The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Buying a power adapter without ground

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by daphne_n, Jun 9, 2008.

  1. daphne_n

    daphne_n Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    55
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    hello, i have a m1330 got with it a 90W PA 10 power adapter.
    i want to buy the Kensington 120W ac/dc power adapter from eBay.
    but i got from ppl warnings that i shouldn’t buy any power adapter to this laptop model that doesn’t have ground.
    are those warning true? cause till now i had a Sony vaio and the power adapter doesn’t have any ground and nothing ever happened nor me or the laptop.
    What can happened to the laptop if the adapter won’t have any ground?
    except minor electric shocks, don’t think nothing can happen.
    what do u think?
     
    daphne_n, Jun 9, 2008
    #1
  2. John Ratsey

    John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator

    Reputations:
    7,197
    Messages:
    28,842
    Likes Received:
    2,172
    Trophy Points:
    581
    I see grounding as a small issue, not a big one. Some notebooks without grounded PSUs can have their voltage floating above ground and this can cause a slight tingling in the fingers when you touch any metal parts, but there's nothing which is dangerous. Also, I travel to places where they have 2 pin power sockets so I lose the grounding anyway (and there are places where the grounding is present in the socket, but not connected back to mother earth, so that has a floating voltage :eek: ).

    Personally I prefer PSU with 2 pin power connectors because they tend to be smaller and the mains power cable is thinner and lighter.

    John
     
    John Ratsey, Jun 9, 2008
    #2
  3. mattocs

    mattocs Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    13
    Messages:
    732
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I bought two power adapters from Dell when I got my 1530. One had a ground, one does not.

    Shouldn't be much of a problem if Dell does not make all theirs with grounds.
     
    mattocs, Jun 9, 2008
    #3
  4. daphne_n

    daphne_n Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    55
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    ok cool!
    thanks u guys, i guess i'll buy the kensington without a worry :)
     
    daphne_n, Jun 9, 2008
    #4
  5. denizenx

    denizenx Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    15
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    if it's not Dell, expect to see AC adapter errors and CPU throttle to 1/3.
    "works" so on my d630 and my 1520.
     
    denizenx, Jun 10, 2008
    #5
  6. doobie04

    doobie04 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    8
    Messages:
    180
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    i have one of those for my vostro 1400. no problems at all. the dude that had a problem didnt have the correct wattage (is that how to say it?). i had the exact same problem on a different laptop with the incorrect power supply.
     
    doobie04, Jun 10, 2008
    #6
  7. daphne_n

    daphne_n Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    55
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    cool, he kind of scared me and I already bought it :/
    any way it cost me 25$ for the whole package. and the shipping to Israel cost 24$... so 51$ for such a thin adapter I’m pleased! it will be a huge difference from the PA 10 90W I got from dell it’s a bloody beast!
    I guess it will work excellent, if it work excellent with 90W it will work even better with 120W
     
    daphne_n, Jun 10, 2008
    #7
  8. paper_wastage

    paper_wastage Beat this 7x7x7 Cube

    Reputations:
    486
    Messages:
    2,596
    Likes Received:
    24
    Trophy Points:
    56
    i remember posts that if your adapter doesnt have a ground plug, when its plugged in, u might get tiny shocks from the casing... that would be removed competely if a grounded plug is used
     
    paper_wastage, Jun 10, 2008
    #8
  9. daphne_n

    daphne_n Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    55
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    yeah i know about that. guess i'll take the risk although for the first week when i used my xps i put on the power adapter plug an israely adapter (without any ground) so i could plug it in, and i didnt get any tiny shocks... so i guess it will be okay...
     
    daphne_n, Jun 10, 2008
    #9
  10. Forte

    Forte NBR's Supreme Angel

    Reputations:
    352
    Messages:
    2,462
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    Hey, as long as you dont mind getting shocked every once in a while, your good. lol. Typically they include the larger adapters for higher end processors and more extreme configurations.
     
    Forte, Jun 10, 2008
    #10
  11. daphne_n

    daphne_n Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    55
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    ahmmmm dont really mind a bit of a shock every once in a while :) if after all i'll have a slim adapter im happy to get shocked :D
    the dell adapter doesnt even fit my bag... so im pretty much have to..
     
    daphne_n, Jun 10, 2008
    #11