Dell XPS 8300 issues

[Kylethedude1]

Hey guys,
I am on my 3rd replacement xps 8300 from dell in under a year span due to smoke and VERY loud fans at random times(jet engine loud) usually upon startup let's say once out of 300 start ups and after the loud fans smoke follows. Anyways, I opened my case, and found Su scon and KZG caps on the mobo, and capxon in my dell PSU... What's the worst that could happen to me? Im very nervous to even plug in the newest replacement I was sent, I have a vision it will happen again, and if I leave it unattended it will go up in flames. Please tell me how I should appropriately deal with this? Thanks!

Its getting nerve racking knowing that dells have ALWAYS smoked for some reason in my house, no other computers that are not dells that I have/had EVER did that. Am I over reacting?

[Uranium-235]

Re: PLEASE HELP I NEED ADVICE! Dell Problems

I don't know if this is you posting on a different board but, same problem

http://slickdeals.net/f/3961338-Acer...ore-com?page=3

here too

http://ecorporateoffices.com/Dell-1550

these people are talking about fan failures on the 8300 (look under "quality" section they talk about it)

http://www.flightsim.com/main/review/alien.htm

here someone said dell stopped making them

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=19533

I would have to say this model is defective from the factory. Get your money back and get an Acer, or Asus. Bitch to them about how this is the 3rd replacement

remember, dell stands for : Doesn't Ever Last Long

[ratdude747]

Re: Dell XPS 8300 issues

fixed title.

[Kylethedude1]

Re: Dell XPS 8300 issues

Should I be afraid to the point that I don't even want to turn it on? Or is that just being over reactive? And how loud is a cap going?

[Uranium-235]

Re: Dell XPS 8300 issues

it just occoured to me. If you know enough to take your PSU out and apart, you probably know enough to build your own

I don't know how much you spent, but if you want something with QUALITY then I would get a gigabyte board, all poly caps. Unfortunetly, the i7 2600k is kind of expensive, Dell can sell them in PC's cheap by ordering them in bulk, and ordering shit parts in bulk too

I put a i7 system on newegg together with a 2600K, Gigabyte lga1155 all poly board, 8gb, 500GB RE4, Earthwatts 650W, GT 520, DVD burner for only $100 more then dells middle-line 8300 (same specs, though dells site does not tell me how big the HD is)

edit: I would not turn it on, might void your warranty to the point dell might not accept it, they would use any excuse to keep their dough

[Kylethedude1]

Re: Dell XPS 8300 issues

Cool, thank you!
I will have to keep that in mind.
So my 8300 is probably safe to use for a few weeks at least until I build my own?

[Uranium-235]

Re: Dell XPS 8300 issues

I wouldn't count on it. if a fan in the PSU failed (you can see this for yourself if you turn it on and the PSU fan isn't turning [most of the time, some 'green' psus won't turn on the fan till they get hot]) then that might be the problem. Actually, if it IS JUST the power supply, you should be able to order an one from newegg, or if you have one lying around (A good one, remember this is a i7 2600k), meaning probably 450W or higher, then go ahead and use that. but I would reccomend a Antec Earthwatts 650

now if your motherboard fan quit working, then you could get a new heatsink, assuming the excessive heat didn't blow the caps around the cpu. and KGZ's sometimes die without bloating (broken seals causes pressure to be released in places other then the top of the cap)

was the smoke coming from your PSU or from the motherboard?

give us a pic of the board if you can

[Kylethedude1]

Re: Dell XPS 8300 issues

Sure thing,and thank you for all the help so far!
I will post a picture of my board tommorrow, so expect a update with pictures by tommorrow evening.

[Kylethedude1]

Re: Dell XPS 8300 issues

[c_hegge]

Re: PLEASE HELP I NEED ADVICE! Dell Problems

Get your money back and get an Acer, or Asus

You're recommending Acer or ASUS? shame on you!!!

Acer = Always Completely and Entirely Rubbish
Asus = Always Seriously UnStable

[dmill89]

Re: Dell XPS 8300 issues

Dell Used 2 different PSUs in this system. Model: D460DB-00 is made by Delta. Model: H460AD-00 is made by Huntkey. I would guess your system has the Huntkey unit due to the high rate of failures and fact that it got to the point of smoking. As Uranium-235 said If it is just the PSU I would probably just replace the PSU, Your Motherboard doesn't show any obvious damage or failed caps from the Pics that were posted. As Uranium-235 suggested the Antec Earthwatts EA-650 is a good option for this system, this is a good Delta built unit, although as a budget/midgrade unit it will likely have some Ltec caps in it, but these generally do ok in Delta PSUs. If you don't mind waiting for a rebate the PC Power and Cooling Silencer MK III is even better, this is a SeaSonic built unit with all Japanese caps. It is currently going for $60 after rebate and promo code. A 600-650w is slightly overkill but given the minimal (~$10) price difference between a good 500w and a 600-650w it makes sense to go for the higher wattage PSU to allow extra room for upgrades.

[c_hegge]

Re: Dell XPS 8300 issues

I don't think Dell ever used huntkey PSUs. they only ever use Delta/Newton, AcBel, Lite-on and Hipro.

[Uranium-235]

Re: PLEASE HELP I NEED ADVICE! Dell Problems

You're recommending Acer or ASUS? shame on you!!!

Acer = Always Completely and Entirely Rubbish
Asus = Always Seriously UnStable

I can tell you this

two years in a computer shop, I have seen VERY few acers and even less asus's from bad hardware, most of them just viruses

thats all I can say, take it or leave it, hate asus or not, that is what I observed. I have actually seen ONE bad Acer desktop (motherboard) in two years

[Kylethedude1]

Re: Dell XPS 8300 issues

How can you decide if I should get just a new psu or recap my board? My mobo has kzg, on it and other ones I can't read.

[Kylethedude1]

Re: Dell XPS 8300 issues

My PSU says: dell model: AC460AD-00
REV: A00
DATE: B1144
Total Power 460W MAX

[c_hegge]

Re: PLEASE HELP I NEED ADVICE! Dell Problems

I can tell you this

two years in a computer shop, I have seen VERY few acers and even less asus's from bad hardware, most of them just viruses

thats all I can say, take it or leave it, hate asus or not, that is what I observed. I have actually seen ONE bad Acer desktop (motherboard) in two years

Odd. I have worked at a computer shop for the last four years. From what I've seen ALL of the big brands except for IBM/Lenovo are junk, and the only half decent boards are Intel, Gigabyte, DFI and MSI. I see as many asus boards die as all of those four combined - even though Gigabyte is by far the most popular brand around here.

How can you decide if I should get just a new psu or recap my board? My mobo has kzg, on it and other ones I can't read.

I'd say just get a better PSU. KZG may not be great, but with a good PSU and good cooling, they might do OK for a year or two.

EDIT: based on that model number, it's probably an AcBel. They can make some very good units, but they can also make some not so good ones.

[Kylethedude1]

Re: PLEASE HELP I NEED ADVICE! Dell Problems

Odd. I have worked at a computer shop for the last four years. From what I've seen ALL of the big brands except for IBM/Lenovo are junk, and the only half decent boards are Intel, Gigabyte, DFI and MSI. I see as many asus boards die as all of those four combined - even though Gigabyte is by far the most popular brand around here.



I'd say just get a better PSU. KZG may not be great, but with a good PSU and good cooling, they might do OK for a year or two.

What about the other unidentified caps in my mobo?

[Uranium-235]

Re: Dell XPS 8300 issues

here is my i7 parts list

Antec EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN 650W Power Supply
Item #:N82E16817371044
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$74.99

Antec Three Hundred Black Computer Case
Item #:N82E16811129042
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
$59.99

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit
Item #:N82E16832116986
Return Policy: Software Standard Return Policy
$99.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
Item #:N82E16820231314
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy
$46.99

Western Digital RE4 500GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #:N82E16822136697
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$129.99

ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS
Item #:N82E16827135204
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$21.99

EVGA GeForce GT 520 (Fermi) 01G-P3-1526-KR Video Card
Item #:N82E16814130680
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy
$54.99

Intel Core i7-2600K 3.4GHz LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
Item #:N82E16819115070
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
$324.99

GIGABYTE GA-H61MA-D3V Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #:N82E16813128539
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$69.99

Grand Total:$883.91

(with shipping to tx, this ended up being $899)


here is an AMD version, slightly cheaper, best AMD desktop chip they have to offer, still slower then a 2600K, but very fast enough for most people


Antec EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN 650W Power Supply
Item #:N82E16817371044
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$74.99

Antec Three Hundred Black Computer Case
Item #:N82E16811129042
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
$59.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
Item #:N82E16820231314
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy
$46.99

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit
Item #:N82E16832116986
Return Policy: Software Standard Return Policy
$99.99

AMD FX-8150 3.6GHz Socket AM3+ Eight-Core Desktop Processor
Item #:N82E16819103960
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
$249.99

Western Digital RE4 500GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #:N82E16822136697
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$129.99

EVGA GeForce GT 520 (Fermi) 01G-P3-1526-KR Video Card
Item #:N82E16814130680
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy
$54.99

MSI 970A-G46 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
Item #:N82E16813130637
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$89.99

ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS
Item #:N82E16827135204
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$21.99

Grand Total:$828.91

(with shipping to texas, this ended up being $845)

personally, I would take the I7, considering how much more performance for only $65 more

[Uranium-235]

Re: Dell XPS 8300 issues

oh yes I would also recommend getting the 650 FIRST, seeing if it fixes your dell problems, if it dosen't, and the board is indeed fried, just get the rest of the parts

[c_hegge]

Re: PLEASE HELP I NEED ADVICE! Dell Problems

What about the other unidentified caps in my mobo?

From the picture, it looks like the ones under the CPU heat sink are Chemi-con polies, which are reliable and can stay. The others look like small caps less than 470uF, which don't often fail and can also stay, so it's really only the KZGs which you have to worry about.