Drop, charge, and lose the cords
- Average user rating:
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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6 out of 6 people found this review helpful
0.5 stars
"Known critical motherboard defect in 51X0 series!!"
Pros: cheap, but you get what you pay for
Cons: killer defect in motherboard design
Summary: There is a known motherboard defect in the Dell 5150 notebook that causes pressure shut down and motion shutdown. Since Dell has refused to admit this is a systematic problem, there is no indication that the 5160 notebook has addressed this problem.
This is a problem wherein the notebook will abruptly power off when tapped on the bottom of the case or even just slightly tilted. This occurs due to motherboard overheating causing the plastic tabs of the "C" slot on the case bottom to impact the motherboard and disrupt the chipsetting.
If you buy this system, you take a VERY expensive risk. Dell has refused to recall the 5150 series, instead pushing out the 5160 series to try and cover their tracks. BEWARE!!!!
Many 5150 users have posted this problem at:
http://delltalk.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=insp_general&message.id=166703&view=by_date_ascending&page=40
http://p068.ezboard.com/fi5150usersfrm2
http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/42970/
http://p068.ezboard.com/fi5150usersfrm2.showMessage?topicID=13.topic
- 6 replies to this review
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My laptop and my nephews 5160 both have/or had motherboard issues. This stinks that Dell is so unethical about this problem. My warranty is expired. . .so it means I have to cough up more money for a year old laptop. I was banned from the dell message board for my message in regard to this laptop. I guess mentioning the words ?Class-Action? is a big no-no.
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I bought DELL 5160 during last quarter of 2004. Today is sept 15, 2006, less than two years and the motherboard crapped out.
It's basically some power issue wherein the motherboard gets heated up and the laptop shuts off. I was reading up on the internet and apparently tons of people have faced this issue.
Go on Ebay and you'll see that every DELL 51XX laptop thats for sale is because of the motherboard power issue.
I have not been able to start the computer since past two weeks.
My one year warranty is over and now I just stuck with this crappy laptop.
Don't think I am going to purchase any more DELL items. -
We have a dell 5160 Inspirol laptop and have the same problems as the 5160. Only the AC jack goes bad and tried replacing this and having a tech do so and well now we have to replace the mother board. Dell knows this is a problem. Everyone you talk with seems to have this. They want over $300 for a refurbished motherboard with little warranty. And I undestand Dell is in financial trouble due to their cheap products. People are willing to pay a little more for a better product that at least will last longer than two days after the warranty runs out. Dell should be ashamed of themselves for taking advantage of people and young people who spend their money for a reliable college computer and get "screwed". I have had two Dell laptops and both were inspiron. The 5160 is a nightmare. Buyer be ware the Dell logo
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I've bought this thing 1.5 years ago and few weeks after the warranty expired the screen becomes totally unusable. Dell award winnig customer service morons quoted 250$ to fix the problem.
PS. Some more its DVD-rom also was faulty since the first day. -
I join the crowd of Dell Laptop Inspiron 5150 users. It is hardly 1.5 years of use and the issue started with boot problems and eventually traced to the mother board getting hot and damaging either connections or a few bunch of capacitors below the heat sink area. Alas, now out of warranty and looking for a quick replacement with a better version of 5160(Is it a better one?). The mother board is a bought out item and has a stamp from DDW Taiwan Company. Dell support, which used to be the best in the computer industry is no longer keeping up the tradition. HP/Compaq seems to have taken up the good support, for their laptops which I myself have acknowledged. I no longer want to buy any tech gadgets from Dell. A laptop bought from Dell seems to have a maximum life of 2 years (Unless you want to shell out money for the after sales warranty for 2 to 4 years, paying half the cost of the laptop) Any advices, on How to fix the mother board problems?
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I bought the 5160 in Feb. 2005, And on March 10, it doesn't work. Since then Dell replace the hard drive, memory, motherboard and processors. it doesn't work. In April, they decide to replace the whole laptop for me. On May 16, I got the replacement and it failed on May 17. On May 20, Dell replace the motherboard and processor again. and on May 24 I found new problem with this laptop and Dell said they will offer me a motherboard replacement again. i suggest you do not choose this model.
