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    Will Dell 130W adapter work properly on M15x?

    Discussion in 'Alienware M15x' started by landsome, Jan 9, 2012.

  1. landsome

    landsome Notebook Evangelist

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    I would like to buy the 130W adapter from a L702X for my M15x (and plan to use it on a E6420 as well). Will it work without substantially underclocking / throttling down my Alienware?

    I have a relatively low-powered setup - a 35W i7-620M, HD5850 default speeds, 8GB, SSD - so my guess is that if a 150W brick can take a 55W processor and a HD5870 I need not worry. But then the BIOS might recognize the 130W adapter and impose some limits despite the theoretically sufficient power.

    Any cents on this?

    Thanks in advance.
     
  2. HisSvt2

    HisSvt2 Notebook Consultant

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    A lower output adapter will make the laptop run slower from what ive seen i moved my sons M15x downstairs one time to run updates and plug into wife lower end inspiron adapter and it ran like it was unplugged even though it was plugged in.
     
  3. Fersknen

    Fersknen Notebook Consultant

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    The System BIOS in the m15x will detect that you haven't plugged in a 150W power supply, and forcibly turn on stealth mode to reduce max power consumption.

    There is no way around this that I know of.
     
  4. landsome

    landsome Notebook Evangelist

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    Aha! So anything below 150W will lead to reduced performance... And, I assume, anything equal to above 150W will not... Thanks.
     
  5. dutchess63

    dutchess63 Notebook Consultant

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    M15x draws power from psu. its not that psu pushes power to M15x.
    Thats why bigger psu (bigger than standard 150W) can give some relief when overclocking.

    Using psu lower than 150W, you invite artifacts / performance issues to happen. My feeling is that this is not paying back..
     
  6. djan84

    djan84 Notebook Consultant

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    I got one dell laptop with 130 watt psu, it makes alienware work but does not charge battery nor drain it. Just stays constant.
     
  7. landsome

    landsome Notebook Evangelist

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    Thanks everybody. I ordered a 150W one, despite it being considerably more expensive.