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90W vs. 65W AC Adaptor

Discussion in 'Dell Latitude, Vostro, and Precision' started by Prince_Phoenix, Oct 6, 2008.

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  1. Prince_Phoenix

    Prince_Phoenix Notebook Consultant NBR Reviewer

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    What's the difference size wise? Is it negligible?
     
    Prince_Phoenix, Oct 6, 2008
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  2. dgposton

    dgposton Notebook Consultant

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    You mean the standard 90W a/c adapter versus the slim 65W adapter you can pay extra for? I have the same question on the E6400, except I want to know the difference in weight between these two and the performance difference as well.
     
    dgposton, Oct 6, 2008
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  3. Prince_Phoenix

    Prince_Phoenix Notebook Consultant NBR Reviewer

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    Isn't there a regular 65W adaptor too?
     
    Prince_Phoenix, Oct 6, 2008
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  4. dingbat

    dingbat Notebook Evangelist

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    The 90W adapter will enable faster charging.
     
    dingbat, Oct 6, 2008
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  5. Prince_Phoenix

    Prince_Phoenix Notebook Consultant NBR Reviewer

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    What's the point of the 65W adaptor then?
     
    Prince_Phoenix, Oct 7, 2008
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  6. pitz

    pitz Notebook Deity

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    The 90W adaptor won't work with many of those in-flight plug-ins they have on newly refurbished airline aircraft.

    The 65W will, I believe. But I'm not too sure. I know that my 90W PA-10 doesn't work at all.
     
    pitz, Oct 7, 2008
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  7. allfiredup

    allfiredup Notebook Virtuoso

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    On most current DELL models, the 65W Adapter is standard on notebooks with integrated graphics. The 90W Adapter ships with models featuring a discrete graphics card (which requires additional power).

    The 90W that came with my Studio 15 is rather large compared to others I've had in the past. My last notebook was a ThinkPad with discrete graphics and the AC Adapter was almost half the size of the 90W DELL unit.
     
    allfiredup, Oct 7, 2008
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  8. swarmer

    swarmer beep beep

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    Regular 65W = smaller, lighter, cheaper than 90W
    Slim 65W = smallest, lightest... but not cheaper.
    90W = charge computer faster while it's in use
     
    swarmer, Oct 7, 2008
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  9. John Ratsey

    John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator

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    The 65W PSU is very slim and light. See my E6400 review (however, my E6400 came with the old D series power brick so it is not a completely fair comparison). The new slim E series PSU is somewhere in between. The specs in the Quick Reference guide say:
    I'm not sure what mains cables are included in the above weights but the 65W PSU has a 2 pin (Fig-8) connector and uses the thinner, ungrounded, mains cable.

    There is one underlying problem with using the 65W PSU: The computer detects it, thinks it is not powerful enough and then throttles the CPU performance. Battery recharge is also restricted to around 2.4W when the computer is on (but ~35W when it is off).

    I don't know why Dell have done this since the maximum power consumption of my E6400 with Intel graphics is around 45W. Even the nVidia GPU should push the power drain over 60W and the computer should be clever enough to manage the battery charge to avoid overloading the PSU.

    The CPU throtting problem can be managed by using RMClock.

    John
     
    John Ratsey, Oct 7, 2008
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  10. dgposton

    dgposton Notebook Consultant

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    John,

    Is the "slim" 90W adapter is the standard one that ships with the new E6400, or do you pay extra for the slim one? The slim 65 W adapter doesn't seem that much lighter, is it really worth the extra cost?

    BTW, do you happen to know what type of adapter is included in the E-series port replicator, and whether or not the replicator ships with the adapter?
     
    dgposton, Oct 7, 2008
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