Notebook AC adapters: higher wattage = faster recharge time?

jrichrds

Platinum Member
Oct 9, 1999
2,537
3
81
I want to get a 2nd Universal AC adapter for my Toshiba laptop, which came with a 75w AC adapter (15V, 5A). I see 90w Universal AC adapter models that claim "recharge up to 20% faster," which I assume refers to when you're using the laptop and recharging the battery at the same time.

My question is...if my Toshiba laptop came with a 75w AC adapter, is it designed to use only a maximum of 75w power? Or is it capable of drawing as much power as the AC adapter can provide?
 

cheesehead

Lifer
Aug 11, 2000
10,079
0
0
This is most likely a load of BS. 9 times out of ten, your laptop is limited by the 0.7c (1c for some batteries, mostly those using lithium-polymer cells) charge rate on the lithium-ion cells used in laptop battery packs. In other words, you can't charge the battery at more than it's total power output value x 0.7. If you have a 95wHR battery and a 75w power supply, upgrading to a 90w model might help a little, but chances are the charge rate will be unaffected unless your computer is drawing a lot of power at the same time you are charging.
-Cheesehead