The "average" is meaningless to a single example. If you plan to sell the system after 2 years, the warranty is adequate; if you won't be in a position to replace the system or foot a $500 repair bill after 24 months, extend the warranty to 3 years.
I've had my Inspiron 8100 for almost 5 years now. It has heavy use. The power supply has been replaced, and just a few months ago, the screen started showing signs that the video card was starting to poop out, but based on some of the horror stories people have had, I'm happy with what I've gotten out of it. Just wish it had USB 2.0 hehe.
What was built 5 years ago and what is being built now differ markedly in reliability - compare the price you paid for your system with what the current ones go for and you'll quickly see that newer systems are not as robustly engineered as the older ones were.
EJN is right on; I rejuvenated a five-year-old laptop with a USB 2.0 PCMCIA card. It's old and really rather slow, but it is a whole lot more reliable than my newer one, truthfully. It is an old friend!
Life is dependent on many things. If you put the unit in a loose bag and swing it to and fro whacking the ground and objects they tend to die in a few minutes.
I have many dell laptops that have worked for more than 5 years just fine with daily use. Life of the backlight is about 3 years. Life of the battery is 500 charge/discharge cycles and LESS than 1 year if you leave plugged in all the time and cook out the liquid so its a dry battery that doesnt charge or hold a charge.
If you fully charge battery and take it out when not being used it can last for months without needing recharge.
Hard drives die in 1 to 5 years also depending on how many times you drop them or whack them against hard objects.
Had very few Ram die but they tend to either work forever or die in a short time.
Unless zapped by static electricity.
Putting your dell on soft high plush carpet so that the vents are smothered and it overheats and cant breathe tends to kill many parts inside quickly.
If you need to use a hard surface or laptop cooling pad.
I leave my 9300 plugged in all the time, but it is turned off when not in use. I use it approx 3 hours a day max. It is never "banged' around as it is stationary all the time. I am not a gamer and I like to think I want this to last. Do I save life if I turn it totally off or is "stand by" better to use--as it is faster than re-powering on each time. If I use stand by basis it is still using the computer, it seems to me that powering totally off before each use is the way to go. I use a chill matt to reduce heat-and believe me it works wonders so my 9300 is never even close to WARM -let alone hot. So, since I pamper my sytem, what is your thought on the life?
Message Edited by Maverick3277 on 06-18-200611:17 PM
Standby versus totally off shouldn't matter for how long it lasts, but I'd turn it totally off. Standby you're using more power, the stuff that has wear and tear from going on and off still is off (ie the hard drive, etc.). Plus restarting the OS from time to time helps things anyway.
For a lot of things it's luck of the draw. Hard drive in particular can be really random. Could last a year, could last five or more.
Message Edited by tigerwolf7 on 06-20-200611:32 AM
ejn63
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June 16th, 2006 20:00
Spassvogel
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June 16th, 2006 21:00
ejn63
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June 16th, 2006 22:00
What was built 5 years ago and what is being built now differ markedly in reliability - compare the price you paid for your system with what the current ones go for and you'll quickly see that newer systems are not as robustly engineered as the older ones were.
Julzie
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June 18th, 2006 06:00
speedstep
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June 18th, 2006 23:00
I have many dell laptops that have worked for more than 5 years just fine with daily use. Life of the backlight is about 3 years. Life of the battery is 500 charge/discharge cycles and LESS than 1 year if you leave plugged in all the time and cook out the liquid so its a dry battery that doesnt charge or hold a charge.
If you fully charge battery and take it out when not being used it can last for months without needing recharge.
Hard drives die in 1 to 5 years also depending on how many times you drop them or whack them against hard objects.
Had very few Ram die but they tend to either work forever or die in a short time.
Unless zapped by static electricity.
Putting your dell on soft high plush carpet so that the vents are smothered and it overheats and cant breathe tends to kill many parts inside quickly.
If you need to use a hard surface or laptop cooling pad.
Maverick3277
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June 19th, 2006 03:00
SpeedStep,
I leave my 9300 plugged in all the time, but it is turned off when not in use. I use it approx 3 hours a day max. It is never "banged' around as it is stationary all the time. I am not a gamer and I like to think I want this to last. Do I save life if I turn it totally off or is "stand by" better to use--as it is faster than re-powering on each time. If I use stand by basis it is still using the computer, it seems to me that powering totally off before each use is the way to go. I use a chill matt to reduce heat-and believe me it works wonders so my 9300 is never even close to WARM -let alone hot. So, since I pamper my sytem, what is your thought on the life?
Message Edited by Maverick3277 on 06-18-200611:17 PM
tigerwolf7
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June 20th, 2006 15:00
For a lot of things it's luck of the draw. Hard drive in particular can be really random. Could last a year, could last five or more.
Message Edited by tigerwolf7 on 06-20-200611:32 AM