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Can I use a smaller/lighter power adapter or charger for travelling?

Power supply capacity and compatibility

XMG laptops require various power supply capacities - depending on how much computing power the laptop offers. XMG FOCUS for example only needs 150 watts, XMG NEO on the other hand doesn't even start below 230 watts. The more power the power supply has, the bigger/heavier it is going to be.

However, due to the largely identical plug dimensions and output voltages, smaller power supplies are also generally compatible with the "big" laptops.

What happens if I overload an undersized power supply?

The laptop can detect if a power supply is connected, but it cannot detect how much power the power supply can provide. If you run a laptop with an undersized laptop at full load, the following happens:

  • Best Case: The power supply is overloaded and shuts itself down using OCP (over-current protection). The laptop switches to battery mode.
  • Worst case: The power supply overload leads to overheating at the power supply connection, which can damage it permanently (e.g. partially melt the plastic housing).

This worst case has already occurred occasionally in the past. To a lesser extent, overheating at the DC plug can also occur if a power supply connector is not seated correctly, e.g., if a 10mm DC connector is used in a 12.5mm socket.

Recommended action

If you want to use "smaller" power supplies, you will have to be careful: if possible, run the laptop in "power saving"or "balanced" mode and don't put any load on the dedicated graphics card. A small idle load on the graphics card (e.g. when running an external monitor) is OK, but as soon as you start a 3D application on the dedicated graphics card, things will get dicey. Even supposedly frugal 3D applications (such as older games) can cause an overload depending on the power supply capacity if the 3D engine doesnu2019t have an upper limit regarding the maximum frame rate (FPS: frames per second). More information about FPS limits can be found in the FAQ category "Tips & Tricks"

Calculation example

Let's combine a 230W laptop with an undersized 90W power supply:

  • Assume a little over 50W for charging the battery
  • At least 10W idle consumption of the system
  • You have less than 30W left for CPU computing load

This example is already a little bit simplified.

You have to divide the TDP of Intel CPUs by 0.8 due to losses of the voltage converters to calculate the actual energy consumption. Thus, with a CPU package power of e.g., 45W, you already have a CPU consumption of almost 57 watts at the DC jack.

If you accidentally keep the dGPU active (e.g., through a monitoring program or an external monitor), the system's idle consumption is already over 30W. This doesn't leave much left for battery charging and consumption peaks.

Conclusion

Operation with a small/light power supply is possible, but overloading must be prevented by the user. Extreme undersizing as in the above example should be avoided. Hardware damage (damaged power socket on the laptop) caused by overloading an undersized power supply is not covered by the warranty.