Can Surface Dock 2 power two 4K displays at 60FPS?
A worthwhile update
It's been a long time coming, but the Surface Dock has finally been updated. The refreshed Surface Dock 2 brings modern ports, longer cable, and some high-end capabilities the first Surface Dock just couldn't reach.
In terms of external display support, the Microsoft Mechanics video embedded above shows how the Surface Dock 2 is capable of handling either two 4K displays at 60 frames-per-second (FPS), also known as 60Hz, or dual 5K displays at 30FPS (or 30Hz). External displays are handled through the dual USB-C 3.2 ports on the back of the Surface Dock 2.
Compared to the Surface Dock, this is a big step up. The original docking station could handle either one 4K display at 60Hz, or some combination of 4K display at 30Hz coupled with a 2K display at 60Hz (with adjustments possible by lowering resolution or refresh of one display and raising resolution or refresh rate of the other). Now, with the Surface Dock 2, there's no need to worry about anything below dual 4K at 60Hz.
As for other connectivity, the Surface Dock 2 includes two front-facing USB-C 3.2 ports with 15W of charging power each, two rear-facing USB-A 3.2 ports (10Gbps), Ethernet, 3.5mm audio, and a Kensington lock slot.
What's up with charging and compatibility?
The original Surface Dock was capable of delivering up to 90W, which was, in some cases, a problem for power-hungry Surface devices, like the Surface Book 2. The Surface Dock 2, however, boosts available charging power up to 120W. This will make it much better suited to handle the power needs of something like the new Surface Book 3.
In terms of compatibility, the new Surface Dock 2 won't work with all Surface products. Microsoft claims it is compatible with anything released in 2017 or later, which should include:
- Surface Book 2
- Surface Book 3
- Surface Pro (2017)
- Surface Pro 6
- Surface Pro 7
- Surface Pro X
- Surface Go
- Surface Go 2
- Surface Laptop
- Surface Laptop 2
- Surface Laptop 3
- Surface Studio 2
However, dual 4K at 60Hz support will only work with the following, whereas the rest support dual 4K at 30Hz maximum:
- Surface Book 3
- Surface Go 2
- Surface Pro 7
- Surface Pro X
- Surface Laptop 3
Finally, a refresh is here
With modern ports — and support for dual 4K displays at 60Hz — the Surface Dock 2 is finally here to replace the outdated original Surface Dock.
