I've gone through 5 Macbook Chargers

cwa107 said:

You do, but few OEMs use the same chargers as consistently across their line as Apple does. The only example I can think of where the same adapter is nearly always used is Dell - and actually, their PA-* series gets pretty consistently low ratings.

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Ok that does seem to be the trend at Dell.

So any ideas what the best make is? I tried to find a chart but most reviews I cam accross weren't looking at longevity. Is there any 3rd party that makes proper JCB style "bombproof" adapters? I would be very interested in that especiallly if i they make 3rd party Magsafe ones as I 'd spend more for that rather than £65 over and over.

Bishop1 said:

Ok that does seem to be the trend at Dell.

So any ideas what the best make is? I tried to find a chart but most reviews I cam accross weren't looking at longevity. Is there any 3rd party that makes proper JCB style "bombproof" adapters? I would be very interested in that especiallly if i they make 3rd party Magsafe ones as I 'd spend more for that rather than £65 over and over.

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Apple's MagSafe connector is proprietary, so unfortunately no after-market manufacturers make them. What you may find are Chinese knock-offs of dubious quality.

That said, OWC has refurbished MagSafe adapters that are significantly less expensive. You might want to take a look at them - I bought one 5 years ago and it's still going strong.

Performance Upgrades; FireWire USB SATA Storage; Memory, more at OWC

I've also purchased a couple of the refurbs from OWC, they've lasted me as long as the new ones.

Am trying a knock-off currently - can't recommend it at all.

Had my first charger problem. Charger for the wife's MBA went belly up, thankfully within warranty period (AppleCare). Took it to the store and they exchanged it for a new one.

Interesting. I destroyed one but not in the normal way. I was tired one night and was using my Macbook on the couch and unplugged the MagSafe and left it on the couch. Pet came along and got sick and threw up on it. Liquid shorted the pins and blew the IC Chip that is in that end. Yes, there is a small IC for charging in the end. So it was not Apples fault. Otherwise so far not real issues on my late 2007 Macbook.

I would be very LEARY of the After market Knock-Offs. Some site (I think Anandtech) did a test on the so called Knock-offs. Full of AC Ripple in the DC, none met Apples specs for current and voltage and all were very cheaply made inside! I will try and find the article and post the URL here.