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Auto Power Adapter for M170?

post #1 of 15
4/23/06 at 10:39pm
Thread Starter 
Anyone know of a power supply adapter I can use in the car (cigarette lighter) to power my new M170. I have looked but because it is 130W I can't see to find one to buy online. If anyone has a solution or bought on that works using the cigarette lighter please let me know. Does Dell sell one at all?
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post #2 of 15
4/23/06 at 11:46pm
http://www.lindelectronics.com/cgi-b...detail_product

I currently have this one and it works great
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post #3 of 15
4/24/06 at 12:28pm
What's the difference between and adapter and an inverter??
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post #4 of 15
4/24/06 at 12:40pm
An inverter changes DC to AC. Converseley, a rectifier changes AC to DC.

Your 'power brick' is a transformer that rectifies 120VAC to 16.7VDC or so (I don't remember for M170).

Car batteries are 12VDC.

When you use a car 'adapter' you are inverting the signal from 12VDC to some AC voltage (probably 120VAC), then the 'power brick' is rectifying that AC back to DC, but at the voltage your laptop likes.

'Adapter' is the word everybody uses to lump everything together, it isn't very descriptive.
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post #5 of 15
4/24/06 at 12:44pm
The link above is actually just a DC/DC converter. Less wasteful design because it is specialized for the Dell 17" laptops.

The post above is more generalized.

Edit button still not working ftw!
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post #6 of 15
5/15/06 at 6:03pm
Thread Starter 

So much money

I saw the LIND power converter but it is so expensive. Is there anything cheaper?
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post #7 of 15
5/15/06 at 6:07pm
I've been using this for my M1710 and it works great:

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...9&sku=A0514668

It's especially nice because it works for AC AND DC, so I don't have to carry separate adapters for each. It's also a little bit cheaper, and you can probably find it even cheaper than that elsewhere.
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post #8 of 15
5/15/06 at 9:17pm
Thread Starter 

Would this work???

Hey anybody have one of these with a m170 or know if it would work - http://www.apc.com/resource/include/...ku=PNOTEAC150A

It is much cheaper than the first two options.
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post #9 of 15
5/16/06 at 1:44pm
I would just get a power inverter. They are so much cheaper and you can use it to power alot of other things as well. Sams Club has the two outlet inverters for like $30.00.

I did by a "Car Adapter" for my work truck to keep it less cluttered. I have so many cords layin around as it was. But I do have a four outlet inverter under the seat for other things like charging battery packs for tools, Runnin a compressor etc.



Inverter: Plugs into Cig lighter
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post #10 of 15
5/16/06 at 2:01pm
I would just suggest the power inverter as well. Just make sure it can output 130W or it won't be able to power your (XPS) laptop fully.

That monster power one looks pretty beefy, but I'm guessing that one isn't $30 as a freaking 3 foot coax cable from monster is that much.

That APC device should work also. I don't think the airline adapter would really work because they should be limited to ~75W before the adapter. 150W @ 85% full load efficiency is ~128W so it should be fine.
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post #11 of 15
5/16/06 at 2:32pm
The one on the Dell site doesn't list the XPS Gen 2 under supported laptops - that will definately work? I know its 130W.

If the one from Dell definately works, and is $40 cheaper, then I'd probably go with that one!
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post #12 of 15
5/16/06 at 3:23pm
That model of Gateway laptop gives me nightmares. XD

The Duracell power adapter that I posted the link to works fine on my M1710 even though it isn't listed. While I don't have an XPS Gen 2 to test it with, I don't know of any reason why it wouldn't work for the Gen 2 as well.
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post #13 of 15
5/16/06 at 3:33pm
easier to get a vehicle invertor and then run the ac adapter
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post #14 of 15
5/16/06 at 6:49pm
Quote:
That model of Gateway laptop gives me nightmares. XD

Been my favorite for years. And its been through hell and back. I go through (with the company) like 9 laptops a year.... I have been using the solo 9300 series because they are built like tanks but there getting harder to find. I have recently switched the the c610 dells, Just bought 6 of those last week. Most of my guys have no computer experience and trash em within a month.
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post #15 of 15
5/19/06 at 7:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sykes
That model of Gateway laptop gives me nightmares. XD

The Duracell power adapter that I posted the link to works fine on my M1710 even though it isn't listed. While I don't have an XPS Gen 2 to test it with, I don't know of any reason why it wouldn't work for the Gen 2 as well.

I have an i9300 that I've dropped a 7800gtx into -- it's running the XPS2 BIOS so it needs 130W to run at load, but will limp along on 90W. I bought the Duracell adapter from Dell and received it yesterday. I plugged it in to an AC outlet and fired up my laptop, it didn't complain about the power supply during POST and the cpu ran at full throttle during use.

Unfortunately, I'm finding out that when on 12v DC power in the car (as I am right now) it seems to only operate at 90W instead of 130W. When I POST'd, the system complained that the 90W power supply wasn't enough -- "press F1 to shutdown." Bummer, so I booted up off the battery, connected the power supply, and sure enough I can see that my CPU won't throttle past ~700MHz. This is exactly how the machine behaves when on the dell standard 90W AC adapter. I'm really disappointed and I expect I'll be returning this. Just thought others would like to know since I can't seem to ever find information on the forums regarding 130W dell adapters (specifically DC adapters).
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