Dell Inspiron i5565 Laptop without USB-C port can I use a USB-C dock with an adapter?
Solution 1:
In theory yes, but in practice...
(Disclaimer: I'm an IT guy and I need to support 100's of customers with various models of laptops and docks. I hate these docks.)
There is a chance you will face all sorts of compatibility issues.
The USB-C standard allows for a large range of optional features and because every manufacturer can combine those in different ways USB-C isn't as standard/generic as the docking station and laptop vendors would like you to believe.
(E.g there are at least 3 different ways to send video over USB-C. Only 1 of those works with a USB 3 converter. And the other 2 only work if the dock and the laptop both use the same system.)
Because of that these docks are quite notorious for having issues even if connected directly to USB-C.
Adding an additional USB-C/USB 3 converter in the mix can only make matters worse.
But such docks also exist with a regular USB 3.0 connection (as Gabriel Garcia also mentioned in the comments). These are far less prone to issues.
Be advised that regardless of USB-C or USB 3.0 if the video-output on such a dock is delivered by a USB-connected graphics chip it will have FAR LESS performance than a real video-card.
At Full-HD resolutions most USB docks will struggle to give you a 30 Hz display. Video especially can be choppy. And gaming on a screen connected like that is out of the question.
Additionally: On USB 3 the video-card and the ethernet interface will compete for bandwidth on the USB bus which is also not a good thing.
Personally I can't work on a display connected to such a dock for more than a few minutes without getting a headache due to the lousy image-quality.