Dell Inspiron

Dell's Inspiron portable systems brand started as a range of computers targeted at the consumer market (as opposed to the Latitude range of laptops aimed at the business market). As of June 26, 2007 the Inspiron name also refers to a range of Dell's desktop systems.

Portable systems

Inspiron 1420/1420 N

Small (5.39 lb), portable models based on the Intel Santa Rosa platform (Model: GM 965 or PM 965). Both models have an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor (up to 2.2 GHz), 14.1" display (up to 1440x900), SATA hard drive (up to 320 GB (320·10⁹ bytes)), 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM (up to 4 GB (4 GiB)) and an integrated Intel X3100 or NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS (128 MB (128 MiB) dedicated). The 1420 N comes with the Ubuntu Linux operating system. Available in 8 colors.

Dell Inspiron 1420 in Alpine White color with a stick-out 9-cell battery.

Inspiron 1501

Mid size (6.19 lb), mainstream model with a Mobile AMD Sempron 3600+ Processor, AMD Turion 64x2 Dual-Core Mobile technology TK-55 Processor, AMD Turion 64x2 Dual-Core Mobile technology TL-58 Processor, AMD Turion 64x2 Dual-Core Mobile technology TL-60 Processor, 15.4" Wide Screen XGA TFT Display: 1280x800, ATI Radeon Xpress 1150, Hard Drive Serial ATA (5400 RPM) (up to 160 GB), and DDR2 SDRAM (up to 2 GB), UK Modem Cable and Adapter Internal V.92 Data, Fax, Voice Functions, Dell™ Wireless 1390 802.11b/g Mini-PCI Card (for AMD Processors), Fixed Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Drive, Battery Primary (maximum)-9 cell 85 W·h LI-ION.

Inspiron 6400/E1505 (N)

Mid-size (6.18 lb, 14" x 10.45" x 1.42"), mainstream models with an Intel Core Duo or Core 2 Duo (up to 2.00 GHz), 15.4" display, SATA hard drive (up to 160 GB), and DDR2 SDRAM (up to 2 GB). The 6400 features an ATI Mobility Radeon X1400. The E1505 (N) features an integrated Intel Media Accelerator 950, ATI Radeon x1300, ATI Radeon x1400, or NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300.

Inspiron 1520/1521

Mid-size (6.40 lb), mainstream models based on the Intel Santa Rosa platform (Model: GM 965 or PM 965). The 1520 features an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor (up to 2.5 GHz) with an integrated Intel X3100 or NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS/8600M GT. The 1521 features an AMD Turion (up to 2.2 GHz) with an ATI Radeon Xpress 1270. Both models have a 15.4" display (up to 1680x1050), 160 GB SATA hard drive (option for 5400 RPM or 7200 RPM), and 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM (up to 4 GB). The notebooks also have the option to come installed with a Blu-Ray drive. Available in 8 colors with webcam.

Inspiron 1525

Mid-sized (5.9 lb, 14.05" x 10.08" x 1.00"-1.48")replacement for 1520. Features only Intel X3100 graphics card, targeting XPS M1530 for power users. Has a 15.4" screen. Features an HDMI connector. Fan noise is excessive compared with other modern notebook computers.

Inspiron 1720/1721

Large (7.62 lb), high-end models based on the Intel Santa Rosa platform (Model: GM 965 or PM 965). The 1720 features an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor (up to 2.4 GHz) with an integrated Intel X3100 or NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS/8600M GT. The 1721 features an AMD Turion (up to 2.2 GHz) with an ATI Radeon Xpress 1270. Both models have a 17" display (up to 1920x1200), support for dual SATA hard drives (up to 500GB - 2 x 250 GB drives), and 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM (up to 4 GB). The 1721 also features RAID 0 or 1 hard drive configurations, an option which is strangely missing from the 1720. They also lack DVI or HDMI connections, which would be expected for a high-end desktop replacement, given their HDCP compliant graphics card and Blu-ray Disc option. Both models are available in 8 laptop colors.

Desktop Models

These models were released on June 26, 2007 as a replacement to the Dell Dimension chain, and come in metallic-finish mid-tower and slim space-saving designs.

Inspiron 530

The Dell Inspiron 530 takes up slightly less physical space than the model it replaces (the Dell Dimension E520). The Inspiron 53x and Vostro series mark Dell's return to traditional mATX case and motherboard design. The 530 uses an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, with an option for ATI, Nvidia or Integrated Graphics Card. Customers may also select the option of Bluetooth 2.0 inbuilt.

The Inspiron 530 has the following processor and chipset options:

• Intel® CoreTM 2 Quad Q6600 (2.4 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB),
• Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo E6750 (2.66 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB),
• Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo E6550 (2.33 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB),
• Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo E6420 (2.13 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB),
• Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo E6320 (1.86 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB),
• Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo E4400 (2.0 GHz, 800 MHz FSB),
• Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo E4300 (1.8 GHz, 800 MHz FSB),
• Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core 2160 (1.8 GHz, 800 MHz FSB),
• Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core 2140 (1.6 GHz, 800 MHz FSB),
• Intel® Celeron® Processor 420 (1.6 GHz, 800 FSB),
• Intel® G33 Express Chipset,

• AMD AthlonTM 64 X2 dual-core processors up to 5600+,
• AMD SempronTM processors,
• Nvidia® MCP 61 Chipset,

The Inspiron 530 has the following operating systems:

Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate, Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium, Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic,

The Inspiron 530 has the following graphics options:

• 256 MB NVIDIA® 8600GT
• 256 MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 7300 LE TurboCache12
• 128 MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8300GS
• Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X3000 (Intel® GMA X3000)
• 256 MB ATI Radeon HD 2400 PRO

The Inspiron 530 has integrated sound but a Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer is optional.

Customers can upgrade the Inspiron 530's memory to 4GB, but reports claim that it only supports 32bit addressing due to a BIOS limitation. Users verified that while the BIOS can detect 4 GB, the OS can only see 3.2 GB.

On 17th March 08, Dell release BIOS version 1.0.12 which lifted this restriction and allowed ">= 4GB" to be seen. The author confirms 6GB working in his machine, but the motherboard's Intel 82801IR chipset supports 8 GB of RAM, which is likely the Inspiron 530's upper limit. The board appears to be a Foxconn G33M variant (which supports 8GB) marked DG33M03, although the G33M suports gigabit ethernet whereas the Dell does 10/100 only.

The Inspiron's hard drive can support RAID 1, and up to 1 TB (10¹² B) of storage.

Inspiron 530s

A slim chassis Intel-based desktop. Because of its slim design, it is not compatible with all desktop hardware.

Inspiron 531

The Inspiron 531 is an AMD Athlon 64 X2 based desktop for low to medium budget brackets. The advanced version (of the same name) is the same in appearance (same case), however it has upgraded features (larger harddrive, better processor, etc).

The Inspiron 531 uses a motherboard manufactured by Gigabyte (arguably an ASUS board) for Dell. It uses an nVidia nForce 4 chipset with an on-board video card. It also has on-board sound (Realtek) and an on-board gigabit NIC. It has one PCIe x16, One PCIe x1, and two PCI card slots. It has four DIMM memory slots, and four SATA connectors. The 531 motherboard does not support PATA or IDE drives without the use of a third-party controller.

The 531 also comes with a 300 watt ATX power supply, and one 120mm exhaust fan.

Inspiron 531s

The slim version of the 531.

Previous configurations

High-end models

Inspiron 9300

The Dell Inspiron 9300 had either a 1.6, 1.73, 1.86, 2.0, 2.13 or 2.26 GHz Intel Pentium M processor and a 17" wide-screen (available in WXGA+ with a 1440 by 900 resolution and WUXGA with a 1920 by 1200 resolution). At the time it also featured a fairly new memory technology in that it used DDR2 memory, which was a new feature for laptops. Compared with the other Inspiron laptops, it is considered to be the "Entertainment Powerhouse".

Dell Inspiron 9300 with Artic silver and alpine white design.

The Inspiron 9300 was based loosely on its more expensive and more powerful big brother, the gaming-oriented Inspiron XPS Generation 2. With the right upgrades, the Inspiron 9300 can deliver most of the gaming power as the XPS Generation 2 at a much-reduced cost. These upgrades start with the nVidia GeForce Go 6800 video card (or higher such as a GeForce 7800 GTX in later models), and continue with extra RAM, a 7200 RPM hard drive, and possibly a Pentium M that's faster than the baseline 1.6 GHz speed.

Inspiron 9400/E1705

The Inspiron E1705 and Inspiron 9400 (non-US models) are essentially the same machine - with a few minor differences in configuration.The Inspiron 9400 was basically a more up to date redesigned version of the Inspiron 9300 with a few extra added features such as the Dell mediadirect button which was next to the powerbutton.

Available with either an Intel Core Duo or Core 2 Duo processor, this machine features a 17-inch WXGA+ (1440 x 900) or WUXGA (1920 x 1200) wide-screen LCD. Video card options also include an nVidia GeForce Go7900 GS (single heat pipe), ATI Radeon x1400 with 256mb of RAM or an Intel GMA 950. This model uses 533 MHz or 667 MHz of DDR2 memory. The E1705 tends to run hot on its underside which seems to make the card overheat and burnout within a year because of inadequate cooling. On most accounts of users who have experienced this problem, it occurred after the warranty expired therefore "alienating" the end user.

Note: For gaming and high-end graphics use, the GeForce Go7900 GS video card is highly recommended over the Radeon x1400. This is primarily due to faster data processing and fewer heat problems. Additionally, 7900GS can be easily overclocked to reach 3DMARK06 scores as high as in 5000 range. [1]

Mainstream models

Inspiron 6000

A base Inspiron 6000 was shipped with a 1.5 GHz (upgradeable up to 2.13 GHz) Intel Pentium M processor or a 1.3 GHz (upgradeable up to 1.5 GHz) Intel Celeron M processor, 256 MB RAM (upgradeable to 2 GB), 400/533 MHz FSB, Intel 915GM/PM chipset, an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (with up to 256 MB shared memory) and a 15.4-inch WXGA wide-screen monitor. Like the Inspiron 9300, it featured DDR2 random access memory. In comparison with other Inspiron models, the 6000 was considered the "versatile and affordable" member of the Dell notebook line.

The higher-priced Inspiron 6000D provided a dedicated graphics chip, the ATI Mobility Radeon X300 64 MB PCI Express x16 (upgradeable to 128 MB), which ran at a core speed of 300 MHz and DDR memory speed of 216 MHz.

The Inspiron 6000 from Dell was among the first notebooks to arrive on the market with Intel's new Sonoma technology. According to Dell, the Inspiron 6000 would deliver faster data processing, and users - particularly gamers and graphics pros -- should see less audio and video chop, quicker task execution, less power consumption and enhanced battery life as a result. The Inspiron 6000 notebook added features and help files making it easier and faster to operate.

In addition the Inspiron 6000 offered a number of improvements over the Inspiron 5160, which it replaced in Dell's home/small business line-up. Upgraded features included a 15.4 in wide-screen display (available in WXGA with a 1280x800 resolution, WSXGA+ with a 1680x1050 resolution and WUXGA with a 1920x1200 resolution), a slightly slimmer profile (though it's about 2.5cm wider) and a Manufacturers bundle- (starter) memory cards that accommodated only a handful of photos.

Inspiron 8200, 8100, and 8000

The base Inspiron 8200 came with a Mobile Pentium 4-M processor clocked at 1.6 GHz (upgradeable to 2.6 GHz). It had a standard 15 inch SXGA (1400 x 1050 pixels) display which was upgradeable to either the UXGA (1600 x 1200) or the Ultra Sharp UXGA (1600 x 1200) which added a cleaner and crisper look to the display. The memory came standard at 256 MB of RAM (Upgradeable to 1 GB of RAM). However, some people have said that they were able to put 2 GB of RAM into the system with no problem. ^{[citation needed]}

The Inspiron 8200 was equipped with two standard notebook RAM expansion slots and it was not difficult to simply remove the standard RAM the machine was shipped with and re-equip it with two aftermarket 1 GB cards. The Inspiron came standard with a DVD-ROM drive in its fixed bay (upgradable to a DVD/CD-RW Combo drive and eventually a DVD+-RW drive) and a 1.44 in floppy drive in the media (removable) bay (upgradeable to a DVD/CD-RW drive). The video card came with an nVidia GeForce2 Go graphics card with 32 MB of dedicated video RAM and upgradeable to an nVidia GeForce 4 Go 440 with 64 MB of dedicated video RAM, an ATI Radeon 9000 Mobility graphics card with 64 MB of dedicated video RAM, or the Quadro4 700 GL, a professional GL-enhanced notebook equivalent of the desktop-based Geforce4 4200 Go. The Inspiron 8100 and 8000 models are almost identical to the 8200, only they were produced earlier and featured Pentium III processors instead of Pentium 4. They also didn't have UXGA screens. The 8100 processor is clocked between 866 MHz and 1.2 GHz. The 8000 processor is clocked between 733 MHz and 1000 MHz. Both computers have 2 standard RAM slots. Standard memory was 128 MB for the 8000 and 256 MB for the 8100. Custom configurations were available, so actual numbers may differ. Both computers came with a CD-ROM and DVD-ROM drive, however CD-RW functions are only available on the 8100. Both models shipped with either an nVidia or an ATI graphics card, with a maximum Video RAM of 128 MB.

The chassis came in interchangeable color palmrests in silver-ion, black, blue, burlwood, purple/violet, and yellow.

Portable models

Inspiron 700m

Dell Inspiron 700m

Dell switched it up here and replaced the old laptop casing with a silver, white, and black design. Measuring under 2 inches thick and having a 12.1-inch TrueLife screen, the laptop was a departure from previous versions. However, without the extended battery, life was short, and the 12.1-inch screen was a dust magnet. The base model had a 1.5 GHz Pentium M processor, 256 MB (256 MiB) of RAM, a 30 GB (30 billion bytes) HD, and a DVD optical drive.

Many users report two major flaws with the 700m: the audio-input quality, where audio recording using the audio input jack is nearly impossible, and severed speaker wires caused from the normal use of opening and closing the screen.

Inspiron 710m

An important upgrade from the previous Inspiron 700m, which fixed the serious audio-input quality issues, a base Inspiron 710m is shipped with a 1.7 GHz (upgradable to 2.0 GHz) Intel Pentium M processor and a 12.1-inch XGA wide-screen monitor as well as DDR memory. Based on the first generation Centrino platform Carmel, the internal components are now outdated. In comparison with other Inspiron models, the 710m is the most portable laptop of the Dell Inspiron line combining a good mix of processing power and style.

Inspiron 640m/E1405

A 14" notebook configurable with components similar to the E1505 (excluding the dedicated GPU options) but a bit smaller in total size. The E1405 at the time of release is known for its excellent battery life (which under optimum conditions exceeds five hours with a six-cell battery and well over eight hours with a slightly more expensive, optional nine-cell battery). The main attraction of this laptop is its price. For gamers, the E1405 comes standard with a Mobile Intel(R) 945GM Express Chipset Family, which in most cases will not be enough for most new high end games. Also, it is near impossible to add a new graphics card because this chipset is integrated, therefore you cannot add a new graphics card unless you get a new motherboard. Otherwise most other system specifications are rather basic, if you want serious media on the machine you will have to buy some things, the easiest (and most in-expensive) route is to buy system RAM for the computer.

Inspiron 600m

File:Dell Inspiron 600m.jpg

Dell Inspiron 600m

The inspiron 600 includes a 1395 Mhz procesor

1 2N345 ASSEMBLY..., PALMREST..., NOTEBOOK..., 600M 1 3N691 ASSEMBLY..., HINGE..., COUNTER..., COVER..., 600M 1 6M871 ASSEMBLY..., CABLE..., COAXIAL ..., LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY..., D-FAMILY... 1 U3266 LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY..., SUPER EXTENDED GRAPHICS ARRAY PLUS..., STANDARD PANEL WORK GROUP B..., 14.1, QUANTA DISPLAY INCORPORATED... 1 G5152 ASSEMBLY..., BASE (ASSEMBLY OR GROUP)..., NOTEBOOK..., PENTIUM 4..., M9, 32M, B2ADDS 1 6R637 PROCESSOR..., 848224, 1.5GHZ, 1MB, MICRO FLIP CHIP PIN GRID ALIGNMENT... 1 1M722 KEYBOARD..., 87, UNITED STATES..., ENGLAND/ENGLISH..., SINGLE POINTING..., D-FAMILY... 1 5U092 ASSEMBLY..., ADAPTER..., ALTERNATING CURRENT..., 65W, LITEON..., WORLD WIDE... 1 F2951 KIT..., CORD..., FLAT, 3F, D3W/3P, PROPOSITION 65..., UNITED STATES... 1 Y1338 BATTERY..., PRIMARY..., 11.1V, 6C, CYLINDRICAL..., SANYO 1 3Y182 DUAL IN-LINE MEMORY MODULE..., 256, 266, 32X64, 8K, 200, BURN 2... 1 9X163 MODEM..., 56K, INTERNAL..., MODEM DAUGHTER CARD..., BROADCOM POLARIS MODEM... 1 1T707 HARD DRIVE..., 30G, I, 9.5MM, 4.2K, TSHBA-NEPT 1 8267R CONNECTOR..., HEADER..., 2X22, FEMALE..., 2, S, G, 35K, THIRD HEIGHT..., CHIP SET... 1 J1894 KIT..., SOFTWARE..., WP-PRDCT-STE11, ENGLAND/ENGLISH... 1 N2999 KIT..., SOFTWARE..., MNY-2K4, STANDARD..., ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT MFGR...., ENGLAND/ENGLISH... 1 P2643 KIT..., SOFTWARE..., MSENC-2K4, ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT MFGR...., ENGLAND/ENGLISH... 1 R2553 KIT..., SOFTWARE..., OVERPACK..., WXPHSP1A, COMPACT DISKETTE W/DOCUMENTATION..., ENGLAND/ENGLISH... 1 M4841 KIT..., DOCUMENTATON ON FLOPPY DISK..., SOFTWARE..., CYBERLINK..., 4.14H 1 K3444 CARD (CIRCUIT)..., NETWORK..., MINI PCI CARD..., INTEL2200, NOT APPLICABLE... 1 R3796 ASSEMBLY..., COMPACT DISK READ WRITE/DIGITAL VIDEO DISK DRIVE COMBO..., 24X, IDE (INTEGRATED DRIVE ELECTRONICS) ..., SONY..., DMO

Basic/entry level models

Inspiron B120

The Inspiron B120 was Dell's lowest priced offering for a time. Standard options included a 1.40 GHz Intel Celeron M 360 processor, 14.1 inch WXGA screen, 256 MB shared RAM, a 40 GB 5400 rpm hard drive, and a 24X CD burner/DVD combo drive. By default the B120 did not come with any integrated wireless support, but it can be added as an option.

Inspiron B130 or 1300

The Inspiron B130 or Inspiron 1300, successor to the aforementioned B120, was until recently the lowest-priced laptop offered by Dell. A basic entry-level laptop, the B130 came with a 14.1 inch WXGA screen, 1.60 GHz Intel Celeron M 380 processor, 512 MB of RAM, 40GB 5400rpm hard drive, and a 24X CD burner/DVD ROM drive. Wireless support was standard with the installed Dell 1370 Internal Wireless(802.11b/g). Picking the mid-model B130 you could get it with the 1.73 GHz Pentium M 740 & a 15.4 inch WXGA widescreen for only a little more money. The Inspiron 1300/B130 came with a Intel GMA 900 128MB Graphics card. Because of its affordability and ease of use, the B130 it was a popular choice among college students. It was retired in early November 2006.

Rebadging

In the past Dell has modified some offered Inspiron machines to produce computers of higher or lower quality. Note for example the first-generation Inspiron XPS and Inspiron 9100 (2004-2006). Both machines (non-base) shared the same options in processors (Intel Pentium 4 HT "Prescott"), RAM (DDR 400 MHz), hard-drives (Ultra-ATA 5400/7200 RPM), wireless cards, LCD screens (at 15.4-inches; WXGA, WSXGA+, WUXGA) and graphics cards (ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 64MB/128MB), as well as the same chassis. Dell marked the XPS as an "ultimate gaming machine", while marking the 9100 as a "desktop replacement". The Inspiron 9100 is a rebadged XPS. The only difference between Inspiron XPS and Inspiron 9100 is the LCD Panel. Although both support a 15.4 Samsung LCD only later models of the 9100(3.2 GHz) use the identical LCD screen(Dell Part #s 7T774/W3866). The Samsung LCD Panel supports 1920x1200. Previous 2.8-3.0 GHz Inspiron 9100 use a lesser panel with resolutions of 1280x800 (Dell Part # Y0316).

Problems

Overheating

Reference: Dell's Official statement: the Lundell Settlement. Dell Inspiron 5150 only

In 2003, Dell released several lines of Inspiron notebooks which had problems with cooling properly, causing them to overheat and damage the video card and motherboard; or cause the laptop to shut down automatically. Although some people may believe that the systems overheated due to the processors used in those laptops - Intel's Pentium 4 chip which went up to 3.4 GHz (3,400 MHz) for some models, the problem was determined to be the design of the air-flow from the bottom of the system. Affected models include the Dell Inspiron 1100, 1150, 5100, and 5150. For more information on the 5100/5150 models in particular, see the following two links: Dell Inspiron 5100 Overheating Problem and Inspiron 5100 shuts down automatically.

Dell has acknowledged this problem with this line of laptops, as they figured among the more popular lineup of that generation. Dell engineers designed a new fan with a better heatsink and heatpipes to provide better cooling and less noise. Any repairs made at this point will include the redesigned parts.

A Windows utility exists to control most Inspiron fans based on CPU temperature. Users should check the compatibility list before installing it.

In September 20 Inspiron 5150 owners in the US brought a class action against Dell. The settlement included 100% cash reimbursement for certain repairs, and an extended limited warranty to cover those types of repairs that become necessary for one year. Dell's published statement of the scope of the repairs covered appears here.

Following the lawsuit detailed above, in October 2006 customers who had purchased Dell Inspiron 1100, 1150, 5100 and 5160 notebooks filed a class action lawsuit against Dell, alleging misconduct in connection with the design, manufacture, warranting, advertising and selling of these computers. A similar action started in Canada.

The overheating problems on the Inspiron 5150 model came about due to the position of the fan and fan-vent and the way in which it vents air through the CPU's heatsink. The fan draws air from underneath the unit and removes it through the heatsink and out the rear of the unit. However as a result of drawing air from underneath the unit also sucks up any dust lying on the surface it sits on. This dust then passes through the heatsink where some dust becomes trapped and builds up. Over time this buildup will constrict the airflow through the unit and thus buildup heat. The airflow through the rear of the unit diminishes noticeably: simply place your hand near the fan vent; on high speed the fan should give good air flow out the back; if not then the flow has probably become constricted. Heat will also build up along the top of the unit near the LCD display and left toward the optical drive. Users may notice this while typing. Performance-loss may also result: jittery game-performance and lagging Windows performance. Some systems may experience jerky reactions where the unit goes into an almost slow-motion phase for short periods of time. Continued operation in this condition may lead to overheating and could result in permanent damage to the CPU, GPU, motherboard and other internal components. To remedy this problem one must disassemble and clean the unit, cleaning the heatsink of all obstructions and inspecting the fan for proper operation. This problem not uncommonly results in a CPU-temperature-increase of between 15-20c over an optimally functioning unit. Further temperature-increases may well also result in damage to the casing of the unit as a result of this problem. Owners should remedy this problem to avoid damage to a Dell Inspiron 5150 notebook. See the following links: * Inspiron 5150 overheating problems - what to do.... *Removing the Microprocessor Thermal-Cooling Assembly and Useful images

Motherboard

On a number of Inspiron 5150 machines, a design flaw in the positioning of a tab on the C panel on the underside of the laptop has led to problems. Any pressure applied to the top left hand corner of the laptop causes this tab to press against the motherboard and in particular against the "LVC14A" chip. This causes the solder between this chip and the motherboard to break. This causes sudden shut-downs of the system as a result of any movement of the laptop; in certain cases the laptop will not re-boot at all. Dell has redesigned later models of the 5150 to avoid this problem. Some models reveal cases where someone has manually snapped off the tab from the C panel by hand during the manufacturing process. Dell currently covers this fault in the USA under the Lundell Settlement, although it remains unknown whether Dell will fix this fault for free outside of the USA. As of January 2007 a similar lawsuit started in Canada, and Dell in the Netherlands has agreed to repair Dutch computers following criticism in a consumer programme.

The 5160 has also experienced mainboard failures resulting in an inability to charge the battery or run from the external power supply. Perhaps in response to the previous lawsuits, Dell has been replacing mainboards on these failed units well after warrantee expiration, even if the 5160 has been a refurbished machine or resold. Owners must register their current ownership online at the Dell support site, then contact a support representative for service.

Defective graphics boards

In 2006 Dell delivered numerous Inspiron 9400 machines with defective nVidia GeForce 7800 Go graphics boards. Dell generally replaced all A00 with A01, and next with A02, until the 7800 Go was finally replaced with the 7900 GS.

Dell has yet to admit any problems regarding the suitability of the GeForce 7800 Go for the design of the affected notebooks.

No pattern has emerged with defective graphics boards for this model. Most reviews indicate no problems with the nVidia GeForce 7800 Go. See one such review.

Display resolution

Some Dell Inspiron models with Intel graphics chipset 855/865/915 and 1400 x 1050 display resolution have display-driver problems...

Battery recall of 2006

Dell posted notices to many of their laptop customers on August 14, 2006, saying that the Sony batteries on the following models could burst into flames, or even explode:

Latitude: D410, D500, D505, D510, D520, D600, D610, D620, D800, D810

Inspiron: 6000, 8500, 8600, 9100, 9200, 9300, 500m, 510m, 600m, 6400, E1505, 700m, 710m, 9400, E1705

XPS: XPS, XPS Gen2, XPS M170, XPS M1710

Precision: M20, M60, M70, M90

Users of many of these computers purchased between April 2004 and July 18, 2006 received the recommendation that they should remove the batteries and run their the computers on AC power until replacements arrived. Problematic Sony batteries led to battery recall programs at other laptop companies as well, including Hitachi, Toshiba, Lenovo (IBM) and Apple.

Attorney General of NY State accuses Dell of Fraud in Lawsuit

New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed a lawsuit in NY State Supreme Court May 15, 2007 alleging Dell was fraudulent in their business practices. The case is pending. [2]

History

Laptops

• 26 June 2007: 1720, 1721, 1520, 1521, 1420 announced
• 6 November 2006: 1501 announced

Desktops

• 26 June 2007: 530, 530s, 531, 531s announced

External links

• Dell Laptops Buying Guide Dell's official laptop buying guides site.
• Dell Inspiron Notebook Range at Dell.com
• Linux on Dell Notebooks (user documentation)
• Inspiron 1100 overheating problems and solutions
• Standard Memory Configurations for Inspiron Models
• New models: Inspiron 1720, 1520, Vostro