• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

EU Commission Pushing Forward with Unified Electronics Charger Standard and Unbundling of Chargers

Joined
May 2, 2017
Messages
7,762 (3.04/day)
Location
Back in Norway
System Name Hotbox
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, 110/95/110, PBO +150Mhz, CO -7,-7,-20(x6),
Motherboard ASRock Phantom Gaming B550 ITX/ax
Cooling LOBO + Laing DDC 1T Plus PWM + Corsair XR5 280mm + 2x Arctic P14
Memory 32GB G.Skill FlareX 3200c14 @3800c15
Video Card(s) PowerColor Radeon 6900XT Liquid Devil Ultimate, UC@2250MHz max @~200W
Storage 2TB Adata SX8200 Pro
Display(s) Dell U2711 main, AOC 24P2C secondary
Case SSUPD Meshlicious
Audio Device(s) Optoma Nuforce μDAC 3
Power Supply Corsair SF750 Platinum
Mouse Logitech G603
Keyboard Keychron K3/Cooler Master MasterKeys Pro M w/DSA profile caps
Software Windows 10 Pro
No, I was paying attention, but apparently I'm a bit behind the times. I said "in my area". Amazon doesn't ship to my country, and most laptops sold here either lack the mini USB-C connector completely or do not support being charged trough said USB port because it is a Standard Downstream Port (SDP) and not a Charging Downstream Port (CDP) witch is required to charge a laptop via USB.
I don't know where you are located, but in my experience the vast majority of consumer-facing laptops support USB-C charging, even those that come with bundled barrel plug chargers (those are cheaper, and are used on lower-cost devices mainly). This is of course only for devices using <100W chargers, but that's the vast majority of laptops, and has been for most of the past decade.
I was specifically referring to the idea of using a mechanical adaptor going from a USB-C charger to a laptop's dedicated charging port, witch will not work simply due to the fact that they require a specific voltage witch the charger and laptop need to handshake upon before charging can begin. Said handshake would require a Charging Downstream Port (CDP) witch according to USB specs uses the data pins to negotiate voltage and amperage, and I am 100% sure a 2 pin barrel type generic charging port on a laptop will not be able to communicate with a USB charger when using a mechanical adaptor. perhaps it's my English, it's not my native language.
This is wrong. All you need to adapt a USB-C PD charger to a barrel plug charger is a PD negotiator board, which are freely available. For DIY purposes these can be found on Ebay or similar places for a few dollars, whether at fixed or user-definable voltage, and they are generally small enough to integrate into any chassis or cable adapter. I've used several of these (both fixed and variable voltage) with good results - they are incredibly useful. For those not wanting to go the DIY route, you have things like the Innergie MagiCable I linked previously, which has a PD negotiator board (set to 20V) integrated into the cable, and different tips to fit different barrel plug laptops just like an ordinary third party laptop charger. You also get generic direct plug adaptors like this, integrating the negotiator board into the plug assembly. The term "mechanical adaptor" might be a bit off as there are active electronics involved, but given the size and cost of these negotiator boards, that is effectively what it is. You literally wouldn't notice that it was there in most adaptor cables, and most consumers definitely wouldn't have a clue.
As such, only laptops designed to charge trough a usb-c port can do what you are proposing,
No; see above.
These are not "special" chargers. They are USB-PD chargers. Every USB-C laptop charger in existence is a USB-PD charger. Many phone chargers are too, but they (obviously) aren't typically powerful enough to charge a laptop - most of them peak at 9V (some at 15V) around 3A, and thus won't successfully charge a laptop. But that doesn't make USB-C laptop chargers "special", it just makes them more powerful. As I linked previously, there are dozens upon dozens of third party USB-C laptop chargers to be found, as well as many first-party options from laptop manufacturers. One thing I noticed from your search term in your link ("usb c laptop charger 65W") was that it mainly returned fixed-cable chargers, which gives you the best prices but also the cheapest and lowest quality chargers. For practicality and long-term serviceability I personally wouldn't want a charger where I couldn't replace the cable, which any search for something like "USB-C PD 65W Charger" will give you tons of options for. Both types should do the same job equally well though, assuming they are made decently - the inner workings are likely to be quite similar.
In my above comment I was referring to generic USB chargers, like ones used for phones, tablets and other devices, not ones compatible with laptops.
But why were you discussing those? This thread is about the unification of charging standards into adopting USB-C PD for everything. You were responding to a comment saying you could adapt USB-C chargers to barrel plug laptops relatively easily. It stands to reason that this only applies to USB-C chargers that are capable of charging a laptop in the first place.
Now back to the part where I WAS WRONG - the USB-C connector with it's tiny prongs can handle up to 100w safely, but the charger and laptop must be specifically compatible and support USB Power Delivery protocol (USB-PD), as said 100w USB-C chargers are designed for laptops an are able to provide up to 20v @ 5A. Just because I don't know about something doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Still, as a consumer who does not make use of ultra portable or low power laptops, this is of little use to me.
Well, that places you in a clear minority - the vast majority of laptops made and sold are thin-and-lights or similar low power designs with U-series CPUs and 45-65W chargers, and the vast majority of those today use USB-C charging. Gaming laptops and workstations are typically too power hungry for this - for now. In the future, thanks to USB-C 2.1/USB-PD 3.1, most higher power laptops up to 240W will also likely adopt USB-PD charging - though they will of course require a high output charger to charge/run at full speed.
Abstract from USB-C documentation:

"SB Power Delivery (USB-PD) refers to the protocol that allows a "power provider," a cable and a "power consumer" to agree on the current and voltage levels. Because power can flow in either direction, the role of provider and consumer can change at any time.

This smart charging protocol enables devices to negotiate voltage, current and direction of power and data flow over the USB cable. Negotiations are governed by power rules and offer a range of voltage and current configurations. For example, a phone needing 18W might negotiate 9V and 3A from the power source."

and

"Do all USB-C ports have the same functionality?
No. Even though all USB-C ports look the same, the features they support can vary widely. For example, a USB-C port on a wall charger will only charge devices. Ports on laptops may vary in the level of power they supply and the speed of data transmission. Some laptop USB-C ports support data only, power only or a combination of the two so check your machine's specifications before buying peripherals."
Yes. This is literally what this entire thread is about. You're not bringing anything new to the table here. Different devices and chargers have different requirements and capabilities. This is about mandating universal adoption of the same type of charger for all devices that can use it (i.e. not those too powerful to do so). It doesn't mean every charger needs to be capable of charging a laptop, or anything like that. But it will ensure standardization, easier access to replacements, reduced waste, and better interoperability.
 
Top