Article about faulty capacitors, build quality and DELL

[The Other Steve]

I wasn't sure where to put this, and finally decided on this forum since I've seen a few discussions, questions, and regular-member comments about the quality of pre-built systems and after-sales service from companies like DELL. When I read the article, I thought of some regular contributors to this forum.

Link is to an article on NYTimes that discusses how faulty capacitors affected some DELL computers, and how DELL handled the situation.

It's an interesting article. Worth a read if you build your own, or are considering it.

Originally Posted by Ashlee Vance The problems affecting the Dell computers stemmed from an industrywide encounter with bad capacitors produced by Asian PC component suppliers. ... As complaints mounted, Dell hired a contractor to investigate the situation. According to a Dell filing in the lawsuit, which has not yet gone to trial, the contractor found that 10 times more computers were at risk of failing than Dell had estimated. Making problems worse, Dell replaced faulty motherboards with other faulty motherboards.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/te...pagewanted=all

For the record: I have been using a DELL Inspiron 8200 for the last ~10 years, and have been happy with it.