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Rudolf_Buirma · ‎02-24-2016

Greetings,

I'm a proud owner of the G750JX and recently had to replace my AC/DC Adopter, but just cant seem to find the original one for purchase online anymore. Now I'm stuck with another model and I'm wondering, what's the difference?

This concerns the FA180PM111 model and the ADP-180MB F model. Does anyone know if there is a difference and if the G750JX has a preferred one for optimal usage?

I'd like to hear what the community thinks or knows. What are your adopter models and where can I find an original FA180PM111 for purchase online?

Cheers

Rudolf_Buirma · ‎02-24-2016

THE CASE
For all you detectives out there.

Hi, I'm a Dutch game developer, currently stationed in Germany for a short period.
I purchased my G750JX at a Dutch shop and am still my warranty period.

The original adopter that came with my notebook was the FA180PM111. (Sturdy thing, INPUT 100-240V, 50-60Hz, 2.5A | OUTPUT: 19.5V, 9.23A)
I think I must've ran over the DC cable with my office chair, there's no way to verify this, but one day it didn't work.
When testing the adopter at a PC repair shop, they confirmed that it no longer supplies power and that there's probably an issue with the cable.

Though I could return it to ASUS and get a new one in my warranty, they warned me that if the adopter broke because of "user inflicted damage" I would be obligated to pay the research fee of 75EUR and additionally pay the full price of a new adopter. (Also, it would take up to about two weeks until I could get the item returned.)
So, if I felt lucky, I could send it to ASUS and hope they won't check it and send me a new one in return for free. Or risk a 75 EUR fine and two weeks of no adopter.

WHAT I BOUGHT

Not feeling very lucky and in quite a hurry, I searched for a replacement on the internet and found multiple resellers on Ebay who offered an "ORIGINAL FA180PM111 ADOPTER". However, these always came with the same product image of a similar looking model, called the ADP-180MB F.
Not thinking much of it, I eventually purchased the best deal I could find, specifically asked the reseller to box the titulair product and waited for my parcel.
(Place where I bought it: http://www.ebay.de/itm/Netzteil-180-Watt-Original-FA180PM111-/151821158418?hash=item23593f0812:g:nnY... )

Two days later, I get the ADP-180MB F adopter in my mailbox.
Looks almost exactly the same and has almost identical specs: INPUT 100-240V, 50-60Hz, 2.34A | OUTPUT: 19.5V, 9.23A
Only other difference is that the DC power cable is allot bulkier than the FA180PM111 model. The cord is less flexible and the jack/pin is housed in a bulkier casing.

So the input ampere is lower and the finish is allot less pleasant.
To me, it seems like an inferior model of the same product.

WHAT ASUS SAID

Mildly annoyed I called ASUS, but they say they can't help me based on model numbers and push me to use an official reseller. But by now I'm more cautious. Official reseller also doesn't provide any proper product images and is allot more expensive. So for all I know I'll just get the ADP-180MB F again. Also, it will take about two weeks before the product should reach me and I really need this PC for my work.

WHAT ARE THE RESULTS

So before I return this adopter and ask for a refund, and start doing business with the preferred ASUS supplier, I wanted to test this thing out and more importantly, ask you guys for your help and opinion.

When I tried the ADP-180MB F out on my G750JX yesterday it worked without much trouble.
PC steadily charges while using it, though it seems to stick somewhere at 97% - while the power indicator has a green light. (Fully charged.)
Only solution is when I close the laptop and leave it for a moment.
While connected and on High Performance setting, I ran the Witcher 3 without any problems.

The PC's manual merely states that the PC requires an adopter with the following specs:
INPUT VOLTAGE: 100-240Vac
INPUT FREQUENCY: 50-60Hz
OUTPUT CURRENT: 180W (19.5V, 9.23A)
OUTPUT VOLTAGE: 19V

So the input ampere should be no problem, it's the output that matters, right?

Also, what do you guys think, should I return this adopter and find another reseller?

=== REFERENCES ===
Example EBAY offers that announce to sell the FA180PM111 model, but post a different model number in their product picture.
1. Asus FA180PM111 Netzteil 180 Watt original
http://www.amazon.de/Asus-FA180PM111-Netzteil-Watt-original/dp/B00G5UVLE8
2. Asus FA180PM111 ac-adapter 180 watt original
http://www.amazon.com/Asus-FA180PM111-ac-adapter-watt-original/dp/B00G5UVLE8
3. Netzteil 180 Watt -Original- FA180PM111
http://www.ebay.de/itm/Netzteil-180-Watt-Original-FA180PM111-/151821158418?hash=item23593f0812:g:nnY...
4. Even this flimsy YouTube review uses the wrong model number in its image.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QZ_os_L7fc

Darnassus · ‎02-24-2016

The only reason I'd never use a non manufacturer / legit charger is if you want your battery to keep functioning. Usually, different chargers that are not the exact same will just make your battery die from improper charging frequencies, leaving you with roughly 10-15 minutes mobile use. Your laptop however will still continue to function regardless, however.. if at any given point the laptop requests the absolute 100% power from the charger and doesn't receive it, it will most likely instantly shut down and that's it.

The shutdown frequency of course depends on how big of a difference the power output is compared to the original charger, yours is quite small.

If this charger was cheap, you could possibly keep using it while sending in the other for repair.. and if they don't replace it, just decline the charges and let them keep it / ship it back without repair.

P.s. you can issue a refund on Ebay anyhow, you got a product that doesn't match the description you bought it for.. you got the ADP-180MB F, not the FA180PM111 as advertised.

The charging output of course is the same as the other model though so, I think you should be safe.

❤

MaxCioco · ‎02-24-2016

As long as the voltage is the same and the max output current is just high as the original's you are safe.

As for the battery level it happens to me both with the original power source, with a lower current charger from another asus laptop (I always use that power supply to charge it while off) and with a professional power source that I use at work/school cuz I'm too lazy to carry the brick with me.

Theoretically. Now in practice it depends on how "low quality" is the 'aftermarket' one. I mean if it doesn't stabilize the current as well as it should it will kill the battery fast and the pc (power module first) slower. Usually cheap power supplies give ripples at higher load due to cheap parts (mostly because to cheap/small/bad capacitors) and die faster - same reason.

But I can't say either that asus uses very high quality parts, because they oversize the power supplies in comparison to the power that the laptop draws so that the brick won't be in a load so high it will cause it to give ripples. I tested my brick (same as yours) and in high load (over 8A) it gives some nasty ripples.

All in all, my advice is repair your cable if it's the problem by soldering it. Don't forget to solder the ground too, if you go this way!

Note: Cuz the brick gives out DC the only worry are the ripples.

Rudolf_Buirma · ‎02-25-2016

Cheers guys, thanks for the responses so far.

To answer some questions, no the adopter wasn't cheap, neither is it a knock-off. It's an official ASUS part, and I paid the product price for it, but the shipping was included.

Compared to the ASUSparts.eu website, (preferred reseller) it was about 10 euro's cheaper overall.

Problem is, that it's a remote stock, so I'm not entirely sure when I could expect the part to arrive.

The adopter works, I've used it for a couple of days and it even fully charged my PC while using it. So that 97% thing I observed earlier might be a unique situation.

@Darnassus
I'd like to send the adopter for repair, but I'm rather scared of the potential forced research fees that they would charge of me in case they judge the damage to be user-inflicted. Though I'm not entirely sure how this should work...
In that case I would be 75 EUR poorer and still no adopter richer.

All in all, guess I'll sleep over it if I should return this brick to it's maker or not.
(Cool avatar BTW)

@MaxCioco
Good call, didn't think of the ripples yet. Though I'm not sure if I should worry about it. Like I said, it's an official ASUS part and only the input Ampere is lower. But the output is perfectly identical by what I can tell.

My worry against fixing it myself is the aesthetic and usability comfort of a self-fixed piece of hardware. That's currently also my biggest gripe with this all. This other adopter works... It just feels allot less pleasant. So yeah, feels like wining. But I definitely don't like getting f00ked over by this ebay seller for advertising one model, but sending me the other, even after explicitly asking to check it. (He's also not responding to my ebay messages BTW.)

All other thoughts are welcome of course.

MaxCioco · ‎02-25-2016

As you probably know, current is a consequence, not a fixed value like the voltage, so that small difference should mean maybe a small risk (almost 0, if not actually 0) when it's under high load; so high that your laptop won't even come near to it, unless you transfer full power of all 4 usbs, over thunderbolt and being in 100% cpu & gpu usage with Prime 95 and other 2-3 stress tests in the same time. My best guess in that the difference in input current is given to the fact that some european countries have raised the voltage on wall from 220 to 230 and some regions in the 110v countries from 110 to 120v. So when the voltage rises a lower current is required for the same power.

That charger can give 180 watts of power, and your laptop will never come even close to that value, so I think that 99.9999% you're safe. Ofc, if aliens don't invade Earth and burn our electronics for fun. That would be a small problem.

As for mending the cable yourself... it's not hard neither is it hard to find some one who knows what's doing and do it for you. Regarding the looks, if you know how to do it, you can give it a nice aspect. And have 1 spare adaptor.

Darnassus · ‎02-26-2016

Get a full refund through eBay request, and try purchase another.

For all you know, the charger could be counterfeit and the output power is completely wrong.

The charger I got for a laptop of mine claims to be legit and the input/output is 100% identical, but the battery is pretty much fried now.

Also isn't 'ripples' the same as 'frequency'? Just curious.

❤

MaxCioco · ‎02-26-2016

Ripples are not constant in time and value and don't go by any function or logic and they are mainly a characteristic of DC (well, they get bigger as more current is drawn), as frequency is a constant function in time, specific to the AC current. Theoretically, if a device is designed properly, under nominal load, the ripples are +- 2% (or less) derivations from the nominal tension. In quality power sources ripples under nominal load are less than +- 0.5%.

As an example when I use my 65 watts brick from my portable laptop I measured high ripples (+- 2V) when I charged my g750 turned on and browsing the web with a couple of programs in background. That would kill both my laptop, my brick and my heart. But when I charge it turned off, it gives a stable voltage of 11.6V give or take 0.1V .

Ripples come from capacitors not being able to compensate the high load that the laptop is putting on them, therefore the don't have enough energy to charge completely and the voltage looks more and more like the wave that comes out of the rectification bridge that converts ac to dc.

All in all, if he could test the source before using would be the best thing. If ripples are not existent and the voltage is between 11.5 and 12.5 it's all safe.

Note: you can determinate if there are ripples only under load! In a 180W brick at least 80-90W drawn power.

Whats the difference in these AC/DC adopters