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I check dozens of chargers yearly. Some are glorious, whereas others fall brief. Right here on ZDNET, I solely function the cream of the crop — the very best of the very best. Nonetheless, I sometimes obtain requests from readers asking for my ideas or opinions on particular merchandise.
These days, one product that is been producing a number of buzz is that this 600W GaN charger.
So, I purchased a pair for testing. At $99, they don’t seem to be precisely low cost, however in comparison with the Ugreen Nexode 300W unit, which prices $140, they appeared like a cut price. In any case, that is an 8-port, 600W charger versus a 5-port, 300W unit.
Crimson flags
The primary pink flag for me was the no-name model — a generic identify I would by no means heard of earlier than. Why does this firm have 600W chargers in the marketplace, whereas the massive names — Anker, Ugreen, Belkin, Baseus, and others — do not? I’ve heard of and handled these firms extensively, and so they’ve constructed reputations for high quality and reliability.
However issues went downhill the second I plugged it in.
The primary concern I observed was that the charger was erratic. I might get 140W out of one of many USB-C ports, however the different 140W port wasn’t cooperating and appeared to be caught at round 65W. To make issues worse, one of many 100W ports seemed to be utterly lifeless.
One other main drawback was that plugging or unplugging units would usually trigger the charger to malfunction. As a rule, it will enter a state the place it stopped working totally, requiring me to unplug the facility cable to “reboot” it and get it functioning once more.
Not good.
It doesn’t matter what I attempted, I could not get this charger wherever close to its claimed 600W energy ranking. To make issues worse, it was erratic and temperamental.
So, I made a decision to open it up and have a look inside.
Ballast maybe?
The very first thing that greeted me was a lump of… one thing. At first look, it appeared like a thermal compound, however it smelled and felt extra like a window glazing compound, forsaking an oily residue. It was additionally surprisingly heavy, nearly as if it had been added to offer the charger some synthetic heft. With out it, the stays of the charger felt extremely gentle.
Undoubtedly not what I would count on from a 600W charger.
Severe security hazard
A fast examination of the circuitry revealed that this can be a sub-par piece of kit. With out getting too technical, the separation between the mains voltage and the low-voltage sections of the charger is insufficient.
This poor design implies that a malfunction might probably end result within the charger outputting mains voltage — a critical security hazard. Moreover, the transformers and voltage regulators used do not look like able to delivering the marketed 600W.
One other concern was how simply the case popped open, exposing the inner parts. If this charger fell off a desk whereas plugged in, the aspect cowl might detach, exposing the high-voltage parts. This creates a harmful scenario the place somebody might by chance come into contact with the mains voltage whereas retrieving the charger.
The underside line
This charger would not make the minimize. It would not even come shut.
That is precisely why I extensively check every part — from energy banks and chargers to energy stations. Producers can simply make daring claims on spec sheets, packaging, and even the product itself, however creating a tool that truly delivers on these guarantees is a far higher problem.
Want a strong charger? Go for one thing just like the Ugreen Nexode 300W or Anker Prime 250W. These are high quality merchandise that ship the products from firms with a monitor document of delivering the products.
