[GenoG]

We have to troubleshoot macbooks and macbooks pro from time to time, and the clients do not always provide us with a power adapter. We want to purchase a few power adapters, but not sure if it is recommended to use them interchangeably.

Is it safe to use the 60w on the macbook Pro? Same question applies to the macbook, can we run the 85w on the lower end model? Is that too high wattage for the macbook?

We do not necessarily need these to charge the battery. We will just be using these to make sure the laptop does not die while on the table. Just need to make sure we don't fry the laptop with too much power.

[turtle777]

There is no such thing as "too high Wattage", and too high current (A or amperes). The equipment will only "draw" as much as it needs.

The only thing you need to make sure is that

a) the Voltage (V) is correct, i.e. 110 V for NA
b) the A / Wattage is HIGH enough.
This means you'd get in trouble if you use a 60 Watt power supply with a laptop that really needs 85 Watts. In that case, you'd run the risk of frying the power supply.

So bottom line:
* more Watts or Amperes is GOOD
* too much Voltage is BAD

-t

[ibook_steve]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

b) the A / Wattage is HIGH enough.
This means you'd get in trouble if you use a 60 Watt power supply with a laptop that really needs 85 Watts. In that case, you'd run the risk of frying the power supply.

So bottom line:
* more Watts or Amperes is GOOD
* too much Voltage is BAD

-t

Actually, Apple portables don't care which wattage power supply you use and will cause no problems (no fried power supplies). However, using a lower wattage power supply with a machine that requires more power will usually prevent things like battery charging during normal operation from working. The power supplies are interchangeable, and if you don't care about charging the battery, you can use a lower power supply.

Steve

[Black_Rain]

I have a mbp and my roomates both have mb's...

i use their chargers and they use mine, I can tell that my mbp charges SIGNIFICANTLY slower with their chargers, but it DOES charge. I would assume their mb's charge faster w/ my 85w charger, but i've never tried.

point is...safe to use both, i do all the time

[Simon]

Originally Posted by Black_Rain 

i use their chargers and they use mine, I can tell that my mbp charges SIGNIFICANTLY slower with their chargers, but it DOES charge. I would assume their mb's charge faster w/ my 85w charger, but i've never tried.

The former's right, the latter's not.

It's the MB or MBP that always determines the amount of max power it draws. The charger will not deliver more. This is a design feature.

So if you use a MB charger with a MBP it will charge but a lot slower because the MBP cannot draw quite as much power as it would need. OTOH the MB will not charge faster off of a MBP charger because the MB max power draw will be unchanged regardless if the MBP charger is spec'ed for more.