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    Anyone using any different power supplies for their Z's?

    Discussion in 'VAIO / Sony' started by yfzcentral, Oct 23, 2010.

  1. yfzcentral

    yfzcentral Notebook Enthusiast

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    Two things that I don't like about the supplied power supply...
    1. Size
    2. Price - it's about $90 retail (I need two - one for work and home)

    If you have used any other, please post here. This will help me and others down the line.

    Thanks!
     
  2. guangzong

    guangzong Newbie

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    You can try this from AcBel. It costs about Sing$99 in Singapore. It's about the size of a credit card.

    [​IMG]
    AcBel Polytech Inc.????
     
  3. trieudoahong

    trieudoahong Notebook Consultant

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    where to buy it?
     
  4. Blahman

    Blahman Notebook Consultant

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  5. yfzcentral

    yfzcentral Notebook Enthusiast

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  6. warrior811

    warrior811 Notebook Guru

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    I just got the USNA95. Seems to do the job. I'm really hoping it can charge my XP18000 on the road too though, haven't received that yet.

    FYI you linked 2 different products I believe, the link on Amazon is last year's model SNA95 and it's a little bigger. Here is the link on Amazon for the USNA95. i got mine from newegg for $70 shipped because that amazon link was listing preorder the other day.
     
  7. yfzcentral

    yfzcentral Notebook Enthusiast

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    Do these after market ones charge faster than stock?
     
  8. ggold321

    ggold321 Notebook Consultant

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    Do any of them also come with an adapter so you can charge on an airplace (or car lighter?) that would really make it useful for me.
    thx
     
  9. Achusaysblessyou

    Achusaysblessyou eecs geek ftw :D

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    Hey warrior, do tell us if it charges your xp18000 when you get it. I'm thinking of getting one and it'd be nice to be able to charge my xp18000 too. Thanks!
     
  10. odysseas

    odysseas Notebook Geek

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    Received my car power adapter two days ago and it works great so far. I really wonder how come SONY does NOT make a car adapter for the Z? Anyway if anyone is interested the link is Laptop Car DC Adapter for Sony Vaio VGN-C
     
  11. Edwood

    Edwood Notebook Guru

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    Really interested in the Cooler Master USNA. A little nervous about the user reviews having it fry their charging port. But it was a Dell XPS, maybe there's no problems with Sony Vaio Z?

    I'd prefer getting a 3rd party compact AC Adapter that's fixed at 19.5V so there is no possibility of improper voltage frying my shiny new Z.
     
  12. warrior811

    warrior811 Notebook Guru

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    Will do; I won't have my hands on it til Friday but I'll report back in here with the results.

    As for the concern in that post^ about it frying someone's Dell, I didn't let it stop me. Dell's are known for proprietary chips in their chargers aren't they? I've read a few other reports prior to trigger pulling of the Cooler Master SNA95 working just fine with a Z.
     
  13. 18000rpm

    18000rpm Notebook Consultant

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    Hi guangzong, where to buy the AcBel in Singapore? If Sim Lim, which shop? Thanks...
     
  14. guangzong

    guangzong Newbie

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    U can get it from Sim Lim Square Media Mart.
     
  15. faustiano

    faustiano Notebook Consultant

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    Just bought this, love it.
    Car, Plane, Office, and slim!

    I actually have a couple of laptops, so this one is nice because I can use the same charger for multiple devices.

    Kensington 33197 White Box Wall/Auto/Air Adapter
    $49.99 on Amazon
     
  16. mattolejack

    mattolejack Notebook Enthusiast

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    In the US, you can get the AcBel for 75 bucks at Brando. That thing is TINY. When I get my Z, I'm thinking about picking one up as my travel charger. How reliable/dangerous are 3rd party no-name chargers, I wonder?
     
  17. 18000rpm

    18000rpm Notebook Consultant

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    How do the Cooler Master USNA 95 and AcBel compare? I'm leaning towards the Cooler Master since it's black.
     
  18. warrior811

    warrior811 Notebook Guru

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    I am pleased to report that it does; just got my xp18000 today. I confirmed it ahead of time with the EnergizerXP18000 tech support page folks that technically it would work, I would just need to find the right tip. Well, one of the ones included with the CoolerMasterUSNA95 works like a champ, it's the blue tipped one meant for "Acer/HP/Compaq" laptops.

    I think I'm gonna be quite pleased with this combo for roadwarrior'ing. I'll probably post more info later. Below is the whole package. I wonder what % more battery life this xp18000 is gonna give my (standard battery) Z?

    [​IMG]
     
  19. ggold321

    ggold321 Notebook Consultant

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    I really wish the Cooler Master also did charging from cig outlet, for Airplane travel.... do they have an adapter to allow you to plug it in on a plane?

    I am leaning towards the Kennsington
     
  20. warrior811

    warrior811 Notebook Guru

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    I don't think Cooler Master offers a car adapter but I could be wrong.

    XP18000 seems better to me than limiting yourself to plugging in on a plane or car.

    But what about one of these?
    [​IMG]
     
  21. Blahman

    Blahman Notebook Consultant

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    what the hell is that?
     
  22. beaups

    beaups New Jack Hustler

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    That would be a dc/ac inverter.
     
  23. Boo Boo

    Boo Boo Notebook Deity

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    i get mine on ebay about 20-30 bucks
     
  24. warrior811

    warrior811 Notebook Guru

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    if you click that pic it has more details, it's on amazon for 19.99. I don't know if that would be good for the person needing the airline connectivity, you may also need an airline->car 12v adapter. seems like a lot of monkeying around.

    I'm still playing with my xp18000 but it seems to at least double my standard Z battery life. This is long enough for any domestic flights unless I wanna sit and hardcore game the whole flight.
     
  25. beaups

    beaups New Jack Hustler

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    How much life are you getting out of your Z? If I'm just doing emails and light browsing I get 4.5-6 hours....enough for any domestic flight. For international, I just plug in to 110v with my standard adapter, no issues.
     
  26. warrior811

    warrior811 Notebook Guru

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    I've only had it a couple weeks so I'm still figuring it out but I probably get about that. Xpal is a luxury item no doubt but it will allow me to get more life at airports, planes, coffee shops, etc without having to find an outlet. As well as charging my iphone on a plane without wasting my Z's battery life.

    I fly 4000 miles/week
     
  27. Achusaysblessyou

    Achusaysblessyou eecs geek ftw :D

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    Haha, thanks for the reply warrior! That's good to know :). I've not really done any benchmarks but from practice, the XP18000 charges my laptop battery about one time, but then again, I only use the XP18000 when i'm using my laptop and my Z considers itself plugged in and uses the settings for "plugged in"
     
  28. warrior811

    warrior811 Notebook Guru

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    I did some testing of the XPAL 18000.

    Full brightness, on Speed mode, playing WoW, my Z went from 80% to 9% in 50 minutes. (I'm using Battery Care) Doing the math on 100% charge means I could have played 64mins. This also means that playing WoW on full brightness on Speed mode drains 1.43%/min.

    Prior to that test I plugged in the XPAL 18000 when my Z was at 24%. 54min later (playing WoW at full brightness on speed mode) it was dead, and my Z was at 42%. +18% charge is an extra 12.5min, per above. So the XPAL added 66.5min to my play.

    Therefore it added 66.5/50= +133% of uptime, if using Battery Care @80%.

    If not using Battery Care and charging Z to 100%, it adds 66.5/64= +104% of uptime

    These are just my quick tests with somewhat maximal drain, I assume the +%'s extrapolate to light drain usage as well.

    I'm pretty pleased cuz I snagged it for +$60+ship off ebay
     
  29. Blahman

    Blahman Notebook Consultant

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    so for the mathematically challenged (me) the results of your testing are that the XPAL 18000 doubles the battery life?
     
  30. warrior811

    warrior811 Notebook Guru

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    correct, just over 2x.

    2.33x battery life if you use battery care to only charge Z to 80%
     
  31. beaups

    beaups New Jack Hustler

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    Let's simplify this guys. The energizer is 18AH @ 5V. That equates to 90W/H. The sony battery is 59.5WH So the X18000 is ~150% as strong as the Z battery. So...using this will take your battery to about 2.5X where it is today (100% (stock) + 150% (XP18000) = 250%)

    Math is your friend :)
     
  32. warrior811

    warrior811 Notebook Guru

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    yeah except real life results trump theoretical
     
  33. zonules

    zonules Notebook Consultant

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    From my understanding, the extended battery gives you 200% more, it is more expensive, about $200, has less wires, can charge other devices as well as long it those are hooked up to your z12.
    Any know how their weights differ.... the x18000 looks bulky?
     
  34. beaups

    beaups New Jack Hustler

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    Not necessarily. In this case, testing two rounds of WOW with varying cpu and gpu load depending what's on the screen, etc. is not a great real life test.

    Engadget's video rundown test is pretty good.

    Either way we came up without about the same #. Difference is mine took 30 seconds ;)
     
  35. warrior811

    warrior811 Notebook Guru

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    On the Sony page at Z checkout it shows the Large capacity battery at 10.5 hours vs 7 hours = +50%

    The xpal is certainly somewhat bulky
     
  36. warrior811

    warrior811 Notebook Guru

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    and mine took 2 minutes so what

    just trying to provide useful info to people, I guess I shouldn't bother
     
  37. beaups

    beaups New Jack Hustler

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    I wasn't criticizing you, just trying to provide some more data for everyone...backing up your results.

    Don't be so sensitive?
     
  38. warrior811

    warrior811 Notebook Guru

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    our results weren't totally similar: +104% actual vs +150% theoretical, plus I considered powering off Z at 9% vs running to 0, which would have further decreased my number. my efforts were entirely for myself actually to make sure this thing didn't suck; I just share it here for kicks
     
  39. zonules

    zonules Notebook Consultant

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    but I dont think those figures are accurate... I will search for some figures.
     
  40. warrior811

    warrior811 Notebook Guru

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    You mean you think it does better? I'd be surprised. The other thing about going the large battery route is that is hanging from your z 24/7 vs the xpal only when you need it
     
  41. zonules

    zonules Notebook Consultant

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    Good point... and to charge other devices, your computer must be on with the extended batt.

    Can you charge both the xpal and the sony z12 battery (while in the computer) at the same time with one charger?
     
  42. warrior811

    warrior811 Notebook Guru

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    Yeah, the Cooler Master USNA95 charges either, or both at once. I've shelved the Z and xpal ac adapters.
     
  43. zonules

    zonules Notebook Consultant

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    ok good.. as i have the cooler master as well and i just ordered the xpal on ebay for $90.
     
  44. ttran88

    ttran88 Notebook Consultant

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    I use the targus universal adapter APA69US. It is alot thinner and doesnt have a brick. I can charge my phone/laptop at the same time also. If you're lucky you can get it for 35 dollars when its on sale, otherwise its about 100 bucks at stores. You can change tips just incase you get a new laptop. Amazon.com: Targus Premium Laptop Charger (AC/DC) APM69US (Piano Black): Electronics . Expensive on amazon. I got mine new for 35 dollars on mwave when it was on sale.
     
  45. warrior811

    warrior811 Notebook Guru

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    looks slightly larger than a usna 95, but of course the usna95 adds a cord to the wall. I see on the targus website they do off an airline adapter for that one.
     
  46. keisuke_z

    keisuke_z Notebook Guru

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    I've been using this Kensington adapter, and quite happy with it - super thin and portable!