Out of Warranty Repair. Is it worth it?

I have a DELL Inspiron 5150 with specs as shown below:
- Mobile Intel Pentium 4 processor with 3.06GHz and 15in SXGA+.
- 512MB,333MHz,2 DIMMs
- 32MB nVidia Quadro FX Go5200
- 30GB Hard Drive
- 24X CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive
- 65 WHr 8-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
I bought this laptop two years ago for my brother's use in Singapore. At that time, I wanted to buy a medium priced laptop that has good spec (the P4 processor is the latest processor at that time).
However, the laptop is not working at all at the moment. I have sent the laptop to Dell service center once for motherboard problem (about 8 months after I purchased it) but they fixed it and I shipped it back to Singapore. I don't know what happened there but the laptop was working fine for about 3 months when it went dead. My brother asked around in Singapore and said that it will cost about S$600 or about US$400 for the repair (for motherboard) and it was not done by Dell technicians.

It seems that there are problems with the motherboard. I want to buy a new motherboard and fix it myself but I don't know if the problem is with the motherboard or with the other components. I have limited knowledge with computer parts and since I live in small university town, it is hard to find someone to help me with this problem especially now during summer holiday. My suggestion to my parents is to throw the laptop as it is not worth repairing it if the repair is expensive but they wanted me to try and fix it so that they can use it since it was expensive when we first bought it. My question is do you think it is worth it to repair the laptop? The cost for Hassle-Free Depot Repair starts from $159 and up for anything except motherboards and LCDs, which are subject to an additional charge. Is there a way to diagnose a problem in laptop when it can't even be switched on?

I wished I have known about NotebookReview.com earlier so that I can solve this problem. That laptop has been around for 8 months unrepaired and unused. It seems a waste to throw it away as we only gotten about 6-8 months of good use for that laptop. Any help and comment would be appreciated by me. Thank you.

 

The running record of it breaking in 3 months is a bit disconcerting and may be the build of the computer. If you got it fixed and it broke again what would you do? How long are they guaranteeing the repair? 90 days? Sometimes it's best to eat the lemon rather than keep it (ie Toss it and scavenge the parts).

Did you buy the computer with a credit card that doubles your warranty (like American Express)? You can still get it fixed without having to shell out the dough.

 

You should consider e-bay before trashing it. If you part it out you would be able to get several hundred $$$ back.

 

Titaniummd: Thank you for the tip. Do you (or anyone else) know what is the manufacturer's warranty for Dell notebook?

 

Yes, I bought the laptop with credit card but it was two years ago. Will it still work? There is no other warranty for this laptop, that's why I am afraid to resort to expensive out of warranty repair (or just repair it myself if I dare). The last repair that they did was a year ago. The reason I didn't quickly bring it to Dell after it broke again was because the laptop is still in Singapore.