Average Dell Notebook life?

I'm wondering how long a Dell notebook usually lasts. I know it depends on the model you get and how well you take care of it, but assume it's not a cheap one but not expensive either. Around the $1,500 range. Also, assume that it would be taken care of reasonably well (but accidents will happen). How long do you think one would last? I'm interested in Dell because of their "cheap" laptops campared to other manufacturers but I'm not sure if it will last long enough for me (4 years minimum). What do you guys think? If you want you can post how long you've had your Dell for and when you think you might need a new one.

 

In the past, when I didnt carry them around every day, they would last longer. Now that I have to port my laptop daily, and use it at least 5-10 hours a day, my Dell latitudes havent lasted more than a year without problems. My last Lat D800 had to receive warranty repair 4 times, and was finally replaced with a D810 at no charge from Dell. The D810 has had problems as well. In short, the Lats are supposed to be the robust Business line, but they havent inspired confidence. Id hate to see how the inspirons hold up to heavy use.

 

Actually, I don't think it has to do with how expensive the Dell is. The motherboards are very fragile - I keep hearing about how after some point, the motherboard just short circuits on them. (this ranges from 1 week after arrival to four years, both cases I personally experienced)

You are definitely looking at two to three years, depending on how much time you spend on it and how rough you are with it. Of course, if you have a four year warranty, you are getting four years....

 

Yup, the final straw on my D800 was the motherboard. After they replaecd that, the monitor went, so they replaced the entire computer. warranties are great, but the downtime is what kills.

 

I still have the Inspiron 8100 I bought in April of 2002. It's been used heavily (daily, for sure), but I haven't done a lot of carrying it around, which probably has extended its life a bit from what it might have been.

No issues yet, though. I just replaced it with a Latitude D620, but physically, there's nothing wrong with it.

 

I've had the Latitude LS for almost 6 years. I used it extensively and repeatedly took it in and out of its carry case daily. The only problem I had was that the screen went bad after about 3 years (but fortunately, before the 3 year warranty ran out).

I realize that expecting 6 years out of my next notebook may be too much, but hearing about Dell's fragile mother boards and other things makes me nervous about my next purchase. I definitely would like 3-4 years out of a new one. But I guess that's why I'd get the warranty w/ on-site repair.

 

My dad purchased an Inspiron 2650 in 2003 and it's still running fine. The battery life is nothing, but it works great.

 

My Inspiron 8600 from early 2004 is still running fine. Im even running Windows Vista Beta on it...

 

I havent had much experience with their high end models, but for their cheaper inspirons, I would say the expected lifetime is 2.5 years with reasonable use, carrying around in a backpack etc.
My Inspiron 5000 was in daily use for 4 years, mostly as a desktop. Survived one 2 feet drop (outer casing got a crack, but everything else was fine). About 3 plane trips. It still runs fine, but was replaced with a T30.
I really dont know whether you can expect *other* manufacturers to last longer than 2.5 years, I mean HP MAY be expected to last 6 months more, I dont know.
I WOULD expect thinkpads to last 4 years with reasonable use.

My most recent aquisition is a Dell M90, it has a 3 year warranty, and buying with a CC gave me an additional extra year(see my sig), so I'm effectively set for 4 years. Not that I expcect any problems as it will be mainly used as a desktop.

 

I have a Latitude CpH since late 2002. The model was build on July 2000 and aside from battery life, it still works so that makes it 6 years old.

 

I use mines everyday for about 10hours a day. I usually get a new laptop every 2 years