So what do you choose? In this article we run through the three main types of laptop power supplies and how you can pick a safe, reliable and affordable replacement.
Please visit our website for more information on this topic.
All of that productivity and entertainment a laptop offers needs power to keep it going, and a broken or lost laptop charger or power cord will quickly leave you scrambling for a replacement. You may even want to pick up an extra charger so to save you carrying extra cables.
If you're like me, you can't be without your laptop. From daily work, to taking notes in meetings and even entertainment at home, your laptop goes everywhere with you.
Before we delve into the main categories of replacements offered by sellers online (including ourselves!), lets run through the key steps of finding what charger you need.
To see what kind of replacements are on offer online for your laptop, you'll need some extra information on the model of the machine. Laptop manufacturers use all kinds of connections for charging laptops, and each vary in terms of wattage.
The easiest way to find your laptop model number is by taking a look at the sticker usually placed on the underside of your laptop. Among information such as serial number, warranty, towards the top of the label should be the full model number or identifier. This might look like one of these:
It's always important to look for the main model number rather than the 'range' listed around the keyboard as this isn't always enough detail to find the right charger for your device.
If you can't locate the sticker or it's difficult to read, you could take a look at the original invoice/receipt or check the manual that came with your laptop. If the laptop hasn't discharged completely, you can also find the model number on the powered on machine.
When using our site, this isn't essential as we list replacement power supplies based on their precise model number, and they're guaranteed to work for your device. However, it's always good practice to understand the power requirements for your laptop.
The main element you'll want to look for is the output voltage for the charger (sometimes referred to as DC voltage). Check in your laptop manual for the voltage requirements or look at the original power supply if you still have it. It will often be something like this:
By multiplying the output voltage and amps you can calculate the total wattage of your machine, in this case 65W after rounding up.
Take a note of the voltage, amperage and wattage so you can match up those listed for the replacement charger with your own laptop's requirements.
Now you're armed with the information to be able to source a replacement charger, let's run through the most common 'types' of laptop power supplies available online:
When you first bought your laptop, the charger you received with the laptop was an OEM power supply. Usually this charger will have been manufactured by a third party power supply manufacturer on behalf of the company. Common OEM brands include Delta, ACBel and LiteOn. With leading laptop manufacturers such as HP, Samsung and Lenovo, the charger is usually branded with their logo.
Advantages of buying an OEM laptop charger
Disadvantages of buying an OEM laptop charger
If you're planing to buy an OEM power supply for your laptop, do make sure that its from a reputable company who can provide assurances on their chargers.
Universal chargers are commonly available as replacements for many of the leading laptop brands. Some even span multiple brands and are packaged with multiple sets of 'tips' or 'pins', the part of the charger that connects directly to your laptop. As we covered in our help guide on power supply pin sizes, measuring the pin size required for your laptop can be a real challenge and impossible if you no longer have the original charger to hand.
With cookies and similar technologies, we can offer better and more personalized help each day. Thanks to functional cookies, the website works well. They also have an analytical function. That's how we can make the website a little bit better every day. We want to show you useful ads. That's why we use technology to track your behavior on and off our website. We'll do that anonymously, of course. Want to know more? Read everything on our cookie and privacy statement. Click 'Okay' to accept all. Do you choose reject? We'll only use functional and analytical cookies and similar technologies. You can change your preferences later on the preferences page.
For more laptop supplyinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.