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Why are poewr bricks so bulky?

T

thecritix

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Please answer, I don't know why and don't understand why apple or a third party cant make the damn things smaller.
from what i understand they convert (in the uk, 240v ac to 12v dc)
why does this take such a bulky unit?
nick
 
thecritix said:
Please answer, I don't know why and don't understand why apple or a third party cant make the damn things smaller.
from what i understand they convert (in the uk, 240v ac to 12v dc)
why does this take such a bulky unit?
nick
Click to expand...

The power brick has quite a lot of power being dissipated in it, and that's why it gets pretty warm while being used. If you made it smaller, it would heat up even worse, which the manufacturers try and avoid.
 
thecritix said:
Please answer, I don't know why and don't understand why apple or a third party cant make the damn things smaller.
from what i understand they convert (in the uk, 240v ac to 12v dc)
why does this take such a bulky unit?
nick
Click to expand...

Because there's a transformer (240v to 12v, a 20:1 wind ratio), and a rectifier (AC to DC). Someone would have to chime in if the MBP unit (85W) is larger than the MB one (65W). The Apple power brick is about as small as you're going to get though individual dimensions may differ from unit to unit. Also, the quality of build will have some effect - it's expected to last far longer than the batteries it's recharging or the laptop it's powering.

You oughta see the monster that comes with my Dell!
 
I like how at least, Apple goes out of their way to make theirs attractive. They're so much nicer than pretty much anything I've ever seen outside of Apple.
 
thecritix said:
Please answer, I don't know why and don't understand why apple or a third party cant make the damn things smaller.
from what i understand they convert (in the uk, 240v ac to 12v dc)
why does this take such a bulky unit?
nick
Click to expand...

Your kidding, right? Considering the wattage it delivers and the fact that it is universal voltage, the Apple power bricks are considerably smaller than most.

If you are curious, most power bricks are switched-mode power supplies.
 
JohnNotBeatle said:
Because there's a transformer (240v to 12v, a 20:1 wind ratio), and a rectifier (AC to DC). Someone would have to chime in if the MBP unit (85W) is larger than the MB one (65W).
Click to expand...

Not quite so simple. See post above for the link to information of switching power supplies.
 
Yeah, apple's power brick is tiny compared to other manufacturers. In fact, I found it hard to believe when I first saw it. Why don't other manufacturers follow this design?
 
You should see the power supply on my Alienware laptop. It physically weighs more than a brick... and it's larger.
 
Hahah, you obviously havent seen the powerbricks of other brand laptops with the same specs. My HP pavilion laptop weighs in at over 8lbs, and the powerbrick of that weighs no less than 1.5lbs to be honest. Thats a mammoth of a power adapter.

The MBP and MB powerbricks that I have seen have one of the smallest form factor of all the power adapters around.
 
Atleast you only get one power brick, other laptops have 2 or even the powerbrick placed inside the laptop for that toasted feeling.
 
JohnNotBeatle said:
Because there's a transformer (240v to 12v, a 20:1 wind ratio), and a rectifier (AC to DC). Someone would have to chime in if the MBP unit (85W) is larger than the MB one (65W). The Apple power brick is about as small as you're going to get though individual dimensions may differ from unit to unit. Also, the quality of build will have some effect - it's expected to last far longer than the batteries it's recharging or the laptop it's powering.

You oughta see the monster that comes with my Dell!
Click to expand...

The MBP's unit is significantly larger than the MB's. I'd say it's almost twice as large.
 
My iBook G3's "Brick" is more like a flattened cube. Maybe the diameter of a cupcake, and much shorter.
 
I'm guessing that they can't make it much smaller because of the heat, they get quite hot while you are using them
 
Apples powerbricks are the smallest units that exist in the laptop industry. (I've never seen any that are smaller)

They only get slightly warm, even when under high power loads.

I rather suspect that Apple has already made them as small as is physically possible.

Sopranino
 
flopticalcube said:
Your kidding, right? Considering the wattage it delivers and the fact that it is universal voltage, the Apple power bricks are considerably smaller than most.

If you are curious, most power bricks are switched-mode power supplies.
Click to expand...

Seriously. I can't believe anyone's calling Apple's power bricks BIG. I seriously doubt you could make them any smaller. In fact I worry they go overboard on shrinking them.
 
Wolfpup said:
Seriously. I can't believe anyone's calling Apple's power bricks BIG. I seriously doubt you could make them any smaller. In fact I worry they go overboard on shrinking them.
Click to expand...

I absolutely agree with you. They're TINY! Plus, with the snap out pieces that let you wrap the wire around it, it's self contained and beautiful 🙂
 
New MBP bricks.

Nermal said:
I had one of those, it was about the same size as an iPod one. The MBP one is much bigger.
Click to expand...

Why are the new MBP bricks so much bigger? Do they really use that much more power to necessitate such a bigger power brick?
 
Actually the Apple bricks are pretty tiny and thoughtfully designed too.

I miss the yo-yo adapter though. I have one floating around somewhere, can't use it anymore. Loved the design, even though it wasn't as convenient as the current bricks.

Also don't the MBP bricks charge the MacBooks faster? Or something...they are cross-compatible, so...

The MB adapter is the same size as the iBook adapter. A nice square shape. MBP chargers are too big 😛
 
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