Powerful Laptops that charge via USB/USBC

Combat squirrel · 18 May 2018 at 16:57

As title - currently waiting on the new MacBook pro's to come out - obviously they via USB-C which is exactly what I need - but are there any windows laptops that do the same? Just looking at my options (equally or more powerful as top end MacBook Pro- not after low performance machines)

Would also consider one that has a normal power brick but also supports USB charging - albeit I'd imagine at a much slower rate - that's fine as long as it can keep inputting power significantly extending its battery life.

willhub · 19 May 2018 at 09:57

Can't imagine a laptop with a powerful i7 and possibly a high end GPU would be able to charge via USB-C

Combat squirrel · 19 May 2018 at 10:16

willhub said:
Can't imagine a laptop with a powerful i7 and possibly a high end GPU would be able to charge via USB-C

Not quickly but it would be good if it did and apple Macbook pros do, although apple is fastidious about power management over performance

Rroff · 19 May 2018 at 10:41

Only ones I know of off the top of my head are low end i3 and 2 in 1 type devices with either Atom or mobile i3 type SoCs.

willhub · 19 May 2018 at 10:43

Can USB-C pull 200+ Watts?

Rroff · 19 May 2018 at 10:45

About 100 watt IIRC. Most of my devices that use it have around 30-40 watt chargers.

Hades · 19 May 2018 at 14:27

ThinkPad T480, T480s, T580, X280, 2018 X1 Carbon all charge by USBC and have different quad core CPU options up to and including i7 (low voltage version). I think the new P52 may also charge by USB and this is their workstation replacement laptop so very powerful (but check if it does first).

You could look at a T480s with dedicated GPU (the GPU isn't that fast though), 24gb RAM, quad core i7 and then, if needed, run an eGPU for gaming via USBC/Thunderbolt 3. The base screen is awful so upgrade it.

If battery life is a priority then the a T480 (non S) has hot swappable batteries at the expense of a little more weight and can take 32gb RAM. Again it can run an eGPU on Thunderbolt 3. Same issue with the screen.

The X1 Carbon isn't user upgradeable apart from the SSD but it has arguably the best screen around in HDR form and is feather light.

Combat squirrel · 19 May 2018 at 19:07

The p52 looks potentially interesting assuming its got a very colour accurate screen.

Will see if apple bring out a 6 core in their macbook pros i guess.

Hades · 19 May 2018 at 21:03

I forgot to mention that there is also a ThinkPad A485 coming out soon. This is very similar to the T series but has a Ryzen CPU and GPU instead. I would expect that to also have USBC charging in most likelihood.

Combat squirrel · 19 May 2018 at 21:22

Hades said:
I forgot to mention that there is also a ThinkPad A485 coming out soon. This is very similar to the T series but has a Ryzen CPU and GPU instead. I would expect that to also have USBC charging in most likelihood.

Thanks, they dont seem to do a 15" screen sadly.

Specs wise the AERO 15x V8 is flawless for my needs - but obviously a power plug required. - I have a leisure battery that is 230aH so not sure how long that would run for - the power brick on the Aero is 180watt - but obviously it won't pull that in reality - my old laptop was around 120-140watts depending on load, a couple of generations behind but similar spec.

My on the road power spec will be a 230aH brand new Bosch leisure battery, 120 watt solar panel, yet to purchase an inverter but will get a really good one, probably 1500-2000watt pure sine wave.

Does a 12v power adaptor exist for a 180watt Gigabyte laptop? - I know iv seen some generic laptop chargers from a 12v dc power port, but usually only upto 100watt - if the plug fitted could I use that on the gigabyte laptop to help assist to power it even though the battery would still drain while I was doing productivity work on the road? - I know its more efficient if the power adaptor goes from 12v dc to 19.7v ac (usual laptop power requirements)

This is my entire reason for asking about USB laptops - and hence why the MacBook Pro was the only one I was thinking of - also its handy it charges off any USB port so I could use any usb in my van.

However if there is a decent way of using the Aero laptop with my power setup Id consider it - thoughts ladies & gentleman ?