Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Framework Laptop 16 Deep Dive – 180W Power Adapter

frame.work

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 55 posts

Re: Framework Laptop 16 Deep Dive – 180W Power Adapter

#31

Post by vorpalhex »

kevincox wrote: post #8
mcpackieh wrote: post #5

Virtually all of the electrical energy put into a computer is turned into heat, right? Some of it comes out as visible light from the screen and some tiny portion of it is.. converted into information I guess? But generally a 180W computer is putting out very nearly 180W of thermal energy, as I understand it. My point is that laptops with 90W adapters can get too hot to comfortably touch, I think at 180W you're well…

This is true, it would take a fantastic cooling system to make burning 180W on your lap comfortable. However that doesn't make a 180W laptop useless. Firstly if you are charging it when not on your lap you may prefer the faster charging and the heat doesn't matter much if it is just sitting on a table. (Plus more than half of the energy is going into the batter rather than being expelled as heat). Secondly if you are…

Total peak power envelope does not mean it is all being dumped into core components.

If your processor only maxes up to 40w, it doesn't matter if the laptop supplies 200w or 1000w. It won't run any hotter.

Re: Framework Laptop 16 Deep Dive – 180W Power Adapter

#32

Post by dcow »

chrismorgan wrote: post #12

> Beyond reducing environmental impact through efficiency and recycled materials, we’ve enabled longevity by making both the 2m USB-C and 1m AC cables removable, letting you swap a cable if your cat chews through it. It baffled me when I first actually examined a laptop that used USB-C natively to discover that its power adapter didn’t use a removable USB-C cable. I’d just assumed implicitly that they would, because…

On the contrary I’ve never had a usb cable fail short of physical damage (from a cat).

What are you doing with your cables?

On the topic of connectors, I still think Apple’s lightning connector is the most robust connection the industry has enjoyed in recent times, and most robust for its size ever. I’m sad that iPhones are going the way of USB-C.

Re: Framework Laptop 16 Deep Dive – 180W Power Adapter

#33

Post by 111111IIIIIII »

steelbrain wrote: post #20
mcpackieh wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could keep temperature down with fans, but my 90W thinkpad has fans so strong it sounds (and feels) like a hair drier and still runs very hot. I'm having a hard time imagining a 180W laptop that isn't hotter than hell.

You’re missing another variable here. In your case it may just be the thermal interface material (TIM) isn’t doing a good job of transferring the heat from the processor onto the heat sinks that the fan blows over. I’ve had temperature drops of over 15 degrees c by opting for Liquid Metal, everything else being same.

Additionally, loudness is not necessarily correlated with actually moving air. It can often correlate with obstruction to moving air.

Re: Framework Laptop 16 Deep Dive – 180W Power Adapter

#34

Post by kalleboo »

chrismorgan wrote: post #12

> Beyond reducing environmental impact through efficiency and recycled materials, we’ve enabled longevity by making both the 2m USB-C and 1m AC cables removable, letting you swap a cable if your cat chews through it. It baffled me when I first actually examined a laptop that used USB-C natively to discover that its power adapter didn’t use a removable USB-C cable. I’d just assumed implicitly that they would, because…

I'm someone who's pretty hard on cables (I don't think an Apple cable has ever lasted more than 3-6 months of daily use in my hands, even magsafe, which was expensive back when they were soldered into the power bricks) but I've had good luck with C-C power cables, just using somewhat generic brands like Nimaso.

The cables that keep dying for me are the short, expensive, full speed thunderbolt cables for my dock. Those start glitching out once a year. But the 100W charging cables are fine.

Re: Framework Laptop 16 Deep Dive – 180W Power Adapter

#35

Post by lallysingh »

mcpackieh wrote: post #26
chrismorgan wrote: post #12

> Beyond reducing environmental impact through efficiency and recycled materials, we’ve enabled longevity by making both the 2m USB-C and 1m AC cables removable, letting you swap a cable if your cat chews through it. It baffled me when I first actually examined a laptop that used USB-C natively to discover that its power adapter didn’t use a removable USB-C cable. I’d just assumed implicitly that they would, because…

Braided USB cables are robust in my experience, you might try those. With respect to DC barrel jacks, it's a mixed bag. My old ASUS Eeepc had the barrel jack get loose and make poor connections after about a year or two and I've heard others say they had the same sort of problem. On the other hand I've never seen nor heard of a thinkpad's DC barrel jack failing in any way. Those have a tight snap fit even after 15+ y…

A common failure mode is charging the device on the bed. The bed pushes up against the connector and stresses it over time.

Re: Framework Laptop 16 Deep Dive – 180W Power Adapter

#36

Post by serpix »

hu3 wrote: post #22

My current client-issued contracting laptop has a 230W power adapter. Runs cool and silent'ish during Laravel/TypeScript webdev. JetBrains IDE barely manages to spin the fans a bit noticeable before it goes back to smooth sailing. So a 180W adapter no longer causes me to react much. But I bet it would run pretty hot and loud if I toyed around with stable diffusion and a bunch more containers. And then there are abosl…

An M2 Pro draws around 20W with IntelliJ development, usually it hovers at around 12W. Gaming with GeForce Now keeps it at 12W as well. I am baffled by the need for over ten fold power adapters.

Re: Framework Laptop 16 Deep Dive – 180W Power Adapter

#37

Post by josh2600 »

chrismorgan wrote: post #12

> Beyond reducing environmental impact through efficiency and recycled materials, we’ve enabled longevity by making both the 2m USB-C and 1m AC cables removable, letting you swap a cable if your cat chews through it. It baffled me when I first actually examined a laptop that used USB-C natively to discover that its power adapter didn’t use a removable USB-C cable. I’d just assumed implicitly that they would, because…

I’m pretty hard on my laptops and have never had an apple charger break despite very heavy use for 1 year+.

I have had apple chargers fail in the second year of operation.

Re: Framework Laptop 16 Deep Dive – 180W Power Adapter

#39

Post by causality0 »

mcpackieh wrote: post #26
chrismorgan wrote: post #12

> Beyond reducing environmental impact through efficiency and recycled materials, we’ve enabled longevity by making both the 2m USB-C and 1m AC cables removable, letting you swap a cable if your cat chews through it. It baffled me when I first actually examined a laptop that used USB-C natively to discover that its power adapter didn’t use a removable USB-C cable. I’d just assumed implicitly that they would, because…

Braided USB cables are robust in my experience, you might try those. With respect to DC barrel jacks, it's a mixed bag. My old ASUS Eeepc had the barrel jack get loose and make poor connections after about a year or two and I've heard others say they had the same sort of problem. On the other hand I've never seen nor heard of a thinkpad's DC barrel jack failing in any way. Those have a tight snap fit even after 15+ y…

I stand by my opinion that the rectangular ThinkPad power connector is the finest power connector ever made. I have never had one get loose or wear out in any way, nor do they flatten out if you accidentally step on them as has happened with some of my type c connectors.

Re: Framework Laptop 16 Deep Dive – 180W Power Adapter

#40

Post by josh2600 »

dcow wrote: post #32
chrismorgan wrote: post #12

> Beyond reducing environmental impact through efficiency and recycled materials, we’ve enabled longevity by making both the 2m USB-C and 1m AC cables removable, letting you swap a cable if your cat chews through it. It baffled me when I first actually examined a laptop that used USB-C natively to discover that its power adapter didn’t use a removable USB-C cable. I’d just assumed implicitly that they would, because…

On the contrary I’ve never had a usb cable fail short of physical damage (from a cat). What are you doing with your cables? On the topic of connectors, I still think Apple’s lightning connector is the most robust connection the industry has enjoyed in recent times, and most robust for its size ever. I’m sad that iPhones are going the way of USB-C.

The lightning cable being sealed is amazing. The fact that there’s no cavity to trap dust on the cable is amazing.

There’s still the dust catching port on the iPhone itself but avoiding the cable having a dust cavity is a huge win.

Post reply on HN