cheap laptop chargers- are they worth it?

[rocknrollstar]

I need to replace about 8 laptop chargers for HP NX 6325 laptops, as the chargers don't seem to be working. Looking on ebay, you can buy some from UK suppliers for £20-£30, or from Hong Kong/China for £10.

 

Anyone know of any reason why I shouldn't go for the foreign ones, despite the 10 day wait?

 

Thanks

[FN-GM]

I found they are as durable as the originals. Also we purchased some Dell ones, they ruined the batteries on them, not sure if these will be the same.

 

Hope it helps

[kmount]

Someone'll say you get what you pay for, but we figured our old P4 laptops were out of warranty (by far) and not worth spending a lot of money on so we bought some cheap chargers and whilst they aren't very reliable (we've blown a few) they limped the lifetime of the laptops in question on a bit further.

 

We wouldn't recommend cheap ones for laptops still in warranty (or not far out of!).

[pagelad]

Ive had a few of the HK ones and theyve worked just fine

[Sylv3r]

I have bought the compatible chargers in the past with the various adaptors that will fit most manufacturers. Not sure if I would go as low as £10 eBAY ones however. I think I got them from rapid electronics for about £30.

[rocknrollstar]

Thanks for the responses. Just to add that the chargers are for a laptop trolley, not simply general use.

 

Also, do you know if the cheaper chargers will turn off when the laptop battery is fully charged? I take it this is controlled by the laptop motherboard, not the charger itself?

 

Cheers.

[yabbadabba]

I tend too buy a batch of the cheap universal laptop PSU's from Ebay every so often, usually 5-10 in a go.

Personally I always opt for a UK supplier for no other reason its easier to deal with them if one doesnt work.

I usually email in advance and ask for a price for 5 or 10 with combined postage, the cheapest I have got it down to is £8 by buying 10 in one go.

I have probably used around 6 at my school, and sold on 25-30 over the last year or so, not one has been returned as faulty yet.

I always try too buy the ones with a cover on the Voltage selector, select the correcty voltage, super glue the switch and then super glue the cover on, this stops people accidently selecting the wrong voltage and blowing the laptop.

I also use a dab of super glue and then sleeve the adapter end so it wont fall off etc.

[sammy]

third party chargers are fine, the only difference is branding...you ultimately pay for that.

 

been selling the third party ones for years without any issue, just make sure they are UK sourced and that way you can return with issues if need be.

[Heebeejeebee]

Firstly I've found substitute chargers to be generally OK.

 

Secondly we've had a bunch of that HP model not charging but in every case it's been the motherboard at fault and not the charger. Consequently they're not worth fixing. They will work when the charger is plugged in but not at all on battery. Changing the battery to another laptop allowed it to charge. Might be worth checking if you haven't already done so.

 

HBJB

[rocknrollstar]

Heebeejeebee - thanks for that. Yep, we've had the same issue before, and HP replaced the motherboards as they were under warrentee. As you say, not worth fixing otherwise.

 

The laptops which I need new chargers for charge fine with other chargers though, hence I figure it must be the charger itself.

 

Cheers.

[Mandy]

Hi rocknrollstar

 

What charger is it that you need??

 

I may be able to source a cheap, reliable 3rd party charger??

 

If you PM me, i will send you a quote today.

[krisd32]

ICT Direct can source chargers for you. just paid £25ish for one. think it was a repair/reman unit though but still good quality no probs so far.

[Dos_Box]

We've brought some of these Trust ones from CPC. They cost about £30 and come with many different adaptors too. They have been very useful, especially when staff leave their charger at home.

 

Trust - Power Adapters

[rocknrollstar]

An update- I got some universal chargers off ebay, and they didn't fit the nx6325 laptops we have. Completely annoyed! I am now going to try and sell them on... Be careful when purchasing the universal charges, they don't fit everything (obviously).

 

I later purchased some specific chargers for this laptop off ebay, from Hong Kong. Delivery in 1 week, cheapest price, and work fine.

 

Thanks for everyone's input.