75w Inverter good for laptop?

[empera]

question is...Is a 75watt power inverter good enough to supply power to a laptop...

[ChadMKIII]

How much wattage does your laptop require?
You kinda need to know that ;)

Go look at the power supply for it. It should say.

[Boost Lee]

As ^Beavis^ said, It all depends on how big your laptop is. ;)


Given it is your basic/average laptop, A 100 watt DC/AC Inverter is recommended...It just depends on how much power YOUR laptop will be pulling.

I've used a 100 watt inverter for two different laptops before...it was enough to keep it powered.

Jeff

[mkIIIman089]

My macbook pro's power supply is rated for 180 watts in... so definitly not enough for something high end.

[drjonez]

why on earth are you using an invertor for your laptop? the laptop needs DC! and most laptops are 12V inputs as well....dig around, you should be able to find a car/airplane adaptor for it.

[empera]

i think i've used this laptop with this power inverter before. Reason why i use it is because i have no lighter socket and the power inverter is connected directly to battery.

[ChadMKIII]

As ^Beavis^ said, It all depends on how big your laptop is. ;)
Ahem!!! I make a few comments about Indy and look at the treatment I get....jerk.... :-p

BTW, thanks for replying to that PM months ago about Best Buy... lolol.

Dr. Jonez, the laptop's power supply will pull AC, and transform to DC. Just like plugging it into a wall at home, it gets AC current into the power sup.

I run a 175W inverter, its a Jensen brand and it only cost like 50 bucks. Its lasted at least 4 or 5 years and still running fine, so I don't see why you wouldn't just go with a cheaper but higher wattage inverter like I did. They'll all last you plenty long. And I've never had a problem powering anything I wanted. In retrospect I almost wish I had gotten a higher wattage one so I could run a few things at a time (and really kill the car's battery :)).
Bottom line: I wouldn't waste my money on anything less than 150W.

Oh, and MkIIIman, really? 180W? Seems kinda high. Just surprised.

[drjonez]

...Dr. Jonez, the laptop's power supply will pull AC, and transform to DC. Just like plugging it into a wall at home, it gets AC current into the power sup...

i'm aware of that....and then by using an inverter in your car, you're taking the car's 12V DC, converting to AC (poorly), then using your laptop's transformer to rectifiy the poor AC back to DC for your laptop. see my point?

[Turbo. Targa. Life.]

Chad...NEVER....EVER doubt the good doctor :D

[ChadMKIII]

i'm aware of that....and then by using an inverter in your car, you're taking the car's 12V DC, converting to AC (poorly), then using your laptop's transformer to rectifiy the poor AC back to DC for your laptop. see my point?
Ah. Didn't think of that. Sorry for doubting ;)

I haven't looked much, but I haven't really heard of something that scales the power from a 12V DC up to more DC. They have stuff that would be OK for regular items that would not output AC? And also, how then would something like a laptop transformer, which is designed for AC input, deal with DC? Would that put wear on the transformer? (Serious questions - I really don't know)

TTL - I see, I have asked forgiveness. I hope it will be granted. :bowdown: :)

[Turbo. Targa. Life.]

You better hope the good doctor forgives you, or you'll be getting a prescription...








































for [b]PAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![b/]
:rofl:

[drjonez]

Ah. Didn't think of that. Sorry for doubting ;)

np....realize i've been around the block a few times and i do i have a BSEE...


I haven't looked much, but I haven't really heard of something that scales the power from a 12V DC up to more DC. They have stuff that would be OK for regular items that would not output AC? And also, how then would something like a laptop transformer, which is designed for AC input, deal with DC? Would that put wear on the transformer? (Serious questions - I really don't know)

TTL - I see, I have asked forgiveness. I hope it will be granted. :bowdown: :)

you need to see if there is a car/plane adaptor made for your laptop....

[ChadMKIII]

np....realize i've been around the block a few times and i do i have a BSEE...



you need to see if there is a car/plane adaptor made for your laptop....

Oh, so like something specific to the laptop model. Makes sense now. :icon_bigg

[drjonez]

Oh, so like something specific to the laptop model. Makes sense now. :icon_bigg

exactly.

[gixxer750]

I run a small transformer in my car for the laptop. works nicely.

[annoyingrob]

My laptop is rated to draw 80W. My buddy and I (same laptops) once ran both laptops off of a 200w power inverter while charging, and it worked fine.

75W should be fine, especially if it's hooked up to a battery, and not through the cigarette lighter.

[empera]

it did say you can use notebook pc's on the box :) its an old PC with a p3 800mhz i think

[annoyingrob]

it did say you can use notebook pc's on the box :) its an old PC with a p3 800mhz i think
Yeah that will work, mine was a P4 2.8

[miekedmr]

Oh, so like something specific to the laptop model. Makes sense now. :icon_bigg

I'm sure you could find a suitable dc-dc convertor (maybe an adjustable one) not specific to the laptop which would work too.
...but it would probobly be cheaper to buy an inverter and do the back-and-forth conversion, since inverters are pretty common, and you already have the AC-DC power supply.