# Powering a drawing tablet

## Power requirements

* **Pen tablets** require minimal amounts of power.&#x20;
* **Pen displays** require much more power than a pen tablet due to the embedded display panel.&#x20;

## Powering a pen tablet

They get enough power from a normal USB port.

Pen tablets that support wireless operation have internal batteries. So of course, during wireless operation they don't need to be plugged into power.

## Powering pen displays&#x20;

Pen displays must always be physically connect to some form of power.&#x20;

There are two ways pen displays get power.

* A power adapter that you need to plug into the wall.&#x20;
* Connecting via cable to the computer.

## Pen displays MIGHT work using a power adapter

Smaller pen displays (16" and smaller) might be able to get enough power from the USB ports of your computer.

There's nothing wrong with this - it will not harm your pen display. But you may find that it limits the brightness of your pen display.

I always recommend that if your tablet comes with a power adapter, that you use the power adapter.&#x20;

## Example power usage&#x20;



| Tablet                            | Max power usage |
| --------------------------------- | --------------- |
| Huion Kamvas 13 (GS1331)          | 7W              |
| Huion Kamvas 16 2021 (GS1562)     | 10W             |
| Huion Kamvas Pro 19 2021 (GS1902) | 18W             |
| Huion Kamvas Pro 27               | 45W             |
| Wacom One 2019 (DTC-133)          | 10W             |
| Wacom Cintiq Pro 16 (2021)        | 25W             |
| Wacom Cintiq Pro 22               | 60W             |
| Wacom Cintiq Pro 27               | 85W             |

## Batteries

* **Pen tablets** that have wireless support have built-in batteries that can usually last the entire day and do recharge quickly when they are plugged back in.
* **Pen displays** DO NOT have batteries. They must get their power from a cable that is either attached to a computer or to power coming from a wall.
