Powering Laptop on the Plane?

[jpp]

Hi, I've got a long fight ahead of me, and want to use my laptop on the plane to watch movies. AA.com says my seat will have a 12V DC cigarette-lighter outlet.

Can I use this to power my 5672 on the plane?
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1187794


For roughly the same price, there's also this one which is lighter and more compact, but I don't know if it's powerful enough to run my laptop for long periods of time.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1085685


Any help appreciated.
j

[PorschePRH]

the key question you need to ask is how many watts will those outlets put out?

they may be only 70w outlets. the 5672 needs 90w...

if you have any hope, you probably have to get a power brick that will take 12v direct. going through one of those converters will probably suck extra wattage that you probably don't have to spare.

[jpp]

I checked. 75 Watts.

[jpp]

Does the 5672 alwas require 90 watts, or is that a worst case figure? How do i test this? I'm wondering if I plugged it into the 75 watt dc outlet with one of the above converters, would it be enough to watch a dvd? What about if I removed the laptop's battery before plugging it in?

[Chakz]

You HAVE to get a converter that has a minimum of the number of watts you need. According to PorschePRH it needs 90W. NEVER...EVER... underpower a laptop, its just as bad as giving it to much power (lightning). You will ruin your laptop if it still works but doesn't get enough power. Your best choice is to go to a local computer store or hardware store and purchase something with enough Wattage. I have a 400 Watt Power Invertor for my laptop...sure it has way more than I need but it has 2 plugs in it, so if I ever need toast on the way to work... Hahaha. Just remember not to underpower your laptop, good luck.

[jpp]

I have a power inverter that's rated for 150 watts, but will my 90 watt laptop run a 150 watt dc-to-ac inverter that's plugged into a 75 watt outlet on the plane? The inverter's rated for 150 watts; I assumed that was the maximum, that doesn't mean it will step up the wattage coming out of the outlet for you, right?

Here's the one I have, but I'm not sure if I should keep it:
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1187794&CatId=237

[Chakz]

I didn't realise the plane outlet only had 75 watts, sorry about that. I'm not sure what your options here would be. How long is the flight? If it was me I would just use the laptop battery until it runs out, and buy one of those portable dvd players from Walmart, FutureShop or a store you know that has a good return policy, then return it when you get back and say it doesn't run your dvd's. Then you can get your friend to go buy it on the discount table the next day if you want to keep it. It works all the time. Hahaha.

[lazybum131]

90W rating for your laptop (AC adapter) is the worst case scenario when your laptop is at full load (CPU loaded, GPU loaded, etc.) AND charging the battery.

Your laptop under load probably uses about 50W, try running Prime95 and rthdribl on battery (max sure you turn off the battery saving features) and check the rate of battery discharge in NHC or mobilemeter.

The 75W adapter should work fine as long as you aren't gaming while charging the battery.

[SuperJew]

im thinking about getting a laptop what kind should i get
is there any kind thats better for planes?

help me out people ty.

[iBorg]

I checked. 75 Watts.

The first one you linked states "150 watts continuous power" (the second one states 75 watts) - wouldn't that be adequate?

I just purchased a slim-line converter that puts out 120 watts - I'll be using it for my Travelmate 8204 on an upcoming trip next week - hope it works! It's very slim and packs neatly into a small laptop bag, and can plug into airline outlets as well as standard car cigarette lighter outlet.

BTW, how can you tell if an upcoming flight has the necessary airline outlet? (Up until now, I've never needed one) AA.com apparently lists it - do all the major airlines do this?

[jpp]

The first one you linked states "150 watts continuous power" (the second one states 75 watts) - wouldn't that be adequate?

This was basically my question. Does "150 watts continuous power" mean:

the converter will pump out a maximum of 150 watts, it might pump out less, but never more than 150. (i.e., don't plug your air conditioner into it cus it probably needs more than 150 watts to run)

or does it mean:

this converter will pump out 150 watts, period. (75 watts come in from the outlet, some magic happens in the box, presto, and 150 watts comes out the converter).

The plane certainly only pumps out 75 watts which probably isn't enough to run my laptop. Will this inverter increase that and give me 150 watts?

Also, would removing the battery help with this? I assume that would free up some power that would have otherwise been used to charge the battery. Not sure.

[jpp]

I just purchased a slim-line converter that puts out 120 watts - I'll be using it for my Travelmate 8204 on an upcoming trip next week - hope it works! It's very slim and packs neatly into a small laptop bag, and can plug into airline outlets as well as standard car cigarette lighter outlet.

Can you let us know if it worked when you come back?