Laptop Power Supply - will any one do?

Devilfish

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I needed one aswell and at 1st got the universal one from dealextreme for about £10 but the fittings where a bit long and ackward, so I got given one by a m8 which was off a Gateway laptop and it has been working ever since. It was 19V 3.42A

According to the webiste for my lappy it is supposed to be a 19v charger but the charger which was originally boxed with it was 20v (work that out)

I asked the spark in work and he said as long as it was the same voltage and ampage then it would be ok.
 
The answer is there would be no issue as long as voltage is the same. But you must make sure the polarity of any substitute PSU is exactly the same as yours.

On the amperage point though, the lappy will only draw the amount of current it requires and therefore if there is more current available from the PSU the lappy will not use it.
 
Hi,
quick point - make sure the voltage, current output and polarity are the same as the original. My laptop has two power supply options - 19v but with two different current ratings 7A and I think 10A. The original supplied from the factory was 6A and could not run the laptop at mid load and charge a dead battery at the same time. You are better off getting slightly over the rating than under. If your old psu was always running very hot I would go bigger it will probably last longer.

My laptop power ratings are high; yours should be a lot less. The charge plug should also be a snug fit.
 
Hi,
quick point - make sure the voltage, current output and polarity are the same as the original. My laptop has two power supply options - 19v but with two different current ratings 7A and I think 10A. The original supplied from the factory was 6A and could not run the laptop at mid load and charge a dead battery at the same time. You are better off getting slightly over the rating than under. If your old psu was always running very hot I would go bigger it will probably last longer.

My laptop power ratings are high; yours should be a lot less. The charge plug should also be a snug fit.
I used a generic power adapter for a Sony Vaio previously that I bought on eBay - cheap and worked just fine. I also used a small Targus iniversal adapter previously, and it was just fine. I now have a lenovo thinkpad, and bought a spare genuine Lenovo adapter on eBay. After a few weeks it overheated to a point where it was too hot to hold, and made a really loud buzzing sound. It was just 3 month old based on the manufacture date. Lenovo would not support it because I did not buy it from a Lenovo authorised dealer, despite the fact that it was a genuine part and within warranty. I contacted a local Lenovo rep and told her that I thought it was unsafe and a fire hazard. They gave me a new one as an act of goodwill.

IMO, the generic types are just fine. I would err on the side of getting a higher amperage than the original - should reduce heat. Also consider the power tip. Some notebooks use very non-standard connectors.
 
One word of warning, I have come across some Dell laptops (e.g. Inspiron 5100/5150) that use a couple of extra connectors around the edge of the tip to tell the laptop what model charger it is. If it does not send the right signal then it will not work.

I wanted a charger for the car and when I checked this with Targus support and they confirmed it. I ended up getting an inverter and using the original supply.
 
One word of warning, I have come across some Dell laptops (e.g. Inspiron 5100/5150) that use a couple of extra connectors around the edge of the tip to tell the laptop what model charger it is. If it does not send the right signal then it will not work.

I wanted a charger for the car and when I checked this with Targus support and they confirmed it. I ended up getting an inverter and using the original supply.

My son has my old Dell 5150 it has a standard round plug. Dont know about the charger telling the laptop what model it is but some multi pin chargers have feed back/sense connections so if the voltage drops at the plug in the laptop the psu will increase its voltage. Thus keeping the voltage correct at the laptop. eg/ Corrects any voltage drop at the output plug under heavy load.
 
I bought a cheap universal one to gt it going again but none of the connectors are 100% snug when connected.

Could you just cut the connector off the old one and cut the cable on the new one and connect it up like that? Might not be the prettiest, but it would ensure that you've got the correct connector.
 
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