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Universal Power Supply issues...

Discussion in 'Dell Latitude, Vostro, and Precision' started by balto, Sep 27, 2009.

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  1. balto

    balto Notebook Consultant

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    So i have a new e6400 moved from an e4200. Figured I could use the nice dell travel adapter I had with my 4200. Once i plugged it into my new beast i got a not enough wattage message from DCP. Which is fine, I now realize that my nice slim power adapter is very much under powered for this laptop.

    I went out and got a Cooler Master SNA 95 it is a 95 watt adaptor and acutally is really small and light. Got it home and plugged it in and I got this message

    [​IMG]

    I ignore the message, figured it was just dell being a jerk and trying to sell me something.

    That is until I started using the laptop and noticed that it was infact sluggesh... So I downloaded CPU-Z and WPrime and here is what I found with my computer running on batteries..

    [​IMG]

    Notice the CPU Speed it is perfect.

    Now look at what happens when I plug in the power supply :

    [​IMG]

    ??!?! Seriously, why is my cpu cut like that? I did get an adapter that puts out enough power.. What can I do?? Any suggestions or am I returning my new universal power adpator... And if so does anyone know of a small brick that will work?

    Thanks
     
  2. John Ratsey

    John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator

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    The E6400 with Intel graphics will work OK with the Dell 65W PSU but if you have the nVidia graphics then the BIOS wants a 90W PSU.

    Also, the E6400 doesn't like the universal PSUs unless they have the right chip in them and, if the notebook isn't happy with the PSU then it automatically throttles itself.

    There is a work-around: Download and run RMclock, create a performance on demand profile and set the throttling to 100% (and then use that profile). I figured that out when I first got my E6400 (with Intel graphics) and it didn't like the 65W PSU which I knew was plenty powerful enough. Dell later changed the BIOS to make that GPU / PSU combination acceptable.

    John
     
  3. balto

    balto Notebook Consultant

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    No such luck, am I doing something wrong here?
    [​IMG]
     
  4. John Ratsey

    John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator

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    Did you also select the Performance on Demand profile on the main profile page.

    There's also a possibility that you also need to use the voltage management - I do that by default so I don't know if throttling works without it.

    John
     

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  5. manicguitarist

    manicguitarist Notebook Consultant

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    The problem that you are having is due to the PSU being a "Universal" one.
    Dell PSUs (and compatible ones - you can buy non-Dell ones that work ok) inform the laptop how much power they can supply. This is to prevent big- laptops blowing power supplies up when you plug a smaller one in. Fr'instance I can run my 150W demanding M6400 from a 65W PSU...and nothing goes bang - but the laptop throttles itself.

    The laptop has no idea of the power rating of your PSU so it throttles itself to the minimum required to function - also, it won't charge the battery.

    There is no way around it I think.
     
  6. Robin24k

    Robin24k Notebook Deity

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    I agree. Universal power supplies aren't worth the trouble when you can get a genuine PA-3E on Ebay for $28 or so.
     
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