Targus 180W Home/Office Power Adapter

Please vote in the poll according to your situation. I am currently experiencing sizzling noises with my Targus 180W adapter while using it with my Gateway P7801u FX. It is still working fine to power the laptop and charge the battery, however the sizzling noises are very worrying and appear to be a sign of a defective product. I did not have any problems with the provided Gateway 120W adapter (Used it for about a month, laptop powered on average 4 hrs each day) however due to it being underpowered and since everyone said it is unreliable I switched to the Targus 180W. I have been trying to get an RMA however Targus says that since they have not tested these adapters on our particular laptop series, the warranty is voided.

7/29/09: Targus Technician now claims this adaptor does not belong to Targus, but instead is the responsibility of LITEON
7/30/09: LITEON Technician said LITEON doesnt repair or replace adapters, they're an OEM company. They make adapters FOR Targus and I have to go back to Targus to have them replace the adapter.

I am curious if ANYONE has experienced problems with the Targus 180W adapter and the gateway P78** series, or if I am the only one (I've never read of anyone else having problems with anything except the provided gateway 120W adapter). If you've experienced any problems please post with details.

Thank you.

See this thread for more details/discussion: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=4972586#post4972586

Some of the many threads regarding Gateway Power Adapter Failures and/or Targus 180W Adapters:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=335868
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=376833
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=304865
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=295415
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=304780
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=297805
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=316146
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=341484
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=373346
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=318468
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=375233

 

Mine is solid for over 1 year, previously used on my XT5000T, as of late June it will be 2 years of pretty much 24/7...............

 

I've had mine for about 2 months, no problems yet, no noise either. I only use it at home, and use the OEM one at work, so it is used maybe 25% of the time. I've got a P-7805u.

I wish the plug was an exact fit like the OEM though, tends to get loose or fall out when I play on my lap.

 

My power brick has been "sizzling" since i got the computer back in September. It hasn't caused any problems that I know of, but then again, if it did cause problems I'm sure I'd be the first to know

 

The one provided by Gateway is sizzling or a Targus 180W you bought is sizzling? Thanks for the input.

 

is there any advantage from using the targus adapter or there is something wrong with our 78XX PS adapter?...no sizzling here..lol

 

AGlobalThreatsk, was the adapter came with ur gateway 78xx sizzling or it just started to sizzle lately?

 

I'm speaking of the stock power brick.

 

I only used the provided Gateway power adapter for about a month. My Gateway adapter did not start sizzling, I noticed no problems.

I read on here that it is very common for them to start sizzling and they are unreliable because they are underpowered for our laptops. The provided Gateway adapter is 120W even though our P78** uses 125W. So I decided to do the common reliable upgrade to avoid problems, and now I have.. problems.

 

My stock Gateway power brick would get very warm, and would make the slight buzzing sound.

My targus 180w power brick stays a lot cooler and is silent. Only downside is that its physically bigger.

 

I am currently overclocking my GPU, so I went ahead and Undervolted my CPU to 1.150 and get perfect stability. Of course the Stock Gateway power brick still sizzles but I put it where I can't hear it

 

No problems here wiht the 180w Targus adapter

 

Thanks for all the input everyone, I really appreciate it. I will be showing this to Targus so please be honest and please vote according to your situation.

 

Bump, please vote if you haven't. I will be sending this to Targus so they can see how common it is for their power adapter to be used on this laptop. Hopefully this will show them they need to test their power adapter on our laptops so we will have a warranty if another one decides to go bad.

As of right now, nobody here with this power supply has a warranty. If it goes bad, you are S-O-L.

 

Have you tried using it on another laptop (different brand, different model, different plug adapter, etc) to see if it does the same thing?

 

Im not sure what other laptops I can test it on. I seem to be the only one with this problem, it's the same adapter everyone else is using.

 

Bump, please vote according to your situation. I am still in the process of getting support for our laptops.

 

I have had no issues with the stock adapter and see no current need to buy a more powerful one. I game for hours at a time and it seems to handle the load just fine.

 

The provided Gateway adapter is underpowered for our laptops (See my other posts). It works, but it cannot supply the maximum watts required and will run much hotter than a more powerful power adapter. The failure rate for the Gateway adapters was climbing quickly, which is why most decided to go with the Targus 180W. I have also read of benchmark scores being increased simply by using the more powerful adapter vs the adapter provided by gateway.

 

Does the Targus warranty specifically state only good with tested laptops? I doubt it and think you should push back on them to honor the warranty. I do have a Targus and have experienced no issues.

 

Yes the warranty is voided because they have not tested with our laptops.

They didn't seem to be worried about the power output, apparently they were more interested with the compatibility of the tip in the back of our laptops. I already sent them pictures of the tip I've been using (Has the yellow ring around the end) and pictures with it installed to show that it works fine.

Thank you for your input.

 

The Targus works great for me and I have had my laptop on easily 30 hours a week for a year now. The one that came with got scary hot. I was worried it would literally set something on fire one day.

 

I'd say mine is 24/7 durring the week with the Targus now. Prior to the P7805 it was 24/7 7 days a wekk excpet for 6 hours drive back and fourth to PA to my mom's house durring the weekends. Now weekends are the stock brick, and yes the stock brick gets HOT.

The Targus doesn't even sem to get luke warm. I would have prefered having better power tips, or at least a larger selection, but the stock tip it comes with works. Less heat can also mean better efficiency and I believe the Targus has been measured at least, if not more, power efficient than the stock bricks.

It would have been sweet if Gateway would include an equivelant of the Targus 180w with the systems from the get go. It would cost more for the system, maybe 20-30 dollars, but it would have been well worth it in the end.

 

I've got some contacts there. I'll put a bug in someones ear about this.

 

Bump, please vote if you haven't. I am still struggling to get a warranty honored for my adapter.

I don't have any of the laptops on their "approved" list available for testing with this adapter. I have many laptops available, but their list is very specific and I don't have the funds to buy a laptop just for testing their adapter.

I paid close attention to my adapter yesterday. After a minute or so it starts making clicks, which then shortly after turn into more frequent sizzles, while doing simple tasks such as browsing the web.

I am surprised that Targus has been so stubborn with this, when I am the only person that has reported a problem.

Please vote in the poll if you haven't already.

 

I've been using the Targus 180 for over a year now with no problems.

But i do have a question for Targus... how can a universal power supply be "picky" about the type of laptop it powers. If they said it was "Not intended for Laptop use" then i can understand, but if they allow it to be used in laptops then so long as you arent at fault for overloading it then the warrenty stands.

The 78xx series pulls less power by far than the 180 can supply so it should never be a problem. If i'm not mistaken the 78xx only pulls about 99-102 watts at peak (assuming stock) So even upgraded to an X9100 you would only be pushing 121ish max.

Targus has no real standing to deny the warrenty if is used with in its safety specs, reguardless of what notebooks they "say" are accepted (because we know they cannot test it on all notebooks)

 

http://www.targus.com/us/drivers_manuals_archive.asp?sku=APA05US

If you look at the product page there is nothing in the warranty that says only applicable to tested laptops and I quote:

"Compatibility – Designed to work with, and includes 3 tips that are compatible with most of today’s high powered 17" desktop replacement notebooks."

Of course the PS is now on their discontinued list.

Oh and here is the warranty in the manual:

Warranty
Targus warrants this product to be free from defects in
materials and workmanship for two years. If your
Targus accessory is found to be defective within that
time, we will promptly repair or replace it. This
warranty does not cover accidental damage, wear and
tear, or consequential or incidental loss. Under no
conditions is Targus liable for loss of, or damage to a
computer; nor loss of, or damage to, programs,
records, or data; nor any consequential or incidental
damages, even if Targus has been informed of their
possibility. This warranty does not affect your statutory
rights.

Once again, no where does it say only with tested laptops.

 

I see that someone else voted they had a problem with their adapter.

Any input from that person or is it a bad vote/they want to remain anonymous for some reason?

Please respond if you voted that you had a problem with your adapter.

 

I had mines for a year, and my laptop is on 24/7 no sizzle, doesnt get very hot, works great. My only complaint is the adapter used to fit in the fx series, its not the snuggest fit so im afraid it will pop out.

 

Yes the L2 tip is not perfect for our laptops, however it does work and it is secure, it will not pop out.

I would like to know who the other person is that voted that they had problems, they need to post what problems they had/are experiencing.

Voting like that and then staying anonymous with no input will NOT help us get a warranty for our adapters.

 

Targus is now claiming (2 months into the pursuit of the warranty) that the adapter does not belong to them, but instead belongs to LITEON. The technician said they have not had this adapter in years (Her exact words) and I need to contact LITEON, as this product does not belong to them.

I sure hope nobody else has any problems with their adapters, this is more than a headache.

 

It looks like LiteOn makes the actual power ssytem and Targus added the tips. They also seem to have a 220w unit out there as well, without the adapter tips.

 

The technician from LITEON said: LITEON doesnt repair or replace adapters, they're an OEM company. They make adapters FOR Targus and I have to go back to Targus to have them replace the adapter.

 

Can anyone say run, run, run around. I can almost here the Do' Op' playing now................

 

SO is this adapter ok or not past few posts is a run around thing??

 

I love mine. I couldn't have asked for a better power block, but it appears if the block does have problems then you end up with problems with the warranty (bought mine second hand for 39 dollars though so i have no warranty)

 

Mine still works too, it just sizzles. I haven't felt anyone elses but mine does get somewhat hot, I don't think I could hold it in my hand once it has heated up. I have a feeling this is a sign of premature failure, so I contacted Targus immediately to get a replacement, and was denied service and denied the warranty. So I'm basically stuck with this noisy hot brick for now, which may die any day, still trying to get them to honor the warranty.

 

I have had my 6860 power supply sizzling for nearly a year and it hasnt failed yet, I even brought it out here to Iraq with me and it has been abused to say the least. I dont think the sizzle is a pre eminent failure, I just think it is working really hard.

 

so what's the benefits of having one of these Targus adapters over the standard supplied one?

 

Until someone shows me some benchmark proof that the standard supply is holding it back, the only benefit is it may not sizzle and dosent get as hot. I personally am not bothered by either issue. I dont hold the brick in my lap you know.

 

i hope that there aren't people out there who actually do this.

 

I dont think they do, Im just saying that I have had this sizzle issue for such a long time with no broken power bricks, so I say anyone who is buying a new one is just wasting money.

 

I don't personally have the targus adapter but I will note that I do get the sizzling sound with my stock gateway adapter. It also got very hot once. So much so that I couldn't even pick it up. I ended up unplugging it from the laptop and letting it sit for a while. It happened after alot of intense gaming. Also the tip on it is not really secure unless you have the cable pointing upward. Otherwise it is a bit loose.

 

My stock adapter for my p7805u has always sizzled and been hot. It finally gave up the ghost this morning which is how I found this thread. I RMA'd the bad adapter and was looking into this Targus one, but it seems like it's discontinued (I think someone mentioned this earlier).

Any other companies making good 130W+ adapters? I've been doing some searches but haven't found anything yet.

Saw someone selling the targus one on ebay for $70 before S&H. I guess I'll spring if I can't find an alternative.

 

http://www.easystreetelectronics.com/?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=15878

http://www.digitaltechland.com/?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1240

http://aol.pgpartner.com/user_sales_getprod.php?masterid=27232878&lot_id=9326966

 

TANWare: thanks for the links.