cheap chinese crap

The trials and tribulations of a Dell power supply.

Life, Randomness

Cooler Master SNA-95

Cooler Master SNA-95


So this came in the mail a few weeks ago and I thought it was great, but then I started to realize that my battery charging light was never on. Then I figured out why. Dell has some kind of chip in their power supplies that is recognized by the computer. The computer will only let the adapter charge the battery if it’s an Official Dell Product. My only guess is that’s something to do with them wanting to rape every last cent out of their customers… probably not their official wording.

So I went back to Amazon and ordered another cheap power supply. This time for only $20. They seem to be having a price war between Cheap Chinese Crap (CCC) manufacturers. So this one feels even cheaper than the last one, but it isn’t as hot as the surface of the sun like the last one. But it does have it’s own quirk. The trackpad won’t work while the battery is charging and even if the battery is removed it just gets all squiggly. This might be a product of the CCC battery that I have in there or the CCC ram. Now that I think about it, Lappy Topperson is becoming the Six Million dollar man of shitty laptops.

Playing "Pop Goes the Power Supply" with crappy chinese electronics

Life, Randomness

Back in July when my second Dell power supply bit the dust I decided that I wasn’t going to give them another $65 (at least) for a power adapter that was just going to fail in a year. So I searched on Amazon and found this cheap one for only $27. I mean it ran so hot that I couldn’t hold it for more than a few seconds, but that could be a feature, foot warmer! Well the heat or something finally got to it because it let out one last “POP” and I smelled the familiar smell of burning electronics. Dead. I cracked it open to find that some component hap burnt to a crisp.

piece of crap

^ piece of crap^

Because I’ve made a commitment to Lappy Topperson to be my computer for the forseeable future I’m going to have to buy another one. Instead of buying another cheap one or another Dell one. I’m getting a third choice, one that was only just announced back when i got this one. It costs $49 but I figure I’ll pay the extra for a brand name and the future proofing that the swappable adapters gives me.


^hopefully not crap^

I’ll post a review when it gets here on Friday.

Laptop Batteries… a pox on you.

Life, Randomness

So for about a year the battery in Lappy Topperson has been dying a slow death. I’ve tried putting it in the freezer, (that actually brought it back from 30 second life to about 45 minutes, but that faded also. Then the bettery indicator started blinking at me. Mocking my cheapness with four repeating blinks. So I finally decided to get a new battery. But I’m not going to give Dell $95 – $135 for a new battery. So I found a cheap one on Amazon.com for $35 bucks. Which seems like a savings but now I realize that it makes the laptop so hot that the trackpad starts freaking out and clicking everything.

So I’m either an Internet deal genius or a cheap bastard who’s able to deal with annoyances for a price.

Either way I win.