Dell Optiplex Capacitor Leakage

**Toad** · 06-29-10, 07:46 PM

Dell, however, had actually sent the university, in Austin, desktop PCs riddled with faulty electrical components that were leaking chemicals and causing the malfunctions. Dell sold millions of these computers from 2003 to 2005 to major companies like Wal-Mart and Wells Fargo, institutions like the Mayo Clinic and small businesses.

...

Internal documents show that Dell shipped at least 11.8 million computers from May 2003 to July 2005 that were at risk of failing because of the faulty components. These were Dell’s OptiPlex desktop computers — the company’s mainstream products sold to business and government customers.

A study by Dell found that OptiPlex computers affected by the bad capacitors were expected to cause problems up to 97 percent of the time over a three-year period, according to the lawsuit.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/te...html?src=busln

So uhhh... anyone use Dells?! This is going to cause a few problems at work...

**Potemkine** · 06-29-10, 09:33 PM

Gist of the story is that Dell has known for years that they were shipping faulty computer equipment. It has now come to bite them on the ass...in spades.

My favorite quote from the entire article:

After the math department at the University of Texas noticed some of its Dell computers failing, Dell examined the machines. The company came up with an unusual reason for the computers’ demise: the school had overtaxed the machines by making them perform difficult math calculations.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/te...ref=technology

Really? I mean REALLY? Bull shitting the damn Math department about computer faults? Did you REALLY expect to lie to one of THE geekiest/tech advanced departments of a major university ... and get away with it?!?!?!?

Talk about a catastrophic fail

**Toad** · 06-29-10, 10:28 PM

Potemkine fails!

http://www.teamplayergaming.com/show...acitor-Leakage

**draco7891** · 06-29-10, 10:58 PM

Mergificated.

It's relatively inexplicable why Dell would try to cover such things up, especially when they have the perfect excuse of an upstream supplier falling victim to a counterfeiter. Such things are not un-heard-of in any kind of fabrication/repair business, and probably wouldn't have landed Dell in hot legal water, nor would it have struck down their public image.

Just silly.

Draco

**Potemkine** · 06-29-10, 11:23 PM

Originally Posted by Toad

Potemkine fails!

http://www.teamplayergaming.com/show...acitor-Leakage

Shush.

**WileECyte** · 06-29-10, 11:57 PM

This isn't necessarily anything new... We had GX270's at work that were failing due to capacitors that burst/leaked YEARS ago. In fact the cheap/bad capacitor bug wasn't limited to just Dell. Back in 2003-2005 there were other manufacturers that owned up and admitted to using a supplier who provided inferior quality capacitors. Most owned up, offered free replacements and they changed their supplier.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague