Diamond DS3900V2 Ultra USB 3.0 Docking Station Review

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As the title suggests, the Diamond DS3900V2 is the second coming of this DisplayLink solution and like the MDS3900 we reviewed a few months back, this solution features the DisplayLink DL3900 platform at its heart.

The DS3900v2 is the second revision to the original solution from Diamond. Comparing this new solution to the original, you won't find much that has been upgraded apart from the physical appearance of the device. Internally, we still have the same chipset, along with the same exact port count, although this time around the USB 3.0 ports that were originally on the front with the old model have now become less accessible and moved to the back of the unit.

With that said, this unit does sport dual USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, along with HDMI, DVI and Gigabit Ethernet. Maximum resolution supported is listed at 2048 x 1152 with HDCP support. MSRP of the Diamond Ultra Dock DS3900v2 is listed at $99.99 with a one-year warranty.

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Packaging for the Diamond Ultra Dock carries an image of the solution on the front left. Features are listed across the bottom, along with the DisplayLink certified logo.

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Over on the back of the packaging, Diamond has printed a diagram of the all the outputs and their connectivity.

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Scope of delivery for the DS3900v2 includes the power adapter, vertical mounting stand, software disc, and USB 3.0 cable.

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The front of the solution carries a clean look with no connectivity ports. When powered on, you do get a dim blue LED in the center.

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Moving to the back of the unit, you will find all connectivity option here. From left to right, we have the USB 3.0 input, followed by outputs for USB 3.0, USB 2.0, HDMI and DVI.

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For testing, we grabbed a baseline USB 3.0 performance from our SanDisk Extreme Pro flash drive. As you can see above, this drive did 267 MB/s read and 248 MB/s write with our native ports.

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Switching over to the DS3900v2, USB 3.0 performance showed no loss at all. Here, we have the same 267 MB/s read while writes were a touch higher at 250 MB/s.

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Network throughput of the DS3900v2, like most docking solutions, was limited. With this solution, we were able to achieve a steady 600Mbps over a 30 minute stress test.

The DS3900v2 from Diamond offers a great amount of connectivity options for those that need a wide range of options. The build quality is decent, though the vertical mounting stand is a bit of an eyesore to me personally. The second option of a horizontal mount works quite well and with the included adhesive allows users to affix it to any smooth surface with ease.

Performance in most cases was rather good. USB 3.0 performance was able to match our native ports with the SanDisk pen drive, while Gigabit Ethernet performance didn't quite reach true gigabit speeds, but posted an admirable effort.

Now with all of the above said, the Diamond does have some drawbacks that you should consider. The first being that even though this is a new revision, nothing has changed internally. We still have the same number of connectivity options, although Diamond did manage to move the previously mounted front USB 3.0 ports to the back of the unit this time around. With all of that said, there are certainly more user friendly options available on the market, and if you are set on buying this solution from Diamond, you may want to go looking for the original MDS3900.

PRICING: You can find the Diamond DS3900V2 Ultra USB 3.0 Docking Station for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing, but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.

United States: The Diamond DS3900V2 Ultra USB 3.0 Docking Station retails for $108.83 at Amazon.

Australia: Find other tech and computer products like this over at PLE Computer's website.

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