Laptop charger - are ebay cheapo ones sufficient?

aliasojo

I need a replacement charger for my Dell laptop. This will be the second replacement I've needed, the first one I made sure was an original & genuine manufacturer part but this time round I'm balking at shelling out for a genuine one again, especially as I seem to need to replace them this often.

Ebay has generic unbranded ones on offer, much cheaper than a genuine one. Would they do the job?

I know cheapo batteries can sometimes be risky but I'm not sure about chargers.

cyberbob

Your better off trying to get an official replacement. Some of the cheap ones are OK but its a bit of a lottery there have been quite a few cases of cheap chargers from the far east being dangerous or damaging laptops

bealimar

Why don't you buy a universal AC Laptop Adapter Charger Mains Power Supply off Ebay, which includes about 12 ADAPTERS that connect most popular brand notebook and laptop computers to the mains power supply (UK).

Quoted from one of the Ebay sellers <<<< Simply choose the connector that is correct for your laptop and select the correct voltage via a switch on the transformer box.
These adapters are designed to power popular brand notebook computers which require AC voltage input from 95V to 265V and output DC voltage of 15V-20V/4.0A@22-24V/3.5A.
Adapters have an overload and short circuit protection system to prevent any damage being caused to your laptop.>>>>

aliasojo

cyberbob wrote: »

Your better off trying to get an official replacement. Some of the cheap ones are OK but its a bit of a lottery there have been quite a few cases of cheap chargers from the far east being dangerous or damaging laptops

I've thanked you for your post through gritted teeth as I really didn't want anyone to say that. :rotfl:

Bum.

Will probably look for the cheapest official one.

BenL

My g/f's dad got an ebay generic one with selectable voltage. You can tell what is coming, one fried laptop when not checking what the charger was set to after it being in a bag.

Luckily their home insurance paid out under accidental damage to the amazement of everyone.

kwikbreaks

... and I've used one off eBay that cost me less than £10 delivered for the last 18 months with no problem. Setting the wrong voltage is plain stupidity imo.

bazster

aliasojo wrote: »

I need a replacement charger for my Dell laptop. This will be the second replacement I've needed, the first one I made sure was an original & genuine manufacturer part but this time round I'm balking at shelling out for a genuine one again, especially as I seem to need to replace them this often.

Ebay has generic unbranded ones on offer, much cheaper than a genuine one. Would they do the job?

I know cheapo batteries can sometimes be risky but I'm not sure about chargers.

It's very unlikely that a generic charger will work. Dell laptops use "intelligent" chargers which will only charge the battery if it's the correct charger for the laptop. Even if you are careful to get the right voltage, it will most likely run the laptop OK, but it will not charge the battery. Even Dell-branded chargers which look identical are often not interchangeable between laptop models, you have to get exactly the correct part number.

Having said that, I have several chargers for my Dell laptop, so I don't have to keep unplugging them and lugging them around with the laptop. I've always found there to be plenty of new, genuine Dell chargers on eBay for around £15-£20.

outlaw777

You might be able to get a good price from here -

http://www.psaparts.co.uk/

aliasojo wrote: »

I need a replacement charger for my Dell laptop. This will be the second replacement I've needed, the first one I made sure was an original & genuine manufacturer part but this time round I'm balking at shelling out for a genuine one again, especially as I seem to need to replace them this often.

Ebay has generic unbranded ones on offer, much cheaper than a genuine one. Would they do the job?

I know cheapo batteries can sometimes be risky but I'm not sure about chargers.

Tomodo

This site sells a lot of genuine Dell batteries/adapters:

battery.co.uk

(there's also laptopbattery.co.uk which is the same company)

kwikbreaks

^
^
This is the second post from a brand new user I've seen today recommending a product or website.

Maybe I'm being cynical but I strongly suspect that these are :spam: black hat SEO posts

Certainly this thread is old enough to have slipped way way down and must have been found via a search engine.

Tomodo

I'm a bit of 'lurker' you could say. I've often found useful things on this website/forum but never posted - hoping to change that!

I should of probably made up some posts to put my count up before posting any websites/links