Extra power adapter for Envy 17 3D

Hello, everyone. I have done a couple of searches in these forums trying to find some inexpensive extra / travel power adapters for my Envy 17 3d. I have read a couple of posts that mention the HP 120W, but other posts mention that there may be some sort of modification that has to be done to this adapter to get it to work with the Envy 17. Can someone clarify if the standard HP 120W power adapter will work for this laptop? Thanks so much for the help!

 

Here is my review .... check it out!

http://forum.notebookreview.com/accessories/535479-review-hp-90w-auto-air-ac-smart-pin-adapter.html

This is an amazing adapter with power surge built in. You can press the button to charge or just let the charger power your laptop. Sweet stuff. See if you can still use the coupon. Here is the $25.00 coupon code thanks to WickedYeti!!!! $25.00 Coupon SVMB39487

HP 90W Smart AC/Auto/Air Combo Adapter | HP® Official Store



$129.99 originally. After instant rebate its $97.49. I used a coupon code to bring it down another $25. So yeah, good stuff.


KJ

 

Thanks for the quick response! So the HP90W provides enough power for the Envy 17 3d? I thought I read somewhere that it was inadequate...

Also, would something like this then work? It appears to be an older version of the HP 90W:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0JSXYQMDKYDHX39HKMG0

 

Oh really? Can you link me? I have the adapter, but not my Envy 17 3D yet, it comes on 12/7. If you could link me to where you read it please. I hope WickedYeti chimes in, I don't recall if he already has his 3D in or not...hmmm

paris, that link you provided, I don't see why that won't work.

P.S. I sent WickedYeti a pm and asked him if he used his Envy 17 3D with this power adapter yet, since he too has it! *That's how I got the coupon code* Anyway, from the link I posted.... note compatible series... "•Compatible series: HP Envy 14, 15, 17; HP G3000, G5000, G6000, G7000, G32, G42, G50, G60, G61, G62, G70, G71, G72; HP HDX16; HP Mini 311-1000; HP Special Edition L2000; HP Pavilion dm1-1000, dm1-2000, dm3-1000, dm3-2000, dm3-3000, dm4-1000, dv2-1000, dv3-1000, dv3-2000, dv3-4000, dv4-1000, dv4-2000, dv1000, dv2000, dv3000, dv3500, dv4000, dv5000, dv5-1000, dv5-2000, dv6000, dx6000, dv6-1000, dv6-2000, dv6-3000, dv7-1000, dv7-2000, dv7-3000, dv7-4000, dv8000, dv9000, tm2-1000, tm2-2000, tx1000, tx2000, tx2500, tx2, ze2000; Compaq Presario A900, C300, C500, C700, CQ32, CQ35, CQ40, CQ41, CQ42, CQ45, CQ50, CQ60, CQ61, CQ62, CQ70, CQ71, CQ72, F500, F700, M2000, V2000, V3000, V4000, V5000, V6000"


KJ

 

I just tried the adapter with the envy 17 3D. It was at 94% battery and the status says "plugged in (not charging)" which is the desired effect without pushing the "charge" button. I let it sit idle for a while and it stayed 94%. I then played fallout 3 for about ten minutes and it stayed at 94% and didn't complain. I pushed the button and it switched to "charging" after a few seconds. It seems to be taking noticeably longer to charge compared to the 120W adapter but I suppose that's to be expected. I have not yet tried it in-car.

 

thanks WickedYeti I would imagine, also if you turned the power off on the laptop and left the 90W charger it would probably charge it even faster. Just a thought.

Also, do you guys know what wattage the regular Envy 17s use? Is it also 120W like the Envy 17 3D? The reason I ask since I posted above HP states it is compatible with the Envy 14, 15, and 17.

 

Does the 90W adapter work with ENVY 17? I mean can you just use it to charge the laptop, not use it while stressing it?

 

a3r0x, if you look up, see I posted from HPs own site they say its compatible with Envy 14, 15, and 17s.... so if the 17s have the same 120W standard Charger, then the 90W adapter here, should be fine for the 3D model too.

 

I have put some more time into the adapter and I connected it with 22% left on the battery. Over a period of hours I have noticed the status indicator creep up to %29 while playing games and watching stuff intermittently. The battery status still reads "not charging" but clearly it is despite being in the lower voltage mode. I'm not sure how much I care about this but it clearly isn't doing what I wanted it to do (not charge at all).

When I do put it into charge mode it seems to charge just fine as expected though I haven't measured exactly what the difference is between this and the stock 120W adapter.

This weekend I'll try it in my car and see how well it does.

 

Thanks WickedYeti, so at least the 90W is supplying enough juice to play our games in both modes, sweet! Yeah, I still have to update my thread on our charger car/ac/air...I know, I got lazy and didn't do the tests...but I am sure tomorrow I will and update it for you guys.

KJ

 

Any update?? I am on the fence about picking up this adapter...

 

sorry paris.... I should get my Envy today, a day early, so I plan on charging it with this adapter, stay tuned, I didn't forget....

 

Just received the adapter. It works great with the Envy 17 3D. By default it doesn't charge until you hit the button. On the adapter, it says the output voltage is 15.0V 6A for non-charge and 19.5V and 4.62A for charge. So, I guess that is how the laptop knows whether or not to charge.

 

I spoke too soon. The adapter works but this is the message I got at boot regardless of charge or non-charge mode.

 

So charging with a lower current (w/ the 90W charger) will simply charge the battery at a slower rate and not cause any damage right?

 

no real "damage" so to speak but I'm thinking that the fact that the battery still charges makes it continue to age faster. I bought this thing ideally to allow me to power the laptop and not have to remove the battery in order to save it from being at 100% all the time. FYI, keeping a lithium ion batt at 100% all the time makes it age 20% per year versus keeping it at ~40% and have it age much slower.

 

So is it a good idea to charge up a battery to maximum of 80% and discharge to 10% at minimum order to lengthen its lifespan as much as possible.

The figures above are my guesses of an ideal situation

 

this would be some good relevant reading:
How to prolong lithium-based batteries

Also, the BEST way to conserve the battery is to keep it unplugged from the laptop and stored at a middling charge at a cool temperature when it isn't needed but i doubt many of us would go through that hassle.

 

Yeah, I just did some extensive testing because i noticed random glitching while watching 1080p avatar. I used realtemp and had that window up while playing video and I noticed that when using this adapter in the "power only" mode, it kept the processor roughly at 950 MHz. When I pushed the button and set it to "charge mode" the processor speed went up to around 1150MHz. When I plugged in the default 120W adapter that came with the laptop, processor speed went up to 1550MHz. I know other factors affect the processor speed but this test was run when I was using a "high performance" power profile that set minimum processor level to 100% when plugged in. It seems that the laptop just doesn't receive enough power to go all out. Also it seems that the video glitches despite the fact that the processor load does not get remotely close to 100%. I think the speed trying to change in turbo boost and then getting denied by the power control is what is causing the glitching.

Unplugging the adapter and just running on battery (I am using the 9 cell battery) seems to yield the same performance as the smart adapter on power only mode. In most cases this will not be noticed but you will notice a definite difference if you are gaming or playing an intensive 1080p movie.

I'm not sure what to do. HP does not have a workable 120W adapter with car/plane adapters so I guess I'll keep it but I won't really use it unless I'm traveling.

I would like to see if an adapter greater than 120W would provide more available power (and require a cooling pad) and allow the processors to scale up yet further. However, HP does not have a higher rated supply with stated envy 17 compatibility. I tried to bring up these issues with HP support and they told me that maybe a third party store has a better adapter I can purchase but they couldn't comment on the safety of trying that and they didn't mention if this would be ok for warranty purposes.

 

WickedYeti, that was a fantastic review! Thanks, and it makes sense. I know high quality video/3D gaming require intensive power, so yeah, less power, less performance. So no hard core gaming on the plane! LOL, stick with chess, or better yet, minesweeper! LMFAO

 

So I purchased two of the older HP120W power adapters:

HP 120W AC Adapter | HP® Official Store


Trouble is, I apparently need the Kensington N30 tip to make this work with my Envy 17, as the tip on these adapters looks nothing like what I need for my Envy. Can someone confirm this is the case?

So I emailed Kensington support asking where I could buy the tips, and they offered to send me one for free but I have to give them the serial number of the Kensington product I purchased, which I obviously don't have! Does anybody have any suggestions on how I can get a couple of these N30 tips to use with the HP 120W power adapters? Any help would be greatly appreciated!