Originally Posted by
nkedel
...the two different 130W models I've tried will trip the in-seat breaker no matter what you're doing (even with just the brick plugged in without the computer attached.)
Originally Posted by
nkedel
The Dell 130W supplies I tried have tripped the breaker on CX (77W) and AA (77W and 738) as soon as they were plugged in, whether or not the laptop itself was attached, and if attached, on or off.
I'm trying to figure out how on earth this happens (it happens to me, too, with my stock 180W adapter).
Surely the brick itself can't be drawing 100+ watts without anything plugged into it. (If it does, that's a horrible design!) And while I'm not an electrical engineer, I am not aware of any way for a device to signal to a power outlet that it is capable of drawing X number of amps; it either draws them or it doesn't.
Yet clearly, something does cause the outlet to trip. I'd be curious to pick up a wattmeter and plug the brick into it at home someday to see what comes up...
Originally Posted by
BigLar
I have a Dell Precision with the nice 17" screen. It takes a 130w supply and it won't even boot if it detects the old 90 watters. I believe it will charge with the older supplies, but won't operate.
Workaround I've discovered: boot the machine with the power adapter unplugged and then plug it in after it's booted up. The computer may complain and/or throttle itself, but it seems to work after that point. FWIW, my new Precision 7510 seems to do a decent job of managing power usage and not throttling the CPU too much and still charging the battery even on a crappy 65W adapter (it just charges much slower). Dell did a good job on this machine.