Thinkpad: Dock versus Port Replicator II?

[thinkpadhk]

Hello all.

Just got a new T42 and was thinking about getting either the Dock or the Port Replicator II. What are the differences between the two?

The Port Replicator II is a lot cheaper than the Dock and seems to do exactly the same thing.

Also, how does the T42 connect with the Port Relicator and the Dock? Does it go through the parallel port? I don't want to wear out the parallel port (or whatever else it connects through) by continually plugging in and out.

Thanks for your help.

[Kenn]

From what I can tell, the big differences between the port-rep and the mini-dock are that

1) Mini dock comes with its own (larger) power supply included.
You use your current tp power supply to pass through to the port-rep.

2) The minidock comes with a 4-port USB 2.0 hub. The port-rep only has a single USB 2.0 passthrough, though I assume you could get an external hub to chain off that.

Both link up to the tp through the big connector on the bottom of the notebook, not the parallel port.

Ebay often has both for much lower prices that getting them new - I got my port-rep for $45.

[wanna_IBM]

I was lucky to find a mini dock on ebay for 55.00 ! Love it, but the power supply is huge. Only uses one button to turn on and off which is nice.

[Franasia]

The Mini Dock comes with it's own proprietary AC adapter. Has four USB ports.

The Dock II is the fully losded one. The power supply is built-in so only the power cord comes out of it for a less cluttered setup. The other two features that sets it apart from the Mini Dock and the Port Replicator is that it has it's own drive bay plus a PC Card slot.

Hope it helps.

[thinkpadhk]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I think I got all the answers I need. I will go for the port replicator.