Question about laptop charger...

I have a laptop here that has the following electrical requirements: 15V and 5A. The only 15V chargers I have handy are one with 3A and one with 6A. Which one would be the safest and best one to use? And why?

THX!

 

I plugged the laptop in to the 3A charger, and so far, all is well. The battery is charging, and the charger itself isn't getting overly warm (it's actually much cooler than most laptop chargers), but I'd still like some input on this question....

Many times I'm 'forced' to use a charger with a laptop that doesn't match perfectly. Ideally, I use a charger that has the exact same output that is listed on the laptop, but occasionally I have to use a charger that may be a volt high or low, or the charger might have an amperage rating of 1A (or more) high or low. In a scenario where the perfect charger is not available, what is better and safer? Using a charger that's a volt/amp high? or a volt/amp low?

 

I would use the higher amperage brick as it is more than capable of meeting the laptop's maximum current demands. The lower amperage brick could overheat if it is forced to meet the demands of a higher current demand. I'm not sure what effects voltage differences could make.

 

Running a 3 amp power supply on a PC requiring 5 amps is not a good idea. At best, your PC may shut down unexpectedly due to the PC's power requirements exceeding the available amperage. At worst, as Just Playin stated, you may run into a serious overheating issue that could be a fire hazard.

The input voltage should be the same (or, if a universal adapter, no more than half a volt higher) than the voltage input specs on the PC. Running a higher voltage can damage the PC.

You can usually find aftermarket chargers at Amazon.com for your specific make/model of PC in the $15-$20 range.

Hope this helps.

 

Ya, voltage should be the same that's specced in and amps the same or higher for the reasons given above. If you hook up to a 120V DC source then you will kill the machine, higher amps won't damage your machine as it will take what it needs but not overly excessive.

If you're interested to replace it, then batterydepot.com is a good place to go to and quite inexpensive too. $6 shipping last time I used them to even Canada. Just make sure the plug is the same, it took me quite a while to figure out which was the right one.

Lots cheaper than Radio Scrap but nothing can replace a hands on test. Triple the cost though.