Charges laptops with up to 300 W: Cuktech 30 Ultra Charging Station review

The Cuktech 30 Ultra brings plenty of power to your desk. Up to 300 W through a single port is impressive, but due to its limited compatibility, it won’t be useful for everyone. Much more widely compatible: four USB ports that provide up to 140 W.

Overall, the Cuktech 30 Ultra desktop charging station offers plenty of power for up to five devices—though the combined output is capped at 300 W—all packed into a fairly compact unit. However, we did have a few minor criticisms during our Cuktech 30 Ultra review.

The manufacturer's suggested retail price for the Cuktech 30 Ultra charging station is $159.99. It is available from Amazon.

A while back, we took a look at the Cuktech 15 Ultra Power Bank (approx. $79 on Amazon) with its extremely fast charging in Beast Mode. Now, another Ultra model from the manufacturer follows. According to the manufacturer, the Cuktech 30 Ultra also offers extreme performance.

We tried out the desktop charging station with up to 300 W. Our review reveals what it offers and who it is suitable for.

The Cuktech 30 Ultra is a charging station that will likely find its home on a desk in most cases. Measuring approximately 11 cm wide, 8.5 cm deep, and just over 4 cm high, the device comes with a base that tilts the charger at a slight angle for easier access. The base attaches lightly via magnets, but it does not stay attached when the charger is lifted.

Also included in the package are a 1.5-meter power cable (which could be a bit longer for more flexible placement on a desk), a 1.5-meter USB-C cable (PD3.1), and a 0.8-meter DC cable along with nine different adapters for the Cuktech 30 Ultra’s unique feature. But more on that below.

A color display measuring a good 1.8 inches is built into the front of the desktop charging station, which provides a maximum of 300 W. Among other things, it shows the live charging currents as well as the device’s temperature. The two buttons on the top are used not only to switch back and forth between the different views, but also to toggle between the modes (DC Mode on/off).

For most users, the four USB ports on the front of the device are likely to be the most relevant. These consist of three USB-C ports and one USB-A port. The first two Type-C ports can deliver up to 140 W (PD3.1). Devices with lower charging power requirements can alternatively be charged via the third USB-C port at up to 33 W or the single USB-A port at up to 18 W.

However, the Cuktech 30 Ultra charging station offers another unique feature. A special DC port is located on the left side of the device. This port allows compatible devices to charge exceptionally quickly at up to 300 W. The prerequisite is that none of the USB ports are in use. Otherwise, the available power output is significantly reduced. Furthermore, only a few models are even compatible with up to 300 W; many are limited to a still impressive 240 W. 

Also included for the DC port are a total of nine different adapters, each individually packaged in small bags (Types B1, L, P1, D, K, I, A1, M1, R), which plug into the end of the 0.8 m cable and adapt the 5525 port to various other connectors. Included are the appropriate plugs for laptops from Lenovo, ROG, HP, Dell, Acer, MSI, and Razer. Thus, the Cuktech 30 Ultra charging station allows you to replace the manufacturer's original power adapters while still providing sufficient power to high-performance laptops.

This allows selected models to be powered with up to 300 W, which is particularly appealing for gaming laptops. In our test, the DC port delivered the promised power, though, as mentioned, not every device can actually draw that much power. Of course, the charger heats up quite noticeably under heavy load, but it didn’t get uncomfortably hot. Another positive aspect is that it operates efficiently thanks to modern GaN technology. In practice, it typically drew only a little over 10 W more from the AC mains than the charging station delivered in total DC output.