What exactly does "Higher power consumption" for expansion 1 and 3 mean?

Framework Laptop 13
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I disassembled the USB-C and USB-A and they are just extension cables, you can plug a USB-C device directly onto the mainboard. How does an empty USB-A draws current? I found that the top surface on the USB-C expansion card is plastic while the top surface of the USB-A is metal, does that affects grounding? What will happen if I swap the top serface i.e putting the USB-C expansion card cover into a USB-A expansion card?

EDIT: Where can I find Expansion Card Functionality on (11/12/13th Gen Intel® Core™)? There is only an Expansion Card Functionality on Framework Laptop 13 (AMD Ryzen™ 7040 Series)

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A USB-A card needs to tell the USB-C controller that it’s present so that the controller falls back to compatibility. It does this through a resistor on the CC line. Unfortunately, this causes the AMD compatible retimers to be unable to sleep.

Metal was used for the USB-A card only due to being thinner, needed to accommodate the USB-A port height.

All slots are supposed to be the same on the Intel boards.

23

See my explanation in post 10 of this thread for the reason it causes unexpected current draw.

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My understanding is that it was first seen happening on the Intel CPUs as well.

25

Well, looks like FW13 w/ intel CPU is much more versatile than FW13 with AMD CPU. I wish I know it sooner…

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It’s the one area where the intel board has an advantage. Read some reviews on the AMD version, it’s really a better choice.
One of many reviews https://www.notebookcheck.net/Framework-Laptop-13-5-Ryzen-7-7840U-review-So-much-better-than-the-Intel-version.756613.0.html

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