Razer Power Bank vs. The competition

[Shponglanator]

I recently purchased a Razer Stealth with a 4k display and a 512GB M.2 drive.  The battery life is horrific.  It only runs 3-4 hours on one charge, even if I turn off the Chroma, dim the display and change my resolution from 4k to 1080p.  Otherwise, the ultrabook is awesome.  If I can alleviate the power shortage I will keep the laptop indefinitely.  I am looking for a quick-charging power bank similar to, if not better than the Razer Power Bank.  Would you purchase the Cygnett power bank listed over the Razer Power Bank?  Are there alternatives that you could recommend?  What are all of my options, regardless of price, for a really good power bank?  I am looking for substitutes, cheaper or more expensive, so long as they are functionally equivalent to, or better than the Razer Power Bank.  For the record, the charger included with the Razer Stealth outputs 45W; 20V at 2.25 amps, and I am using this as a standard when searching for a power bank.

 

 

https://www.cygnett.com/collections/power-banks/products/20-000mah-usb-c-power-bank-in-black 

 

https://www.razerzone.com/gaming-accessories/razer-power-bank

[PorkishPig]

22 minutes ago, Shponglanator said:

I recently purchased a Razer Stealth with a 4k display and a 512GB M.2 drive.  The battery life is horrific.  It only runs 3-4 hours on one charge, even if I turn off the Chroma, dim the display and change my resolution from 4k to 1080p.  Otherwise, the ultrabook is awesome.  If I can alleviate the power shortage I will keep the laptop indefinitely.  I am looking for a quick-charging power bank similar to, if not better than the Razer Power Bank.  Would you purchase the Cygnett power bank listed over the Razer Power Bank?  Are there alternatives that you could recommend?  What are all of my options, regardless of price, for a really good power bank?  I am looking for substitutes, cheaper or more expensive, so long as they are functionally equivalent to, or better than the Razer Power Bank.  For the record, the charger included with the Razer Stealth outputs 45W; 20V at 2.25 amps, and I am using this as a standard when searching for a power bank.

 

 

https://www.cygnett.com/collections/power-banks/products/20-000mah-usb-c-power-bank-in-black 

 

https://www.razerzone.com/gaming-accessories/razer-power-bank

It has a very nice design and a Razer logo. That's where the differences stop with competitors. You can grab a MAXOAK or TSSUCCESS power bank, which have a capacity of 50000mAh and should be able to charge your laptop more effectively than Razer's own power bank. They're a bit heavy and bulky in my opinion, but it's worth a look.

[Sovietpizza]

https://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerCore-Ultra-High-Capacity-Portable/dp/B014ZO46LK

 

This one is a lot cheaper but still has the same battery life as the other ones and comes from a reputable brand. 

This should work but idk for sure cause I don't own one or a razer blade stealth. Im pretty sure anything with a USB type C thing on it can charge a razer blade stealth though.

[Shponglanator]

16 minutes ago, Homeless Pineapple said:

It has a very nice design and a Razer logo. That's where the differences stop with competitors. You can grab a MAXOAK or TSSUCCESS power bank, which have a capacity of 50000mAh and should be able to charge your laptop more effectively than Razer's own power bank. They're a bit heavy and bulky in my opinion, but it's worth a look.

The 50000mAh battery life is compelling.  I have an LG G5 and am familiar with the difference that Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 provides, for my phone.  I suppose my next extremely technical question is then, does Qualcomm quick charge 3.0 make a difference with my laptop?  45W is 45W of power, regardless of what you label it, right?  Will the INOV 200mV increments (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quick_Charge) extend my battery life, or prevent my laptop from exploding? "This technology allows the compatible portable device to determine what power level to request at any point in time, enabling optimum power transfer while maximizing efficiency." (Razer)

[SquintyG33Rs]

11 minutes ago, Shponglanator said:

The 50000mAh battery life is compelling.  I have an LG G5 and am familiar with the difference that Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 provides, for my phone.  I suppose my next extremely technical question is then, does Qualcomm quick charge 3.0 make a difference with my laptop?  45W is 45W of power, regardless of what you label it, right?  Will the INOV 200mV increments (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quick_Charge) extend my battery life, or prevent my laptop from exploding? "This technology allows the compatible portable device to determine what power level to request at any point in time, enabling optimum power transfer while maximizing efficiency." (Razer)

it's just a variable Voltage charging technology so that it's always operating at the most efficient voltage. if the laptop supports qualcomm quick charge it will do everything it promises

[Shponglanator]

4 minutes ago, SquintyG33Rs said:

it's just a variable Voltage charging technology so that it's always operating at the most efficient voltage. if the laptop supports qualcomm quick charge it will do everything it promises

This doesn't help with determining whether MAXOAK or TSSUCCESS power banks are viable alternatives.  Furthermore, I already know what QQC "just" is.

[SquintyG33Rs]

Just now, Shponglanator said:

This doesn't help with determining whether MAXOAK or TSSUCCESS power banks are viable alternatives.

they are marked as quick charge complient

[Shponglanator]

2 minutes ago, SquintyG33Rs said:

they are marked as quick charge complient

No, they aren't. TSSUCCESS illiterately advertises "Quick charge are supported by USB1, USB2."

[SquintyG33Rs]

Just now, Shponglanator said:

No, they aren't. TSSUCCESS illiterately advertises "Quick charge are supported by USB1, USB2."

yes that means only those 2 ports on the power bank will do the quickcharge

not the 2 others. mainly because they have to pay to license the tech so they don't put it on all

[Shponglanator]

6 minutes ago, SquintyG33Rs said:

yes that means only those 2 ports on the power bank will do the quickcharge

not the 2 others. mainly because they have to pay to license the tech so they don't put it on all

"Quick charge are supported by USB1, USB2 out ports that can charge digital devices with 5V, 9V, 12V."  The Quick charge are not supporting 20V.

[Shponglanator]

5 minutes ago, Shponglanator said:

Furthermore, "Quick charge are supported by USB1, USB2 out ports that can charge digital devices with 5V, 9V, 12V."  The Quick charge are not supporting 20V.

Come to think of it, Cygnett doesn't mention the Quick Charge 3.0 operating at 20V either. "Including Qualcomm (QC 3.0) technology allowing up to 75% faster charging than a standard 5W USB output."  So it may be down to the Razer Power Bank.

[Shponglanator]

It is too bad there isn't an LTT review on all four of these power banks. 

[Shponglanator]

50 minutes ago, Shponglanator said:

Come to think of it, Cygnett doesn't mention the Quick Charge 3.0 operating at 20V either. "Including Qualcomm (QC 3.0) technology allowing up to 75% faster charging than a standard 5W USB output."  So it may be down to the Razer Power Bank.

And Razer doesn't mention the Quick Charge aspect directly working out for the laptop either.  It is unfortunate too, that neither the MAXOAK nor the TSSUCCESS advertise that they can output the 20V required through the type C ports.

[SquintyG33Rs]

4 minutes ago, Shponglanator said:

Come to think of it, Cygnett doesn't mention the Quick Charge 3.0 operating at 20V either. "Including Qualcomm (QC 3.0) technology allowing up to 75% faster charging than a standard 5W USB output."  So it may be down to the Razer Power Bank.

20V isn't an absolute requirement to charge your laptop. it will only cause problems if you're running it at 100% load and trying to charge off the powerbank at the same time. then it will very slowly lose charge not really gaining it (a bit like that super cheap laptop recently reviewed on LTT)

[Shponglanator]

1 minute ago, SquintyG33Rs said:

20V isn't an absolute requirement to charge your laptop. it will only cause problems if you're running it at 100% load and trying to charge off the powerbank at the same time. then it will very slowly lose charge not really gaining it (a bit like that super cheap laptop recently reviewed on LTT)

Sometimes I am in the middle of class, multitasking on my laptop, and need that thing to have a positive rate of charge, regardless of remaining battery life, so it doesn't die on me.  Have you ever plugged in your phone and had it die?  Even while it was charging?  It really sucks >.<

[Shponglanator]

If 20V aren't enough to prevent that, nothing is.

[Shponglanator]

Edit: The TSUCCESS directly says that it can charge 20V through the Type C port, my apologies.  So it is viable. 

• Type C output charges 5V digital devices with TYPE-C input (support charge to USB-C input MacBook & more). DC output have six adjustable voltage and can charge digital devices for 5V, 8.4V, 9V, 12V, 16V (compatible 16.5V), 20V (compatible 19V,19.5V).

[SquintyG33Rs]

7 minutes ago, Shponglanator said:

Sometimes I am in the middle of class, multitasking on my laptop, and need that thing to have a positive rate of charge, regardless of remaining battery life, so it doesn't die on me.  Have you ever plugged in your phone and had it die?  Even while it was charging?  It really sucks >.<

i don't think class work multitasking will use 45W. even with hearthstone in the background on high Graphics.

 

 

now if you add facebook to that i can't say. but at that point you're not listening to class anyway...... jk you'll be fine

[Shponglanator]

Also, Wikipedia DOES say:

Quick Charge 3.0

3.6 V to 20 V, dynamic with 200 mV increments

 

Even though the advertisers seem to be avoiding the topic.

[Shponglanator]

2 minutes ago, SquintyG33Rs said:

i don't think class work multitasking will use 45W. even with hearthstone in the background on high Graphics.

 

 

now if you add facebook to that i can't say. but at that point you're not listening to class anyway...... jk you'll be fine

I stream XCOM 2 from my desktop at home with steam streaming and LogMeIn Hamachi, occasionally.  Especially while waiting for class to start.  The max settings shouldn't effect my laptop, as my desktop is doing all of the work.  Wouldn't it effectively be similar to watching YouTube in terms of battery consumption?

[SquintyG33Rs]

1 minute ago, Shponglanator said:

I stream XCOM 2 from my desktop at home with steam streaming and LogMeIn Hamachi, occasionally.  Especially while waiting for class to start.  The max settings shouldn't effect my laptop, as my desktop is doing all of the work.

yeah exactly all the work there is on the network chip and CPU decoding. it's not power hungry work

[Shponglanator]

Just now, SquintyG33Rs said:

yeah exactly all the work there is on the network chip and CPU decoding. it's not power hungry work

Isn't it nearly equivalent to watching YouTube in terms of power consumption? 15 to 20 minutes of gaming isn't THAT big of a factor in my battery consumption.

[Shponglanator]

Here was my chat session with Razer Customer Support:

 

Me: Does the Razer Stealth directly support Qualcomm 3.0 Quick Charge?

 

Razer: Regarding your question, the Razer Blade Stealth does charge through the Thunderbolt port. However for compatibility with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0, we cannot assure it will function accordingly, Joseph.

 

This makes sense too, because:

 

 

Quick Charge 3.0

3.6 V to 20 V, dynamic with 200 mV increments

2.5 A or 4.6 A[6]

18 W

   Only up to 18W are supported with the quick charging.  Perhaps the TSSUCCESS is indeed then a superior substitute to the Razer Power Core.

[Shponglanator]

Are these the exact same thing?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YP823NA?tag=linus21-20&pldnSite=1

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LSJV6XG/ref=psdc_11041841_t3_B06ZZXBXKX

[Shponglanator]

So with further research, the MAXOAK, TSSUCCESS, and the Anker PowerCore+ 20100 are incapable of outputting 20V, 2.25a through a Thunderbolt port. None of these are a viable alternative to the Razer Power Bank.  Even MAXOAK admits that their charger cannot output to a Razer Stealth on Amazon's website, though a question asked by another customer.  A 50,000 mAh battery bank would be nice, but they are not capable of keeping my laptop operating under a load as it stands.  The Cygnett and Razer Power Bank are both still my only non-janky options for safely charging my laptop.  Are there any other recommendations?