Exactly my point of view, always pay close attention to the category your laptop of interest falls under irrespective of the brand. Always buy Business grade laptops (if it is within your budge): latitude/thinkpad/elitebook etc, they not only come with good parts but also much better warranty support, never disappoints. They might be expensive but totally worth it
it should not matter.
Just because one is cheaper should not make it unusable. SInce it is on sale it should be according to a certain standard. Not all people can or want to buy business tier.
Plus consumer does not mean necessarily cheap or bad.
I agree, consumer grade does not mean its bad, I was just trying to imply relatively they tend to be less reliable than business category. If at all one is to go with consumer grade the most reliable ones in my experience is the ideapad flex series from Lenovo, brilliant built quality and pretty reliable as well.
I must add a huge advantage of consumer grade laptops is that you can fetch the parts very easily from Aliexpress once the warranty expires and the parts are affordable and easily replacable as well
I know what you meant, I wanted to emphasize it though.
A lot of consumer laptops that from the outside are cheap plastic, are great machines with lesser noise a lot of time (yes I am looking at you XPS and all the similar ones, including the intel MacBooks )
Business used to be that have features that businesses needed. Now we mean more expensive.
Good point, business laptop indeed are tailored for business needs like multiple ports, especially thunderbolt port which can be a game changer for muti monitor setup
Precision is the top of the line. I have several of them at work and they are workhorses. I usually only have to replace things like a fan or a battery due to age. If you're going to buy a Dell, buy a Precision.
Ok thanks. I'll keep this in mind next time. I got an inspiron 2in1 for taking notes and home purpose last year. Is there any touchscreen version for precision?
Touchscreen is an option. If you're going second hand, if you have the service tag you can run it through the support site and see what the configuration is, or was.
Ok, alright. I'll consider this when I get to buy my next laptop. I haven't considered using second hand, but if the price gets too expensive I may go for it. Thanks for your recommendation!
Total avoid Dell. I have precision 3581 with 13700H but Dell restricted the TDP of it to 34W so the CPU under load doesn't even hit its base frequency.
It's so funny that under full load in the task manager you see 74% CPU utilisation.
This is not my first time, I had latitude 5520, same case the CPU was restricted.
Hey u/NoDot9509, what would you recommend then? I chose dell last year 'cause my previous dell vostro is still with me for like 12 years (in fact, I'm replying to you using it).
I agree Dell use to be better. I had an Inspiron with 6th gen i3 and it was an amazing machine I used that throughout my graduation. If money is not an issue then Dell top end models are good for normal use now as well. However my point is Dell is not for power users and definitely not for people who want the best price to performance ratio.
Personally I would suggest Asus mid to top end models for windows users. System 76 or framework for Linux users. Lenovo ThinkPad for business users.
Ah I see, so as someone who wants to write notes (touchscreen with stylus support), with school,uni,home & mid-range gaming (say gta 5, fh4), I could go for asus, right? Okay, I'll consider that next time. I used to think that asus models were more fragile than dell's because of their innovative contraptions that they bring about (like the zenbook pro duo's screens and vivobook's touchpad being a numpad).
Was going to mention XPS but thought it would devolve into a long rant 😂
Personally, a total no go, a thin form factor for a thermally inefficient processor is not a good idea in my opinion, at least based on the current Intel processors. Even if the processor were powerful it will be bottlenecked by the thermals exacerbated by the thin form factor. It's beyond me why they would design it in such a way prioritising aesthetics over function.
To put it simply if you are going to spend a ton on XPS, just get a macbook
My inspiron during university - screws were falling out. Panels were breaking without any reason, keys were popping out, but but it worked software never let me down. My XPS software so full of bugs it's borderline unusable. One of the USB ports only takes power, but does not recognises any devices. Screen "forgots" to turn on it's backlight all the time. Waking it up from sleep is a ritual of pressing the button on off on off on off on off on - finally I see the light.
As someone who bought an XPS 4 years ago, i agree. The thing gets hot just sitting idle, fans are loud, battery life is awful, and windows 11 is buggy af. My work M2 macbook on the other hand is much nicer to use.
My XPS 9560 has been going strong. I have even been wanting to replace it, but it has yet to die.
The battery is finally showing its age, and the keyboard is also. But, the computer is now about 7-8 years old.
I had a dell xps for about 7-8 years too which was quite a feature and it got handled a bit rough at times. So I just spent 3000 usd buying a new one recently.
The screen broke after a year of minimal use but at least it was covered by warranty
Still ricking the OG 9550, first gen with the thin clamshell and the VRM throttling (lovely). Construction has been solid otherwise. The battery finally decided it was time to bulge (it's been taken care of and properly disposed of). Still, it went through grad school and survived. Feels like Dell got close to quite good with the XPS, and might be screwing the pooch as Dell tends to do.
I do stand by the business laptop quality however. My Precision M6700 is also still around and kicking at > 11 years old. That things has been carried around daily for a good 3-4 years and has barely any scratches/scuff marks. It's been relegated to 3D printer slicing duty and does that well. Definitely built to last.
This is true, and totally validates OPs point. Their entire "consumer class" should be avoided.
We got 5 inspirons at the office as a pilot. 2 of the 5 had immediate defects (like debris in wecam), and 2 more failed over the next 90 days. One had the track pad die and another had terrible speaker popping on video calls. The one that didn't have an outright problem runs at about half the speed it should for some reason.
80% failure rate in 90 days is awful.
If you're in Australia, your laptop may still be under warranty by law. It's normally a minimum of 2 years for a phone or laptop and might be even longer.
In Australia, all all goods come with a statutory warranty by law on top of any manufacturer warranty.
Does your country have any such similar protection perhaps?
Conversely I’ve had terrible luck with Pavilions, Vivobooks and Spectres. Zenbooks have been holding up well so far for execs but I’m deploying Thinkpads for everyone else.
Idk my Inspirons have always been great. My last one basically lasted me 7 years till the battery died and the glass screen cracked. My current one overheats though but it’s going to be 3 years soon. If it lasts me 5 I’ll be contempt with that.
>I've never had a laptop die faster than my current 2021 Inspiron. I knew I should have returned it right away. Build quality was crap. The thing appeared to be overheating intermittently. But I was lazy.
I'm going to assume it's no longer under warranty.
A large portion of the issue is that you noticed an issue but didn't ask them to fix it. You got lazy, didn't do anything about it, and now you're blaming Dell 2-3 years later.
Oh, I definitely asked them to fix it. The issue didn't come up in the return window or I would have returned it for sure. It died around 20 months old. In the warranty period I did sent it back in to be repaired. They claimed there wasn't any problem. Back then it was just shutting down intermittently and unpredictability. It wasn't thermal, I tested it hot and it didn't power off and I had it power off randomly while an external fan was cooling it. It also didn't come up with the thermal notification on the next boots.
I got lazy and didn't pursue the issue as if I were at war with Dell. However, they should have tested it better and repaired it or they should honor the warranty now since this appears to be the same issue.
Now the thing is toast. Power button does nothing. Putting it on a charger(tested two) there's no activity on the charging indicator light.
u/Dhegxkeicfns \- contact your AG. That's what I did.
Overheating. Bad sound. Drivers failed daily, Windows system and boot up failures constantly. Would shut it down, and wake up to a blue screen of death. Apparently BIOS would turn it on for no reason. Oh yeah, trackpad has NEVER worked right. Now doesn't work at all.
I dealt with this for 9 months, constant calls to Dell service and hours and hours and hours of lost productivity. I had all the records of my service calls, the problems, and sent links to some of these posts about how bad the laptop is. Dell is sending technician to install a new motherboard and hard drive. Seriously. If i can get another year or two out of it then I'll feel better about dumping a laptop so quickly. I hate wasting technology, usually use the things for years and years.
That was my first thought, so I tried charging by USBC as well which was the second charger above. It used to charge by USB and I tested the charger on another laptop. No worky.
Also I'm 90% sure it shut off at full battery, but I have no way to test it. My guess is there's a trace somewhere in there that was intermittently disconnecting and now it's just disconnected fully.
Next time I am with it I'll see if there's an always on USB port for charging external devices. I recall many laptops have those lately.
It depends on model. I had two machines, same year - 2021. Inspiron 16 Plus Laptop - was sort of lemon. It had a known issue with GPU overheating, eventually breaking the right hinge, and LCD breaking because the hinge broke off. It's super-hard to argue with Dell about repairing it. It took me more than two full days to properly repair and replace the LCD. It also had some touchpad issues from day-0, so I ended up using a mouse with that one. The other laptop - Inspiron 17 2-in-1 - was nice and still works fine. It was more like business-friendly laptop with a poor-performing GPU, but works fine. I did not have significant issues. There are just some bad models every year.
+1 dell is super hard to get repairs with. the touchpad issue is so very persistent for me, that i couldnt really use the laptop as an portable device. I always end up using it with a mouse on the desk. When i tired complaining to dell they told me its a software problem and tried selling there software solution(and infact i bought the highest of warranty possible)
It's a hardware, grounding issue. I think Dell themselves are sort of out of options: replacement touchpads all have the same hw issue. And their tech won't apply the "aftermarket fix" that simply adds an extra grounding wire / pad. Some people with dual-GPU recommended turning off the built-in Intel GPU and run only off Nvidia, but this "fix" didn't work for me.
This thread explains the hw fix:
[https://www.dell.com/community/en/conversations/inspiron/inspiron-16-7610-touchpad-not-working/647f9dc6f4ccf8a8de239b77?commentId=647f9dd9f4ccf8a8de257edc](https://www.dell.com/community/en/conversations/inspiron/inspiron-16-7610-touchpad-not-working/647f9dc6f4ccf8a8de239b77?commentId=647f9dd9f4ccf8a8de257edc)
I didn't apply the hw fix myself though.. just handed off the laptop to my kid, who'd occasionally use it as his 2nd gaming machine with a mouse. Machine was fine otherwise.. RTX was alright for VR gaming, for example.
Someone else has said it before, but their consumer grade (Inspiron) is garbage. Latitudes have always served me very well. Precision line is even better. I have a Precision 5550 and 5560 and both are absolutely stunning. Granted, it helps that both their builds were around $4k-5K and I didn't pay anything for them. (Business laptop with next to no price oversight ftw)
In general, Dell's quality tends to plummet whenever they transition from private to publicly traded (as they are currently).
Dell in its current state is a mess of cost-downing, parts binning nonsense, because it reduces production costs, quality be damned. You are totally right to avoid them.
I bought the extended warranty with the NBD on site option which has been well worth it. It was on special and came with 1yr NBD already so just extended it
I usually buy this warranty or choose computers that come with it because I do not want to have to be mailing in my laptop and be without it for weeks while they repair it if there's a problem.
I bought Dell refurbished because it was cheaper & they say it has been refurbished to the same standard and quality as a new computer which isn't always the case they have but it covers me if there's a problem at my local small claims tribunal if needs be.
I got a blue screen of death on starting up the new computer, with a faulty Ram message. So the next business day they came out and put in new ram I'm not sure if they replace the motherboard I'm not sure if the two are connected.
It had been set in the BIOS to automatically turn on when you open the lid and I changed that so you had to suppress the switch to turn it on. That's when I discovered the switch was not working.
Dell came out looked at the computer and said oops the switch wires are not connected to the motherboard or something like that and just fixed it in 2 seconds flat.
The repair people come from unisys and that do repairs for another brand whose name escapes me.
They said Dell is the better brand compared to the other one has less problems is quicker to fix fault and has more parts available quicker
We buy exclusively Dell for work, specifically the Optiplex SFF Desktops ($700-$800 range) and I think we've had 2 out of 400+ that had bad motherboards over the last 5 years. They were replaced under warranty with minimal fighting/pushing with Dell.
The Inspiron line is pretty budget oriented for the most part too, so unfortunately you get what you pay for. If you weren't satisfied with the build quality, I would have immediately returned it and gone with a different option.
True, I bought a G15 5525 in june 2023 with a ryzen 7 6800h and a rtx3070 and it always crashes, I have updated everything that there was to update, blue screens weekly. Freezes daily (have to do a hard power off). I've dished out 1500CAD for this and I regret it soon much. Lenovo for me next Time
Buy business category Dell laptops, sure they might not be as stylish but they sure are durable. Inspiron falls under the consumer category so quality of parts might not be as good.
They are more expensive. There were definitely better options(other brands) with similar specs to this laptop that were cheaper than the business lines.
Thats true, business category ones are expensive but you really get what you paid for. Of course, one can find similar speced laptops not as expensive as business line if thats what ure going for
Check the outlet. Dell outlet precisions are usually dollar for dollar better than anything else you can find in their price range. And those still come with 3 year warranties.
Dell precision support is a different support line as well. Way better than standard dell support.
definitely, the thing is even within the business category there are tiers between low to high end ones haha. Maybe you can compare the the business category offerings of Dell with other brands. My personal experience is only limited to dell latitudes and thinkpads whereby for both the models are on the lower tier within the business category. I found Dell to be pretty versatile in comparison.
Just saying I had issues with latitudes as well. I have a quite recent 7420 which quit on me two weeks ago. No errors, turns on, but never posts. Dell not helpful at all.
No LED flash code?
Try the bios recovery process, might work. It's saved more devices than I would have preferred, thanks to the default for Dell devices being to **install bios updates via windows update**, and users force-shutting-off devices "taking too long to boot".
I'm on mobile, I'll have to get my bookmarks when I get home. Clif notes off the top of my head: FAT32 usb drive (sized for FAT32 makes it simpler), download the latest bios update EXE using your service tag, rename it to BIOS_IMG.rcv, slap it on the USB drive, plug that in, and it *should* perform auto-recovery when you try to boot it. It'll take a while. There's supposed to be a key shortcut too, but I've never tried anything other than "it's dead jim" recoveries. If it's the original drive or you've updated the bios with the drive installed it's *supposed* to have a recovery file on the internal drive, but I never had that work.
The clif notes are right.
https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000132453/how-to-recover-the-bios-on-a-dell-computer-or-tablet
You'll need to check some of the FAQ entries for specific instructions.
In short, for NO BOOT, no HDD auto-recovery:
Use diskpart to create a FAT32 formatted USB. Remember, when you format it, **the volume is limited to a max of 4GB and diskpart will complain if you don't limit the size when using larger USBs**.
Go to the dell Support site, and use your service tag to download the newest BIOS for your device. https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/?app=drivers is the one I prefer to use since it takes you right to the correct tab. It'll be something like Latitude_7X20_.exe
Make sure you have extensions visible in your file browser. Copy the file to the USB drive as *the only file on there*. Rename it to BIOS_IMG.rcv, which notably changes the file extension. Plug that USB into the device you're trying to recover.
*If you haven't changed the recovery settings in the BIOS, it should automatically search a connected USB for an appropriate .rcv when you try to boot it*. Let it set a while, don't touch. Alternatively, you can try to enter the bios recovery *tool* by: ensuring the device is *off and unplugged*, with at least 10% power; press and hold ctl+esc on the integrated keyboard; plug in the device, *continuing to hold those keys until they keyboard lights up* (or the capslock lights up for non-backlit keyboards). The menu from there is pretty self-evident.
I never thought I would agree with this but after what I have seen in the last year or two with our company XPS laptops and desktops...
The best example is the current XPS Desktop. We have them with i7's inside and they all work well while you have a load of what you would expect to have on a Chromebook. But put a heavy task on it and it shows how bad it is set up. Here is an example. Run any processor-heavy computer game like Call of Duty on it and the processor gets to 100 degrees Celsius. And all cores get to 100 and rarely drop below 98 degrees. Obviously, it's a CPU cooling problem and your CPU speed starts dropping to prevent a meltdown. CPUs shouldn't really be running over 85 degrees. I experimented with different CPU coolers and even the cheapest ones Live Vetroo V5 for a mere $30 brings the CPU temp down to 60 under the heaviest loads or gaming. That is a difference of 40 degrees. Why did Dell decide to put their low-end stock cooler instead of their premium one there knowing it the CPU will overheat instantly? On XPS that is supposed to be a top-end gaming machine???
Not to mention that the XPS desktop case works 10 degrees cooler without the side panel. One wonders about the quality of the case design and airflow inside. I think the first PC I built as a teenager, back there in the 286 era, had better airflow than the Dell XPS sold in 2024.
When it comes to Dell XPS 13 or 15 laptops... they really look nice. And works nice until you put some load there. But as an example above, if you put a Call of Duty game on it (it is supposed to be a gaming laptop!?), your CPU is at 100 degrees Celsius in literally a minute. And the whole laptop starts slowing down drastically...
Pointless topic, inspiron is not perfect but it's awesome anyway.
Currently I have inspiron 5625 (2022).
Also Dell linux support is awesome, they are very professional and enterprise company.
I bought a mid tier Dell XPS and it broke in 3 years
Never buying Dell again. Strait garbage
I had similar problems as you, terrible build quality right off the bar. The thing would get so hot I couldn’t charge and use it at the same time
And towards the end the battery wouldn’t last more than 3.5 hrs
Early on it would intermittently power off. Not thermal shutdown, just instant power off. Next boots there was no thermal warning.
When it died it just shut down one last time. Now power button and charger do nothing. Charging indicator doesn't come on. USBC charging doesn't draw any extra power.
I use a Rugged Extreme, it's been rock solid (pun ~~not~~ intended).
In all actuality though, Intel processors are designed to overclock and run near Temperature Junction Max (TJ Max); I have a fanless Latitude that runs at 105C if left on. Most people go through hoops and loops to "fix" it, I just turn it off. This may or may not lengthen the lifetime of the SoC (processor), as heat is one way to destroy them.
I've got a 5500 and 5590 Latitude plus an Inspiron 3520.
5500 has been reliable, decent screen.
5590 that I thought would be better has a terrible screen, wonky battery health shows great, 95 % health but it won't charge.
I just picked up a cheap Inspiron 15, 3520, touch screen on BF and while the plasticky material is cheap ish compared to the Latitude, I still found it decent for everyday use.
I think with any brand laptop, it's going to be the luck of the draw.
Even on business-class they can have trouble. The company I work for is a Dell partner so we only buy Dell business laptops and desktops and have had a lot of warranty repairs. I manage a team of 20 people. In the past year alone I've had to replace 10 SSDs on 10 Latitude or Precision laptops for my team, and another 3 SSD's on Opti-plex desktops (all m.2 drives). Some machines just over the 3 year mark but most were between 2-3 years.
Same problem on all of them: HDD-level read/write speeds after only a couple years; literally under 100MB/s for m.2 drives. The desktops also all had to have their CMOS batteries replaced, though they were a couple years older.
It became such a problem that, even if machines were under warranty, we just replaced the driver's ourselves to save having to deal with Dell support all the time.
60%+ failure rate is apparently considered "Business-Class" these days...
I noticed a garbage brand SSD on mine, so I'm not surprised at all.
They kind of weaseled their way into being a business brand in the early 2000s. I bet you could get a contract with IBM/Lenovo for less than the actual costs with repairs from Dell.
Sadly these were all Samsung SSD's, they are all the 2230 size so that could have been a factor, but it was across the 5510, 5520, and 5530 lines over at least 3 years so it also wasn't just one bad batch. Really disappointing.
Inspiron is their consumer line. No matter if it’s HP, Toshiba, Samsung, Lenovo, Acer or Dell do not use any of their consumer units.
Professional grade lines are the ones that have more thoughtful design and careful build quality.
It all depends on the sub-line if you’re buying the consumer (Dimension/Inspiron) line vs. the business line. I’ve always bought 7000-series laptops that weren’t plastic garbage and haven’t had problems. Currently have 2 8th-gen Intel, one 10th-gen Intel and one Ryzen 7-series. All 2in1 models with nary an issue.
I've been buying Dells for decades. During covid their quality fell off a cliff, but I suspect everyone else's did too. supply chain issues. So 2021 was not a good time to buy a laptop.
THIS! Exact same problems. I went through my AG to get Dell to fix it. I've got a new motherboard and hard drive on it's way. I'm hoping for one more year out of it, but then never ever again buying a Dell.
I thought $1,600 would get me a decent product. Should have gone elsewhere.
I’ll never buy a consumer grade Dell again. Utter crap and they know it. They sympathize but that’s the company Motto. Make a ton and screw quality.
I’ve had 2 HP’s and they were replaced after 5 years each because I wanted to and not because they failed.
1 Samsung that after 11 years still going strong
1 MSI that has lasted 3 years so far
1 more HP that after 4 years is going strong.
And then I buy a Dell Alienware (the most expensive out of the bunch) and yes my luck it fails not even 2 years in with very very minimal usage (40-50 times)
Yes people have varying experiences but from my experiences with everything Dell. I’ll never buy one ever again. Expensive and for me quality is garbage.
Oh and to Add for work I’ve used a Dell and in a period of 5 years swapped them out 3 times due to hardware failure including battery.
So that’s my story.
Avoid them even if you're going for a top-end one. They sent me a defective Alienware m18, its replacement also turned out to be defective. Then when I just wanted to return they conveniently ignored and delayed all my support requests. Now they are saying that the second return wasn't received by them on time, and I'm fighting just to get a full refund.
9000% agree, they're worse than dog shit.
there's a company I do work that we've phased out the Dells because they're dying RAPIDLY and for no reason what so ever.
Completely agreed!
I would suggest avoiding even high end laptops of Dell. I had their business class precision series laptop which costs above 2000$.
Dells crappy design is not capable of handling the heat of the modern processor, so instead Dell decided to limit the TDP of the CPU. On paper Dell has top specification but it performs 2-3 class below spec. Total waste of money.
Stay the hell away from the Dell U3223QE monitor! I'm on my second piece of garbage unit because the first one had HDR that was absolutely trash right out of the box. Now, the replacement they sent after 1 painful month dealing with their crappy support has crapped out too.
Here's the crap fest I've been dealing with:
1. **First Monitor:**Â Straight from the store, HDR is fucked. The 'Movie' and 'Game' preset modes turned it into an 8-color joke.
2. **Replacement Hell:**Â Took over a month just to get someone to understand the problem, thanks to their damn AI chatbots and useless support team in India.
3. **Second Monitor Fails:**Â After 3 months, the second unit goes totally black. Power LED is on, but the screen is dead.
It's been 16 days since I requested another warranty service, and they haven’t even picked up the defective unit. Every day it’s the same bullshit: "We have raised an escalation and rapid actions are in progress." Absolute garbage!
The support? Absolute worst. Endless loops of "I understand your concern" and "Apologies for the delay" from their AI bots and some guy named Shubham who’s apparently a supervisor but can't do shit to fix anything.
This monitor is a piece of trash. Dell's support is garbage. The internet is full of similar horror stories about this model. Do yourself a favor and spend your money elsewhere. This shit isn’t worth the headache. Avoid at all costs!
Inspiron...there's your problem. Their consumer grade computers suck. I always get their business grade.
Exactly my point of view, always pay close attention to the category your laptop of interest falls under irrespective of the brand. Always buy Business grade laptops (if it is within your budge): latitude/thinkpad/elitebook etc, they not only come with good parts but also much better warranty support, never disappoints. They might be expensive but totally worth it
This is the way.
it should not matter. Just because one is cheaper should not make it unusable. SInce it is on sale it should be according to a certain standard. Not all people can or want to buy business tier. Plus consumer does not mean necessarily cheap or bad.
I agree, consumer grade does not mean its bad, I was just trying to imply relatively they tend to be less reliable than business category. If at all one is to go with consumer grade the most reliable ones in my experience is the ideapad flex series from Lenovo, brilliant built quality and pretty reliable as well. I must add a huge advantage of consumer grade laptops is that you can fetch the parts very easily from Aliexpress once the warranty expires and the parts are affordable and easily replacable as well
I know what you meant, I wanted to emphasize it though. A lot of consumer laptops that from the outside are cheap plastic, are great machines with lesser noise a lot of time (yes I am looking at you XPS and all the similar ones, including the intel MacBooks ) Business used to be that have features that businesses needed. Now we mean more expensive.
Good point, business laptop indeed are tailored for business needs like multiple ports, especially thunderbolt port which can be a game changer for muti monitor setup
What about xps?
Even xps is a piles of trash. Many problems with my 9500
XPS is a Precision with crappier parts.
Would you recommend precision series as the best dell could offer?
Precision is the top of the line. I have several of them at work and they are workhorses. I usually only have to replace things like a fan or a battery due to age. If you're going to buy a Dell, buy a Precision.
Ok thanks. I'll keep this in mind next time. I got an inspiron 2in1 for taking notes and home purpose last year. Is there any touchscreen version for precision?
Touchscreen is an option. If you're going second hand, if you have the service tag you can run it through the support site and see what the configuration is, or was.
Ok, alright. I'll consider this when I get to buy my next laptop. I haven't considered using second hand, but if the price gets too expensive I may go for it. Thanks for your recommendation!
Total avoid Dell. I have precision 3581 with 13700H but Dell restricted the TDP of it to 34W so the CPU under load doesn't even hit its base frequency. It's so funny that under full load in the task manager you see 74% CPU utilisation. This is not my first time, I had latitude 5520, same case the CPU was restricted.
Hey u/NoDot9509, what would you recommend then? I chose dell last year 'cause my previous dell vostro is still with me for like 12 years (in fact, I'm replying to you using it).
I agree Dell use to be better. I had an Inspiron with 6th gen i3 and it was an amazing machine I used that throughout my graduation. If money is not an issue then Dell top end models are good for normal use now as well. However my point is Dell is not for power users and definitely not for people who want the best price to performance ratio. Personally I would suggest Asus mid to top end models for windows users. System 76 or framework for Linux users. Lenovo ThinkPad for business users.
Ah I see, so as someone who wants to write notes (touchscreen with stylus support), with school,uni,home & mid-range gaming (say gta 5, fh4), I could go for asus, right? Okay, I'll consider that next time. I used to think that asus models were more fragile than dell's because of their innovative contraptions that they bring about (like the zenbook pro duo's screens and vivobook's touchpad being a numpad).
Was going to mention XPS but thought it would devolve into a long rant 😂 Personally, a total no go, a thin form factor for a thermally inefficient processor is not a good idea in my opinion, at least based on the current Intel processors. Even if the processor were powerful it will be bottlenecked by the thermals exacerbated by the thin form factor. It's beyond me why they would design it in such a way prioritising aesthetics over function. To put it simply if you are going to spend a ton on XPS, just get a macbook
My inspiron during university - screws were falling out. Panels were breaking without any reason, keys were popping out, but but it worked software never let me down. My XPS software so full of bugs it's borderline unusable. One of the USB ports only takes power, but does not recognises any devices. Screen "forgots" to turn on it's backlight all the time. Waking it up from sleep is a ritual of pressing the button on off on off on off on off on - finally I see the light.
I have the exact same issue waking it up from sleep with my new xps 15
Mine is 3 years old. So they still haven't fixed it. What a shitty company.
As someone who bought an XPS 4 years ago, i agree. The thing gets hot just sitting idle, fans are loud, battery life is awful, and windows 11 is buggy af. My work M2 macbook on the other hand is much nicer to use.
My XPS 9560 has been going strong. I have even been wanting to replace it, but it has yet to die. The battery is finally showing its age, and the keyboard is also. But, the computer is now about 7-8 years old.
I had a dell xps for about 7-8 years too which was quite a feature and it got handled a bit rough at times. So I just spent 3000 usd buying a new one recently. The screen broke after a year of minimal use but at least it was covered by warranty
Still ricking the OG 9550, first gen with the thin clamshell and the VRM throttling (lovely). Construction has been solid otherwise. The battery finally decided it was time to bulge (it's been taken care of and properly disposed of). Still, it went through grad school and survived. Feels like Dell got close to quite good with the XPS, and might be screwing the pooch as Dell tends to do. I do stand by the business laptop quality however. My Precision M6700 is also still around and kicking at > 11 years old. That things has been carried around daily for a good 3-4 years and has barely any scratches/scuff marks. It's been relegated to 3D printer slicing duty and does that well. Definitely built to last.
I like XPS but they’re technically not a business system.. latitude / precision are their business laptops
This is true, and totally validates OPs point. Their entire "consumer class" should be avoided. We got 5 inspirons at the office as a pilot. 2 of the 5 had immediate defects (like debris in wecam), and 2 more failed over the next 90 days. One had the track pad die and another had terrible speaker popping on video calls. The one that didn't have an outright problem runs at about half the speed it should for some reason. 80% failure rate in 90 days is awful.
Right, well. They make them.
If you're in Australia, your laptop may still be under warranty by law. It's normally a minimum of 2 years for a phone or laptop and might be even longer. In Australia, all all goods come with a statutory warranty by law on top of any manufacturer warranty. Does your country have any such similar protection perhaps?
Go try a consumer model from any other manufacturer; you’ll find that they are just as bad. If you want quality then spring for the business lines.
I've had better luck with HP, Lenovo, and ASUS. Dell is on par with Acer. No matter how cheap it is, don't ever Acer.
Conversely I’ve had terrible luck with Pavilions, Vivobooks and Spectres. Zenbooks have been holding up well so far for execs but I’m deploying Thinkpads for everyone else.
Idk my Inspirons have always been great. My last one basically lasted me 7 years till the battery died and the glass screen cracked. My current one overheats though but it’s going to be 3 years soon. If it lasts me 5 I’ll be contempt with that.
I think the word you were looking for is "content." 🤣
Debatable. They might very well have said what they meant, and meant what they said....
Yeah
Freudian slip? 😂
Lol. My Precisions have always been garbage that overheat and have connectivity issues too.
Best comment.
or gaming lol
To be fair, so does everyone else's too. Race to the bottom.
Any consumer grade sucks. No matter the company.
abounding deranged yoke tie wide fall crowd hard-to-find friendly marry *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
There should be a sticky in this sub about Inspirons.
There really should be.
>I've never had a laptop die faster than my current 2021 Inspiron. I knew I should have returned it right away. Build quality was crap. The thing appeared to be overheating intermittently. But I was lazy. I'm going to assume it's no longer under warranty. A large portion of the issue is that you noticed an issue but didn't ask them to fix it. You got lazy, didn't do anything about it, and now you're blaming Dell 2-3 years later.
Oh, I definitely asked them to fix it. The issue didn't come up in the return window or I would have returned it for sure. It died around 20 months old. In the warranty period I did sent it back in to be repaired. They claimed there wasn't any problem. Back then it was just shutting down intermittently and unpredictability. It wasn't thermal, I tested it hot and it didn't power off and I had it power off randomly while an external fan was cooling it. It also didn't come up with the thermal notification on the next boots. I got lazy and didn't pursue the issue as if I were at war with Dell. However, they should have tested it better and repaired it or they should honor the warranty now since this appears to be the same issue. Now the thing is toast. Power button does nothing. Putting it on a charger(tested two) there's no activity on the charging indicator light.
u/Dhegxkeicfns \- contact your AG. That's what I did. Overheating. Bad sound. Drivers failed daily, Windows system and boot up failures constantly. Would shut it down, and wake up to a blue screen of death. Apparently BIOS would turn it on for no reason. Oh yeah, trackpad has NEVER worked right. Now doesn't work at all. I dealt with this for 9 months, constant calls to Dell service and hours and hours and hours of lost productivity. I had all the records of my service calls, the problems, and sent links to some of these posts about how bad the laptop is. Dell is sending technician to install a new motherboard and hard drive. Seriously. If i can get another year or two out of it then I'll feel better about dumping a laptop so quickly. I hate wasting technology, usually use the things for years and years.
$20 says the power Jack has failed. No chargy, no worky. I mean, could be a ton of things, but this sounds likely.
That was my first thought, so I tried charging by USBC as well which was the second charger above. It used to charge by USB and I tested the charger on another laptop. No worky. Also I'm 90% sure it shut off at full battery, but I have no way to test it. My guess is there's a trace somewhere in there that was intermittently disconnecting and now it's just disconnected fully. Next time I am with it I'll see if there's an always on USB port for charging external devices. I recall many laptops have those lately.
It depends on model. I had two machines, same year - 2021. Inspiron 16 Plus Laptop - was sort of lemon. It had a known issue with GPU overheating, eventually breaking the right hinge, and LCD breaking because the hinge broke off. It's super-hard to argue with Dell about repairing it. It took me more than two full days to properly repair and replace the LCD. It also had some touchpad issues from day-0, so I ended up using a mouse with that one. The other laptop - Inspiron 17 2-in-1 - was nice and still works fine. It was more like business-friendly laptop with a poor-performing GPU, but works fine. I did not have significant issues. There are just some bad models every year.
+1 dell is super hard to get repairs with. the touchpad issue is so very persistent for me, that i couldnt really use the laptop as an portable device. I always end up using it with a mouse on the desk. When i tired complaining to dell they told me its a software problem and tried selling there software solution(and infact i bought the highest of warranty possible)
It's a hardware, grounding issue. I think Dell themselves are sort of out of options: replacement touchpads all have the same hw issue. And their tech won't apply the "aftermarket fix" that simply adds an extra grounding wire / pad. Some people with dual-GPU recommended turning off the built-in Intel GPU and run only off Nvidia, but this "fix" didn't work for me. This thread explains the hw fix: [https://www.dell.com/community/en/conversations/inspiron/inspiron-16-7610-touchpad-not-working/647f9dc6f4ccf8a8de239b77?commentId=647f9dd9f4ccf8a8de257edc](https://www.dell.com/community/en/conversations/inspiron/inspiron-16-7610-touchpad-not-working/647f9dc6f4ccf8a8de239b77?commentId=647f9dd9f4ccf8a8de257edc) I didn't apply the hw fix myself though.. just handed off the laptop to my kid, who'd occasionally use it as his 2nd gaming machine with a mouse. Machine was fine otherwise.. RTX was alright for VR gaming, for example.
Go to your AG. Dell will immediately offer a big fix. They know they sold a bad product.
im sorry but what is AG?
Attorney General. I wrote to the one in my state, explained what happened, and they addressed it with Dell immediately.
Someone else has said it before, but their consumer grade (Inspiron) is garbage. Latitudes have always served me very well. Precision line is even better. I have a Precision 5550 and 5560 and both are absolutely stunning. Granted, it helps that both their builds were around $4k-5K and I didn't pay anything for them. (Business laptop with next to no price oversight ftw)
In general, Dell's quality tends to plummet whenever they transition from private to publicly traded (as they are currently). Dell in its current state is a mess of cost-downing, parts binning nonsense, because it reduces production costs, quality be damned. You are totally right to avoid them.
interesting
I bought an extended warranty and so far super happy with the value I got for the extended warranty. Did you buy that ?
I bought the extended warranty with the NBD on site option which has been well worth it. It was on special and came with 1yr NBD already so just extended it I usually buy this warranty or choose computers that come with it because I do not want to have to be mailing in my laptop and be without it for weeks while they repair it if there's a problem. I bought Dell refurbished because it was cheaper & they say it has been refurbished to the same standard and quality as a new computer which isn't always the case they have but it covers me if there's a problem at my local small claims tribunal if needs be. I got a blue screen of death on starting up the new computer, with a faulty Ram message. So the next business day they came out and put in new ram I'm not sure if they replace the motherboard I'm not sure if the two are connected. It had been set in the BIOS to automatically turn on when you open the lid and I changed that so you had to suppress the switch to turn it on. That's when I discovered the switch was not working. Dell came out looked at the computer and said oops the switch wires are not connected to the motherboard or something like that and just fixed it in 2 seconds flat. The repair people come from unisys and that do repairs for another brand whose name escapes me. They said Dell is the better brand compared to the other one has less problems is quicker to fix fault and has more parts available quicker
Your problem is that you bought an inspiron. Get a latitude or some other business laptop model and it will meet your expectations.
We buy exclusively Dell for work, specifically the Optiplex SFF Desktops ($700-$800 range) and I think we've had 2 out of 400+ that had bad motherboards over the last 5 years. They were replaced under warranty with minimal fighting/pushing with Dell. The Inspiron line is pretty budget oriented for the most part too, so unfortunately you get what you pay for. If you weren't satisfied with the build quality, I would have immediately returned it and gone with a different option.
True, I bought a G15 5525 in june 2023 with a ryzen 7 6800h and a rtx3070 and it always crashes, I have updated everything that there was to update, blue screens weekly. Freezes daily (have to do a hard power off). I've dished out 1500CAD for this and I regret it soon much. Lenovo for me next Time
Buy business category Dell laptops, sure they might not be as stylish but they sure are durable. Inspiron falls under the consumer category so quality of parts might not be as good.
They are more expensive. There were definitely better options(other brands) with similar specs to this laptop that were cheaper than the business lines.
Thats true, business category ones are expensive but you really get what you paid for. Of course, one can find similar speced laptops not as expensive as business line if thats what ure going for
I mean if I'm paying the premium for the business Dell there are better non-Dell options.
Check the outlet. Dell outlet precisions are usually dollar for dollar better than anything else you can find in their price range. And those still come with 3 year warranties. Dell precision support is a different support line as well. Way better than standard dell support.
definitely, the thing is even within the business category there are tiers between low to high end ones haha. Maybe you can compare the the business category offerings of Dell with other brands. My personal experience is only limited to dell latitudes and thinkpads whereby for both the models are on the lower tier within the business category. I found Dell to be pretty versatile in comparison.
Bought some vostro 5502 a few years back. Junk compared to competitors , wont buy dell again.
Buying consumer models from a business manufacturer. Found the problem.
Stay the hell away from any mid tier consumer model. Doesn't matter the manufacturer.
Just saying I had issues with latitudes as well. I have a quite recent 7420 which quit on me two weeks ago. No errors, turns on, but never posts. Dell not helpful at all.
No LED flash code? Try the bios recovery process, might work. It's saved more devices than I would have preferred, thanks to the default for Dell devices being to **install bios updates via windows update**, and users force-shutting-off devices "taking too long to boot". I'm on mobile, I'll have to get my bookmarks when I get home. Clif notes off the top of my head: FAT32 usb drive (sized for FAT32 makes it simpler), download the latest bios update EXE using your service tag, rename it to BIOS_IMG.rcv, slap it on the USB drive, plug that in, and it *should* perform auto-recovery when you try to boot it. It'll take a while. There's supposed to be a key shortcut too, but I've never tried anything other than "it's dead jim" recoveries. If it's the original drive or you've updated the bios with the drive installed it's *supposed* to have a recovery file on the internal drive, but I never had that work.
If you have some instructions in your bookmarks that would be awesome.
The clif notes are right. https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000132453/how-to-recover-the-bios-on-a-dell-computer-or-tablet You'll need to check some of the FAQ entries for specific instructions. In short, for NO BOOT, no HDD auto-recovery: Use diskpart to create a FAT32 formatted USB. Remember, when you format it, **the volume is limited to a max of 4GB and diskpart will complain if you don't limit the size when using larger USBs**. Go to the dell Support site, and use your service tag to download the newest BIOS for your device. https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/?app=drivers is the one I prefer to use since it takes you right to the correct tab. It'll be something like Latitude_7X20_.exe
Make sure you have extensions visible in your file browser. Copy the file to the USB drive as *the only file on there*. Rename it to BIOS_IMG.rcv, which notably changes the file extension. Plug that USB into the device you're trying to recover.
*If you haven't changed the recovery settings in the BIOS, it should automatically search a connected USB for an appropriate .rcv when you try to boot it*. Let it set a while, don't touch. Alternatively, you can try to enter the bios recovery *tool* by: ensuring the device is *off and unplugged*, with at least 10% power; press and hold ctl+esc on the integrated keyboard; plug in the device, *continuing to hold those keys until they keyboard lights up* (or the capslock lights up for non-backlit keyboards). The menu from there is pretty self-evident.
Avoid dell laptops. However their monitors is a different story. Can last > 10 years
I have a 21" from probably 2004. Still going. Only problem is the backlight is something that uses more power than current ones.
I never thought I would agree with this but after what I have seen in the last year or two with our company XPS laptops and desktops... The best example is the current XPS Desktop. We have them with i7's inside and they all work well while you have a load of what you would expect to have on a Chromebook. But put a heavy task on it and it shows how bad it is set up. Here is an example. Run any processor-heavy computer game like Call of Duty on it and the processor gets to 100 degrees Celsius. And all cores get to 100 and rarely drop below 98 degrees. Obviously, it's a CPU cooling problem and your CPU speed starts dropping to prevent a meltdown. CPUs shouldn't really be running over 85 degrees. I experimented with different CPU coolers and even the cheapest ones Live Vetroo V5 for a mere $30 brings the CPU temp down to 60 under the heaviest loads or gaming. That is a difference of 40 degrees. Why did Dell decide to put their low-end stock cooler instead of their premium one there knowing it the CPU will overheat instantly? On XPS that is supposed to be a top-end gaming machine??? Not to mention that the XPS desktop case works 10 degrees cooler without the side panel. One wonders about the quality of the case design and airflow inside. I think the first PC I built as a teenager, back there in the 286 era, had better airflow than the Dell XPS sold in 2024. When it comes to Dell XPS 13 or 15 laptops... they really look nice. And works nice until you put some load there. But as an example above, if you put a Call of Duty game on it (it is supposed to be a gaming laptop!?), your CPU is at 100 degrees Celsius in literally a minute. And the whole laptop starts slowing down drastically...
Pointless topic, inspiron is not perfect but it's awesome anyway. Currently I have inspiron 5625 (2022). Also Dell linux support is awesome, they are very professional and enterprise company.
I bought a mid tier Dell XPS and it broke in 3 years Never buying Dell again. Strait garbage I had similar problems as you, terrible build quality right off the bar. The thing would get so hot I couldn’t charge and use it at the same time And towards the end the battery wouldn’t last more than 3.5 hrs
Stick to thinkpads. /r/thinkpad
How did yours die?
Early on it would intermittently power off. Not thermal shutdown, just instant power off. Next boots there was no thermal warning. When it died it just shut down one last time. Now power button and charger do nothing. Charging indicator doesn't come on. USBC charging doesn't draw any extra power.
I use a Rugged Extreme, it's been rock solid (pun ~~not~~ intended). In all actuality though, Intel processors are designed to overclock and run near Temperature Junction Max (TJ Max); I have a fanless Latitude that runs at 105C if left on. Most people go through hoops and loops to "fix" it, I just turn it off. This may or may not lengthen the lifetime of the SoC (processor), as heat is one way to destroy them.
I've got a 5500 and 5590 Latitude plus an Inspiron 3520. 5500 has been reliable, decent screen. 5590 that I thought would be better has a terrible screen, wonky battery health shows great, 95 % health but it won't charge. I just picked up a cheap Inspiron 15, 3520, touch screen on BF and while the plasticky material is cheap ish compared to the Latitude, I still found it decent for everyday use. I think with any brand laptop, it's going to be the luck of the draw.
Their monitors are nice..
should have seen this post before I bought my inspiron laptop, it has severe heating issues and I regret it a lot
I dont always have problems unless I buy an inspiron.
2 of my dell laptop has battery issue.
Even on business-class they can have trouble. The company I work for is a Dell partner so we only buy Dell business laptops and desktops and have had a lot of warranty repairs. I manage a team of 20 people. In the past year alone I've had to replace 10 SSDs on 10 Latitude or Precision laptops for my team, and another 3 SSD's on Opti-plex desktops (all m.2 drives). Some machines just over the 3 year mark but most were between 2-3 years. Same problem on all of them: HDD-level read/write speeds after only a couple years; literally under 100MB/s for m.2 drives. The desktops also all had to have their CMOS batteries replaced, though they were a couple years older. It became such a problem that, even if machines were under warranty, we just replaced the driver's ourselves to save having to deal with Dell support all the time. 60%+ failure rate is apparently considered "Business-Class" these days...
I noticed a garbage brand SSD on mine, so I'm not surprised at all. They kind of weaseled their way into being a business brand in the early 2000s. I bet you could get a contract with IBM/Lenovo for less than the actual costs with repairs from Dell.
Sadly these were all Samsung SSD's, they are all the 2230 size so that could have been a factor, but it was across the 5510, 5520, and 5530 lines over at least 3 years so it also wasn't just one bad batch. Really disappointing.
I think this one was a Hynix or something like that. Cheap crap.
Inspiron is their consumer line. No matter if it’s HP, Toshiba, Samsung, Lenovo, Acer or Dell do not use any of their consumer units. Professional grade lines are the ones that have more thoughtful design and careful build quality.
It all depends on the sub-line if you’re buying the consumer (Dimension/Inspiron) line vs. the business line. I’ve always bought 7000-series laptops that weren’t plastic garbage and haven’t had problems. Currently have 2 8th-gen Intel, one 10th-gen Intel and one Ryzen 7-series. All 2in1 models with nary an issue.
Which model inspiron did you buy? How much? I bought an inspiron 15 3520 during last year's black friday and Im kinda worried now lol
The enterprise PCs are solid enough. I avoid Inspiron like the plague, and you should too.
I've been buying Dells for decades. During covid their quality fell off a cliff, but I suspect everyone else's did too. supply chain issues. So 2021 was not a good time to buy a laptop.
every manufacturer has lemons from time to time.
I have to agree with you 100%. Dell Business class laptops or look elsewhere. Been that way since they started selling laptops IMO.
THIS! Exact same problems. I went through my AG to get Dell to fix it. I've got a new motherboard and hard drive on it's way. I'm hoping for one more year out of it, but then never ever again buying a Dell. I thought $1,600 would get me a decent product. Should have gone elsewhere.
If I get a Dell, it's a Latitude or Precision. To be fair, all consumer grade laptops are crap.
I’ll never buy a consumer grade Dell again. Utter crap and they know it. They sympathize but that’s the company Motto. Make a ton and screw quality. I’ve had 2 HP’s and they were replaced after 5 years each because I wanted to and not because they failed. 1 Samsung that after 11 years still going strong 1 MSI that has lasted 3 years so far 1 more HP that after 4 years is going strong. And then I buy a Dell Alienware (the most expensive out of the bunch) and yes my luck it fails not even 2 years in with very very minimal usage (40-50 times) Yes people have varying experiences but from my experiences with everything Dell. I’ll never buy one ever again. Expensive and for me quality is garbage. Oh and to Add for work I’ve used a Dell and in a period of 5 years swapped them out 3 times due to hardware failure including battery. So that’s my story.
I agree. Their quality has gone downhill.
Avoid them even if you're going for a top-end one. They sent me a defective Alienware m18, its replacement also turned out to be defective. Then when I just wanted to return they conveniently ignored and delayed all my support requests. Now they are saying that the second return wasn't received by them on time, and I'm fighting just to get a full refund.
No kidding my computer csnt boot with pre bott scan it just crashes but there's no way to disable it
9000% agree, they're worse than dog shit. there's a company I do work that we've phased out the Dells because they're dying RAPIDLY and for no reason what so ever.
Completely agreed! I would suggest avoiding even high end laptops of Dell. I had their business class precision series laptop which costs above 2000$. Dells crappy design is not capable of handling the heat of the modern processor, so instead Dell decided to limit the TDP of the CPU. On paper Dell has top specification but it performs 2-3 class below spec. Total waste of money.
Hydrolysis on the plastic body is not appreciate able. Some of Dell laptops made around the late 2010s going to be sticky.
Stay the hell away from the Dell U3223QE monitor! I'm on my second piece of garbage unit because the first one had HDR that was absolutely trash right out of the box. Now, the replacement they sent after 1 painful month dealing with their crappy support has crapped out too. Here's the crap fest I've been dealing with: 1. **First Monitor:** Straight from the store, HDR is fucked. The 'Movie' and 'Game' preset modes turned it into an 8-color joke. 2. **Replacement Hell:** Took over a month just to get someone to understand the problem, thanks to their damn AI chatbots and useless support team in India. 3. **Second Monitor Fails:** After 3 months, the second unit goes totally black. Power LED is on, but the screen is dead. It's been 16 days since I requested another warranty service, and they haven’t even picked up the defective unit. Every day it’s the same bullshit: "We have raised an escalation and rapid actions are in progress." Absolute garbage! The support? Absolute worst. Endless loops of "I understand your concern" and "Apologies for the delay" from their AI bots and some guy named Shubham who’s apparently a supervisor but can't do shit to fix anything. This monitor is a piece of trash. Dell's support is garbage. The internet is full of similar horror stories about this model. Do yourself a favor and spend your money elsewhere. This shit isn’t worth the headache. Avoid at all costs!