Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
The pass-through charging is impressive at 92W, and you have the option of using the laptop’s bus power if you don’t have a wall charger to hand or access to an outlet. There are five USB and a raft of other useful ports, including memory card readers, Gigabit Ethernet and audio. Some USB-C hubs can pass power to your laptop or other device for battery charging. (Credit: Molly Flores)
Those sleek oval USB-C ports seem to be everywhere these days—they're now ubiquitous on smartphones and tablets, and they often appear on laptop and desktop PCs as well. But if you're in the market for a new laptop, you might be surprised to see them being used not only for connecting peripherals but for charging, in place of the familiar dedicated power port. Nearly all of the best laptops we recommend nowadays feature USB-C charging, and even those that come with a different AC adapter often support USB-C power. The main exceptions are gaming laptops and mobile workstations, which usually have beefier power adapters to handle the higher wattage those systems require. One last complicating factor: In 2021, the USB Type-C specification was updated to support power delivery up to 240 watts, instead of 100 watts. The change isn't yet supported by most machines, and will generally require a new cable.USB Type-C has a new feature called Alternate Modes. If your USB-C cable has this feature, you can connect to non-USB devices that support the same Alternate Mode. For example, if your USB-C cable has the Thunderbolt Alternate Mode, you can connect to Thunderbolt devices. There's no setting to turn on—your device automatically uses the appropriate mode if it's supported.
Make sure your PC, the external display, and the cable all support DisplayPort or MHL alternate modes. Ports: 1 x HDMI v2.0, 2 x DisplayPort++, 1 x USB-C 3.1 Gen2, 1 x USB-A 3.1 Gen2, 4 x USB-A 3.1 Gen1
ROG Gaming Charger Dock
Your PC (or phone) might not provide enough power to the USB device. Plug a power adapter into your USB device, or try to use a different PC (or phone). Notes: USB Type-C has a new feature called Alternate Modes which allows you to use non-USB connections with the USB-C cable and connection. There's no setting to turn on—your device automatically uses the appropriate mode if it's supported. Here are the display Alternate Modes that your cable may support: That said, its extreme lightness and VGA may well tempt those who travel to multiple destinations with mixed display options. Unfortunately, it doesn't come with its own cable and the 30W version only comes with a single port but it's well worth the cost. How to choose the best USB charging station
It works by allowing a user to connect their laptop to other hardware typical of a desktop PC, including a monitor, keyboard, mouse, printer, and external drives. While this, naturally, reduces the portability of your laptop, it does offer the significant advantages provides by a desktop computer, including more comfort and increased visibility provided with a larger screen. In short, it’s a good idea to buy cables and chargers from reputable sources and think twice about using that cable you found laying on the ground in a conference room. It uses a combination of USB-C DisplayPort Alternate Mode (“Alt Mode”) for the HDMI port and DisplayLink USB graphics for its two DisplayPorts. Laptops with Thunderbolt/USB4 or USB-C hosts that support DP 1.4 Alternate Mode can run three 4K displays at 60Hz via either DisplayPort or HDMI. On hosts that support DP 1.2 Alternate Mode, two displays at 60Hz are possible and one at 30Hz. This brings with it some complexity and compatibility issues on certain versions of the macOS, but with DisplayLink drivers installed, all should be well. The four USB-A ports are generous, although limited to 5Gbps compared to the 10Gbps USB-C link to the computer.A battery icon with a warning on it appears in the system tray to indicate that a slow charger is connected, and the battery is discharging. The Slow charger notification might appear too.
Great Deal 
New Comment