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Does anyone has the spec for TB16 with 130W 6.7A power supply ?
Hi there !
According to its label, The TB16 can handle 3 different power supply:
19.5V 6.7A / 9.23A / 12.3A matching with 130/180/240W power supplies.
Currently, it looks like dell sells only 180/240W but some 130W can be found on Ebay.
I try to find the spec for the 130W TB16, and/or how much is available for laptop power delivery
Does anybody have this datasheet or spec ? the last one available on dell website shows only 180/240W.
jphughan
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April 22nd, 2018 06:00
On the TB16 Frequently Asked Questions page, there are no systems listed that work when the TB16 only has a 130W power supply. The WD15 uses 130W or 180W, and as you found, the TB16 uses 180W or 240W. In almost every case, a given system will require either the lower or higher powered AC adapter for either dock -- so for example the XPS 13 requires 130W with the WD15 and 180W with the TB16, whereas the XPS 15 requires 180W for the WD15 and 240W for the TB16.
The only case I can think where a TB16 with a 130W power supply might work is if you’re using it with a system that doesn't draw power from the dock at all because it requires more power than the TB16 can supply anyway (such as the Precision 7000 Series models) or because it simply doesn’t support charging over USB-C/TB3. With those systems, the TB16 manual says that you have to ALSO have the system’s own AC adapter directly connected.
Bonjour81
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April 23rd, 2018 04:00
That could be a good explaination, I don't think about this idea :-)
Dell doesn't gives much information, it would have been easier to tell how much power is available on each port depending on the main power supply.
The 130W edition is not sold anymore, that may be a reason why it does not appear in any recommandations too.
jphughan
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April 23rd, 2018 05:00
The power available through the ports on the dock is almost certainly the same regardless of the AC adapter being used; it should only be the power available to the attached laptop that varies. As for power available, there might be a hint by matching the TB16's FAQ page against the WD15's page. The TB16's FAQ page <ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell> shows you what AC adapter wattage is required for various systems, so even without the WD15's info, if you know the max wattage draw of the listed systems, you can figure out how much power is available. But the WD15's FAQ page <ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell> shows you the required AC adapter AND how much power is available to the attached system with that AC adapter. Remember that the WD15 uses 130W and 180W while the TB16 uses 180W and 240W, but I would bet that the WD15 with a 130W adapter provides the same max power over USB-C as the TB16 with a 180W adapter -- which appears to be 90W. When used with the higher-wattage AC adapter, both docks max out at 130W. The only exception is when these docks are used with non-Dell systems, in which case both docks limit themselves to 60W regardless of which AC adapter is used.
Bonjour81
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April 23rd, 2018 06:00
So if we assume TB16 with 180W could give upto 90W to the laptop, then a 130W power supply may give upto 40W to the laptop... that almost good to match with an XPS13 45W standalone power supply...
That's a lot of "could" and "may", but pretty interesting :-)
I also think that the specs takes margin related to the spare thunderbolt on backside of the TB16. I guess this one could take a lot of power (maybe 60W if we assume that's a kind of standard max power over thunderbolt3)
jphughan
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April 23rd, 2018 07:00
That's a bit more "could" and "would" than I would be comfortable dealing with, especially since the cost difference between a 130W and 180W power supply shouldn't be very significant. You might even be able to buy a TB16 aftermarket with no AC adapter and then separately buy a Dell 180W AC adapter. With regard to the upstream Thunderbolt port, I believe I remember its max power specified either on the TB16 product page, FAQ, or manual, although I'm not going back to look for it now. I think the max power actually is 60W, which explains why the TB16 AC adapters are both 60W more than the WD15 adapters required to charge the same system. But I would also assume that the dock "reserves" all of the AC adapter capacity it would ever need before giving anything to the attached laptop, regardless of how much power the peripherals currently attached to the dock are drawing. Otherwise you would could end up in a situation where your laptop runs and charges properly on your TB16 until you plug in a Thunderbolt peripheral or even several USB peripherals, and then either the laptop would stop charging/running properly because of the power drop, or the dock would keep the laptop happy by not allowing you to use those peripherals. That would lead to a lot of confusion and complaints and a generally bad user experience, so I would be surprised if Dell designed it that way.