computer puzzlement

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alecstilleyedye

nothing in moderation
Moderator
my elderly macbook has has just had a new external power supply (the wire in the old one was getting frayed at the point where it connected to the magsafe connector), and rather than just being a case of one component being replaced by another with no effect other than making the laptop usable again, it seems to have made the laptop faster, improved the battery performance, and improved the distance from the wireless router from which it will receive a signal.

i'm no engineer, but i cannot see how this should have made any difference; the specification of new and old power supplies are the same, the only difference being that the magsafe connector was of a slightly different design (the wire in the original was perpendicular to the laptop, the new one in parallel with it).

i know a new component always makes the bike feel faster; but surely this can't be the same effect, can it?
 

Fnaar

Smutmaster General
Location
Thumberland
Maybe the old wire had a knot in it somewhere. That's bound to slow the current down a bit :thumbsup:
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
never allowed near. eldest has her own dell and the others share an old packard-bell...

you need a teenager !
 

Berk on a Bike

Veteran
Location
Yorkshire
Are the old and new power units the same wattage? You can get 45W, 60W and 85W units. Macbook power management will reduce performance if there's insufficient power to run everything AND recharge the battery. If you've gone from, say, 60W to 85W you'll therefore see an improvement. Even if both your old and new units are sufficiently high wattage a damaged unit might be incorrectly recognised as a lower wattage one and the innards will be throttled back accordingly.
 
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