I have a spare Dell 130w power supply that can plug into my 7480 Latitude. Is it ok to use this power supply for my 7480 without fear of damaging it? I see that the 7480 is spec’ed for either 65w or 90w power supply.
@Waruiko I have no idea why DELL-Cares asked you for your service tag seeing as all Latitude 7480s are designed for the same type of power source. But to answer your question, as long as you're using a Dell adapter (or a USB-C adapter that complies with the USB Power Delivery standard), then yes you will be fine. I've been using a Dell 130W AC adapter in my living room with every Dell system my wife and I have owned over the last decade or so, including a Latitude 7480, and it's completely fine. The Latitude 7480 is designed for a 65W power source, but you can absolutely use higher wattage sources than a given laptop is designed for because the system will always only draw what it wants/needs; the power source can't "force" it to draw more than it can handle. If Dell's higher wattage power supplies also used higher voltage, that would be a problem, but Dell has been using 19.5 V for all of their barrel-style laptop AC adapters for over 15 years now, so if you're using a barrel-style adapter, you're good to go. Higher wattage Dell power sources achieve that only by increasing their amperage, and again a power source can't force a device to accept more amperage. The device controls the draw.
And if you're using a USB-C power adapter, the USB Power Delivery standard defines the allowed voltages and it contains measures to prevent a power source from delivering a voltage level that the device can't support, so you'd be good there too. And as it happens, the Latitude 7480 is designed to draw the current maximum voltage allowed by the USB PD spec anyway, which is 20 V.
DELL-Cares
Moderator
•
27843 Posts
•
745 Points
3121
0
Posted January 5th, 2020 23:00
Hi Waruiko
Kindly share the system service tag through the private message, we will be glad to assist you further.
#IWork4Dell
For all non-technical issues that require your private data, we must communicate via a private Direct Message
Dell Partner GEM Program, Out of Warranty Support options, No free goodwill repair, Get a copy of your Dell invoice