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About LinkBacksIt's very unlikely a -1v difference would damage anything, just some DC-DC supplies refuse to work outside of a given voltage range.
It's very unlikely a -1v difference would damage anything, just some DC-DC supplies refuse to work outside of a given voltage range.
I think you'd be alright with that. At worst all that will happen is the battery won't charge properly but I suspect everything will be alright. The figures on the new supply aren't massively different from those on the old supply.
If the ampage had been alot higher I'd have sent it back but it's very very similar to what you had before.
AledJ (29-10-2010)
Can hear a small buzzing noise (only when placed close to my ear) but that should be no problem should it?
If it's not bothering you I wouldn't worry about it, it's just coil whine. The power brick for the PicoPSU on my server does the same thing.
AledJ (29-10-2010)
Both supplies for my laptop make a noise like that, infact all the supplies for any laptop I've had have been noisey, really not much to get your knickers in a twist about
Guys thank you
The noise is audible now but I think that may be due to its first use. My printer in power save mode make a small noise which irritates me, I end up turning the printer off until I need it.Originally Posted by Behemoth
Both supplies for my laptop make a noise like that, infact all the supplies for any laptop I've had have been noisey, really not much to get your knickers in a twist about
Just spoke to a friend who seems to think that the fact the new supply has DC output: 19V 3.42A, means the amps going in is too high. I'm a little confused as to whether this brick will cause any damage now.
Your friend is wrong.
The current rating (in Amps) is the maximum the PSU will supply, if the connected device only sucks up 2A, then there is nothing wrong with that. It is possible to do damage if the current rating is too low, but usually it just means that when in use the device will be using more power than it is getting so will continue to drain the battery even when plugged in. Or when not in use it will just take longer than normal to charge.
Think of it like a pipe: Voltage is the pressure and current is the diameter. Using pressure and diameter you can calculate the volume of water you can get from the pipe in a given amount of time. The same applies to electricity, voltage (V) x current (A) = power (Watt). Now the right voltage is required for all sorts of reasons, just like the right pressure in a piping system is required, too high and valves or flanges start to pop, too low and other equipment stops working. Current on the other hand is very flexible. A washing machine needs X amount of water an hour, and you are stuck with mains water pressure so you need the right size of pipe to supply that water, if it's too small you don't get enough through and the cycle takes far longer. A very large pipe and you have a higher potential volume of water per minute, but the internal piping of the washing machine will restrict that, so the maximum potential of the supply isn't used.
That make sense?
Last edited by Funkstar; 29-10-2010 at 08:33 PM.
Funkstar thanksYour friend is wrong.
The current rating (in Amps) is the maximum the PSU will supply, if the connected device only sucks up 2A, then there is nothing wrong with that. It is possible to do damage if the current rating is too low, but usually it just means that when in use the device will be using more power than it is getting so will continue to drain the battery even when plugged in. Or when not in use it will just take longer than normal to charge.
Think of it like a pipe: Voltage is the pressure and current is the diameter. Using pressure and diameter you can calculate the volume of water you can get from the pipe in a given amount of time. The same applies to electricity, voltage (V) x current (A) = power (Watt). Now the right voltage is required for all sorts of reasons, just like the right pressure in a piping system is required, too high and valves or flanges start to pop, too low and other equipment stops working. Current on the other hand is very flexible. A washing machine needs X amount of water an hour, and you are stuck with mains water pressure so you need the right size of pipe to supply that water, if it's too small you don't get enough through and the cycle takes far longer. A very large pipe and you have a higher potential volume of water per minute, but the internal piping of the washing machine will restrict that, so the maximum potential of the supply isn't used.
That make sense?
He also said that because on the new bloc the output is : DC Output: 19V 3.42A , the DC means direct current so the bloc would put 3.42A into the laptop.
What about the voltage?? the old one is 20V output and the new one is 19V output.
Last edited by AledJ; 29-10-2010 at 09:03 PM.
1v should be within the DC-DC converter's tolerance, if it works it should be fine. And although it's already been well explained about the current - it's no different than an ATX power supply, just because it says 1kw doesn't mean it will always use that.
I've asked plenty of seemingly obvious questions on this forum - it's nice to be sure!
Thanks for putting my mind at rest1v should be within the DC-DC converter's tolerance, if it works it should be fine. And although it's already been well explained about the current - it's no different than an ATX power supply, just because it says 1kw doesn't mean it will always use that.
I've asked plenty of seemingly obvious questions on this forum - it's nice to be sure!
I did find this which also sent my head racing http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...7113434AATgd5V
Just so long as the laptop is ok, im happy (not mine so don't want to kill it)
Well the new one seems to have stopped working :| The laptop was in hibernation so got back into windows. Plugged the new one in and nothinggrgrg Will now try to get an official one if I can. Got some numbers to call tomorrow.
Not sure what went wrong then
Last edited by AledJ; 29-10-2010 at 09:39 PM.
Again, a complete misunderstanding of how electricity works
DC does indeed mean Direct Current, but that does not mean what he said it means. DC means that the voltage is at a constant level, either positive or negative, relative to the ground (usually 0v). AC on the other hand swings from +xxV to -xxV (UK mains swings from 240V to -240V). The speed which it does this is the frequency, in the UK this is 50Hz, in the US it is 60Hz.
AC is great because it can cope with long lengths of cable much better than DC can. However DC is more useful and more controllable. Hence why mains is AC and electronics are DC (vast simplification, but you get the idea).
For much more see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternating_current
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_current
Thanks Funkstar! But the new bloc has given up the ghost :| No idea why or maybe the lower voltage was the issue.
About that Yahoo post, yes, 1v is a big difference to components like CPUs but that 19/20v doesn't directly connect to anything. I also found a few interesting replies (and the third answer on this one) on Yahoo answers a while ago, don't believe everything you read! There is another DC-DC PSU inside the laptop that will change that voltage into 12v, 5v and so on then another type of PSU on the motherboard will supply very accurate voltages for anything 'sensitive' like the CPU. It might just be a duff power supply. Expect to pay a bit for the official ones, as I said earlier a universal one might be a good idea.
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