Are there any monitors that are powered by USB C?

[CogadhTaibhse]

Are there any monitors out there that can be powered with a USB C cable? Basically, I would like to power my monitor by plugging it into the USB ports on the back of my desktop instead of using up a wall plug.

 

Am I wrong to think a USB C cable would be able to deliver enough power to keep a monitor running. My PSU would easily be able to handle the extra power output also.

 

When googling this all I can find are monitors that can supply power to laptops through USB C but none that actually use a USB C cable to powers themselves.

 

1 Thunderbolt cable would be able to handle the job of display output and power delivery surely?

[jaslion]

Yes, however they need WAY more power than the 5w a desktop usb port can deliver.

 

There are displays that do it HOWEVER DESKTOP AND LAPTOP THUNDERBOLT ARE NOT THE SAME!!!!!!!!!!!! Desktop thunderbolt has way more optional features like power delivery, display signal carry,...

 

So whilst technically possible a desktop isn't considered in the making of these portable displays that can run off of usb c as the usb port is simply not enough power.

 

There are some that will run off one or 2 usb power and then have a hdmi cable for display, but that doesn't help with cable clutter. These displays are also quite basic.

 

So just keep using a normal display.

[GuiltySpark_]

11 minutes ago, jaslion said:

Desktop thunderbolt has way more optional features like power delivery, display signal carry,...

To be fair all of that is available on laptops aswell. The primary difference will be how much power can be delivered. 
 

Yes, these exist but are primarily portable monitors. 
 

I’ve seen a number used in portable SFF setups. 

[adm0n]

For getting more power out of a USB cable, your PC and the monitor would need to negotiate a higher voltage. But your PC doesn't have a steady supply of an
"arbitrary" voltage between 5 and 48 V. So it is probably only capable of outputting 5V. So that severely limits how much power a potential monitor could draw.

 

You could get away with an portable monitor though. Something like an Innocn 15a1f. But for anything else you'd need a USB controller that can

• inject a DP signal from your GPU
• Convert 12V from your PSU to whatever USB-PD needs

And I don't think such a thing exists. But it'd also be fun for you to prove me wrong.

[Agall]

28 minutes ago, CogadhTaibhse said:

Are there any monitors out there that can be powered with a USB C cable? Basically, I would like to power my monitor by plugging it into the USB ports on the back of my desktop instead of using up a wall plug.

 

Am I wrong to think a USB C cable would be able to deliver enough power to keep a monitor running. My PSU would easily be able to handle the extra power output also.

 

When googling this all I can find are monitors that can supply power to laptops through USB C but none that actually use a USB C cable to powers themselves.

 

1 Thunderbolt cable would be able to handle the job of display output and power delivery surely?

You'd have to have a special type-c port that supports PD, some higher end boards in the last generation having that. They'd have a 6 pin VGA AUX connector by the front panel type-c header for this, Asus coming to mind. Those aren't going to support DP alt to pass a dGPU signal, so you'd have another connection from the dGPU for display signal.

 

Example, the 6 pin is for the type-c header to support 65W PD. You could even use a rear PCIe slot instead of the front panel one to power a display with it.

 

Otherwise, there's a plethora of portable displays that can be powered off low wattage type-c connectors. Anything high powered is going to be in excess of 45W, which a laptop or normal type-c port won't be able to drive.

 

Dell 14 Portable Monitor - P1424H | Dell USA

 

I can't seem to find any PCIe cards that have type-c that also support DP alt and PD, so its probably not a thing. The best you might be able to find is a Thunderbolt 4 controller that supports 65W and has a DP passthrough for your display connection. You could then have a type-c powered monitor that also can receive DP alt signals through that powered off of one cable.

[Agall]

Thinking about this, why hasn't someone made a cable that uses an 8 pin AUX connector that adapts to a PCIe slot and type-c power only? They'd have to step up the voltage so they'd be some logic within it, since some monitors use barrel 19V connectors. So, it would have to take multiple 12V rails from that 8pin to step it anywhere from 12-24V.

 

OP has a point, it would be cool to power your monitor off a type-c cable coming from your PC. In that case, you'd just be sparing another 50W-60W from your computer's PSU to power it.

 

The idea that comes to mind is just using a spare VGA header on your modular power supply to use an included PSU VGA cable, then the product would be a female 8pin to type-c PCIe bracket that you'd place in the bottom PCIe slot of your case.

 

Even if its that and something like this into your monitor:

[CogadhTaibhse]

Thanks guys, I wasn't aware the desktop USB ports can only deliver 5W, so really I'd have to look into buying a low energy portable monitor to power it off the desktop. Not really worth the trade offs so given that I won't actually be moving the monitor once its setup.

48 minutes ago, Agall said:

You'd have to have a special type-c port that supports PD, some higher end boards in the last generation having that. They'd have a 6 pin VGA AUX connector by the front panel type-c header for this, Asus coming to mind.

Will have to look into this, seems really interesting.

[Poinkachu]

5 minutes ago, CogadhTaibhse said:

Thanks guys, I wasn't aware the desktop USB ports can only deliver 5W, so really I'd have to look into buying a low energy portable monitor to power it off the desktop. Not really worth the trade offs so given that I won't actually be moving the monitor once its setup.

Will have to look into this, seems really interesting.

at 5w... probably only monitors like what LTT reviewed in their latest video.

 

[Kilrah]

As mentioned mobos and laptops typically don't support PD out so no sufficient power for a monitor.

 

There are PCIe cards with PD e.g. https://www.delock.com/produkt/89001/merkmale.html?g=2069

but then they don't tie in to the iGPU so no display out, only data. Actually most mobo ports also don't do display out, some do but it's usually difficult to even find out whether they do.

 

There are USB-C powered monitors, usually portable ones, but e.g. the one I have will limit its brightness to "barely usable" on a standard port, needs additional supply from a sufficiently powerful source on the 2nd USB-C port it has to get full brightness.

[Motifator]

Depends on context largely, this question. I'm sure a fully blown USB that can bi-directionally interlinked with TB aka USB type-C with the utmost wattage handling, can power some basic portable monitor. Maybe even one of the fancy OLED ones Asus makes. Monitors do not actually pull boatload of power when idling, writing posts here.

They pull much more power when the nits are increased and you're doing pro color work, etc... the computer LCD display's power ratings work like that. Think of it like a PSU of your computer. The more exquisite loads you do with it, the heavier the load becomes wattage-wise.

You're not going to be doing that stuff on a portable, likely. So my vote is yes, you can do it, but as in which full context I wouldn't know.

[GuiltySpark_]

2 hours ago, CogadhTaibhse said:

Thanks guys, I wasn't aware the desktop USB ports can only deliver 5W

Not all, but traditional basic USB ports do. 

 

This 18" 1440p 144Hz portable monitor is fully capable of being driven and powered by a single cable but the source port will need to supply at least 15W to drive it at 1440p 144hz. 

https://www.uperfectmonitor.com/products/18-inch-144hz-freesync-monitor

 

The USB4/Type C ports on my motherboard can drive up to 27W. 

 

What motherboard do you have?

[CogadhTaibhse]

7 hours ago, GuiltySpark_ said:

What motherboard do you have?

I have an ROG STRIX B550-F GAMING.

 

9 hours ago, Kilrah said:

they don't tie in to the iGPU so no display out, only data. Actually most mobo ports also don't do display out, some do but it's usually difficult to even find out whether they do.

This is no problem, I don't mind still using a HDMI/DP connector for display I had just thought of Thunderbolt when I was writing out the post. My main issue was that my desktop is already plugged into the wall with a PSU that has enough headroom to drive a monitor or two so I wanted to see if it was possible.