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February 25th, 2026 00:51
15 DC15255, Precision 5550, docking solution for multi-laptop swapping?
I have a Precision 5550 notebook as my work laptop running on a TB16 dock with a curved monitor connected via DP. I recently purchased the Dell 15 DC15255 laptop to use as a personal computer. Ideally I want to be able to easily swap between the two without having to reconnect my 3 peripherals (monitor/mouse/kb).
I just learned (a little too late) that this new laptop doesn't support Thunderbolt docking - so my question is - would there be some way for me to plug in a second dock to the TB16 that I then connect to the Dell 15 DC15255? Any creative solutions here that may work? I also have the hockey puck dock I'm going to try (if I can find it...).



DELL-Daniel V
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February 25th, 2026 22:09
Unfortunately, you're going to be pretty limited with the DC15255s lack of thunderbolt. With the TB16, you're only going to be able to pass the mouse and keyboard as the USB C port on the DC15255 is only USB 3.2 Gen 1, meaning it does not support video output. So if your curved monitor supports HDMI, then you'll need to use that to connect to the Dell 15. This is a more cumbersome process requiring you to constantly unplug the dock from the 2 laptops.
What you may really want to look into is actually a KVM switch. The 5550 should have Thunderbolt 3 USB C ports. I'd check out this switch here. Assuming the curved monitor has an HDMI port, then this should work out for you. Using a USB C to USB C cable (make sure its at least rated for TB3), you'll be able to connect the 5550 to the PC 1 C port. You'll then connect the HDMI cable from the Dell 15 to the HDMI on the PC 2 port. The HDMI on the back of the switch will then connect to your curved monitor and you'll be able to switch between the 2 systems at a push of a button. If the monitor only has DP ports, then you'll want to find a switch that does DP out instead. I think that'll be more tedious though since the switch will have to to convert the video signal from HDMI to DP which is active upscaling and typically is not the type of scaling you want to do.
bmg1980
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February 25th, 2026 22:27
Thank you so much Daniel! This is the exact creative solution I was hoping someone would weigh in on. I'll purchase this KVM switch and give it a try! (*My curved monitor does have HDMI ☺️).
I've also learned my lesson to double check this kind of stuff BEFORE ordering new gear lol