Calling the score
Two Dell Inspiron 5150 laptops, bought in February 2004. In one year and six months:
Within warranty:
- 1 broken keyboard
- 2 broken power supplies
- 2 broken hard disks
- 1 broken fan
- 3 little rubber feet lost
- 2 cases of overheating due to bad design
Outside warranty:
- 1 broken hard disk -- one week after warranty expiration :-(
- 1 broken keyboard
I admit that these machines see a lot use; about twelve hours a day -- but not much abuse. But for my next laptop, Dell is not in the running. Perhaps Asus, or IBM -- if they still have the same reputation for quality next year or so.