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MacWanted

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 6, 2007
10
0
I will hopefully be getting a nice shiny MacBook soon. (read signature for details) Today I found out that my friend has a MBP car charger, that he doesn't need. Could I use a MBP charger with a MacBook? Thanks in advance for your support.:)
 
Very good point. I said "almost definitely" because I know the regular MacBook Pro adaptor simply scales itself back when plugged into a MacBook. Most adaptors seem to work in the same way, causing no problems for the unsuspecting MacBook user. However, I asked for the brand/model so that I could check that this specific adaptor does the same. :)
 
You sure about that? I thought the MBP had an 85W adaptor, while the MB had a 60W adaptor. I'm not saying that it won't work, but I thought it did some eventual damage to the computer. I could be wrong.

The quoted wattage is max. It does not mean that the adaptor supplies a constant 85W. If you think about it this is obvious: the computer draws more power when the battery is charging that when it's not. You can happily use a MBP charger with a MB.
 
think about this. you probably have 200 amp service to your house. that's 20,000 watts (approx)

just because you plug in your fridge doesn't mean it's getting 20,000 watts. that's what is available for your use. it only takes what it needs.

do not confuse watts with volts (electromotive force). you can't plug your 110v fridge into 220v without frying it.

just because your power adapter is 65 watts doesn't mean that much electricity is flowing to your macbook when it is asleep. 65 watts is the max available that can be used during battery charging + hdd access + screen display + ram use, etc. etc. when your needs get close to using all the available 65 watts your charger will start getting hot, reducing the charger's life.

at times you may be bumping or exceeding the 65w limit when everything is being used. an 85 watt charger is a great idea. upping your charger is just like upping your ram or hdd etc.
 
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