Powering laptop in Car.

Hey guys,

Just bought a new laptop. Going down the country in few weeks and it'll be a long enough journey. Is there an adapter I can get to plug into the socket in the car to powere the laptop? With regards to volts how does this work? It would be handy to occupy the Kids with a few DVDs on the journey. Your help would be much appreciated!

You need a [broken link removed] for laptops. [broken link removed] is probably the cheapest place to get one, or you could try somewhere like Peats/Maplins if you're in a hurry.

We got a 3 pin power socket that plugs into the cigarette lighter in Aldi/Lidl-you could plug a laptop into it-but it sounds a bit unwieldy.

Portable DVD players are now available for around €140 and would be a neater solution.

DrMoriarty's DC/DC adapter is more energy efficient as it avoids the DC/AC/DC conversion of powering the laptop through a 3-pin socket connected to its normal AC/DC adapter.

Thanks,
DrMoriarty-I presume this is safe and won't blow the laptop?

It should be; before buying just check that the output (usually adjustable between DC 15/16/18/19/20V 6A max; DC 22/24V 5A 120W max) matches the power rating of your laptop. This should be indicated on the sticker on the underside of the laptop; my own Dell uses 19.5v === 3.4A, but I don't know how typical that is...

That said, CCOVICH's point about a portable DVD player is a good one, especially if you have younger kids. They're usually designed to be strapped to the back of a headrest, which means no tug-of-wars, or fruit juice (or worse) being spilled all over it, etc. I believe Dunnes are doing one for €99.99 at the moment, but I'm not sure what model it is.

When we travel, I use my laptop as a portable DVD player, but it can end up running rather warm if it's held on someone's lap, and it usually needs a good steamcleaning by the end of the holiday!

[Edit: Aldi are doing a portable DVD player with a remote control, car adaptor, mains adaptor, AV cable, carry bag and one set of earphones for next Thursday. Pretty good value, when you consider it comes with a three-year warranty!]