Any Dell AC adapter rated for 65W or above that does NOT use the less common tiny 4.5mm barrel tip will be fine. Dell has changed the design of the “brick” portion of their AC adapters over the years, but they’ve maintained compatibility the entire time. You just need to match the physical connector style (your system uses the larger barrel connector that most systems over the last 10 years have used) and then the minimum wattage.
@Mary G, in addition to the above, the E6420 doesn't even have any built-in USB 3.0 ports, so on this system an 802.11ac USB network adapter could end up bottlenecked by the system's USB 2.0 ports. That would at least be worth calling out, and I would argue further makes a case that a USB network adapter is far from the best option. Apparently there's a USB 3.0 port module that can be installed into this system's expansion bay if you don't want need that bay for an optical drive, secondary battery, or secondary hard drive, but that module isn't standard.
Best option is a USB network adapter. Disable the internal network card that is integrated on the board after installing a USB network adapter.
@Mary G, I’m pretty sure the OP meant AC power adapter rather than 802.11ac WiFi adapter, but even if it was the latter, a USB adapter is in no way the best option except for someone not comfortable opening up their system. Otherwise, replacing the internal card is superior because it does not permanently occupy a USB port and allows your WiFi adapter to take advantage of the much larger antennas built into your system’s display assembly. With a USB adapter, you have to choose between a tiny adapter that has tiny antennas, or a larger adapter that plugs into an external antenna array that makes the setup much less portable. And both styles of USB adapters tend to cost more than equivalent internal cards as well.
jphughan
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February 21st, 2019 06:00
Any Dell AC adapter rated for 65W or above that does NOT use the less common tiny 4.5mm barrel tip will be fine. Dell has changed the design of the “brick” portion of their AC adapters over the years, but they’ve maintained compatibility the entire time. You just need to match the physical connector style (your system uses the larger barrel connector that most systems over the last 10 years have used) and then the minimum wattage.
Mary G
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20.1K Posts
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February 21st, 2019 06:00
Best option is a USB network adapter. Disable the internal network card that is integrated on the board after installing a USB network adapter.
jphughan
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4 Operator
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14K Posts
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February 21st, 2019 07:00
@Mary G, in addition to the above, the E6420 doesn't even have any built-in USB 3.0 ports, so on this system an 802.11ac USB network adapter could end up bottlenecked by the system's USB 2.0 ports. That would at least be worth calling out, and I would argue further makes a case that a USB network adapter is far from the best option. Apparently there's a USB 3.0 port module that can be installed into this system's expansion bay if you don't want need that bay for an optical drive, secondary battery, or secondary hard drive, but that module isn't standard.
jphughan
4 Operator
4 Operator
•
14K Posts
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February 21st, 2019 07:00
@Mary G, I’m pretty sure the OP meant AC power adapter rather than 802.11ac WiFi adapter, but even if it was the latter, a USB adapter is in no way the best option except for someone not comfortable opening up their system. Otherwise, replacing the internal card is superior because it does not permanently occupy a USB port and allows your WiFi adapter to take advantage of the much larger antennas built into your system’s display assembly. With a USB adapter, you have to choose between a tiny adapter that has tiny antennas, or a larger adapter that plugs into an external antenna array that makes the setup much less portable. And both styles of USB adapters tend to cost more than equivalent internal cards as well.