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    Gateway NX550XL PSU not putting out enough juice?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Agentbolt, Nov 16, 2006.

  1. Agentbolt

    Agentbolt Notebook Enthusiast

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    Gateway NX550XL
    1 GB RAM
    Pentium M 1.73
    ATI X600 128MB

    Since I got my notebook a week ago I've noticed that sometimes, the screen will darken, go dark for a split second, then come back as bright as normal. This would happen every 5 seconds or so, but it didn't seem to have a pattern.

    Some investigating has shown

    A) The laptop is switching from battery to AC. So I'll be humming along on normal AC power, the AC cuts out for some reason and it goes to battery (hence the screen going dead very briefly and coming back slightly dimmer) then vice versa.

    B) Holding the power brick to my ear, I can actually HEAR some kind of high pitched noise inside while it is supplying juice to the computer. When the computer switches to battery, for that brief time the noise goes away. So the AC Adapter does appear to be cutting out. Also, the AC adapter is getting REALLY hot. I can't hold it without literally burning myself.

    C) This only happens when the computer is under high load (i.e playing a game, installing something, etc) AND the battery is less than 100% charged. So while the computer is strained and the AC Adapter is trying to run it and charge the battery at the same time. If I take the battery out, the problem goes away. If the battery is already all the way charged, the problem goes away.

    So naturally I'm assuming it's the power brick. Is that correct? Do I need to get it replaced? I've been out of the notebook game for a LONG time, maybe you're not able to run modern notebooks and charge the battery at the same time. Maybe power bricks are supposed to get scorching hot. I just don't want to blow 70 bucks on a power brick if it's something else causing the problem that I'm not thinking of. And most importantly, am I going to destroy my computer or set something on fire by using it in the meantime?

    So has this happened to anyone before? Will someone either set me straight with what I'm missing or say "Just go buy a power brick, that's definitely what it is, moron." to set my mind at ease?

    Thanks so much!
     
    Agentbolt, Nov 16, 2006
    #1