The Best External Power Banks for Gaming Laptops
The Problem:
As more PC manufacturers (HP, Apple, Lenovo, etc.) shift to use of non-removable, sealed batteries in their laptops, you can no longer count on buying and carrying around extra laptop batteries to run your laptop when on the road. The battery is now an internal component, and replacing it is equivalent to replacing a laptop’s HDD.
The Solution:
The portable power bank! This is an external battery pack for running your laptop or notebook computer. Unfortunately, MOST so-called portable power banks are intended for smartphones and tablets and cannot handle the high power demands of a gaming laptop. Even if you can find a power bank with an AC outlet connector (most have USB ports only), after connecting it to a high-power device like a laptop, the power bank may automatically shut off due to the high current (amperage) demand.
Best Power Banks for Gaming Laptops
Best for Most:
Manageable size (can fit in most backpacks). Reasonable cost. Can handle 200W (continuous) / 250W (peak).
The best choice for most is the 42000 mAh (146 Wh) Power Bank/Solar Charger. The power output specs are 200W continuous power/250W peak power. We were able to successfully power our 230W gaming laptop using this power bank. To use the AC outlet, after turning on the power bank, you have to press the “AC” button to activate power from the outlets. Although this power bank meets current TSA regulations for carry-on baggage (but NOT checked baggage), I suggest bringing the manual with you to show that it is 42000 mAH (146 Wh).
Detailed specs for this power bank and about our testing are presented below.
Detailed specs for this power bank and about our testing are presented below.
Bulkier, but Best Cost Performance:
Higher capacity. Will be a tough fit in most backpacks (with computer already inside). Noticeably more power with only a little higher cost. Can handle 300W (continuous) / 350W (peak).
The 64800 mAH (220 Wh) Power Bank/Solar Charger is an upgraded version of the base power bank. It features a higher maximum power output of 300W continuous/350W peak power. The tradeoff is a heavier weight and bulkier body. You might have trouble fitting both your laptop and this power bank into your backpack (dimensions and other detailed specs are provided below). Also, because this exceeds the TSA regulations for battery capacity for carry-on baggage, you will be UNABLE to take this with you on your flight. Like the above model, after turning on the power bank, you have to press the “AC” button to activate power from the outlets.
High Power Output and Capacity, but Only One Outlet:
High 300W power output. Impressive 260 Wh power capacity. Slim design with connectors on side. USB-C x 1, USB-C x 1, USB-A x 2. Only one AC outlet.
The Egretech Plume 300W Portable Power Station is a new entry that was just released in May 2023. It combines a high power output (300W) with the highest power capacity (260 Wh) of the power banks featured here. Although the regular price is higher than these other power banks, this could be the best cost-performance power bank if you can get it on sale (Prime Day or other campaigns).
Figuring Out How Much Power You Need
Step 1: Find Your Computer’s Maximum Power
This is written on the power adapter. It is either written in large text as 120W, 230W, or similar, or you can figure it out from the numbers 19.5V===11.8A, 19.5V===6.15A, and so on, on the adapter. Because W = V x A, multiplying 19.5V x 11.8A gives us 230W (image below), and multiplying 19.5V x 6.15A gives us 120W.
Step 2: Find the Power Bank’s Maximum Power Output (Not Power Storage Capacity)
To determine if a power bank will work for your computer, the most important spec is maximum power output, not power capacity. This is often displayed as “100W max”, “250W max”, or similar. Even if a battery pack has a high capacity of 30,000 mAh (110 Wh) to 50,000 mAh (185 Wh), most cannot continuously supply power to run devices at more than 90W.
It’s like having a water tank that is full (=lots of stored power), but it can only supply water in a small trickle like a water fountain (= low power output) — Forget about taking a shower with that water output! A battery pack must be capable of spurting out power like a high-pressure jet stream to keep a high-power laptop computer running.
It’s like having a water tank that is full (=lots of stored power), but it can only supply water in a small trickle like a water fountain (= low power output) — Forget about taking a shower with that water output! A battery pack must be capable of spurting out power like a high-pressure jet stream to keep a high-power laptop computer running.
How Long Will My Device Run?
Because about 10% to 15% of power is lost during power conversion, which is normal for all power banks, use the following formula to calculate how long a selected power bank will run your device.
(Power capacity of power bank (Wh)) x 0.85 / (Device wattage (W))
And so, if your device is averaging 60 W usage, for the 146 Wh power bank below, we get 146 Wh x 0.85 / 60 W= 2.07 hours.
In my experience with actual usage, when using the 42000 mAh power bank, it took about 2 to 2.5 hours to use up the charge, and about 7 hours to fully recharge it.
To better compare with your laptop, the specs of our tested laptop (230 W) is shown at the end of this article.
This analysis covers power banks that can fit into the second pocket of most laptop backpacks where the AC power adapter and extra batteries usually go. If you can carry around even larger sizes (lunch pail size), even larger external power supplies (called “power stations”) are available, such as the Gensrock Portable Power Station (weighing 5.5 lbs) (literally a “power brick”). These massive power banks can carry tremendous capacity (100,000 mAH and higher) and have convenient features (UPS, solar charging, etc.), and most can run gaming laptops (power outputs of 250W+ are typical) with power to spare. We review these portable power stations here.
Product Specs
AC POWER OUTPUT
POWER STORAGE
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT
LINK TO PDF MANUAL
AC POWER OUTPUT
200W (continuous)/250W (peak) POWER STORAGE
42000 mAh (146 Wh) DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT
5.71 x 7.87 x 1.81 in, 3.31 lbs. LINK TO PDF MANUAL
Instruction Manual 
AC POWER OUTPUT
300W (continuous)/350W (peak) POWER STORAGE
64800 mAh (220 Wh) DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT
7.87 x 7.87 x 3.15 in, 5 lbs. LINK TO PDF MANUAL
Specifications Sheet 
AC POWER OUTPUT
300W POWER STORAGE
260 Wh DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT
9.57 x 6.51 x 1.97 in, 4.74 lbs. Specs of Tested Laptop
Features
AC POWER
POWER USAGE (STANDARD/MAXIMUM)
Gaming Laptop (230W)
Model: Omen 17-w200
Features
17.3″ widescreen, 2 internal HDDs POWER USAGE (STANDARD/MAXIMUM)
Approx. 23W/230W TSA Travel Regulations
When traveling, because hazardous items (knives, guns, etc.) are allowed in checked luggage in the United States, it’s easy to assume that you can also put your power bank in your checked luggage. However, that’s not the case. Because of the very rare but real flammable hazard posed by these devices, most are NOT allowed in checked luggage, and are only allowed in carry-on bags up to certain sizes.
– Power banks up to 100 Wh: Allowed in carry-on bags only
– Power banks from 101-160 Wh: Up to two power banks are allowed in carry-on bags with airline approval
(Source)
Please check the TSA page and your airline for the latest regulations and the regulations of the countries where you are traveling.
– Power banks up to 100 Wh: Allowed in carry-on bags only
– Power banks from 101-160 Wh: Up to two power banks are allowed in carry-on bags with airline approval
(Source)
Please check the TSA page and your airline for the latest regulations and the regulations of the countries where you are traveling.
Disclaimers
– This testing is intended only to provide data points for analysis as case studies. No guarantee is provided that these portable power banks will work for your computer. Check your computer’s specifications carefully to compare with those here, but be aware that results may also vary based on your individual usage patterns.
– The limit for airline travel is 100 watt-hours in the United States for checked luggage and 160 watt-hours for carry-on luggage (with certain restrictions), but even this may vary by airlines and country. Still, all regulations are subject to change without notice. Please confirm with the TSA and your airlines before your trip.
– The limit for airline travel is 100 watt-hours in the United States for checked luggage and 160 watt-hours for carry-on luggage (with certain restrictions), but even this may vary by airlines and country. Still, all regulations are subject to change without notice. Please confirm with the TSA and your airlines before your trip.
Hello, I was just wondering if using the 200w power bank would damage my laptop, since it uses 230w like the omen with 19.5v and 11.8A, thanks.
Here’s my opinion as a non-expert.
Electronics are sensitive to changes in voltage, such as when a 100V device is plugged into a 240V outlet, but the power brick for your laptop probably is an international product that can handle 100V to 240V (mine says “INPUT: 100-240V ~3.5A”).
And so, what will happen if you can only give your laptop 200W when it needs 230W (peak)?
In my experience, such as when riding on planes with a supplied outlet (probably max. 120W), my laptop simply switched to battery power when it did not get enough juice.
Also, the 200W power bank has a peak of 250W, and so it MIGHT be able to handle 230W for a short length of time.
Hi, thanks for the review. Just wondering what made you say that the 42000mah version can’t do the passhrough, like does it physically not let you?
That’s right. You can’t charge it (connect to the INPUT) and use power (connected to outlet or USB) at the same time.
Hi,
Thanks for the review.
You just introduced me to a new world of portable power supply!
Thanks.
Regards
Hi there, do you know roughly how long did the FLOUREON battery last for your 230w gaming laptop?
Off the top of my head, I’d say slightly more than two hours for word processing applications. Of course, this would be significantly less for games.
Great, thks for the quick reply!
Hi mr Japandude, been hoping you might update this soon as there are very few references online to help me decide which power bank will give me the longest battery life. All i need to do is stream video to it at hd – uhd, with as close to full screen as possible. I was wondering if you knew if there was a huge difference between streaming video from a camcorder, or playing a video game such as dota 2. What id like is a power bank capable of giving me 12 hours of stream per day, and be ready to go again the next day after a night of charging. What id love is for it to allow me to play dota 2 as well for 12 hours, but do realize that is a lot to ask and would require many many amps.
Thanks for visiting my site!
It sounds like you’re going to need a lot of power.
First, do you want your power bank to be portable (fit in a backpack) or can it be a bigger size? I review some of the large power stations here (http://www.japandude.com/guide-to-portable-solar-generators-power-stations/).
To get an idea of how much power you need, try to figure out how many watts you’re using. You might be able to find out from the device manual, otherwise, you’ll need an “energy consumption meter” or similar device. I’ve seen them for $12-$13 on Amazon.(https://amzn.to/2pwHVjC)
Then, you need to compare that value with how much juice the power bank will provide. From the manual (http://www.japandude.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Portable-Solar-Generator-42000-mah-Manual.pdf), the 42000 mAh power bank above is 146 wH. That means that if you’re using 100W, you should get less than 90 minutes or power. If you’re using 50 W, you should get almost 3 hours. Of course, actual performance will slightly less than this theoretical value. This should at least give you an idea of what mAh (wH) range you should be looking for.
Good luck!
Pls, how long will the 64800mah powerbank last while playing games on dell xps 9550
It’s difficult to give a reliable estimate with all the possible variables, but here’s some estimates for you.
The 64800mah is equivalent to 220 Wh, and the 6-cell battery in the XPS 9550 is rated at 84 Wh, and so that’s nearly three times as much as the current battery.
Your power supply is rated at 130W, and so when running at FULL power, you should get around 220/130 = 1.7 hours.
Howdy, JapanDude!
Hey, great article. I had zero knowledge about how powerbanks work, and your article was my introduction.
Do you have a recommendation for a car-charger for a laptop? It is an MSI GF75 with a 3-cell 51Whr battery. The power adapter says “180W”. It does NOT have USB-C charging capabilities. Also, I would only be charging it while the laptop was off and the car was running. 🙂
Any education or advice would be well received.
Thank you!
John D.
Thanks for the kind words.
It sounds like you need a “power inverter” for your car that plugs into the cigarette outlet. Plus, you’d want one that’s rated HIGHER than 180W.
Here are some power inverters.
https://amzn.to/2SE8Oht
JapanDude
Great post! Thanks for sharing the knowledge and keep up the good work.
Hi there, firstly would like to appreciate this article and say it is brilliant especially with the detail of air transport restrictions. I just have one question.
Question
I wanted to ask if you know how long a 230w gaming laptop would last on the larger Floureon 64800mah power supply/bank.
Thank you! and sorry for such a late comment.
I have the 42000mah power bank, and for my 230w gaming laptop, it gives me about 2 hours of power — longer when using light apps, shorter for games and other power-intensive apps.
Based on those numbers, the 64800mah power bank should give you around 3 hours of power.
I hope that this helps!
That’s right. You can’t charge it (connect to the INPUT) and use power (connected to outlet or USB) at the same time.
Hello Japandude, great review !
I’ve got a Lenovo legion y540 170W, 20V, 52.5Wh
Should I look for a powerbank of +- 150W and 20V and more than 60Wh ?
Hope you’ll see this message.
BelgiumDude
Hey there!
A powerbank of +- 150W will PROBABLY be OK unless you are running games or other high-demand apps.
Normally, my PC runs at only a fraction of the maximum power.
However, 60Wh seems a little small to me. If your PC runs at about a third of the maximum power (170/3 = 57W), that will only give you one hour of power.
The 42000mAh (146Wh) power bank featured here will give you 146 Wh, which is almost 2.5x more than 60Wh.
Of course, it all depends on what you need it for. I hope that this helps!
Thanks for the answer JapanDude !
I’ll take a powerbank with the most Wh possible then.
The 42000mAh power bank has got too much watts (200W) for my 170W Legion y540, hasn’t it ? Wouldn’t it be dangerous for my computer? I wonder what would be the best option in terms of watts.
I thought I should look for a power bank with less watts than the computer since you took a 200W power bank for your 230W computer.
Hope you’ll see this new message and sorry for disturbing you ^_^
I just bought this computer and I would be really happy if I could use it for a whole day at the university.
BelgiumDude
BelgiumDude,
I think that you’re misunderstanding the units of power, watts (W), here. You NEED to have a power bank that supplies at or more than your power needs.
You can plug low-power devices into the 200W power bank without any problems. The 200W is how much power it supplies at the peak.
When you plug in low-power devices, the power bank will last 8 or more hours. When you plug in a high-power device, it will only last for an hour or two.
The AC output for the power bank is “AC 110V”. As long as your device can plug into outlets in North America (110V), you don’t need to worry about frying your device.
Everythhing’s clear now.
Unfortunately, I didn’t find any powerbank that would fit. Some are real generators, so too large for my backpack and others are not deliverable in Belgium… My device can’t plug into outlets in North America but I could have bought an adapter. Anyway, Thank you for your explanations, JapanDude !
Tu trabajo es inclreible!!! Estoy muy impresionado, me has enseñado mas en 30 minutos de lo que he aprendido buscando videos e informacion sobre este tema, muchas gracias por compartir tu conocimiento 😉
I have an acer predator helios 300, my power adapter says 180 watts what power bank would be best for me? And in canada flying with a less than 160wh battery. Thanks in advance, jeff
Thanks for your question!
Because the 50000 mAH power bank featured here supports only up to 90W in the specs (we tested it working up to 120W), I think that the 42000 mAh is the best choice for you.
It’s also the only one of these three that is TSA-approved for airline travel (carry-on) because it’s less than 160wh.
Thanks man your the best, promot reply, i forgot to mention in my previous question, the device will not charge while in play will it? Does it need to be in sleep mode or turned off to charge? Thanks Japandude.
Your device does NOT need to be in sleep mode or turned off.
The 42000 mAh power bank can provide power continuously at 200W (250W peak). That means that you CAN run your PC while charging — the PC will act like it’s plugged into an outlet. In fact, I was able to run my 230W power laptop this way.
In my experience, the PC would need to be off only when the power bank cannot supply enough power in its normal state — such as when using the 50000 mAh power bank that has only 90W power output.
Hey, thanks for the information. But i still have a doubt tho. My laptops adapter says 16A 250V. So what kind of power bank will i need. Please suggest.
And that my laptop says its 66Wh
In that case, the 64800 mAH power bank (220 Wh) would be your best choice because it offers 300W power output (600W peak).
The next closest is the 42000 mAh power bank, but it only offers 200W power output (250W peak).
If you still don’t think that these will give you enough power, you need to look at the power stations that I review here.
The large power station there provides 1000W power (2000W peak).
I want an half or less capacity 250W power bank like this, to be allowable in air travel.
This power bank provides up to 100W of power and should be OK for air travel.
Link:
https://amzn.to/3B80k6e
That is not capable to power a 230 W consumer, like is common in some gaming laptops.
This is very confusing. In some places I see the limit for air travel is 20000 mAh, others say 27000 mAh, others say 27600 mAh and now it appears here an entry with 42000 mAh!
The best thing is to just check with the airline that you will be flying with. Many have it posted on their websites.
AOHI has an AC 150w TSA compliant portable powerbank
Hi JapanDude, thanks for writing this article and sharing the wisdom! I reckon I have a fundamental gap in knowledge that brings up this question but I’d like to ask if it’s technically possible to charge a 200W gaming laptop with a a 100W power bank when the laptop is not in use (let’s say it’s sleeping)? I’d just like to charge the laptop when it’s in my backpack or not in use, I can stand not having it charge while I’m using it. Cheers
Technically, it’s difficult to say, but if I had to guess, I’d say yes. That’s because I was able to charge my 230W laptop with a 90W power bank when it was turned off.
Of course, there’s no guarantee, and so maybe you should buy the 100W power bank from a dealer with an easy return policy just in case.
The reason it could work is that 200W is the maximum power that your laptop draws, but normally, it should not need that much power.
JD, borrowed a power bank from a friend to power something, not charge. It was low power but needed it to ‘continuously’ run. However, I found that the power bank switches off after 2 hours. Do all power banks switch off like that? Just need it to stay on. Any recommendations? Thanks!
On the Amazon page of the Powkey power bank presented here, the manufacturer answers this question in the Customer Q&As: “The DC & USB outputs will auto off in several seconds if no devices loaded. but even a very small load, such as 2W USB fan, It will also be detected and the battery will always output power.”
If size is not an issue, for this 300W peak / 280Wh capacity large power bank, in the Customer Q&As, the manufacturer says: “This portable power station will power down automatically if the total output power is detected lower than 2W for 12 consecutive hours. But if you charge the device less than 2W, this power station won’t stop working until 12 hours later.”
Hope this helps!
On the Amazon page of the Powkey power bank presented here, the manufacturer answers this question in the Customer Q&As: “The DC & USB outputs will auto off in several seconds if no devices loaded. but even a very small load, such as 2W USB fan, It will also be detected and the battery will always output power.”
If size is not an issue, for this 300W peak / 280Wh capacity large power bank, in the Customer Q&As, the manufacturer says: “This portable power station will power down automatically if the total output power is detected lower than 2W for 12 consecutive hours. But if you charge the device less than 2W, this power station won’t stop working until 12 hours later.”
Hope this helps!