Thinkpads Forum

I did a search on "hot" plus "adapter" and surprisingly nothing came up. I have noticed my 65watt 20v adapters get very hot, I have about 4 or 5 of them and use them with T400s T410s T400 and X60s, and was also using with a T60p before I sold it. I only use the 90 watt adapters with the docking stations, and usually using a 65watt when running around in or out of the house. These can get VERY hot. They all seem to do this. Haven't done a formal comparison but it is with more than one. The X60s is the one I run around with the most daily around the house, and then I travel with the T400s, they both lead to a pretty hot ac adapter. I have to conclude this is normal behavior, but maybe I've got a bunch of bad adapters? Anyone else notice this?

Mike

The 65W should only be used with Intel integrated graphics machines.
Anything else requires the 90W adapter.

Even with intel graphics, the 65 watt for my t61 gets really hot, but as long as you are aware of it, I don't think it is an issue (that should teach me to game when plugged into a 60-watt power inverter - the inverter got 2x as hot as the adapter )

Like that, just be careful, but I don't think it will get as hot as to hurt you.

RealBlackStuff wrote:The 65W should only be used with Intel integrated graphics machines.
Anything else requires the 90W adapter.

I think all of my current machines are Intel integrated. This is good to know though.

Mike

Mike, I have noticed my 65w adapters get warmer than the 90W ones. I wouldn't classify them as 'hot' though. Hot to me is burning ...

It is also advisable to provide proper air circulation around the adapter during use. Otherwise the heat won't be dissipated as good and the adapter will get pretty warm.

I actually had a case when the adapter would stop working (laptop suddenly switched to battery) because it was covered with bed sheets and got too warm. I just uncovered it and soon the laptop switched back to AC.

I usually find my adapters only get warm when charging the battery. My T60 will get my adapter warmer if I'm pushing the computer though. I guess because I'm usually just surfing the Internet or sending emails, I don't get the computer as stressed.

mpcook wrote:I have noticed my 65watt 20v adapters get very hot

In general for power adapters, hot is subject to who is handling it... hot is ok, hot enough to start a fusion reaction is not good (i.e. too hot to hold in your hand), i had an acer a while back with a faulty ac adapter, it was under warranty and they sent a new one that was much better.

Like any electronics, heat is the enemy... the adaptors get rid of the waste heat by conduction, convection (and possibly radiation? that's why they are usually black i read somewhere)... try to keep them in a place with good airflow, avoid charging a dead battery whilst playing some intense game, and definately use the correct wattage or higher for each particular machine.

Ten days ago, Forbes ran an article that said, that the Google Chrome browser increases something called the computer's "system clock tick rate" on Windows computers by a factor 15.625, and that this might increase the computer's power usage by 25%:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ianmorris/2 ... p-battery/

25% higher power consumption will lead to hotter AC adapters and to hotter notebooks. The problem is in the Chromium layout engine itself, so it doesn't merely affect the Google Chrome browser, but also other browsers based on Chromium, such as recent Opera versions. Google have said they are going to try to fix the problem:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ianmorris/2 ... ent-story/

Until the problem has been fixed - and for those of us who prefer a cool notebook - it might be better to use another browser, such as IE, Firefox or an Opera version based on the Presto layout engine, i.e. Opera version 12.17. As the download of Opera 12.17 might be difficult to find, here is a link:

http://www.opera.com/download/get/?part ... &classic=1

Yeah 65 W adapters are much hotter than 90 W when charging my T60/T61/T500 even when said laptops are usually off. That's why they make 90 W and later on 135 W PSU.

TTY wrote:Until the problem has been fixed - and for those of us who prefer a cool notebook - it might be better to use another browser, such as IE, Firefox or an Opera version based on the Presto layout engine...

It seems Firefox behaves very similar to Chrome. I checked it with a program called clockres. When Firefox renders simple pages, such as http://www.wikipedia.org or http://www.google.com, the system clock tick rate stays at 15.6 ms. Visiting more demanding web pages, such as http://www.youtube.com or http://www.wired.com, makes Firefox increase the system clock tick rate to 1.0 ms. Once Firefox has increased the system clock tick rate, it won't reduce it, even if you display a blank page or visit a simple page such as http://www.wikipedia.org. If you close Firefox, the system clock tick rate will return to 15.6 ms.