Question Does the Selore&S Global Docking Station give 100w ?

[Manuel Jordan]

Hello Friends

My uncle bought this laptop:

Dell Inspiron Plus 16" Touchscreen Laptop - Intel Core Ultra 9 185H - 1920 x 1200 - Windows 11 - 32GB RAM - 2TB SSD

Even when the laptop itself has the classic Power Jack (the cylinder) the Laptop Charger is USB Type C.

Therefore

Laptop Charger -----> (USB Type C) Laptop Yes
Laptop Charger -----> (Power Jack) Laptop No

The laptop charger has the following data

Dell 100.0w AC Adapter
Dell Output 5.0v --- 3.0A/15.0W,
9.0v --- 3.0A/27.0w,
15.0v --- 3.0A/45.0w,
20.0v --- 5.0A/100.0w or
12.0-20.0v---5.0A max./100w max
INPUT 100-240v~1.7A 50-60Hz
Model No Dell LA100PM220

Thus practically is this one:

Dell Laptop Charger 100W Watt USB Type C Thunderbolt 3 AC Power Adapter DA100PM220 LA100PM220 HA100PM220

Because I am not an expert: we are assuming the Laptop must receive from the Charger 100W (Correct me if we are wrong)

Now, the reason of this post. Because my uncle needs the USB-C port free for other uses, the option exists to buy this Docking Station:

USB C Docking Station Dual HDMI Monitor,USB C to Dual HDMI Adapter with 2 HDMI Ports,PD Charging,SD/TF,USB A&C 3.0 Ports,USB C Hub HDMI for Dell XPS/HP/Lenovo/Surface/Yoga etc

It has a lot of buys and a well amount of nice customer reviews

The main concern and reason of this post

Question;

• Does this Docking Station really have an output of 100w?

First: If you see the 5th Figure of the Docking Station link, theoretically applies the following sequence:

Dell Laptop Charger (100w) ----> Docking (100w) ----> Laptop

Thus theoretically, is it safe buy the docking station to be used for the laptop?

Second: but in the Docking Station link it says:

• [Speedy charging 100W] This dual hdmi adapter for 2 monitors with a USB-C power delivery port(near the SD/TF) can charge your laptop anytime; hdmi hub for multiple monitors input 100W, output 87W. Please Note: Power charger & charging cable is not included in the package. Note:The second USB C port is only for data transfer.

As you can see it does mention of 87w. So I'm confused if the output is 100w or 87w ?

Third: About the italic part, there fits the original Dell Laptop Charger
Fourth: the other reason to buy this docking station is use in parallel 2 Monitors through HDMI

Therefore the expected functions and goals by the Docking are:

1. Serve as a bridge between the Dell Laptop Charger to the Laptop to deliver 100w as output
2. Connect 2 HDMI monitors at the same time

But we need an explicit confirmation for the first point

Thanks for your understanding

 

[Aeacus]

But we need an explicit confirmation for the first point

Can't give 100% certain answer, but from my knowledge and based on the amazon listing, it is so;

When hub is used to power just the laptop, hub can output 100W.
When hub is used to power two HDMI monitors, hub can output 87W.

HDMI connector itself also carries power, 5V and at least 55mA. But i've seen HDMI connectors that can sustain 700mA as well. So, anywhere between 0,25W and 3.5W is what is going through the HDMI connector.

Just think a bit;
When hub takes in 100W and needs to output 100W, then from where it can take the power to power: two HDMI ports, two USB type-A ports, one USB type-C (only data) port and SD/TF card slot?
It has to take the power from the wall. And when it does so, it can not provide 100W to the laptop, instead, it is limited to 87W, as said in the listing.

Because I am not an expert: we are assuming the Laptop must receive from the Charger 100W (Correct me if we are wrong)

Not necessarily.

100W is basically "fast charge", but laptop can take in lower amounts of watts as well. It then charges the battery slower.
Based on the charger, the wattage input range can be from 15W to 100W. Now, it may be so or it may not be. Official laptop specs doesn't say at what wattage range the laptop accepts.

Best to contact Dell and ask them directly. Could be that the laptop charge input is between 15W and 27W. Or is it fixed to 45W. I don't know. Best to ask Dell that.

 

[Manuel Jordan]

Huge thanks for the reply

Can't give 100% certain answer, but from my knowledge and based on the amazon listing, it is so;

When hub is used to power just the laptop, hub can output 100W.
When hub is used to power two HDMI monitors, hub can output 87W.

Yes, it is correct

Just think a bit;
When hub takes in 100W and needs to output 100W, then from where it can take the power to power: two HDMI ports, two USB type-A ports, one USB type-C (only data) port and SD/TF card slot?
It has to take the power from the wall. And when it does so, it can not provide 100W to the laptop, instead, it is limited to 87W, as said in the listing.

Yes, it has a lot of sense, but because hardware enhances throughout the years, we assumed that perhaps there something internal that does a trick, I mean always provide the 100w

Not necessarily.

100W is basically "fast charge", but laptop can take in lower amounts of watts as well. It then charges the battery slower.
Based on the charger, the wattage input range can be from 15W to 100W. Now, it may be so or it may not be. Official laptop specs doesn't say at what wattage range the laptop accepts.

Interesting

Best to contact Dell and ask them directly. Could be that the laptop charge input is between 15W and 27W. Or is it fixed to 45W. I don't know. Best to ask Dell that.

It will be done, meanwhile, just doing two questions:

• Question1: How is safe for the laptop if it receives 85w instead of 100w?

Furthermore if the laptop can work in peace with 85w.

• Question2: Why from the beginning the original Dell Laptop charger is not built to bring an output of 85w?

Thanks for your understanding

 

[Aeacus]

Yes, it has a lot of sense, but because hardware enhances throughout the years, we assumed that perhaps there something internal that does a trick, I mean always provide the 100w

At current level of human technology (and actually due to the laws of physics, namely 1st law of thermodynamics), nothing can be created through thin air. Meaning, you can't take 100W worth of power and magically create ~113W out of it.

In the same sense, as of why there can not be a perpetual motion machine.

Question1: How is safe for the laptop if it receives 85w instead of 100w?

For battery long-term health and lifespan, charging slower with lower wattage is actually far more beneficial than charging it fast with higher wattage.
It comes down to excess heat, generated during charging. Fast charging creates far more heat than slow charging and that heat is the main culprit that can damage the battery.
Surely you've heard/seen stories of batteries getting way too hot and even exploding during charging.

Further reading if interested: https://www.ufinebattery.com/blog/f...ing-which-is-better-for-your-lithium-battery/

Why from the beginning the original Dell Laptop charger is not built to bring an output of 85w?

Depends on the li-ion battery the laptop has and what wattage inputs are deemed acceptable for that battery.

Rather than blaming Dell over it, i'd blame the 3rd party hub that you're looking at.
That hub is created as: "one ring to rule them all", since it supports plethora of devices based on the amazon listing;

Dell XPS13/15/17; Dell latitude 5530/5430/5431/5420/7390/5540/5420/5500/7490; Dell Inspiron 5420/7420/7425; Dell Precision 5470/77680/7780; Dell Vostro 5410/5620; Lenovo Yoga 720/910/920/930; HP Elitebook 630/640/645/650/655 G9; Elitebook 840/850 G6/G7/G8/G9; Surface Pro 9/8/7; Microsoft Surface Book 2/ Surface Go/ Surface Laptop 3; iPhone 15 Series; ASUS ROG Ally; Steam Deck

Maybe one (or several) of those devices can accept the 85W or 87W the hub can supply when HDMI ports are in use. I don't know, haven't checked the possible power draw of those devices. But it could be that you lucked out and the laptop you have can take in either 100W or 45W, since that is what the Dell charger is rated at on it's two highest power outputs.