On the back of the Framework Laptop 16 I found that there is a USB-C port. What is it for? Can I plug the power cable into it? Will the battery charge that way?
What is the difference between that built in USB-C port on the back, and any USB-C port in the expansion card slots? I’ve been using the USB-C port in the expansion card slots for charging my laptop. I bought one specifically because I thought that it was the only way that the power comes into it. I wasn’t aware the existence of a second built in such port on the back? Can I just remove the expansion card for the USB-C port and replace it with something else?
The port on the back is for connecting displays directly to the graphics module. It doesn’t support charging, it is purely for displays (and USB 2.0 peripherals).
If you use the ports on the sides for displays then the system has to route the graphics module’s output through the iGPU, which incurs a minor performance penalty. Using the port on the graphics module avoids that penalty.
I think the FW16 has a switch integrated so it doesn’t have to route it through the iGPU.
Anyways, I always use this port as it supports higher resolutions as the side ports. And so I can still use the side ports for more important gadgets.
What do you mean by connecting displays? Do you mean a second monitor? I know that most monitors have VGA or HDMI inputs, so I don’t think that a USB-C port will fit here.
What are some concrete examples of using this USB-C port on the back? I don’t think I fully understand your explanation.
Video / display outputs can be sent out via USB-C ports, that’s fully supported by the USB-C spec. As long as the connected device also supports USB DisplayPort Alt Mode. Also, you can literally take a DisplayPort expansion card out of the side of your Framework, and plug it into the back / GPU USB-C port instead, it’s a DP Alt Mode card. But normally you would use a USB-C to DisplayPort Alt Mode cable if you need a DisplayPort plug, only because that’s cleaner and safer than an expansion card hanging out of the back.
That switch only works for the integrated display. The side ports always route through the iGPU.
It is for monitors.
Some monitors have USB-C inputs, although with most it will be necessary to use an adapter. Framework has stated that the reason they used USB-C instead of DisplayPort or HDMI is because of physical space constraints in the module (USB-C takes less space).
