XPS Power Supply Alternatives?

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@IronCreek  Don't count on a higher amperage power supply.  130W is already above the 100W max of the official USB PD spec, so Dell did something proprietary on some of their systems, including the XPS 17 9700, in order to stretch the spec to support receiving 130W over USB-C/TB3.  Some of their docks can provide that, although none of their USB-C displays are of this writing can.  But there's a limit to how much amperage can safely be carried, and in the docking station use case you have to consider how much power you can push while maintaining data signal integrity.  The only other option that Dell offers is the WD19DC, which can push 210W over USB-C/TB3 because it connects to two USB-C/TB3 ports on the attached system.  That dock is designed for the Precision 7000 Series systems, but I believe that aggregating two interfaces to pull 210W in total requires firmware level support on the system side, so even if the WD19DC's connector fit the spacing of the USB-C/TB3 ports on the XPS 17, I don't know if it would actually see a 210W power source.

All that said, as I've written in another thread on this forum, I do consider it hugely disappointing that Dell decided to ship this system with an undersized power supply and simply have the system drain its battery even when connected to AC power when under heavy load.  My feeling is that if Dell couldn't get this system to perform the way they wanted with 130W, then they should have kept a proprietary barrel-style AC adapter on the system and shipped it with a 180W power supply instead.  People buying 17" laptops probably aren't overly concerned with minimizing weight and bulk, and those buying an XPS system probably actually care about performance and therefore might actually expect their system to perform at its intended level without having to drain its battery to get there.  And then there's the concern about all the additional wear this will create on the battery from the extra discharge and charge cycles that would have been avoided if the power supply had been adequately sized.  But Dell seems to have decided to take a page out of Apple's playbook and go purely USB-C/TB3 for ports, and I guess 130W was the most they could push through that connector.

@IronCreek  One other thing I forgot to add.  Definitely don't count on the aftermarket, at least not now.  Even finding 100W USB-C power sources is still very uncommon.  90W is becoming more common, though.  But even there Dell until very recently created a problem where there didn't need to be one.  On most Dell systems that support USB-C charging, Dell has a firmware restriction that limits them to drawing 65W max from non-Dell USB-C power sources, even if the power source and cable can provide more and the system would benefit from more.  This is particularly problematic on higher powered systems like the XPS 15 models, which are also designed for 130W (except the XPS 15 9500 when ordered without an NVIDIA GPU, in which case it's designed for 90W.)  Those XPS 15 models will happily accept 130W from Dell docks and power adapters, but if you use a non-Dell USB-C source, you only get 65W, i.e. only HALF of what the system is designed to have available.  Dell seems to have relented at least somewhat with the XPS 15 9500, since multiple owners have confirmed that their system recognizes a 90W source when connected to a 90W third-party power supply.  I haven't seen any tests of 100W sources or any tests with an XPS 17 9700, though.

But while it might be nice if Dell has in fact finally removed that totally arbitrary and aggravating limitation, you'll still have the problem that even 130W is above the official USB PD spec, so I doubt you'll see any aftermarket options for even another 130W power source, never mind something higher.  And even if something like that existed, you'd still need the XPS 17 to actually agree to PULL that much power from the source.  If its firmware is set never to draw more than 130W under any circumstances, then it won't matter how much power the source can provide.

Can the 9710 draw power from two usb C ports? thx

@YannickBTRNS I don’t think so. The Precision 7000 Series systems can, but that’s because they have even higher power requirements and are meant to be used with the WD19DC(S) that provides power over two connectors. With the XPS 17, Dell has docks that can provide its 130W power over a single connector. And in fact even with the Precisions, I’m not sure they’d support aggregating power from two completely unrelated power sources. That might only work with Dell docks.

I have this issue as well. Under heavy load downloading work files the system fails. It is, as well described above, drawing down the battery and at that point the power supply does not provide adequate power. I have asked Dell for assistance when the system was under warranty and the reply was something similar to "it is perfoming as designed". Thus no warranty value to be redeemed. Being responsible for the Dell supplier contract at our company did not help either. There is no solution unless using two power supplies would work. To further disappoint, when the battery level reaches the point where the low battery level warning appears, I usually cannot shut down fast enough before it fails. 

I have purchased and use an HP Z laptop which uses a 200 watt supply with the standard round adapter connector to the laptop. I would welcome a firmware update to allow a second PS to my XPS 9700.

I hardly think Dell would do that 

Same complaints year after year with XPS 9700 /9710/9720 

My assumption here, in order to keep the sleek looks Dell is intentionally not allowing the machine to take more power, cause the heat management is simply not built for it. 

At the same time comparing it with HP Z is not correct either. It's a workstation notebook, proper comparison would be Dell's Precision work stations. Precision-17-7750 takes a 200w power supply. 

XPS is more par with HP's Specter series where they are focusing more of esthetics over performance comes with 135w power supply. 

All in all people expecting performance over sleek looks should look for a workstation notebook over an Ultrabook. I will always go for an Alienware in same budget