New Lenovo Laptop Charger - Different in wattage vs. original?

adamdynamic

Hi,

I'm hoping someone here can help me? Over the weekend it looks like the power adaptor for my Lenovo T520 has died. My laptop won't power up with the battery (because I think it is completely flat) and when I remove the battery and just use the power adaptor nothing happens. I did notice the power adaptor was very warm the evening before this but didn't think to unplug it (school boy error).

I need to get this sorted asap as I need this laptop, my problem is this though:

The adaptor that came with the laptop is rated 20v, 135w. Looking on amazon there are Lenovo adpators (with "T520" in the description) that are 65w or 90w for ~£20. The 135w versions are £70 though which is an extra £50 I don't necessarily have.

What would be the effect if I got a 65w/90w adaptor instead? Is it just likely to charge more slowly or could it potentially damage the laptop itself?

Any assistance on this would be appreciated, please let me know if more detail would be helpful

Adam

HappyMJ

adamdynamic wrote: »

Hi,

I'm hoping someone here can help me? Over the weekend it looks like the power adaptor for my Lenovo T520 has died. My laptop won't power up with the battery (because I think it is completely flat) and when I remove the battery and just use the power adaptor nothing happens. I did notice the power adaptor was very warm the evening before this but didn't think to unplug it (school boy error).

I need to get this sorted asap as I need this laptop, my problem is this though:

The adaptor that came with the laptop is rated 20v, 135w. Looking on amazon there are Lenovo adpators (with "T520" in the description) that are 65w or 90w for ~£20. The 135w versions are £70 though which is an extra £50 I don't necessarily have.

What would be the effect if I got a 65w/90w adaptor instead? Is it just likely to charge more slowly or could it potentially damage the laptop itself?

Any assistance on this would be appreciated, please let me know if more detail would be helpful

Adam

The larger power supply is required if you use a docking bay. If you are just using the laptop without anything plugged in then the 90W adapter will be fine. It will charge slowly but if your battery is dead you'll need a new one anyway so not sure if you're too concerned about the battery. If you use a 65W power supply and the laptop requires more power it will just shut down. It won't damage it but you'll need to buy another power supply so go for the 90W one.

And...be careful of those really cheap power supplies. They may have certification marks but aren't always actually made to standards and could blow up at any time. Read the reviews and make sure what you are buying is genuine.

Edit: as buglawton says if you've a quad core processor you'll have to go for a 135W PS.

buglawton

I'm not totally convinced a 90W unit will power and charge at the same time, a quad core T520. To be sure, try to source a 135W unit.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/thinkpad-t520-slim-power-adapter-for-quad-core.581280/

Susie_Richards

Yes beware cheap/dodgy/fake chargers from China via ebay as well.

Fightsback

It's a possibility that it could be a faulty jack plug, worth checking that out first before plunging in to buy a new PSU.

adamdynamic

Thanks for all the replies!

Fightsback wrote: »

It's a possibility that it could be a faulty jack plug, worth checking that out first before plunging in to buy a new PSU.

I'll cerrtainly check, it was working/charging when I left it though (as I said, it did feel warmer than I remember it feeling before which I probably should have done something about).

My laptop has an i7 processor - I've no idea how many cores though (I assume 4 but without being able to power it up, I'm not sure how to check?)

Given the number of fakes there must be on eBay or Amazon, is there a reputable place that anyone can recommend to buy a 135w version?

Thanks again,

Adam

Fightsback

adamdynamic wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies!



I'll cerrtainly check, it was working/charging when I left it though (as I said, it did feel warmer than I remember it feeling before which I probably should have done something about).

My laptop has an i7 processor - I've no idea how many cores though (I assume 4 but without being able to power it up, I'm not sure how to check?)

Given the number of fakes there must be on eBay or Amazon, is there a reputable place that anyone can recommend to buy a 135w version?

Thanks again,

Adam

Your model may also have a discrete GPU (graphics chip) which increase the power requirement. As you have not supplied the exact laptop model number we can't help you. No good telling us ford focus as there a lot of variants of them with different engines etc.

adamdynamic

Fightsback wrote: »

Your model may also have a discrete GPU (graphics chip) which increase the power requirement. As you have not supplied the exact laptop model number we can't help you. No good telling us ford focus as there a lot of variants of them with different engines etc.

I'm not sure I understand your point? I was just asking for recommendations of online shops etc that are reputable for buying (authentic) OEM adaptors. I've looked on amazon and google returns a bunch of options, difficult to tell who to trust however.

adamdynamic

If it's helpful to anyone, looking at my old invoice and googling the SKU number, the spec of my laptop appears to be available on this site.

Fightsback

adamdynamic wrote: »

I'm not sure I understand your point? I was just asking for recommendations of online shops etc that are reputable for buying (authentic) OEM adaptors. I've looked on amazon and google returns a bunch of options, difficult to tell who to trust however.

Point is you definitely require a 135w+ PSU, the CPU wattage is 45w alone now I know the exact spec. Not enough wattage overhead in the 90w PSU.

buglawton

For safety you need a genuine Lenovo unit, these are around £60. You might get lucky and get a used genuine one for less.