Bad news from Bob Cringely's 4-30-04 column

[gus]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

By Robert X. Cringely® April 30, 2004

Hotter than Dell: Readers interested in sizzling Texas barbecue could do
worse than to buy a Dell OptiPlex SX270. My spies say these tiny towers
pack more heat than a habanero pepper. One Cringester bought 60 SX270s
and so far has replaced 10 motherboards; some of the boards’ capacitors
had exploded from the heat. The SX270s aren’t the only Dell hardware
that’s been caught smokin’ lately; some PowerEdge servers have also been
known to get a little hot under the collar. Spokesfolk for Dell say they
haven’t received a ton of complaints about SX270s doubling as George
Foreman grills, but they’ll work with any customers to resolve their
issues. Wall Street thinks Dell stock is a hot ticket; I guess now we
know why.

Copyright © 2004 InfoWorld Media Group, 501 Second St., San Francisco,
CA 94107

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Gus" <GusPod@optOFFline.XXXX.net> wrote in message
news:mlFlc.113287$Gd3.28273390@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net...
> By Robert X. Cringely® April 30, 2004
>
> Hotter than Dell: Readers interested in sizzling Texas barbecue could do
> worse than to buy a Dell OptiPlex SX270. My spies say these tiny towers
> pack more heat than a habanero pepper. One Cringester bought 60 SX270s
> and so far has replaced 10 motherboards; some of the boards’ capacitors
> had exploded from the heat. The SX270s aren’t the only Dell hardware
> that’s been caught smokin’ lately; some PowerEdge servers have also been
> known to get a little hot under the collar. Spokesfolk for Dell say they
> haven’t received a ton of complaints about SX270s doubling as George
> Foreman grills, but they’ll work with any customers to resolve their
> issues. Wall Street thinks Dell stock is a hot ticket; I guess now we
> know why.
>
> Copyright © 2004 InfoWorld Media Group, 501 Second St., San Francisco,
> CA 94107
>

 

[Robert]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

The only time I have seen an sx260 & sx270 get too hot is when they are
placed vertically onto a desk.
This then blocks the cooling vents.
I pointed this out to one person - including pointing at the sheet in the
accessory box which stated that you MUST put it on the vertical stand - Ohh.
It then ran the correct temperature.

"Gus" <GusPod@optOFFline.XXXX.net> wrote in message
news:mlFlc.113287$Gd3.28273390@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net...
> By Robert X. Cringely® April 30, 2004
>
> Hotter than Dell: Readers interested in sizzling Texas barbecue could do
> worse than to buy a Dell OptiPlex SX270. My spies say these tiny towers
> pack more heat than a habanero pepper. One Cringester bought 60 SX270s
> and so far has replaced 10 motherboards; some of the boards’ capacitors
> had exploded from the heat. The SX270s aren’t the only Dell hardware
> that’s been caught smokin’ lately; some PowerEdge servers have also been
> known to get a little hot under the collar. Spokesfolk for Dell say they
> haven’t received a ton of complaints about SX270s doubling as George
> Foreman grills, but they’ll work with any customers to resolve their
> issues. Wall Street thinks Dell stock is a hot ticket; I guess now we
> know why.
>
> Copyright © 2004 InfoWorld Media Group, 501 Second St., San Francisco,
> CA 94107
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

On Tue, 4 May 2004 23:06:33 +1200, in
<qMKlc.1785$s3.167028@news02.tsnz.net>, "Robert"
<PcTech@paradise.net.nz> wrote:

>The only time I have seen an sx260 & sx270 get too hot is when they are
>placed vertically onto a desk.
>This then blocks the cooling vents.
>I pointed this out to one person - including pointing at the sheet in the
>accessory box which stated that you MUST put it on the vertical stand - Ohh.
>It then ran the correct temperature.

And the PowerEdge Server is old news. Dell is replacing the
affected motherboards in those for free.

I suppose one could say Cringely got it right as far as he went,
but he didn't go far enough to properly serve his readers.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Gus <GusPod@optOFFline.XXXX.net> wrote in message news:<mlFlc.113287$Gd3.28273390@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net>...
> By Robert X. Cringely® April 30, 2004

....<snip>...

The Dell Precision 350 had major problems with thermal shutdown's due
to motherboard and CPU fan flaws. No smoke but quite irritating none
the less when having to swap fans out monthly.