-2

As per specifications, my MSI notebook requires a 20 V / 2.0 A charger. Unfortunately, they are hard to find.

Can I use a 20 V / 3.5 A charger without damaging my notebook?

user219095
  • 65,551
Njuguna Mburu
  • 5

1 Answers1

2

Yes, the charger rated for a higher amperage will work fine with your laptop.

Using a higher amperage, same voltage, same polarity charger does not pose a problem. The computer (or anything else) will simply draw as much as it needs and not more.

You should be careful though to check polarity; some are center pin negative, and others are center pin positive. Bad things almost certainly will happen if you get this wrong, and it won't be related to the amperage at all. And of course a different voltage charger could easily cause problems, depending on the exact voltage difference and exactly how the computer is built.

Compare this to the electrical wiring in your house; it's likely that the fuses are rated for a load of 2-3 kW or more (in my part of the world, fuses for 10 A 240 V = 2.4 kW are common, and the main service fuses are often 16 A or higher), yet that light bulb of at most a few tens of watts works just fine. Your computer is not really different, except it probably runs on DC which means you have to pay attention to polarity.

user
  • 30,336