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Would a DELL 19.5V laptop power supply work with my HP (Compaq) laptop that requires a 19V input?

Or more specifically, would it work without damaging it? The connectors look identical, but the DELL supply is marked as 19.5V and my HP supply is marked at 19V. Do you have any experience with this?

Public Comments

1. Yes, I have extensive experience with this. It is not just the voltage. It is the total wattage. Sure, right off the bat you should recognize that since the Dell power adapter puts out a higher voltage than your HP requires, you should not use it. Pumping in more voltage than it is supposed to use will damage the unit. Now, take a closer look at both the power adapter and the laptop. Check the AMPERAGE.... or the number with the "A" after it. It will be listed right there with the output voltage on the power adapter, and right there with the input voltage on the laptop. Here is a little formula. V x A = W. That means Voltage x Amperage = Wattage. If the power brick put out a total wattage that is equal to the Wattage requirement for the laptop, then even with a slight difference in Voltage, you *can* use the power adapter. But, that would mean that the power brick would put out less amperage than the laptop demands. You might end up with a situation where the battery won't charge while the unit is in use, or you might end up with a situation where the laptop shuts down when you run any software with high processor demands. But in general, the only power adapter that should be used with a laptop, is one that puts out Voltage and Amperage that the laptop is designed to work with... and you can already see that this Dell brick is not made to be used with that HP laptop. end of line
2. Never mix powersupply cords. Even if they are the same voltage. The way they supply power is specific to the batter and motherboard. You can short out, burn out, or jolt your entire laptop. Usually when this happens the computer is unusable and becomes scrap. Sometimes the data on the hd cannot even be salvaged. I have worked with computers for over 11 years. I can not tell you how many times i have seen this. People forgetting cords and useing a friends, sharing a cord in a dorm, etc.
3. Yes it is OK