Will this charger/adapter work with my laptop?

Greetings, everyone. I have recently managed to create a bit of a predicament for myself by damaging my charger connector, and now I find myself in need of a replacement. I have located a few options online, but I am feeling somewhat uncertain as to whether they are actually compatible with my laptop—specifically an HP EliteBook 840 G2—given the specific power requirements...
Could someone perhaps clarify if any of these will work? Furthermore, what exactly is the distinction between my current charger (shown in the first image) and these other options regarding wattage, output, and other technical specifications?
My Current Charger: 19.5V / 2.31A
2
3
4
5

Look, all these adapters have the same voltage (V), which is what matters. But you specifically need one that can push at least 2.31A. From what I can see, these two options both top out at over 3A, so they're plenty.
It’s totally fine because the amperage (A) isn't something you force on the device—it's all about what the laptop actually pulls. Your machine won't grab more than 2.31A, so having those extra amps in these two is just like having some breathing room or overhead if things get heavy.

Also, just a heads-up: these power bricks aren't technically "chargers" in the literal sense. The actual battery regulation happens inside the laptop itself, not the brick.

wearymason4 said:All those adapters share the exact same voltage (V), but what you really need to look for is one that provides at least 2.31A. From what I can see, those two options offer more than 3A at most.
Of course they are compatible; current draw (A) is entirely dependent on the consumer—in this case, your laptop. It won't pull more than 2.31A, so having these two options actually provides a little bit of extra headroom if it's ever needed.

It is also worth noting that these power adapters aren't technically "chargers" in the literal sense, since the battery regulation logic lives inside the laptop itself.

So, does that mean having a lower amperage than my original charger is a bad idea, but a higher one wouldn't cause any harm? Provided it isn't an extreme difference, I mean?
And could these 3.33/3.34A adapters potentially damage the laptop, or maybe stress the battery by draining it faster or something?
Perhaps these questions seem trivial, but I am just a bit lost when it comes to all this... 😁😁.

stormygull86 said:So, using a lower amperage than my charger provides isn't great, but a higher one won't cause damage if it's not massive?
And can these 3.33/3.34A adapters actually hurt the laptop or the battery—like overworking it or draining it faster?
Maybe these are silly questions, I just don't get how this works... 🤷‍♂️

Too much voltage or amperage can mess with both the laptop and the battery, but as long as the voltage is right, the laptop regulates its own current draw.

Basically, the laptop will just pull less power from a beefier charger, just like it pulls less when it's nearly full.

You could use a weaker charger, but it’ll charge slower—if it’s too weak, you might actually drain the battery faster than you can fill it. Usually, swapping a 45W for a 65W isn't an issue.

For instance, I'm charging my laptop—which came with a 65W brick—using a 35W phone charger.

This assumes everything is working properly. Looking at the photos, these look like genuine OEM chargers (Dell, HP), so there shouldn't be any issues. It's a different story if you're buying some uncertified junk from overseas; those can be totally unreliable and dangerous.

Look, if you try to use a power adapter with a lower max amperage than what the laptop actually needs to function or charge properly, you're asking for trouble. The adapter's basically going to try its hardest to push out more current than it was ever built to handle, which usually ends in overheating and just straight-up frying the brick.
If you've got an adapter rated at 19.5V and 10A, you're golden. It’ll work perfectly fine because having extra headroom doesn't hurt—it just means the laptop will only pull the 2.31A it actually needs.

My power adapter stays plugged in basically every second I'm sitting at my laptop... because, let's be honest, the battery barely lasts anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. Heh.
Thanks to both of you for the replies 😁 👍 👍

wearymason4 said:If the power adapter has a lower max amperage than what the laptop actually needs to run or charge, the adapter is going to take the hit. It’ll try to push more amps than it's rated for and end up overheating or just dying completely.

That only happens if you're using some cheap, junk adapter. A proper, certified one—like the OEM stuff you get from Dell or HP—has built-in overcurrent protection. It won't blow itself up; it'll just provide the maximum current allowed by its specs.
It's the same deal with phone chargers. You can plug a modern smartphone into an old 5W brick, even if that phone is capable of pulling 3A at 5V (which is basically standard nowadays for 15W charging).

The laptop is designed to take 19.5V, and then the motherboard uses step-down regulators to shave that down into whatever the specific hardware needs—like 3.3V, 12V, or 5V.
If your power adapter hits its current limit, the voltage can actually drop below that 19.5V mark, so you’re always better off using an adapter with the correct wattage or even something with a bit more overhead.
It’s standard practice for the charging circuitry built into the motherboard to regulate the current going into the battery, especially if some of the battery cells are acting up or basically shorted out.
Look, if you're using a low-wattage adapter and your batteries are already topped off, the motherboard will just pull the extra amperage it needs from the battery itself. It'll drain the battery even while plugged in, and then try to top it back up once you stop working. But if the batteries are shot? You won't get much runtime at all, regardless of whether you have that weaker adapter plugged in or not.

My two cents: I haven’t messed around much with those old-school 19.5V adapters, but right now I’m juggling two laptops that both take USB-C. One relies entirely on that connection, while the other is a heavy-duty gaming rig equipped with its own proprietary 280W brick at 19V, though it can also charge via USB-C. That beast has a massive 90 Wh battery.

I tend to charge them whenever I get the chance using whatever I have on hand—65W, 45W, or even 40W chargers—and I haven't run into any real issues yet. However, just like my colleague mentioned above, if you use a charger that's too weak, the laptop actually drains faster than it charges. It basically recognizes that there isn't enough juice coming in, so instead of topping up the battery, it starts "borrowing" power from the battery to supplement what the charger provides just to keep the system running. Even more annoying: with an underpowered charger, the machine acts like it’s running on battery alone, dropping into power-saving mode and limiting performance.

For instance, I have a 40W Anker Power Bank that handles both laptops without much fuss. But with the smaller one, under a decent load, it manages to charge just enough to stay level or maybe gain a little ground. The big gaming rig, on the other hand, only really charges when I'm not using it or if I'm doing something trivial, like watching Netflix. The second I start browsing the web, the percentage either stalls or starts dropping. Gaming is out of the question, obviously; it runs slower than it would on pure battery power because the performance gets throttled. Since this laptop runs Windows, it's smart enough to realize the power supply is insufficient, so it throttles the CPU and everything else to minimize consumption.

The smaller laptop usually uses its original 65W USB-C charger, but if I don't have the original handy, I'll sometimes use a 45W Samsung charger. On that one, Ubuntu also realizes the charger is too weak and limits performance, but it still manages to maintain the charge level or slowly top it up, provided I'm not pushing it too hard with heavy applications.

crimsonfox20 said:That second smaller laptop comes with a 65W USB-C charger out of the box. Sometimes, if I don't have the original one handy, I'll use my Samsung 45W brick instead. Ubuntu realizes the power supply is weak and throttles the performance, but it manages to stay alive or charge slowly if I'm not hammering it with heavy apps.

My laptop also flags when the charger isn't the original high-wattage one. But honestly? A 35W Samsung charger is plenty to run an i5U 10th gen without a dedicated GPU. It's never drained faster than it charges.

As soon as the system realizes the power supply is underpowered, it basically goes into battery saver mode. It throttles everything in sight, which means the laptop ends up drawing way less power than it would if it were properly plugged in, allowing it to actually stay charged. If you tried running a game, you’d see immediate stuttering and frame drops. Personally, I find that even with this gaming rig, I can sometimes get away with charging while watching Netflix, simply because the thing is just idling—fans are completely silent and there's zero heat buildup. But the moment I fire up a heavy title? This beast will happily pull 250+ W without blinking an eye.

I don't really see it happening on my end. Maybe if you're running one of those high-end gaming laptops, you'd actually notice a hit to performance. I don't have a dedicated GPU, and honestly, my laptop probably can't even pull more than 40W at full load—especially if the screen is off