PinePower!

_posts/2021-01-31-pine-power.md

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+---
+layout: post
+title: Loving the Pine Power
+tags:
+- hardware
+---
+
+My current available working space is at an all time low which has made the
+dimensions of everything around me much more important.  While I can never
+become one of those extreme minimalists that works with only their laptop on a
+park bench, next to their camper van (or whatever), I have been pushing myself
+to become more space-efficient with my electronics. This includes how they all
+are powered, so when I learned about the
+[PinePower](https://pine64.com/product/pinepower-120w-desktop-power-supply-us-version/?v=0446c16e2e66)
+device, I ordered it immediately.
+
+The PinePower is sold by [Pine64](https://pine64.com/), the same folks who
+manufactured my PineBook Pro. The device is basically a "power all the USB from
+one place" desktop power supply. One 120V plug provides five USB ports (four
+USB-A, one USB-C) along with a charging pad, although I own nothing that can
+utilize wireless charging.
+
+Currently this little brick is powering:
+
+* Dell XPS via USB-C
+* PineBook Pro
+* A work phone
+* My personal phone, using the USB-A port with Quick Charging capability.
+
+Consolidating four "wall warts" into a single 120V plug is more than enough of
+a reason to purchase the device when it becomes available again. 
+
+The PinePower also offers a little display above each port which tells you the
+voltage and current amperage of each port. I *love* this feature as it gives me
+a good understanding of the power draw of all of these devices, when charging
+has completed, or when CPU intensive tasks have caused power consumption to
+spike. At a glance I can see that my PineBook Pro is charging, pulling 2.2A,
+while the XPS is fluctuating power modes between 0.4, 0.7, and 1.2A as I write
+this blog post. Power utilization and efficiency are important to me, and to
+that end the PinePower has been more informative than I anticipated it would
+be.
+
+From an excitement-to-complexity ratio, the device scores very highly for me.
+It's so simple, yet I find myself glancing over at the display multiple times a
+day to get a sense of my current power requirements.
+
+To learn more about it, I recommend [reading this
+article](https://www.cnx-software.com/2021/01/16/pinepower-120w-desktop-power-supply-features-display-usb-pd-qc-3-0-and-wireless-charging/)
+on the PinePower, and of course keep an eye on the website to see when it comes
+back in stock!

tag/hardware.md

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+---
+layout: tag_page
+title: "Tag: hardware"
+tag: hardware
+robots: noindex
+---