USB Type-C 2.1 Cables Start to Become Available for 240W Power Delivery

News
By Mark Tyson
published

They can deliver up to 48 volts and 5 amps.

240W USB-C cables
(Image credit: Club3D)

The idea of a USB Type-C cables charging just about anything has been limited by the amount of power they can deliver. Club3D, a small retailer, has launched a new cable  which can deliver up to 240W of power. The company has three cables ready to choose; two which are fully featured for transmission of power and data and video, and another which is limited to power and slower (USB 2.0) data.

We reported on the updated specification which is behind the design of these new cables nearly a year ago. In May 2021, the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) released the USB-C v2.1 update which outlined Extended Power Range (EPR) standard. Specifically, this standard allows for USB-C to support power delivery up to 240W, which is up to 48V at 5A.

Before the USB-C v2.1 update, the standard was limited to 100W (20V at 5A) power delivery. This is why it was rare to find any creator or gaming laptop which would even trickle charge with USB-C power for a time.

(Image credit: Club3D)
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Club3D USB-C EPR Cables Comparison

CAC 1573

CAC-1575

CAC-1576

Power

240W

240W

240W

Data

USB 2.0 480 MbpsUSB 4 Gen 2x2 20 GbpsUSB 4 Gen 3x2 40 Gbps

Video via DP-Alt mode

NA

Up to 4K/60Hz

Up to 8K/60Hz

Length

2m

2m

1m

The emergence of these revamped cables is exciting, but what we need now are some chargers and devices that can make use of the new capabilities. Club3D's own charger series maxes out at 132W.

USB-C charging at up to 240W should be ample for most mainstream laptops, except those sporting the most powerful CPUs and GPUs currently available.

At the time of writing we couldn't find any information about retail availability for the new cables, and no pricing has been announced.

Mark Tyson
Mark Tyson
Freelance News Writer

Mark Tyson is a Freelance News Writer at Tom's Hardware US. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.

12 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Geef
    USB-C charging at up to 240W should be ample for most mainstream laptops, except those sporting the most powerful CPUs and GPUs currently available.

    ---

    Dude if you have any of those laptops laying around please give me one! :ROFLMAO:
    Reply
  • saunupe1911
    Geef said:
    USB-C charging at up to 240W should be ample for most mainstream laptops, except those sporting the most powerful CPUs and GPUs currently available.

    ---

    Dude if you have any of those laptops laying around please give me one! :ROFLMAO:

    LOL yep first thought came to mind is what current or future products will utilize this cable. Does it improve anything from the 2.0 spectrum?
    Reply
  • hotaru.hino
    saunupe1911 said:
    LOL yep first thought came to mind is what current or future products will utilize this cable. Does it improve anything from the 2.0 spectrum?
    My laptop needs an 180W brick to cover the worst case scenario (full power + battery charging from empty), and there are plenty of others within the same class. So it could definitely benefit from this new spec.
    Reply
  • SyCoREAPER
    When/If we get a 280w+ capable cable, I wonder if a USB-C to barrel plug would work. I have a G15 Strix with a massive 280w power supply that I'd love to see shrunken down to using a GaN brick.

    Only hurdle would be finding a barrel adapter since obviously a cable and brick powerful enough don't exist hence it doesn't accept PD natively.
    Reply
  • hotaru.hino
    sycoreaper said:
    When/If we get a 280w+ capable cable, I wonder if a USB-C to barrel plug would work. I have a G15 Strix with a massive 280w power supply that I'd love to see shrunken down to using a GaN brick.

    Only hurdle would be finding a barrel adapter since obviously a cable and brick powerful enough don't exist hence it doesn't accept PD natively.
    It won't work passively. Most barrel plugs on laptops are 19V.
    Reply
  • mrbofus
    "USB Type-C 2.1 Cables Start to Become Available for 240W Power Delivery"
    Where? Club3D doesn't sell cables directly and none of the retailers (at least in the US) show any in-stock, if even a listing. Should the title be something like "USB Type-C 2.1 Cables should start to become available at some point in the future"?
    Reply
  • SyCoREAPER
    hotaru.hino said:
    It won't work passively. Most barrel plugs on laptops are 19V.

    Not following why that wouldn't work passively. Not being snarky, I'm interested. Phones technically charge passively since they are on or off depending on the charge.

    My laptops charger outputs DC at 20V / 14A
    Reply
  • Chung Leong
    No help to those of us who need to power our devices with bolts of lightning.
    Reply
  • hotaru.hino
    sycoreaper said:
    Not following why that wouldn't work passively. Not being snarky, I'm interested. Phones technically charge passively since they are on or off depending on the charge.

    My laptops charger outputs DC at 20V / 14A
    For one, you're asking a 19-20V input to take in 48V. That's a great way to blow something up.

    The only way I can think of dropping voltage in a DC circuit passively is by using a resistor. However, this thing called Ohm's Law requires the resistor to consume current, which is extremely wasteful. Not to mention, the resistor would have to match the load of the PC at any given point so the voltage drop would remain more or less constant. In any case, trying to do this passively is largely impractical with existing devices.
    Reply
  • SyCoREAPER
    hotaru.hino said:
    For one, you're asking a 19-20V input to take in 48V. That's a great way to blow something up.

    The only way I can think of dropping voltage in a DC circuit passively is by using a resistor. However, this thing called Ohm's Law requires the resistor to consume current, which is extremely wasteful. Not to mention, the resistor would have to match the load of the PC at any given point so the voltage drop would remain more or less constant. In any case, trying to do this passively is largely impractical with existing devices.

    What the holy hell are you talking about? I think you're getting watts and volts confused. 20V/14A is 280w (V x A = W). EVERY AC/DC inverter takes AC, usually 120-240v and at a fairly low amperage (not sure of the exact conversion formula) and turns it into DC. In the case of my 280W supply, it's 3.2A AC.

    As of now there aren't any small form factor 280W bricks but with GaN making advances rapidly it's a matter of time.
    Reply