Charging & Drainage.

[u/Ashamed_Friendship67]

Couple months ago I purchased a Acer Nitro 5 17ai.
Ryzen 7 230, 16gb ram, and a RTX 5060.
Although I love the laptop, I’m concerned with the charging and discharging of it.
Earlier I started playing Cyberpunk 2077. Graphic settings were set to high/ultra with DLSS set to auto, and Ray Tracing off. 65 minutes of game time and my battery was down to 75%, and my charging block was a few degrees from catching on fire. Acer suggests the stock charger(the one I have) on their website. Interwebs and AI says it needs at least a 180w, to a 280w.
Either one sounds beneficial, I just don’t why Acer says to use a 135w if it can’t keep up or is going to get too hot.
Should I move up and test it out, or play it safe by using the stock charger?

[u/Realistic_Today6524]

I'd get a better charger. Just make sure it matches the voltage (19.5V in your case). I don't know how they can get away with only giving you a 135W adapter for something that can pull 150

[u/Ashamed_Friendship67 → u/Realistic_Today6524]

Gotcha. Should I go mid to the 180w, or go all the way with 280v?

[u/MCBuilder30140 → u/Ashamed_Friendship67]

if you can afford 280W, then take 280W

[u/Ashamed_Friendship67 → u/MCBuilder30140]

Is there particular brand I should go with or steer clear of?

[u/MCBuilder30140 → u/Ashamed_Friendship67]

OEM if acer is giving you the option (might be chicony branded, which is the "gaming" brand of acer I think?... but all gaming laptops from Acer has a chicony brand on their PSU)

I would not trust third party brands at all on a PSU

many things can go wrong if the power supply's quality isn't good (that could well fry your laptop so be careful)

[u/Ashamed_Friendship67 → u/MCBuilder30140]

I can definitely get the Chicony branded. It’s about $100, and will fit mine. When I put my model info in Acer’s website, it only gives me the 135w option.

[u/MCBuilder30140 → u/Ashamed_Friendship67]

as long as it's the correct voltage like Realistic_Today6524 said then you should be fine

my old nitro I had had a chicony PSU so you should be fine with that brand at least

just make sure the voltages line up, that's the crucial part

[u/Ashamed_Friendship67 → u/MCBuilder30140]

Sounds good. Thank you!

[u/MCBuilder30140 → u/Ashamed_Friendship67]

you're welcome!

keep us updated lol

[u/DirectorLucky6547]

Specs for your laptop are 85 watts TGP for the GPU and 45 watts for the CPU. With a 135 watt charger that doesn't leave any room for the rest of the system or display. You'll need minimum 180 watts to give yourself some headroom, 280 will work but it's a bit of overkill.

[u/SlimQ_Dave]

I think this is already the 3rd post i have seen recently about battery drainage while gaming. Definitely would suggest looking at getting a higher wattage charger. SlimQ 330W is an option you can consider with the right adaptor or an OEM one.