External DVD Drive

RealGem

Hi, 

I am interested in buying an external DVD drive for my laptop, and one on Ebay says it might need a "USB5V 2A-1.5A output power"

I already have a 3 pin plug with 4 USB slots that each say "5V/2.4A" 

Will that be sufficient? Or will I waste my money / blow myself up?

Thanks a lot

Belenus

Check the power requirements of the external DVD drive.

Last year I bought a new laptop that, like most these days, lacked a DVD/Blu Ray drive.

I removed the DVD/Blu Ray drive from my older laptop and bought an external caddy to house it.

Because the drive uses more power than one laptop USB socket can provide, I bought a caddy with two cables, one for power only and one for power and signal. That means using two USB slots on the laptop.

You could do the same if you have two free USB slots on the laptop.



Your  '3 pin plug with 4 USB slots that each say "5V/2.4A'  will also do the job but you may also need to use two cables if the DVD drive needs more than 2.4 amps.

I think you will need one cable to be power only as two power and signal cables may confuse things. Check that as I am not an expert.

I prefer attaching things to the laptop only rather than having to have a separate powered USB hub but maybe you may prefer the latter.

RealGem

Thanks, no I don't mind using the 3 pin plug. I only have 3 USB ports on my laptop, and two of them have my mouse and external keyboard. And only one of them is USB 3.0.


The main thing I don't understand is the difference between:
5V 2A-1.5A  and 5V/2.4A

To me, saying "2A -1.5A" is weird. 2 is more than 1.5 so why doesn't it say "1.5A - 2A"? (You wouldn't say age 30-25, would you?)

And 2.4A is more than both of those, so does that mean it is enough and therefore fine to use?
Or is it too much and therefore lethal?!!

Thanks

RumRat

Can you link to the specific one you are interested in?

bob_a_builder

As you say a PSU spec would normally quote the max current it can supply - no need for any other number

Current i.e. Amps or A  is something the device being powered determines 
No such thing as too much Amps  at the PSU side

RealGem

RumRat said:

Can you link to the specific one you are interested in?

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/MNoAAOSwv6hhoSmf/s-l1600.jpg

RealGem

bob_a_builder said:

As you say a PSU spec would normally quote the max current it can supply - no need for any other number

Current i.e. Amps or A  is something the device being powered determines 
No such thing as too much Amps  at the PSU side

Hi Bob, sorry for being dense, but I'm still not 100% sure.

Are you saying my 5V - 2.4A will be ok as it is more?

I also have another device with 4x 5V - 3Amps. So that will be ok too?

Thanks

bob_a_builder

In general as long as the PSU has a bigger number of Amps specified than the device it is powering  - it can safely supply any device which needs any amount of Amps from 0 up to the max  number specified by the PSU

So yes, I'm saying either of those should be capable of the job

You still might need the double headed USB connector - although I can't really see a DVD taking more than 2.4 amps
Something like this - but of course make sure, device end has right connector type
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/332061641555

Voltage is the one which is a problem if the number on the PSU is bigger than the  number on the device

RealGem

bob_a_builder said:

In general as long as the PSU has a bigger number of Amps specified than the device it is powering  - it can safely supply any device which needs any amount of Amps from 0 up to the max  number specified by the PSU

Voltage is the one which is a problem if the number on the PSU is bigger than the  number on the device

Thanks a lot!

Then it looks like I can buy almost any of the DVD drives available, cheers

Belenus

RealGem said:

....

The main thing I don't understand is the difference between:
5V 2A-1.5A  and 5V/2.4A

To me, saying "2A -1.5A" is weird. 2 is more than 1.5 so why doesn't it say "1.5A - 2A"? (You wouldn't say age 30-25, would you?)

I suspect that is just poor English wording or poor translation from the original Chinese.

Then it looks like I can buy almost any of the DVD drives available, cheers

Yes, there are many reasonably priced external DVD drives available on eBay, Amazon and elsewhere. 

Don't be too tempted to buy on price only. Find one from a well established UK based supplier or from a known manufacturer with decent reviews.

Avoid cheap unbranded products from non UK based suppliers. They may work just fine but, if they don't or you have a problem, you will struggle to get assistance or a refund from a supplier based in the Far East.

forgotmyname

Could be a 2amp peak and 1.5amp continuous?    Pushing it that close to the limits willbe risky, use an
external power supply to run it.

Killing your USB ports does not usually end well.

Another thing to watch is that it maybe a 2A USB port but is that shared between the 2 ports or 2amp
on each port?