Dell has been one of the early adopters of the Type-C port and a number of laptop models have been among the first on the market to come equipped with the full functionality of Thunderbolt 3. If you are, similarly, an early adopter, you may have a sleek new Dell laptop that, while simultaneously lightweight and powerful, is equally light when it comes to its I/O profile – potentially causing some confusion when it comes to connectivity. We’ve identified six ways to confidently connect your Dell: Don’t Forget The Dock A docking station is an essential add-on for optimizing the connectivity options of your laptop in any situation – at the office or at home. Unlimited Display Capabilities Connecting your stellar new laptop to a monitor is when things could get a little finicky. Remember to take into consideration the age of the monitor and what you will need to connect the laptop to the monitor. For example, if you decided on the Dell XPS, which comes with a new USB-C port, and you want to connect to a monitor that uses VGA, you’ll need a USB-C to VGA Display Adapter (one like this will work just fine). Add Ports without Adding Pounds As you may have noticed already, the newer the laptop, the fewer ports it possesses. If you plan on connecting your phone, tablet, additional keyboard and mouse, you’ll need some extra ports via a USB hub to accommodate all your devices. No-Nonsense Networking A secure, wired network is always preferred over WiFi for the obvious reasons of faster transfer speeds and heightened security (particularly when it comes transferring sensitive or confidential information). Due to limited ports on some newer models, accessing a wired network connection could be a challenge. We recommend considering a USB 3.0 to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter. Expand and Maximize Storage Capacity Almost everyone has an external hard drive, right? It’s a good idea if you work with large files and want to save your own computer’s storage space. Having a hard drive enclosure is a must-have for professionals in the creative industries or anyone that stores large files such as movies or photos. The enclosure will give you the quick access to your files from your laptop and you can connect it via your preferred port on your laptop or from your docking station. Stay Connected without the Cost If you’ve invested in a cutting-edge laptop, you may find that the technology in some of your core peripherals hasn’t evolved quite as quickly (We suspect this trend will continue as USB-C becomes even more pervasive). To connect to your older devices, grabbing a couple USB to USB-C adapters will serve you well. These adapters will let you harness the power of your new laptop without the inconvenience of having to upgrade your peripherals. Most USB-C adapters retail for around $20 (or more, depending on the features of the adapter) but could save you hundreds of dollars in unnecessary hardware upgrades. Following these six tips you can be confident that you’ll be on cutting-edge of technology without compromising connectivity. Further Reading: We’ve broken down the essential products for each Dell laptop model – find your perfect accessories