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    using a 120w adapter over the stock 90w adapter?

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by camvan, Nov 12, 2006.

  1. camvan

    camvan Notebook Evangelist

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    friend has a Dell 9400 that's he's since upgraded to a C2D. the GPU in it is overclocked (very nice OC as well) and he's finding that when he's doing some serious gaming 90w isn't enough and it switches over to the battery, which doesn't do much better. he called Dell and they said no, but we both wonder if they're feeding him a line of garbage. the adapter would only give as much power as is being demanded, so if it fits, it would/should work, right? or are we wrong and Dell right, you can't? :confused:
     
    camvan, Nov 12, 2006
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  2. Gautam

    Gautam election 2008 NBR Reviewer

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    I don't believe that the wattage ever gets increased, although you should have no problem using a 120W adapter provided that it can reduce wattage to meet the 90W needs (like the Kensington 120W) Going over will blow out the mobo.
     
    Gautam, Nov 12, 2006
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  3. camvan

    camvan Notebook Evangelist

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    I would think an adapter is no different than a PSU...you might have a 500w PSU, but it only delievers what you are drawing. if the system was never meant to draw more power than 90w maximum, the GPU shouldn't be able to overclock at all. if the GPU can draw more power than it's rated for, with your reasoning, it would blow the mobo or itself up. of course, I could be missing something...but I don't really see how something could go wrong, other than something heatwise, due to the increased power consumption. :eek:
     
    camvan, Nov 12, 2006
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  4. Iceman0124

    Iceman0124 More news from nowhere

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    my guess would be that it would work, you would get an error warning about the adapter, and thats it, the card is made to only draw so much power, and unless you did a volt mod to it, you could hook it up to 1000 watts, and it wont matter, desktops and notebooks are two different breeds, if you need more power, build a gaming desktop rig, and the gpu can overclock because dell is extremely conservative when it comes to clocking there cards, giving you lots of headroom
     
    Iceman0124, Nov 12, 2006
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  5. Sneakyasiankid

    Sneakyasiankid Notebook Consultant

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    i think that the mobo figures out how much voltage is needed, not the psu itself
     
    Sneakyasiankid, Nov 12, 2006
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  6. dhill

    dhill Notebook Enthusiast

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    The tips determine the voltage. That is why there can be several tips that look alike, but each will be manufactured to match the voltage/wattage of the notebook. That is also why there a million different tips.
     
    dhill, Nov 12, 2006
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