Shame on you Dell!!

[c_hegge]

So, I had to fix up a Dell Studio XPS 8100 desktop PC the other day. Among other things I had to clean out the dust and after pulling off the side panel, a somewhat disturbing design flaw caught my eye. The PC uses a Radeon 5770 Gaphics card, and has a steel bracket which screws to the case near the HDD bay to hold it in position. The wires for the HDD's SATA power connector run right under it, but unfortunately, the bracket doesn't have folded edges, and had chafed the wires . I covered the edges of the bracket in tape before putting it back together.

[ratdude747]

Re: Shame on you Dell!!

Yeah, the edges should have been folded or the like. Whoops.

I personally would have filed the edge smooth with a needle file but tape works too *comes from the guy who used to own a shuttle XPC with a drive caddy covered in tape, due to it shorting a large TV tuner card*

[trodas]

Re: Shame on you Dell!!

...and these sharp edges are even cuting people hands! Many times it happend for me, that the computer I building took some more of my blood as sample...

Damn vampires!

(this is really shamefull for a respected Dell PC making company)

[PeteS in CA]

Re: Shame on you Dell!!

While at Delta I removed and installed a P/S in an Apple drop-side case quite a few times, and got sliced more than once.

BTW, I would not recommend using a file to deburr edges in a computer case. Metal particles being circulated around the computer case by the fan might not be a good thing.

[Nitro468]

Re: Shame on you Dell!!

Foam weatherstripping tape makes nice padding, doesn't look too shabby either. I remember the 1st time I bought a quality case (Antec) back in the day. I did not even have to wear gloves.

[Kiriakos GR]

Re: Shame on you Dell!!

This Radeon 5770 it is a monster, I love my Vapor-X

[ratdude747]

Re: Shame on you Dell!!

While at Delta I removed and installed a P/S in an Apple drop-side case quite a few times, and got sliced more than once.

BTW, I would not recommend using a file to deburr edges in a computer case. Metal particles being circulated around the computer case by the fan might not be a good thing.

That's why you clean up your mess when you're done.. Handi-vacs and magnets are good for this. I've metalworked cases before, never had an issue.

[c_hegge]

Re: Shame on you Dell!!

An easy way around that would also be to remove the bracket from the case before filing it. In this case, however (pun intended) I didn't have a file available, so duct tape had to do.

[kc8adu]

Re: Shame on you Dell!!

dell done with bad caps and moved on to ginsu cases?

[Pentium4]

Re: Shame on you Dell!!

Is the reason you had to fix this thing in the first place because of KZJ capacitors?

In this case, however (pun intended)

HA

[c_hegge]

Re: Shame on you Dell!!

^
No. Malware. I think the caps were mostly Panny

[momaka]

Re: Shame on you Dell!!

Good thing you checked. Last thing you want is an angry customer that complains their PC no longer works after you fixed it.
I always check everything regardless of what people tell me the problem is.

And yeah, Dell cases aren't the best. Personally, I hate the desktop full tower clam shells they had in the Pentium-4 era (like the GX260, GX270, and GX280). Mistreat it a little and their mechanism starts to lock on you and they become really hard to open.

[c_hegge]

Re: Shame on you Dell!!

Yes, I remember the clam-shell tower cases. I've only had to work on a few of them, but I know what you mean. On one of them, the whole mechanism broke, and I never got it back together properly on one side.