Cooler Master USNA 95 Slim Notebook Power Adapter Review

A Closer Look At The CM USNA 95

Cooler Master includes nine tips that you
can use to power your notebook. Each of the nine tips features a
different style or dimension that covers a wide variety of notebook
models. Cooler Master includes a ‘tip application’ chart in the user’s
guide for the USNA 95 so you don’t have to fiddle around too much to
find the right one. The tips come in a plastic base that has a rubber
insert in it that holds the tips firmly in place. This is a nice touch
as I’ve seen other power adapters just put all the tips in a bag or in a
holder where they easily come off and get lost.

Tip Color	Application
Orange	Acer, ASUS, HP, Compaq, BenQ
Red	Acer
Blue	Acer, HP, Compaq, IBM, Lenovo
Green	Acer, ASUS, HP, Compaq, Toshiba, Fujitsu, Gateway, NEC
Gray	Acer, ASUS, Compaq
White	Sony
Black	Dell, HP, Compaq
Yellow	IBM, Lenovo
Purple	Samsung

If you don’t see your model located here you might want to contact
Cooler Master customer service to check and see if your laptop model is
supported as the last thing you want to do is order in a $79.99 power
adapter and have it not work with your specific model!

As we mentioned in the introduction the Cooler Master USNA 95 ultra
slim notebook power adapter is rated at 95 Watts with a peak load rating
of 150 Watts. The full model number for this charger is RP-095-USNA-A1
and the specifications for this model number can be seen below.

Cooler Master USNA 95 Specifications

Input Voltage	100-240Vac Full Range
Input Frequency	50-60Hz
Output Rating	18 ~ 20Vdc = 19Vdc 4.74A 4.75 ~ 5.25Vdc = 5Vdc 1A
Output Power	Total 95W / Peak 150W
LED Indicator	Green LED for power on Red LED for USB charge
Operation Temperature	0~40 C
Efficiency	Up to 90%
Dimension (WxHxL)	62 x 17 x 104 mm ; 2.4 x 0.7 x 4.1 inch
Protection	OVP / OTP / OCP / OPP / SCP

One thing that was interesting is that the power adapter is 90%
efficient, but the retail package and specifications sent to us by
Cooler Master did not list the power adapter as being Energy Star rated.
Based on our understandings of the Energy Star program this power brick
should meet those ratings and is likely still waiting on being tested
at the labs before getting permission to use the blue Energy Star label.

Taking a closer look at one of the ends on the USNA 95 we can see
where the wall power adapter plugs in to this two prong header. Cooler
Master told us that there are not one, but two Pulse Width Modulated
(PWM) controllers in the USNA 95 power adapter. One of the PWM’s is for
Power Factor Circuit (PFC) design due to the requirements of Energy
Star, and the other is the main PWM controller which is the driver of
AC/DC circuit.

So what does this mean? Well, Cooler Master says this power adapter is 90% efficient, which would place it in the top level of the energy star rating scale (level V). The efficiency requirement for level V is 87%. Most
universal power adapters are rated at Energy Star Level IV, so that
means the Cooler Master USNA 95 should be pretty efficient. The more
efficient product means you can save money (power) at the same
time, which is always a good thing.

On the other end of the USNA 95 is the DC cable plug that runs to
your notebook and the USB header for charging a wide variety of mobile
devices. The USB charger in the USNA 95 slim power adapter charges at
1A, which means it is able to charge your USB devices up to 30% faster
than typical USB 2.0 jacks on a PC.

Sure your notebook has USB ports on it that you can use to charge your mobile devices, but if your notebook goes to sleep those ports turn off. With the USNA 95 you’ll be able to charge your USB devices faster and independent of your notebook, which is nice as it is one less thing to worry about.

The Cooler Master USNA 95 also has an LED light that glows green
after plugging in the AC power cord into the outlet. When the light is
green it means that the USNA 95 is operating properly. When the adapter
is charging a device through the USB port, the LED light will turn red.