[mrmister]

Is it my imagination, or is this MBP power adapter actually larger than the last couple of generations of power adapters? It looks rectangular, rather than being square--has anyone seen one in the flesh, or taken pics comparing the adapters to one another?

Also, does the new adapter have the "hooks" for wrapping the cord around neatly?

[ururk]

It has the flick out wings

It's taller than the Apple Remote

http://mac.kinkykoala.com/mbp-pagina's/Afbeelding5.html

[hakstooy]

I'm fairly certain it is larger. It looks like it might be more the size of the Airport Express.

There are several pictures of it with the cable wrapped up similarly to how you can with the hooks on the previous power adapters. There is a nice image on the accessories where you can buy an additional adapter (w/ only a 5-7 week wait! Sweet!)

[bernt]

I've seen the new adapter "live", it is a bit bigger and heavier. It is 85 watt instead of 65 watt, which might explain the size/weight increase. I would guess it is 20-30% bigger/heavier, but hasn't got any accurate measures, so don't quote me on it.

And yes, it has the same brilliant "hooks".

[dndog]

What do those "flick out wings" or "hooks" do?

[dn15]

Originally Posted by dndog

What do those "flick out wings" or "hooks" do?

You wrap the power cable around them to keep things organized when transporting / packing it.

[schalliol]

Maybe they made them so they wouldn't die for this model :-) Previous ones had connection issues to the cables and several just plain died/overheated.

[mrmister]

Bigger and heavier--so much for progress. I have to say, I'm pretty disappointed in the direction the MBP has taken--lost ports, same weight, bigger dimensions and the adapter is larger as well. I'm holding off for the next generation--but I wonder if there will actually be improvements in these areas, or if this is the new "standard".

[rparke1]

for faster more power hungry chips i would actually be happier to see a bigger powerblock than a smaller one because for me, it would mean that the mbp is getting enouph power to run to its fullest. would you rather have a smaller but underpowered power block, or a bigger one that would power your lappy fully?

[schalliol]

Well, whatever they ship will run just fine I'm sure, but perhaps this lets us know that the power consumption will be high. What it might mean is that the battery can charge more quickly than the PowerBooks.

[ururk]

I'm wondering if it's for the brighter display - people liken it to a Cinema Display. I don't have any numbers, but there should be an inverter voltage and current - dimming probably changes the current sent to a LCD backlight. So, more power to the display at full brightness, might mean more power needed at the brick.

[schalliol]

The new power adapter can handle 85W, whereas the old PowerBook adapter is 65W. Apple does say it's as bright as the cinema displays.

[ururk]

Originally Posted by schalliol

The new power adapter can handle 85W, whereas the old PowerBook adapter is 65W. Apple does say it's as bright as the cinema displays.

Yes, I know that. I was using the term "people" very loosely, sorry.

I think whomever gets their MacBook first should benchmark how much power it uses, for the benefit of us all. I'd be interested to know what the difference is at full brightness vs the last notch.

But I do like Apple's description of how to clean the magsafe receptacle:

To clean the DC plug on either the computer or the power adapter, remove debris gently with a cotton swab or a soft bristle toothbrush which provides the strength, flexibility and precision to do this job. Be careful not to get any cotton fibers stuck in the pin receptacle.

"which provides the strength, flexibility and precision to do this job"

almost as if Crest had paid them to write that line . Soon we'll see recommendations for "soft, medium, or firm" on the forums...

[mduell]

Part of the larger battery capacity may be able to allow you to charge the battery faster while using the MBP; IIRC, one of the advantages of LiPo is that they can charge faster. If you're stuffing 45W into the battery, that only leaves 40W for the system which is quite reasonable.

I have a 90W and 65W adapter for my Dell, and I notice that my (LiPo) battery charges faster when I'm using the 90.

[lgtmvt]

The display on my MBP is very bright as bright as my friends cinema display. The power adapter is dual voltage (16.5 and 18.5 volts) the older ones were 24 volts(I could be wrong) I imagine the dual voltage allows the computer to run with less heat when the lid is closed. The brick is slightly larger than an airport express.

[Karim]

The power adaptor is about 30% larger, the MBP 2.16/2GB/100GB 7200RPM is (real world testing) about 200%-250% faster (Than my old 17" 1.67). I'll take that tradeoff anyday.

[zac4mac]

Got my 2.0MBP yesterday, after a one day trip from China to Boulder,CO.
The display is indeed bright. Brighter than my 23"ACD, a little dimmer than my 15"ASD.
The power brick is huge, every bit as big as my AirPort Express. The cable going up to the MBP is small diameter but very conductor heavy. I speculate a high strand count, fine gage strand wire for flexibility; much like welding cable. The MBP needs this power - it has twice as many processors as previous laptops, a faster HDD and a hella bigger video card....
And it definitely gets hot. I'll be fabricating an aluminum lap tray/ heatsink for mine.

Z

[hakstooy]

Originally Posted by Karim

The power adaptor is about 30% larger.

Actually, I'd say its closer to 100% larger in volume. I still wouldn't say its a huge deal, but it is certainly noticably bigger, still smaller than my roommates dell adapter though.

In my case, I'm disappointed because I had this nice slim, padded case that I put my AC adapter in when I traveled (kept the lil guy all safe and sound) and now I need to find a replacement.