Underpowered Laptop Charging

[chrisworth30]

Is it bad for a laptop to use a charger that is a lower wattage than the charger it came with? My XPS15 comes with a 130watt charger but no docks that I have seen with power delivery have that much power. Most max out around 100watts. Would it be a problem to regularly charge on a 100watt charger when the charger provided by the manufacturer is 130watts?

[kirashi]

1 hour ago, chrisworth30 said:

Is it bad for a laptop to use a charger that is a lower wattage than the charger it came with? My XPS15 comes with a 130watt charger but no docks that I have seen with power delivery have that much power. Most max out around 100watts. Would it be a problem to regularly charge on a 100watt charger when the charger provided by the manufacturer is 130watts?

As long as the charger is the correct voltage, there's nothing "wrong" with using an underpowered charger. The only "problem" is that some laptops need (at minimum) the wattage of the charger they shipped with or they'll slowly discharge as you use them, even when plugged in.

[Bombastinator]

1 hour ago, chrisworth30 said:

Is it bad for a laptop to use a charger that is a lower wattage than the charger it came with? My XPS15 comes with a 130watt charger but no docks that I have seen with power delivery have that much power. Most max out around 100watts. Would it be a problem to regularly charge on a 100watt charger when the charger provided by the manufacturer is 130watts?

What will happen is it will take longer to charge, the dGPU if there is one will not be able to reach full boost, and there will be additional wear on the battery because it will be drawn on more often and harder in situations where it normally wouldn’t be.  As long as you only charge it or do very light work while attached to the dock there shouldn’t be a major functionality problem.  I suggest only gaming on an actual power brick made for it though.