Can I use a cheap inverter for my laptop?

Posted by Georg on Super User See other posts from Super User or by Georg
Published on 2010-06-04T06:03:52Z Indexed on 2010/06/04 6:10 UTC
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laptop

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inverter

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car

I'm going to travel in a car this summer. It would be very nice if I could charge my laptop using the cigarette lighter.

Because my computer is from Apple, there's no way to directly connect the two, therefore I need an inverter that provides 120V alternating current.

There are many different models, ranging from very cheap to really expensive. The wave forms are: (from most expensive to cheapest)

sine
modified sine
trapezoid
square

Can I use just any inverter or does it have to be a sine inverter? If so, what happens to my computer in case I use the wrong one.

The laptop is a MacBook witch needs 60W.

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