You’ll understand why later, but I’ll tell you right away: Gembird NPA-PD60-01 is a very interesting power supply. It is a relative novelty that focuses on stability and configuration rather than speed. At the same time, it misses some nuances that I hadn’t even thought about before.
Market positioning
Let me start with the fact that the official price of Gembird NPA-PD60-01 is about $30. This is an absolutely standard price for this class of devices, but I note that this model is NOT gallium-nitrite, i.e. GaN. It is “classic” in this respect.
Package contents
But the charging unit’s package is not at all classic. In addition to the user manual and the unit itself, we have two Type-C cables of 1.5 m each. One has a Type-C connector at the end, and the other has a proprietary 3pin connector, as I understand it.
This connector is used to connect one of the ten laptop attachments that are also included in the package. Because yes, officially Gembird NPA-PD60-01 is positioned as a spare charger for laptops. Although its versatility goes much further.
Appearance
From the outside, I expected to see a power supply that would be the same size as my much more expensive 120-watt power supply. But the Gembird turned out to be HALF the size. And in terms of overall size, it’s not much bigger than my 65W GaN charger. It just has a different shape, and this may be more convenient.
The build quality here is without complaints, the plastic at the end is glossy and the place of soldering is noticeable, and even tangible. However, the majority of the case is matte and pleasant in the hand. The sides also have the logo and specifications of the unit.
Also, the Gembird NPA-PD60-01 is universal in terms of plugs. The Shuko plug is removed, and you get access to, as I understand it, an American flat plug. On the opposite side are USB Type-C and USB Type-A. The latter has a white guide, which means it’s version 2.0. The power is appropriate, 5 V with a current of up to 2.5 A. That is, 12.5 W maximum.
But Type-C is fast, from 5 to 20 V with a current of up to 4.5 A. This is more than 60 W, but in Power Delivery mode, the power will be 20 V 3 A, i.e. the promised 60 W. And here I should probably remind you that instead of speed, Gembird focuses on standards support. It is certified for USB-C PD2.0/3.0, QC2.0 and 3.0, as well as MTK FCP BC1.2. That is, Power Delivery 2.0, 3.0, Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 and 3.0, as well as MediaTek, Huawei Fast Charge Protocol, and Battery Charge 1.2.
The standards are far from up-to-date. For example, Quick Charge 3.0 was outdated in 2016, when Quick Charge 4.0 was released. However, the nuance is that if your smartphone is modern and supports charging speeds higher than 18W (QC 3.0 speed), it most likely supports USB Power Delivery, which allows you to take power at the 60W level.
A bit about USB
The USB 2.0 connector itself is not so much useful as it is a hint that Gembird does not cheat and does not make risky experiments, modifying connectors to save money, as Chinese brands do. To give you an idea, in most mid-budget smartphones today, USB Type-C is essentially USB 2.0.
Officially, USB 2.0 with a Type-C connector does not exist, because the USB-C standard is written for USB 3.0 parameters. Not 2.0. The Chinese actually invented their own standard, which does not exist officially. But it works because all versions of USB are backwards compatible.
That is, all the contacts that USB 2.0 has can be found in USB version 3.0 with a USB-C connector. And in fact, converting a USB 3.0 Type-C to a USB 2.0 Type-C is very simple. Just remove the extra contacts. Or not all of them. For example, leave 2-3, which will additionally transmit power, but only through compatible branded power supplies.
Sound familiar? I was recently charging one of the relatively new Blackview smartphones with a MediaTek chipset. And this smartphone refused to charge from half of my powerful chargers. But it was charging perfectly on its 33-watt charger. And it charges perfectly via Gembird NPA-PD60-01.
As for the ability to charge laptops, you understand that 60 watts is not enough for all models. Actually, if your laptop has a discrete graphics card, you will most likely not have enough power. Unless, of course, you want to charge it through a separate power connector.
Because if your device supports Type-C power – like my ASUS ROG Strix S15, for example – then your device most likely supports a separate Type-C mode. With reduced power, but it will charge. If you have a low-power ultrabook, then this will not be a problem for you at all.
The most useful cable
At the beginning of the review, I mentioned that the power supply is more versatile than you might think. And this is true, thanks to a single connector. To be more precise, the M7, or DC 5.5×2.5 mm. You see, this is the connector that is used by many accessories in the photo studio.
In fact, this connector is used to power the Yongnuo YN-300 Air II RGB light, Yongnuo YN-300 III studio panels, PortKeys PT5 camera monitor, and Vivat D-26 II turntable. And a bunch of other lights and other accessories. Separately, a simple adapter costs about 300 UAH, and a cable (though with a power of up to 100 W) costs about 500 UAH.
That is, you get both a power supply, which is enough for laptops, and a cable for studio accessories. The latter is not needed for the PSU operation at all, since there are two cables in the package. Oh, and I forgot. DC 5.5×2.5 mm is often used to power routers. Which is also very useful, you know.
Operating experience
The power supply, although it looks inexpensive, is assembled very tightly. Cables sit like glued, and you simply stop paying attention to the quality of joints. Due to the fact that Gembird NPA-PD60-01 is made in the form of a rectangle, in some cases it can interfere, say, with neighbours on an extension cord.
And it heats up during operation, of course. But it doesn’t get too hot, and thanks to its size, plus all the additional protections, it will be impossible to overheat.
Main disadvantage
Among all the nuances that Gembird NPA-PD60-01 has, there is only one, in fact, which I can call a drawback. The fact is that the laptop connectors mentioned in the manual, on the official website, and even right on the box are written for laptop models and plug sizes.
For example, 19 V 4.0×1.35 mm for ASUS, or 20 V 11×5 mm for Lenovo. The problem is that there are only 9 round DC connectors. The connectors themselves are labelled M6, M7, M20, etc.
But these names are absolutely nowhere to be found in the instructions. Not in any of them. I mean, what is M5 and how does it differ from M7? Which 18.5V connector is for HP and which 19V connector is for Acer and Fujitsu? It’s completely unclear. It would seem that coloured indicators on the connectors should help…
But the instructions are in black and white.
The only thing that saved the situation was a cheat sheet on the official PSU page on the Gembird website. At the very end – not in the manual, but in the gallery – you can find the cheat sheet you need. So I don’t know how bad this flaw is. But it’s just stupid.
Results for Gembird NPA-PD60-01
As we can see, this power supply is a very powerful competitor for many GaN chargers, some of which do not even have a cable in the package, but cost the same amount. In addition, the only tangible drawback of Gembird NPA-PD60-01 is that it is not directly related to the charger itself. Therefore, strangely enough, I recommend it.
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