Is 5v enough to charge a laptop?

Hi all, I see most laptops running with about 9v - 12v, while every phone needs a 5v charger. So i was just wondering if it's a matter of old habits and noone cares about making PCs that need 5v [in order to reduce the amount of chargers], or if the overall components can't make it below 9v

Have a nice day

It comes down to power delivery. Most laptop chargers are 19 to 20 volts, not 9 to 12. The higher voltage allows them to deliver more power using thinner cables and smaller connectors than would be required at lower voltage. For example, I've got a high-end laptop that has a 170-watt power supply. At 19 volts, that power supply puts out about 9 amps of current. In order to handle 9 amps, the cables need to be a certain thickness and the connectors need to have a certain amount of contact area. If it were running at 5 volts, to supply 170 watts, it'd need cables and connectors that could handle 34 amps. Those cables and connectors would have to be really thick to handle that, and it would be difficult to produce a connector that was thin enough to fit nicely in a laptop that could handle that much current. Phones typically charge over USB cables, which prior to USB 3 were limited to 5 volts and roughly 2 amps, for a maximum of about 10 watts of charging power. USB 3 increases that to 3 amps, but at 5 volts, that still only gives you 15 watts of charging power. USB type C introduces a new "power delivery" standard that can deliver up to 100 watts of power, but to do this, it increases the voltage from 5 volts to 20. For most laptops, 100 watts is plenty for charging, so USB type C truly could become a universal standard between phone and laptop chargers for most laptops.

Most laptops run off of 19V, 5V is not enough to power it. Phones have low voltage SoC systems, they are much simpler than a full PC.

It comes down to power delivery. Most laptop chargers are 19 to 20 volts, not 9 to 12. The higher voltage allows them to deliver more power using thinner cables and smaller connectors than would be required at lower voltage. For example, I've got a high-end laptop that has a 170-watt power supply. At 19 volts, that power supply puts out about 9 amps of current. In order to handle 9 amps, the cables need to be a certain thickness and the connectors need to have a certain amount of contact area. If it were running at 5 volts, to supply 170 watts, it'd need cables and connectors that could handle 34 amps. Those cables and connectors would have to be really thick to handle that, and it would be difficult to produce a connector that was thin enough to fit nicely in a laptop that could handle that much current. Phones typically charge over USB cables, which prior to USB 3 were limited to 5 volts and roughly 2 amps, for a maximum of about 10 watts of charging power. USB 3 increases that to 3 amps, but at 5 volts, that still only gives you 15 watts of charging power. USB type C introduces a new "power delivery" standard that can deliver up to 100 watts of power, but to do this, it increases the voltage from 5 volts to 20. For most laptops, 100 watts is plenty for charging, so USB type C truly could become a universal standard between phone and laptop chargers for most laptops.

Oops yeah i meant 19V instead of 9V, brainfart sorry, so as for the 12v i must've thought there's higher than 9v... The cables thickness makes sense [now remembering P=RI²], thanks

I'm not sure about you guys, but my CS games will NOT launch with Synapse 2.0 open. Has anybody been experiencing this? If someone has, have you found a way around it?

I've got it open because of my buy macros that I've created, I thought it would work, but the game won't even launch.

When you close Synapse does it open?

I just tried it and everything worked perfectly. Did this start happening recently? Or did you just get CS:GO?

I've had CS:GO for a while now, it might be the new update of the Synapse 2.0!

What new update? I just looked and there's no update.
Try uninstalling Synapse and reinstalling it. If that doesn't work then uninstall CS:GO and reinstall that.

What new update? I just looked and there's no update.
Try uninstalling Synapse and reinstalling it. If that doesn't work then uninstall CS:GO and reinstall that.

I've Synapse 2.0 for quite a while, then I bought a new keyboard. But then after a couple of weeks, I bought a new keyboard. It's got Cherry MX Blue switches, I've played with this keyboard for a couple of months until I got tired of using it. So now, I'm going back to my Razer Blackwidow 2014 edition. So I just updated Synapse 2.0 to it's recent patch. I'll try uninstalling either one of them though.

I have the same issue, if you have found a solution please let me know. I have to close synapse for cs:go to open.

I have the same issue, if you have found a solution please let me know. I have to close synapse for cs:go to open.

I never found the solution to my problem man. I ended up uninstalling Synapse 2.0 for the game to launch.

I'm not sure about you guys, but my CS games will NOT launch with Synapse 2.0 open. Has anybody been experiencing this? If someone has, have you found a way around it?

I've got it open because of my buy macros that I've created, I thought it would work, but the game won't even launch.

Same problem here, need solve plz

the Razer Synapse Blocks CSGO i don t know why and how, but it just start happening now, that i reinstall synapse, before it just blocked SweetFX, now its the game to launch. i downloaded the Razer Abyssus synapse drive, does i have something to do with it?

the Razer Synapse Blocks CSGO i don t know why and how, but it just start happening now, that i reinstall synapse, before it just blocked SweetFX, now its the game to launch. i downloaded the Razer Abyssus synapse drive, does i have something to do with it?

Honestly man, I just uninstalled Razer Synapse altogether. The hassle just wasn't worth it lol.

hey! registered just for this post i had same issue and it was promptly resloved by tech support: Thanks for your support on Razer Synapse. Please try the step below and see if you are able to start the game. Launch Synapse > Go to stat > Go to setting *Cog* > Turn of the Data tracking > Restart computer > Should resolve the game not launching issue. If issue persist, can I know if you are using Comms as well? Best regards,

Razer Software Team

hey! registered just for this post i had same issue and it was promptly resloved by tech support: Thanks for your support on Razer Synapse. Please try the step below and see if you are able to start the game. Launch Synapse > Go to stat > Go to setting *Cog* > Turn of the Data tracking > Restart computer > Should resolve the game not launching issue. If issue persist, can I know if you are using Comms as well? Best regards,

Razer Software Team

Haha, wow! I don't even remember this post anymore, I've changed my razer stuff to corsair now. I find corsair to have a better build quality than razer. But anyway, thanks for this info. I'll come back to this once I get another razer setup.

Well a friend has got me to fix there overheating Asus U31SD laptop and do some upgrades on it [upgrade the memory, SSD & wireless card which all work fine] but after pulling it all apart, cleaning it, redoing the thermal paste and putting it all back together now the CPU fan no longer spins. Other than that, the system now flys but yea not game to run it for anymore than a few mins in a cold environment because the system temp slowly creeps over 60 degrees. I have tried putting it apart and unplugging and replugging the fan back in, checked to make sure nothing is blocking it and stopping it from turning etc. My question is, is there anyway to test if the actual fan is broken? or if they motherboard is broken? I have already ordered a replacement fan but it would take a few days to get here so I'm just wondering if there is anything else I can try in the meantime.

After double checking everything again I noticed one of the fan connector pins was slightly bent out of place and not making it into the connector plug. Hours later I managed to get it aligned again and the fan now spins up Phew.

Hi, to test if the motherboard is faulty, you need an oscilloscope to see the waveform controlling the fan. So for now wait for the replacement fan, you'll know if this is the problem.

After double checking everything again I noticed one of the fan connector pins was slightly bent out of place and not making it into the connector plug. Hours later I managed to get it aligned again and the fan now spins up Phew.