Dell Inspiron 5150 - A Step Back?

I just bought a new Inspiron 5150 to replace my ancient (by technology standards) Inspiron 4100.

The 5150 is a step forward in many ways - better and larger screen, more logical keyboard layout, more processing power.

But in some ways I can't help but feel its a step backwards from my ancient 4100.

First, the 5150 is much bigger and heavier. Where did they get that power supply, in a brick factory? I had just assumed that with three years of technology advances laptops and power supplies would have gotten smaller and lighter. I could live with this issue if it were the only one, but I'm still surprised. Maybe it means that Dell has cheapened the quality of their laptops in the last year or so.

Second, and more troublesome, the fan on the 5150 runs ALL the time. Not some of the time like my 4100, but ALL the time. Also, it's LOUD. It's has some weird frequency modulated sound that continually varies and sounds, to my girlfriend, like a siren, to me like a cricket. I can hear it from across the room. It's louder than any desktop I've owned. It's annoying.

Of course I called Dell Tech Support, which seemingly has also declined in quality. The support person insisted the fan should not run all the time. But I'm not sure - when I run the diagnostics, it tests the fan high and low speed but does not test an "off" position for the fan. Does anyone know if the 5150 fan is supposed to run all the time or not?

Dell's suggestion was I send in the 5150 for a checkup and repairs, losing it for a week or two. This does not make me happy, since I just bought the unit a few days ago.

Do I have a bad 5150 or do I have one that works as designed? If the latter, I'm sure not happy with this design.

In that case, is the Insprion 8600 any better re the fan noise or the fan running all the time? How about the Insprion 600M?

I stumbled across this forum, which has a wealth of information and knowledgeable, helpful people (maybe Dell should hire all of you instead of the support people they currently have), so I appreciate any input you may have.

Thanks,

Les

 

The fan hardly ever comes on in my 8600, and even less if I put it on "dynamic switching" mode. If it bothers you that much, return it and get a 600m, much smaller and lighter.

GPU cooling (100°C->75°C)* Inspiron 8600 * 1.8ghz Pentium M * 128 MB Radeon 9600 Pro Turbo (337/242 -> 400/300) * 2x256 MB DDR2700 SDRAM * Aquamark 3: 24058 * 3DMark'03: 3404 * 3DMark'01 SE: 13120

 

[Les,

Here's what I know--I had a 5100, the 5100/5150 are about the same machine.........they have well known heat problems which are all over the Dell Support message boards.

The desktop processors in them run very hot, and there seems to be an issue with the heat sink colleting dust over time, and this can cause your pc to shutdown randomly.

Here's a link to one of the MANY threads on this issue on the Dell site, you can search for others:



http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=insp_general&message.id=139712&view=by_date_ascending&page=1

My 5100, had to be rebilt totally on the inside after 7 months. The very loud fan ran all the time from the day I turned it on.

I returned it in favor of an 8600, which runs with a Pentium M, and it runs cooler, the fan only comes on periodically and I can barely hear it.

If you are still in the 21 day return period, I'd suggest a perusal of dell's message boards before you make a decision.

Overall I like the 8600 so far--had it for a couple of weeks.


Gotalemon (should change my name to Muchhappiernow)

 

Thanks for the helpful input.

You all persuaded me, I'm returning the 5150 and getting an 8600. I'll let you know what I think when it arrives in a week or so.

Les

 

I changed from a i5150 to an i600m. I will give you some comparisons between the two.

Computing Power - The 5150 may have a pentium 4 with over 3GHZ but the new Dothans can easily keep up with it. I run a 1.8 (745 Dothan), and don't notice a difference in power.

Fans - As you said the 5150 has a fan that is ALWAYS running, and its extremely HOT. You can't have that thing anywhere near your body or you will get burned. THe 600m from what I heard used to be very hot. The model I got does get wamr on the wrist and hot by the memory but the fan doesn't come on unless I am gaming and when doing normal stuff it doesn't get that hot.

Size - 600m kills the 5150. The 5150 with the power adapter is a killer. The 8600 which is much better then the 5150 and is lighter and the 600m is even lighter then that.

I purchases my 600m refurbished (Not a scratch, I think it was a new order that was cancelled).
Pentium M 745 (1.8GHZ)
Radeon M9 64mb
256 mb ram
30gb hard drive
SXGA+
Intel 2200

This was just 1230.00 which isn't bad. I upgraded the ram to a Gig and the hard drive to the Hitachi 7k60. All of this totaled 1550. Its a good system for a good price. I would also consider the 8600 for you. Its a little more expensive but the WSXGA is nice and its more powerful and has longer battery life then the 600m.

 

Hello

I registered just to reply to this topic heh.

What I would give to be back in my 21 day period with my 5150.


I am not on a rampage to run Dell down, but purchasing my 5150 has been one of the bigger mistakes I have ever made.

I purchased this unit in Febuary, despite it being heavy and loud fan I loved the power of the machine and it looked really nice.

We had not turned the unit on literally 10 times and it failed just outside of the 21 day window. I sent it in warrenty and they replaced the mainboard. I am ok with this, things happen. After recieving the unit we used it for another 2 months and it began shutting down. We sent it in again, and once again the mainboard needed to be replaced. These mainboards are $550 each and that is just for the board. They are replacing it under warrenty but what I have trouble with is what happens when my warrenty expires some day. I will have to replace the mainboard every 3 months to use my laptop. From the looks of it in the Dell forums I can see this seems tobe a common problem and I am very depressed about this, I have talked to Dell many times about my frustration. They just apologize to me and keep swapping these parts until my warrenty expires. Sad news is,,,, I still owe almost as much as day one for it.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Les H

 

I originally had a 5150, I didn't mind it (other than the size) but it started having display problems, and after having it repaired 5 times with no change, and Dell refusing to fix it saying the screen flicker was normal, I was forced to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and within one week I received a stacked 8600 (at the time there was no Dothan and it is night and day better than the 5150.

You will enjoy the 8600!

 

nesbo

You are saying that a complaint filed with the BBB persuaded Dell to offer you this model change?

Not meaning to hijack someone elses thread, but I am currently looking for a viable solution to this nightmare. I am paying $1,800 for something I know will be inoperative next month. This is alot of money. I would not expect a cheap Wal Mart PC to eat mainboards at this rate.

dell simply refuses to offer anything to me despite several complaints other than send it in and we will fix it. I may need to reach out to other sources.

 

Better Business Bureau. You should find a way to return that book for a refund or a stacked 8600 like Nesbo. I've never worked with the BBB, but would they be able to make Dell pay for your time lost? That would be sweet.

GPU cooling (100°C->75°C)* Inspiron 8600 * 1.8ghz Pentium M * 128 MB Radeon 9600 Pro Turbo (337/242 -> 400/300) * 2x256 MB DDR2700 SDRAM * Aquamark 3: 24058 * 3DMark'03: 3404 * 3DMark'01 SE: 13120

 

Lord knows I would be more than satisfied if they would give me a model with some known dependbility. I am not asking for anything more than a quality product.

Yesterday out of rare frustration I emailed Dell financial and told them that I am sending the unit back to where it came from and will no longer be making payment. Suprisingly the reply was nice, he said he would note this into my account but I needed to call customer service instead. Of course when I cooled off I decided against this for fear of my credit record.

Customer service told me that if I returned the unit now that they would remove 60% depreciation fee. This is vey unacceptable.

 

Hey Illegal,

Keep working on customer service, they eventually took mine back like they did Nesbo's and I did not have to resort to the BBB........it's frustrating no doubt, I owe half of my gray hair to getting rid of my 5100.

You are right, when the warranty runs out, your pc will be essentially dead since replacing the motherboard will be too costly (not only will you have to buy the board from Dell but you will have to pay them to install it, or pay someone else).

You didn'd buy it with the intention of it only lasting a year--you made a significant investment.

Good luck.

 

Hey Illegal,

I would suggest doing what gotalemon says first. Keep trying with customer support. That is what I did at first. After a few months of that, I realized they weren't going to budge. That is when I did the BBB complaint, which for me was legit because it was a problem they could not fix. Once the BBB forwaded my complaint to Dell, Dell called me right away, and within a week I had my new 8600. But try customer service first, then the BBB. I will almost guarantee Dell will make you happy when you file a BBB complaint.

 

Wow, a couple of months Nesbo? No wonder you went to the BBB.

After my system rebuild, I spent about 3 hours on various forms of hold, transfer H*** and with one significant vent at the customer service manager I finally managed to speak to, we came to an agreement.

I guess it's all who you end up speaking with.

 

Hey Guys you were all right, success!!!!

I went through the whole shabang again of speaking with first customer service which insisted that I go through tech support, this I did and went around with some hevily accented man (I think we all know that drill so I will spare the details) and after I made it clear that I wanted a different system and nothing less the manager agreed! I really hate rolling up my sleeves and threatening to take someone out to the woodshed but it worked.

I can't tell you at this minute what they are sending me for exchange because I am still on hold as I type this and have been for a lonnnng time but I am thrilled to get rid of this toaster finally! Anything that performs well and doesnt fry eggs will satisfy me.

Cheers!


Edit, he couldnt tell me what system either because the 5150 is no longer made according to him but mentioned it might be a 8000 series or something.

 

That must mean they realized the heat problem and are coming out with the 5200, maybe. That would be sweet. I hope it comes with a better graphics card, but that would spoil the name coincidence (fx 5200, inspiron 5200).

GPU cooling (100°C->75°C)* Inspiron 8600 * 1.8ghz Pentium M * 128 MB Radeon 9600 Pro Turbo (337/242 -> 400/300) * 2x256 MB DDR2700 SDRAM * Aquamark 3: 24058 * 3DMark'03: 3404 * 3DMark'01 SE: 13120

 

Well, I am on hold again and I am going to read them this new case number back to make sure this guy didnt yank my chain on the replacement either, he did seem kind of funny.

But we all know this would never happen now would we.

 

[ ]UR getting the 8600!!! Excellent machine, you will be pleased [ ][ ][ ][ ]

GPU cooling (100°C->75°C)* Inspiron 8600 * 1.8ghz Pentium M * 128 MB Radeon 9600 Pro Turbo (337/242 -> 400/300) * 2x256 MB DDR2700 SDRAM * Aquamark 3: 24058 * 3DMark'03: 3404 * 3DMark'01 SE: 13120

 

Oops I really dont want to mislead anyone I just went to the Dell site and it shows the Inspiration 5150 still listed to buy. I am positive that guy tole me it is no longer made by Dell that is about the only thing I could understand. Mabey those are already built and they will make no more who knows. Or he was fulla crap.

 

Excellent news!! Hmm, no longer making the 5150? That's interesting!


Edit: Just looked at their website, yup--the 5150 is gone!

 

It's not on the page I'm looking at--went in by the dell link in IE, clicked home systems and then notebookes and it doesn't come up.

ahhhh, wait, if I click look at the whole line, the evil beast appears, sorry 'bout that. Guess it's just not on the featured notebooks page anymore, my bad. Probably just wishful thinking on my part![:I]


<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Andrew

 

Agree. If I were to guess (and I'm a horrid guesser [ ]) I would speculate the 5150 was such a lemon between the overheating and the motherboard issues (do a search on that latter one too) that they discontinued it, and to minimize losses only will swap it out to those of us who argue alot like in this place lol.

 

I see the 5150 ready to configure right now!

GPU cooling (100°C->75°C)* Inspiron 8600 * 1.8ghz Pentium M * 128 MB Radeon 9600 Pro Turbo (337/242 -> 400/300) * 2x256 MB DDR2700 SDRAM * Aquamark 3: 24058 * 3DMark'03: 3404 * 3DMark'01 SE: 13120

 

5150... isn't that cop speak for insane person?

Not trolling, just wondering.

------------------------
I B M ThinkPad
T42 2373-JXU

 

Okay I am sure you are all getting tired of me and I have to leave for work anyway. She did verify that the system is getting replaced but as for the 5150 she didnt know if it was still being made or not so perhaps he did lie to me who knows.


Thanks for all the input and support!

 

I understood you, illegal, I just had no idea how Lemon couldn't see it. No biggie. I'll bet the guy was making it up. I think he just wanted you to feel like the situation was being taken care of. Sooner or later we will see the new model. My guess is not until MXM, but whatever. I've got mine[ ]

GPU cooling (100°C->75°C)* Inspiron 8600 * 1.8ghz Pentium M * 128 MB Radeon 9600 Pro Turbo (337/242 -> 400/300) * 2x256 MB DDR2700 SDRAM * Aquamark 3: 24058 * 3DMark'03: 3404 * 3DMark'01 SE: 13120

 

These people refuse to send me another model, they are sending me another 5150 and said they do not replace models with other models.

 

Well, you might want to take a page out of Nesbo's book then.

Sorry to hear it.


<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by IllegalOperation

 

Looks like it might have to be taken to the BBB. Why should they give you another laptop that has the same problem?

GPU cooling (100°C->75°C)* Inspiron 8600 * 1.8ghz Pentium M * 128 MB Radeon 9600 Pro Turbo (337/242 -> 400/300) * 2x256 MB DDR2700 SDRAM * Aquamark 3: 24058 * 3DMark'03: 3404 * 3DMark'01 SE: 13120

 

This escalated to a manager whom was rude and insisted that they will not nor will they ever send me a laptop of another model despite what was told to me yestersay.

I talked with another service rep who tried to convince me that the 5150 would have no more problems but couldnt tell me what if anything has been redesigned as he had no clue.




My complaint with the BBB has been filed. It repents me that I have ever done business with this company and I cannot recommend them to anyone else.

 

That bites.

I would ask for a full refund as a resolution so that you can take your business elsewhere.

I would ask them to check their own message boards about that model--and point it out to the BBB as well...........there is no point in replacing one bad one with another.

Sorry Illegal.



<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by IllegalOperation

 

I don't really care about customer service, so Dell still works for me. The i8600c is a great machine, and I have been totally happy so far. Reading things like these makes me more doubtful, however. If you do get your refund, look at the HP ZX5000. It was built for the same purposes, and has a much better graphics card. Day by day HP is getting more competitive with Dell.

GPU cooling (100°C->75°C)* Inspiron 8600 * 1.8ghz Pentium M * 128 MB Radeon 9600 Pro Turbo (337/242 -> 400/300) * 2x256 MB DDR2700 SDRAM * Aquamark 3: 24058 * 3DMark'03: 3404 * 3DMark'01 SE: 13120

 

yeah... i don't care about it either.. i know that if i purchase a computer and is not working is not normal... but that's why i have a warranty.. so they have to do whatever is posible to make it work. if still not working system exchange.. that's the normal stuff...

first bird catch the worm BUT the second mouse takes the cheese

 

Ok I joined today to this forum because it really got my attention. Im also a member to Dell Forums and have been a part of almost anything that has to do with the 5150. My specs are 3.06Ghz HT (which isnt even being made anymore max is 2.8Ghz now) UXGA, 64MB Geforce 5200 Go, 40Gb HDD, 512 MB Ram, Truemobile 1300 Wireless card, 1 YEar warranty.

Ok so here goes from my experience o the 5150 (purchased January 2004) Is great, The #Ghz is really handy and HT is amazing but Im a big time game player!!!!! When the first game i installed was Starcraft and when I was playing it I noticed the back of my comp (next to the fan EXTREMELY HOT) The wall behind my laptop was going to set aflame [ ] !!! So anyway I started looking up the heat issue and its mainly whenever the Computer has to do a lot of work when ot anything else is a little.... No matter what Game or DVD or CD the computer overheats.

ALSO HERE IS ONE WARNING DELL is FALSEL ADVERTISING THEIR graphics Cards. The Geforce 64MB that I have has been default set to half its speed MAx 350Mhz set to 192Mhz makes a big impact on those new games like HALO and NFSL underground. So When Dell says add the geforce card its plain B.S. because its not working anywhere where it should be and ppl who have raised have had to get their comp replaced because of damaged hardware or the Temp goes to high and the PC stops responding.

THE MAIN REASON 8600 is better than the 5150 is because Even though the 5150 has a hotter running CPU Dell decided to only put in 1 measly good for nothing Fan. where as in the Colder running Pentium M processor on the 8600 has 2 FANS !!!! ????? WHY DELL ?????

Does that make sense or was Dell smokin weed when they designed this system???

Im by far past the 21 day return B.S. and when I found this site and heard how most of you were able to return your systems I got really interested.. HOwever switching comps for me now would be devastating... but I think in a month or two I may just return this not for the new XPS or 9100 but for the 8600. But From Dells Forums themselves the P4 when it comes to some hardcore programs is mch more useful than the Pentium M.

Another problem with Dell is their CPU speeds. My dell barely rusn at its top speed and i had to download the program speedswitchXP it lets u switch the CPU speed to max battery 180 Mhz Battery Optimized 1600Mhz or Max performance 3060Mhz. And Dynamic sWitching but im sure u guys all have that installed.

Also the Geforce in this system is no good with Direct X9.0 games its ok but still laggy when it comes to direct x 8.0 (thats another issue major lagg like low FPS in games) But I fear switching for the 8600 because i have so much stuff saved on my Harddisk I dont want to remove it sure I can use 20 Cd's and get all the important stuff off and save it for the new comp but still. Also the 5150's screen has a 400:1 contrast ration versing the 300:1 of the 8600. and I was able to get the UXGA for a lot cheaper on the 5150 than the 8600.

finally If any of you can help me make a decision like you have for everyone else I would appreciate it. also wats the BBB thing is it some kind of Review company or is it like a governemnt thingy or something that can get Dell in trouble.

Dell really screwed up alot on this and I wish i read Dells forums before i bought the system it was a symple eenee meenee miny mo guess.

Also Why does DELL continue to advertise and sell this system even thought they know that it has problems, and can also be a hazard if it fails to cool itself and overheats. Woops I spilled some Mcdonalds Coffee on myself lemme sue for millions I bet I would win if my Dell burned my lap... Hey thats not a bad idea. (c u all in the hospital burn ward).[ ]

Hope someone responds to this. [ ]

 

Hello MetalGear

I pursued Dell for a refund simply for the fact that I had 2 mainboards fail in 6 months of owning the system. The overheating issues only further agitated the situation. It was still covered under warrenty but I didnt really want to pay close to $2000 for something that lousy that has to be sent off every 3 months.
The BBB stands for the Better Buisness Bureau. The saga continues after this thread with me finally calling customer care and telling them that I wish to send the unit back and that I intend to pursue for the difference of the depreciation fees that they insisted on charging me. They said they would notify a reviewer to contact me with the details of how much this fee would be.

About an hour later I recieved a call from a reviewer. We calmly discussed how poor quality the unit was. What was funny is he admitted that the 5150 was a major nightmare to Dell. He told me that Dell usually tries to make it up to unhappy people through software upgrades and stuff. He never once offered me a swap unit or any type of bonus or incentive to keep it. He offered me a 30% depreciation charge instead of the standard 40% as a deal which I refused politely. It was after this that he offered to return the unit at no cost to me. I have since sent it back for credit, however my account still has the laptop charged to it so I guess they are just slow.

I really hated having to do this. And I really hope that I never have to do this again. Even though I feel I was justified by returning the unit to them it was still hard to do.

Just as you said in your reply, why does Dell continue to make something so lousy and sell it to us?

I have yet to decide what I am going to purchase to replace the 5150, if I even do replace it at all.

 

WEll thanks for the reply and I just went and customized an 8600 to what I would like to have and the price that I would be able to get it for came up to around $1800 which to me is a bit too much right now. The only way Ill switch my 5150 as of now is if the 8600 drops its price another $200+...

I mean from what Im hearing u guys payed for your systems I think I got a really nice deal off of Dell with my 5150 I payed only $1550 for 3.06Ghz w/ HT, UXGA, 512MB 2Dimm, 40GB HD, 64MB Geforce, Truemobile Wireless, CD/RW-DVD Combo Drive, 1 year limited warranty. (Dells waranty can kiss my A$$... $1000+ to upgrade to a decent warranty) BITE ME DELL!!!!

Im willing to buy an 8600 though if Dell takes back my 5150 Ill pay another 50 maybe even $100 for it but no more and its gotta be a good one with same specs as the 5150 and more... Im picky aint I...

Im still thinking If i should threaten to sue Dell because there selling a dangerous Laptop. I had a SOny VAio before and I got it for a cheap price from a friend who had connections but when I looked up the laptop to see how much cheaper I got it for I noticed that the laptop had been recalled since there was a problem with the laptop electrocuting its users (if u had a phone cord plugged in while u were touching a metal cable in the back i.e. printer port and the phone rang you would get ellectrocuted!!! Sweet!!)

So SONY is smart enough to stop and discontinue their models and yet Dell who has had more experience and their soul business is selling computers still might learn something from their competitors.

Grr and if Dell doesnt take back the 5150 then right before my warranty runs out im going to get everything in it replaced and then im going to rip out the pci wireless card and insert another fan in there...

 

metalgear:
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