGA: No (chassis port is disabled when the laptop is docked)
DisplayPort: Yes, although I don't know if both can work at the same time
Power: Remarkably, yes - the Ultrabase does not disable the built-in power jack and does not block it. All previous docking solutions I know of block the power socket on the chassis so that you can not accidentally connect both. I am not sure I want to find out what happens if you connect AC to the laptop and the Ultrabase at the same time.

I don't have a mini DP to test, but otherwise I can confirm that this is the same for the X230. I've always wondered about the power thing too...

I have tested plugging in the dock power supply and the laptop power supply at the same time on an X230 with no ill effect. I have also done this with a slice battery.

It seems you can not use the dock's DisplayPort and the builtin Mini-DisplayPort at the same time if they are both using HDMI.

I have an X230 with the Ultrabase 3 dock. I have an external LCD connected via the dock's full-size DisplayPort connector to the LCD using a DP-to-DVI converter cable. Under Linux it shows up as 'HDMI2'. The onboard Mini-DisplayPort connector gets named 'HDMI1' when connected to the same screen using a Mini-DisplayPort-to-HDMI-converter daisy-chained to a HDMI-to-DVI-converter. I can not activate them both at the same time. Using the builtin LCD (named 'LVDS1') is possible with either.

This might be because of all my adaptors or because I am using HDMI in both cases. Maybe if one is using HDMI and the other one DisplayPort it would work. I can test if I get hold of a DisplayPort cable, I have a monitor with that connector at work.

Also note, the VGA signal quality is pretty bad on the X230 compared to my older Thinkpad X41.