The 'Dump Recommends: Kensington Power Adapter

I have an old Dell laptop (Inspiron B130) that has been sitting in the top of a closet for a while. Either my wife or my cat had chewed the tip off the AC power adapter, so I didn't have a way of charging the battery. I thought about ordering a new one or getting a substitute off eBay, but didn't really want to wait for it (or have to ship it back when it didn't work). The solution: a generic power adapter from Kensington that claims to work for any notebook.

I was skeptical and a little hesitant considering it cost me fifty-some-odd bucks, but I bought it knowing that I could just return it to the local Frys where I bought it if things didn't work out. Fortunately, the little green light came on as soon as I hooked it up. The way this thing works is that the actual adapter unit is switchable between a low and high voltage range depending on the laptop you're using it with. Also included are a large number of tips to plug into your specific power port, all of which connect back to the adapter cord with a generic double prong that fits snugly into the tip itself.

If you're ever in need of a new AC adapter, this is definitely a good one. It looks nicer than the original one did, doesn't get overly hot (I have a HP adapter that gets VERY warm), and does what it's supposed to. The price is a little high, I think, but you probably get what you pay for with these things.

All-in-all, this is a recommended product that will cost you less than an OEM replacement from Dell or whatever company you got your laptop from.

(Note: the actual model referenced here is #K33404US.)