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Laptop power supply voltages?

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First post, by Rekrul

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I have an old IBM Thinkpad 600x that someone gave me, which is missing the power supply. I put it aside and never did anything with it. Recently, I ended up with a new (cheap) power supply for another laptop and I though I'd go online and see if it could be used with the 600x.

The stupid support site doesn't work for me (it tells me to select a product, but doesn't give me anything to select from), so I went on Amazon to see what voltages compatible power supplies had. I just ended up being confused. I told it to find Thinkpad 600x power supply.

The majority of the matches were 16v, but I found some that were 19v and 20v. All claimed to be compatible with the Thinkpad 600x.

I was always under the impression that electronic products needed a specific voltage and that using a power supply with a higher output than the device required would damage or burn it out.

Am I mistaken? Are laptops designed to operate on a range of voltages? Or are the selling mis-labeling their products?

Reply 1 of 3, by snorg

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Good question. I think some can, others can't. I don't know about specific voltages, but the Thinkpad W520 needs a 170W adapter but will recharge with both a 135 and 90W adapter (although I think with the 90W you can only charge it, not use it at the same time). So it stands to reason there is probably some wiggle room, as long as there is enough juice to get the job done. What is the exactly model number and I can try and find out the power supply it needs? You're probably better off getting a Thinkpad branded supply of the same type off Ebay.

Reply 3 of 3, by Rekrul

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snorg wrote:

Good question. I think some can, others can't. I don't know about specific voltages, but the Thinkpad W520 needs a 170W adapter but will recharge with both a 135 and 90W adapter (although I think with the 90W you can only charge it, not use it at the same time). So it stands to reason there is probably some wiggle room, as long as there is enough juice to get the job done.

What about the voltage, or isn't that important?

BTW, I never really looked at the label on the bottom before. It lists the power requirements as 16v, 3.0a. It also says it's a Type 2645. On the top it just says Thinkpad 600x. The manual for it on the site that ratfink linked to says it can use 15.5v to 17v. Which makes me wonder why they're selling 19-20v power supplies and labeling them as being compatible with the 600x.

snorg wrote:

What is the exactly model number and I can try and find out the power supply it needs? You're probably better off getting a Thinkpad branded supply of the same type off Ebay.

I know you're always better getting a genuine replacement, but I really wasn't looking to spend much, if any money on this machine. The specs listed online are fairly low, it probably has maybe a 5-10GB hard drive and it may not even work. I just though if the power supply I had was compatible (18.5v, 3.5a, unknown wattage), I could just replace the plug (it doesn't fit) and use that to test it.

ratfink wrote:
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Power_Connector […]
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http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Power_Connector

56w 3.5A

also

http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/product-and-p … cID=LWIK-44DHDF

Thanks for the information. 😀

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