Will 140 Watts Charge A MacBook

I am going on a car trip, and I need my late 2008 MacBook battery to last through about 8 hours of movie watching, we have a 3rd party adaptor for a cigarett lighter that only puts out 140 Watts, will it be enough to get me through 8 hours? (the computer will start with a full charge.)

ipadsandmac said:

I am going on a car trip, and I need my late 2008 MacBook battery to last through about 8 hours of movie watching, we have a 3rd party adaptor for a cigarett lighter that only puts out 140 Watts, will it be enough to get me through 8 hours? (the computer will start with a full charge.)

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The power adapter that your MacBook uses (the thing that plugs into the wall outlet) is rated for 60 watts. Typical power used by a MacBook during regular use is around 30-35 watts (I've actually measured it with a watt usage meter). When watching movies the watts used will probably be somewhat higher (closer to 40+)...but it will never exceed 60 watts...since that's the max. that the plug-in power adapter would provide when plugged into an electrical outlet.

So if your car adapter is capable of providing 140watts of continuous power (not peak power)...then everything should be fine.

- Nick

Thank you!