I'm 152 cm tall and carry a 15.6-inch MSI Prestige 15 A11SC to school every day, with a commute of over an hour each way. The laptop is already fairly heavy, and its original charger is unusually large and heavy compared with the chargers from my older laptops. Carrying everything has started causing back pain.
I'm considering buying a compact 100W GaN charger and a properly rated 100W USB-C-to-USB-C cable as a lighter substitute. Would this be suitable for my laptop, or are there limitations I should know about before spending the money? I'd especially like to know whether USB-C charging will provide enough power for normal schoolwork and whether the laptop supports its full performance through USB-C.
4 Answers
The original adapter is listed at around 90W, so a 100W USB-C PD charger could be enough, especially for browsing, documents, and classes. However, USB-C charging may not provide the same performance as the original charger. During gaming, rendering, or other heavy workloads, the battery could still drain or the laptop might reduce its performance if it needs more power than USB-C can supply.
If the specifications match, keeping the large original adapter at home and using the GaN charger as your travel charger sounds like a practical setup.
USB-C charging isn’t implemented identically on every laptop, even though the general standards are universal. Confirm that the laptop supports USB-C Power Delivery and the required voltage and wattage, rather than assuming any 100W charger will work. A multi-port charger may also divide its output between devices, so make sure the port used by the laptop can actually provide the advertised power while your other devices are connected.
A 100W GaN charger should work for everyday tasks if your specific Prestige 15 supports USB-C Power Delivery charging. Check the markings near the USB-C port and the laptop’s specifications first, because some MSI models only accept full-power charging through the original barrel connector. The cable also needs to be rated for 100W; a basic USB-C cable may not support that much power.
If the USB-C option turns out to be limited, another solution might be a slimmer compatible replacement for the original adapter. It may also be worth improving how the weight is carried: a well-fitted backpack with a padded waist strap can distribute the load much better, and a wheeled bag could help on routes where that’s practical.
A photography or video backpack could be useful too. They’re heavily padded, designed to organize bulky equipment, and often distribute weight better than a normal school bag.