My 2.5 year old Dell XPS is ALWAYS breaking down. Mobo breaks down, WD caviar breaks down, CPU breaks down, RAM breaks down. I swear it's been back at the factory for over half a year with over 4 or 5 break downs per year.

What in the world is wrong with this computer? I think almost every single component has been changed in the last 2.5 years.

I can't see it being an electrical surge problem or the way I handle the computer. I don't beat on it or over clock it.

What could be the reason behind all the break downs?
Is Dell the problem? (meaning: they just make crap pcs)

Thank you for your advice in advance.

I had a similar problem with an inspiron 8500. I had issues that included the hard drive dieing and the screen went through several attempted repairs. I finally got sick of dealing with the screen and asked for a supervisor. The guy I talked to actually had common sense, and when I asked about fixing a few other minor problems at the same time he looked at the history of problems with my laptop and offered to replace it. I´m sure they are not required to do this, but if you can get beyond the first level or two of customer service and explain your situation. It may have also been partly the result of being 3 years into a 5 year warranty (cheaper to replace then keep fixing).

Good luck!

Hey I also have a Dell XPS thats 2.5 yrs old. Ive got the XPS Gen 3 and havent had any hardware problems at all with it even though my 2 year warranty ran out last August.

Heck I love my XPS and I plan to upgrade it with another Gig of Ram and a 7900gs soon. I plan to use it for the next 2 or 3 years.

Well now that I come to think of it, my Seagate HD did fail the second time I tried to turn the PC on.
But thats old news. It works great now

With all those parts failing, sounds like you're giving them faulty power via the power supply or even the wall of your house.

Dude, you got a Dell!

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Seriously, although you say you don't think so, this does sound like power problems. Are you using a decent quality surge protector and/or UPS? Is your PC on a relatively clean line, or does it share a circuit with a hair dryer, microwave, laundry equipment, or refrigerator? If you've got a modem in it, is your phone line also protected? I had power protection out the kazoo but lost half a system some years ago due to a phone line spike.

Is the PSU in this system too little to handle its configuration?

Could it be static?

What's wrong?? It's a Dell. An HP is not much better, nor is an Acer... generally the Tier 1 OEM retail vendors (HP, Dell) cut corners and often use questionable HW in their builds.
Damnit, you beat me to it haha.

I agree that you could have serious power fluctuation issues. Anytime you buy a high-end system a UPS and / or a surge protector are in order. Got to protect your investment.

As frustrated as you are with Dud, it's time that you join the rest of us and just simply build your own C2D. You probably can take out the DVD burner and floppy and get everything else new. Of all the computer I have built in the past for friends or family, they never had an issue's. 2.5yrs, you are well over due for the new micro processor awesome power of video encoding and speed and it uses less energy.

Yes, Dell is the problem. Build it yourself next time.

I own a Dell desktop.... never again.

I remember when Dell was the standard for quality back in the 90s... now they just send out garbage.

Also, they have proprietary MOBOs (at least mine did)... which limits upgrades and overclocking. Oh, and opening my case voided my warranty... LOL.

Trying "customizing" a computer on their website? I tried in order to get a comparision of build vs. buy... but it's nearly impossible to compare. They give you very general component specs.

I could go on and on.

My late grandmother bought a Dell and had an issue with a loud fan and Dell service treated her like crap. I haven't been a fan (no pun intended) of them since.

Welcome to the absolute hell, that is dealing with Dell and other "box" builders, especially when it comes to enthusiast computers.


Is it me, or have I become more of a pessimistic bastard?

I would agree with ajfink and silencer, but Jack and Ninja as well.
To start, Dell's quality is not what one would describe as "of the highest order". Lower quality components are more sensitive and vulnerable to environmental variations, i.e power surges. Even though you may think your power drop is stable, they never are..there are always variations.

For ex, friends of mine were recently experiencing power drops at their house. This was due a nieghbors central air/heat systems heat exchanger fan motor going bad. Every time it would kick on, the demand increase was bad enough to sap the local grid.

To avoid inconsistanies in your power, I would buy a high quality UPS with AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulation), at least 1.5 x the capacity you think you need.

Thank you all for the kind advices.

I called up Dell and they told me that the only part that has not been touched in the last 2.5 years is the PSU. And I told them to change that.

I will also install a high grade ups with an avr with plenty of over head capacity.

I figure after reading the advices that the main causes are surges and or psu otherwise it couldn't break down this many times. I checked to see what other electrical appliances are jacked into the same line and it is the humidifier and fish tank. Anyway for now I will try to combat this solution with a high grade ups with avr.

Thank you once again for all the advices.

Much appreciated.

Great name. Haven't seen Red Dwarf in years. I think Holly was made by Dell.

Dell is notorious for building pc's that only last until the warranty runs out.In this way they force you to buy a new machine every couple years.Now i admit that i build a new machine every 6-8 months,but not because they break down,but because I like to stay on top of things.In fact I'm over due to build my next machine,but I am waiting for the battle between intel and amd to well level out a bit.Anyways,it's my understanding that it has something to do with the bios on the mainboards.If I were you I would seriously look into it and possibly look up the class action law suites against dell right now.You might even want to contact the representatives in the law suite and explain your case.They may add you to their list.Goodluck.

Dahak

AMD X2-4400+@2.6 S-939
EVGA NF4 SLI MB
2X EVGA 7800GT IN SLI
2X1GIG DDR IN DC MODE
WD300GIG HD
EXTREME 19IN.MONITOR 1280X1024
THERMALTAKE TOUGHPOWER 850WATT PSU
COOLERMASTER MINI R120

You DID get the five year extended warranty, eh? So what's to worry?

Yes I do have the 5 year warranty.

But the problem is always having to make a back up copy of the data.

It's such a pain in the butt I don't want to have to live with that.

As for the class action suit, I will look into it. But my XPS breaks down every 3 months. Never mind breaking down when the warranty runs out. LOL

Well I'll get all the necessary hardware to protect the PC from all electrical outlet gremlins just to be safe. Last thing I need is the monitor getting fried up too. Since that is on a 3 year warranty.

That's a crock of shite..you can customise your dell pc with 90days to 5 year warrantly. There is a lawsuit against Dell for a notebook but it's limited to just that one brand. I'm on my 4th Dell pc and I've never had a problem nor neither has anyone else I bought a dell pc for. As for the Op it's a definite power problem. If you're going to spend €2000+ on a pc at least buy a surge protector. All houses get surges ..some are just worse than others.

Uroboros:

I’m at Dell Headquarters in Austin, Texas and I just came across this thread. Sorry to hear you've been having so much trouble with this. I can assure you that losing that many parts in that period is nowhere near normal. It sounds like you might have gotten it fixed but if the power supply/UPS route doesn't work feel free to contact me. Please put my name in the subject line if emailing so the message is routed to me.


Neil
customer_advocate@dell.com
Round Rock REC