Laptop power terminal replacement

Hey guys, got a question that I wanted to see if anybody could answer. I'm coming to you from my PS3, because yesterday after having to "wiggle and jiggle" the power cord to get my laptop to charge, it finally crapped out. I'm pretty confident that it's the power terminal (located on the motherbored) and possibly the cord also.

To fix the issue, I'm hoping I could just buy a new, but different terminal and cord so I don't have this issue again. Ideally I'd like to get a cord like the mac, but I realize that is a long shot. So i'm hoping I can just get a good, solid cord/terminal.

My question(s) is/are can I replace the OEM power cord/terminal with a non OEM? How would I find the watt/amperage my laptop needs?

My laptop = Gateway MC7801u

Thanks guys!
 
What has probably happened is the solder connecting the DC in port to the motherboard has cracked. Since it is soldered to the motherboard, to fix it you will need to re-solder the connections or buy a new motherboard. There is no way you could replace it with a mac-style port (magsafe) without some serious modifications to the AC adapter and your laptop.
 
What has probably happened is the solder connecting the DC in port to the motherboard has cracked. Since it is soldered to the motherboard, to fix it you will need to re-solder the connections or buy a new motherboard. There is no way you could replace it with a mac-style port (magsafe) without some serious modifications to the AC adapter and your laptop.

Yeah, I'm planning on ripping it apart in a day or two. Got half way last night, but ran out of time. Hopefully the motherboard isn't cracked, otherwise I'm just buying a new laptop. The same motherboard is $150 on ebay, and I'd rather invest it into a new laptop rather than a 2 year old one.

And yeah, I expected the mac-style port wouldn't be plausible, but I'd figure I'd throw it out there just in case.
 
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