why do different m17x chargers have different amps levels and can this effect my laptop in a bad way

My laptop will not take a charge, but the blue light is on the charger, so I know it is running, the only way my computer will stay on is to take the battery out. If I put the battery in, the computer will say battery is critically low and shuts off in about 10 sec. Even if my battery is in or not, there is a message that says "dell does not recognize the charger" or something like that. ive already tried the whole disconnect the battery and the charger and hit the power button for about 10 sec (even 30 and ive even tried a min, just to see if it did anything) but nothing worked. Ive tried to use the charger on a different laptop and it didnt charge that one either, so I came to the concussion my charger is bad (even though, if I can keep my laptop running with out my battery, but if I put my battery in the computer dies in 10 secs). So I need to get a new one, I was looking around and I found something intersting, differen charger (even with the same wattage) have different amps. The charger I got is 10.8, the one on amazon is 12.3 and ebay for 11.8. Same volts same everything, just different amps. So I was wondering does more amps mean better charging time or does it mean something bad. Will it destroy my laptop if I have to much or should I be fine?

 

With that difference you should be just fine. But as a general rule it's like this:
You should find out how much amps your laptop needs to draw: if a laptop with his battery need 12V and 10A a 12V charger with 7A(can give up to ~9A) will be able to charge your laptop but it won't last long(burn).
For the laptop im my example you can get a charger that will provide the 12V and even 20A the more intensity the more it can respond to the need of power draw as your laptop/battery will only draw what it needs (the 10A).

Hope this will help you!

 

You have to have a charger that is reconized by the laptop as the proper one (eg 240 watt) or you will still have problems.

As far as the m17x goes you are limited to the Dell model for this laptop as the BIOS looks for the matching adaptor and if does not see the right one it will not charge your battery and will down clock the system.

Bottom line get the proper Dell adaptor 240 watt PA9E family DP # J211H is what is on my adaptor (Delta)

 

Make sure you get a proper replacement for your laptop.

I'm not sure if this is the same for Alienware laptops, yet, but with Dell's your adapter needs to have a special circuit in it to tell the computer its a proper Dell adapter or it sometimes won't charge your battery and will throw errors on boot.

Also, the main thing you want to be concerned with is making sure you get the proper voltage. Having too much amperage or wattage is not a bad thing, as long as its too much, not too little. Too little amperage, wattage, or voltage is a bad thing.

 

It's exactly the same for Alienwares.

Got my Alienware M17x R2 yesterday and it hasn't worked right since I first turned it on when it beeped at me during the Post and informed me that my AC adapter wasn't the right one. This caused my computer to run very slow, the battery symbol in the tray to always stay in battery, and when I pressed my "Stealth" mode, I was informed that I was already in the low power mode.

Did some research and found out that I was shipped a 210 watt power supply that was for the original M17x's. Well, two phone calls and nearly two hours later on the phone with Alienware Tech Support (note: They've outsourced it to some Russian/Eastern European company with heavy accents on both my calls), I've finally got the right power supply on the way. Verified it technician by PN's J211H for the power supply and 5120P for the 6' power cord.

Parts will be here tomorrow by overnight FedEx.

 

As mentioned earlier, you must use a Dell 240 watt adapter for you M17x because of the large power draw of the unit. The power of the adapter is determined by voltage times amperage. The Dell adapters are 19.5 volts times 12.3 amps which equals around 240 watts. The voltage must be higher than the battery voltage so it will charge to full voltage. The amperage determines how fast the battery will charge. The amperage generally will not be much higher than 12 amps or so because of standard home electrical outlet. So if you look at different adapters they all may have different combinations of voltage times current because different laptops have different power requirements. The most important thing is to use a Dell adapter because it provides identification back to the bios at power up to make sure that you are using the proper adapter. The problem of non-charging adapters has been around for a long time. There are new bios for both the M17x-R1 and the M17x-R2. Check through other post to further help solve your problems. The voltage and current ratings given are for the adapters currently being provided with the M17x-R2.

 

Actually only if the following three conditions met, you can use a charger safely.
1) Output Voltage is within +/- 5% of your old charger's output.
For example, if your old charger provides 19.5V, then you can use a charger that provides 20.5V or 18.5V.
2) Output Current is the same or higher than that of your old charger.
For example, if your original adapter provides 3.42 Amps, then you can use a charger that provides 3.42 Amps, 3.9 Amps or higher.
3) Connector tip must fit securely into your laptop.

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Laptop AC Adapter

 

I have updated my bios to the one that just came out (about a week ago) and the one that I was looking at (and the one dave pointed out with the Dell adaptor 240 watt PA9E family DP # J211H ) was this one Amazon.com: New Dell Extra Slim AC DC DELL PA-9E 240W Delta Made Original/Genuine/OEM Precision M6400 M6500 Slim-Line Laptop AC DC Adapter Charger : DELL P/N: PA-9E PA9E FAMILY 240w 240watt 240 watt 19.5V 12.3A Laptop Notebook Mobile Workstation Comp and this was the one that I was thinking about getting, the only thing I didnt know about was the 12.3 amps if that was going to hurt my laptop or not. Thanks for all the replies and trying to get me to understand this stuff lol

 

That will work and as I mentioned earlier its 12.3A won't "hurt" it.