MEGATech Reviews – Cooler Master SNA95 Slim Notebook Adapter

I suppose that you could use the power supply that came with your notebook, but where would be the fun in that? Going further, what if you have multiple laptops (or netbooks) and don’t want to bother with multiple power supplies? On some level, these questions provided the inspiration for the Cooler Master SNA95 Slim Notebook Adapter that we’re going to have a look at today.

This product is meant to be a replacement for your OEM notebook power supply and it comes with a series of advantages over the garden variety notebook adapter. For starters, its 17mm thickness makes it one of the thinner notebook power supplies on the market. It’ll also work with a wide range of notebooks to boot.

Check Out All Those Charger Tips

You’ve surely noticed that different laptops, much like different cell phones, make use of different tips for taking on the power supply cable. To best accommodate as many different notebooks as possible, Cooler Master is including no fewer than NINE power tips.

There is one tip that comes pre-installed on the power cable and then the other eight power tips come neatly organized on a portable platform of sorts. According to the tip application table, you’ll get support for Acer, Asus, HP, Compaq, Toshiba, Sony, Dell, IBM, and Lenovo, among others. Not surprisingly, there’s no love for Apple here.

In terms of compatibility, there have been some reports saying that the SNA95 will not work with certain Dell laptops due to some specialized circuitry. The black tip seemed to work with my Inspiron 640m, but my laptop’s performance started to struggle and a restart resulted in an error message. The message told me to reconnect the 65W power supply, so I guess it didn’t recognize the Cooler Master unit properly.

You’ll also notice in the picture above that there is a platform of sorts that accompanies the slim notebook adapter. Sliding it into place, this elevates your power supply off your desk (or the ground) and it also provides for an H-shaped cable reel for easy cable management. The power cable, whose length is more than adequate, can wrap around this platform when not in use.

And the Bonus USB Port

We have a lot of devices that can charge via a USB connection these days, including our MP3 players and smartphones, so it’s nice to see that a powered USB port has been integrated into the Cooler Master SNA95.

This port is supposed to be even more powerful than the one on your laptop, charging USB devices up to 30% faster than when they are connected directly to your PC. This port can be very handy for your iPhone or BlackBerry, since you can easily charge your phone without turning on your laptop and drain the battery.

MegaTechie Powerful or MegaTechie Wimp?

When you’re traveling with multiple laptops, it can be a pain to deal with multiple power supplies and charging cables. Especially in today’s age where it is common to bring a full-size laptop and a more portable netbook, you don’t really want to bother with two power supply units.

The Cooler Master SNA95 Slim Notebook Adapter alleviates this concern. If you so desire, you can leave the corresponding power tip in your laptop and just plug in the power supply as needed. The added inclusion of a powered USB port and H-shaped cable reel are nice bonuses too.

It carries a reasonable MSRP of $69.99, but I wouldn’t really invest in the SNA95 unless your OEM PSU goes on the fritz or you want a power supply that can charge multiple notebooks when you are on the road. And I wouldn’t recommend it for Dell owners either.