Recommended Peripherals / Accessories

Here are peripherals and accessories that we've tested and recommend.  Many of these are the ones we give out to users who are part of our purchase program.

Rather than purchasing a monitor, docking station, camera, and speakers we strongly recommend purchasing a monitor with all of these devices built in.  

For most users we use the Lenovo T27HV-20.  This is a 27" monitor with excellent brightness and image quality and a built-in docking station, webcam, speakers, USB hub, and ethernet jack.  It does both charging and video over the same cable, meaning you can connect your laptop with just one cable and everything will work.  It works great on both the PC and the Mac.

If you need a smaller, less expensive option, the Asus BE24ECSNK also works well and has all of the same features including the camera, speakers, and laptop charging.  Note that there are multiple BE24E models, only this exact model number has full docking station support.

Logitech C920 webcam

If you need a dedicated webcam, the Logitech C920 or C920S works out of the box with PC/Mac/ChromeOS.  (There's generally no need to install drivers, the prompt to install Logitech software can be ignored.)

For higher quality, the Razer Kiyo Pro works well but will not work at all on the Surface Pro X or other Windows systems that use an ARM processor.

Most other Logitech models should work, The C615 (should be under $35) has been tested and is decent quality for a slightly lower list price if you can find it.  The video quality of the BRIO 4k camera is good, but it is very expensive and device driver installation on Windows can be a problem.  (The microphone on the BRIO also doesn't always work well on ChromeOS.)

The Anker 6-in-1 USB-C mini-dock has ethernet, HDMI, and USB ports, and works well with the PC and the Mac.  One limitation is that while it can charge our standard laptops, it cannot charge the 15"  MacBook Pro at full speed due to higher power requirements.

USB gaming headset

The SADES USB headset works fine.  (Also available from Walmart.) 

Pro:  You can hear people on the Zoom call clearly, and they can hear you with less background noise.

Con:  You look like you're flying a spaceship.  (Assuming this is a con.)

Keyboards and mice are still readily available.  Here's a simple Logitech keyboard/mouse combo pack for less than $15.