9mo ago

What kind of laptop charger do I need for my laptop

Dell G15 (5510)

On the Dell website it says has one option that says 240W (the one I was using is 180.0 W) is compatible with mine but for $140 I want to be 100%

Also my old one shocked the shit out of me because it was frayed and I had no idea so I want to be 1000% sure so I don’t get accidentally shocked again.

34 comments

A LTT video recently mentioned, often it's cheaper to buy a broken laptop that uses the same charging cord just for the cord than to buy the charging cable directly. But there's always some hassle second hand even if it is much cheaper.
- $140 sounds absurd for just a charger. I'd definitely buy secondhand and maybe off-brand.
  
  A quick google search gives me options for €40/€50. But I don't know if they match exactly.

Dell is really crappy about third party chargers. When you get one of their laptops, you are stuck in their ecosystem. They used to do this with memory as well.. then they didn't... then they did again. Don't know which phase they're on right now, but I'd dig on eBay or Craigslist for an exact replacement.
- I got my hands on a Dell USB C docking station for free, it's all good except that the power supply is missing.
  Looking for a replacement I found the same docking station for sale cheaper than what I would have to pay for the cable.
  Man, fuck Dell.
- what? dells are all USB c or 7mm barrels, at least for commercial/business equipment.
  
  There are also 4.5mm barrels occasionally
  
  That's true, but they use nonstandard voltages on their chargers, and it can be tough to find an aftermarket that matches both the voltage and current of stock. Then you run into the "Dell has detected a non-Dell charger" scenario.
- I typed in the serial number of my charger and it only gave one search result total. An item on eBay that was out of stock. It really sucks because I doubt I could sell my entire laptop for $140 since it’s so old. Oh well
  
  Is it just the frayed wires that's causing the issue? Did they short together to destroy the charger?

Do the sockets fit? Going from 180 to240w should be fine. As long as the expected voltage match on the brick’s supply it should be fine to go higher in wattage.
In terms of wattage, it’ll only draw the current it needs.
In any case you can probably find a 3rd party brick that works just fine for way less. If you have a microcenter near you, they can help. Or there’s always crapazon.

Any cable that gets frayed could shock you, so to avoid getting shocked, stop using the cable before it rubs though to the metal. Getting a more heavy duty cable can help, but any cable will rm eventually wear through.

any wattage above what it asks for on the new devices is fine, won't hurt. less wattage won't charge fast enough and it will complain. 65w is pretty standard for 14" laptops, 90w is recommended and will work on more devices in case you have one that requires 90w, usually 15.5" screens or larger, 130-180w for docks and gaming laptops. 240w for special scenarios. pick your poison, don't go unbranded shitty universal ones, get a good genuine oem adapter, the 90w runs about $40 new on Amazon, 65w $22

Things to look for:
size and shape of the plug that goes into the laptop and the charging port on the laptop
voltage & amperage: the chargers output voltage must be the same, the amperage must be equal or higher but never below the required amperage otherwise stuff starts to get warm and may potentially get too hot
read your laptop chargers label
Or if you don't have a charger read the laptop specs
It's recomended you get a manufactory one that's made for your laptop which you should be able to Google, make sure you're not getting fake chargers either because those can cause house fires
- output voltage must be the same
  Or check what the laptop accepts. Sometimes it is a range.

LPT: if buying a new laptop, only get one that can charge via USB PD. If it can charge with a proprietary charger in addition, that ok.
Otherwise you are going to be in OP's situation

Your current adapter should have the wattage on it - buy the same. If you no longer have it, you can search yoir laptop by the service tag on the Dell Support page (it should detect it, if not the service tag is on a label on the bottom cover) and check the configuration there - it should have the original adapter listed. Buy the same.
If in doubt, just buy the 240W as that should work even if it used 180W.

Junk the laptop and buy one that uses USBC.
That shit should have stayed in the 2010s.
- i’m about over laptops in general.
- Dell did some non-standard trickery to allow more than 100W charging through a USB C connector. If it's one of those laptops it will only charge over 100W with a Dell USB charger.

Let me see if one of my dell spares works for you, I was gonna toss them
- If you have a match throw it on eBay and I’ll buy it
  
  I think I have one I'll know tomorrow

. Is this what you need?

- They're not even chargers. Laptops have proper external PSUs that directly power them (with or without the battery). Very dangerous (deadly) internals - even unplugged and not something you want to sway away from the exact model that the manufacturer provides.

- original OEM are cheap as hell, universal ones have always been terrible in my experience. a 65w Dell USBC charger was $22 the other day on Amazon, genuine OEM. I always get at least the 90 so it will work with just about anything outside gaming laptops.

. Thought I posed but this?
- Thank you for taking the time to look for this, it’s not the right charger. But definitely put that on eBay you might be able to help someone else out & make a little money.
  Thanks again!

A laptop charger.

34 comments