Why are Dell's so HEAVY?

as the post states...why? Why do they build them so heavy? Does the build make it a more sturdy design? or is it just a way of cutting costs to bring the overall price down?

 

Judging by the componentry Dell has been using (Low quality) I would say its a cost cutting thing.

 

I'd say its a mixture, Dell notebooks need to be able to take a punch to become "roadready" labeled by Dell.
Buts its cheaper to build sturdy and heavy then sturdy and light. Think thats the main issue here.

 

I wouldn't really say they're sturdy even. I have a Sony Vaio P3 600 around here somewhere, thats had a cup of tea spilt on it, been run over repeatedly by an angry woman in an Audi A4, fallen off a BBQ onto pavement and been thrown so many times it isn't funny. The car even left it with a severe bend in it, so it rattles side to side when you type on it, but its still perfect.

In contrast, my C400 Dell has been molly-coddled, yet has a broken screen hinge, snapped carbus ejector button, broken headphone jack, seized latch, rattlesome loose keyboard, the battery clasp has broken, so they need to be taped on or they fall off, and the plastic is the same type of cheap rubbish that disposable razors are made of.

Thats on a 12" Lattitude, which is meant to be "Road Ready". Here's hoping their XPS is a little less American, and a little more Japanese in its build materials and quality.

 

That made me laugh - I think someone needs to take better care of their notebook

 

Ok, i meant "sturdy" not in a car-accident-ish way.
And i have to agree with you, there are notebooks out there that can take a lot more abuse then the average Dell does, if they are designed for it or not.
But still, my D620 took some abuse without seizing work (overhead bin opened on a flight during heavy turbulence and it dropped, had it in my check-in luggage on short trip by accident, wipe it off my desk 2or 3times, sat on it) and its still ok to go.
Well i wouldn't want to take it to a contruction site, run it over with a car or pour coffee over it, but its tough enough for me... so far.

I still think if it would be lighter, it would be flimsier.

 

I agree, although I just don't buy what the previous poster said. I own a 4yr old Inspiron that's also been used hard "not abused" and it still works great with 99% of the parts intact.

 

Part of it is because the dimensions of the laptop are a bit bigger than the average 15.4".

Also part of it is the apparently higher quality chassis, if you take a look at the 1520 versus dv6500t review. There is little flex in the casing, which cannot be said for some other laptops.

And part of it is cost cutting. As someone said earlier, it's easier to make something sturdy by just adding more plastic - it's a lot more expensive to do so by better design and better materials.

 

The thing is, a lighter machine is going to cost more and be more expensive to produce, all things being equal.

The thing about something like the Inspirons is, they are designed to be a single framework for anything from a $700 laptop to a $2000 laptop, depending on how its configured.

It's not like all Dells are heavy; the XPS M1330 is only 4 pounds or so with the 4 cell battery. But you'll notice that machine is also generally more expensive.

-Zadillo

 

Plus, a lighter more sturdy machine not only cost more to build, it will cost more for the R&D.

 

I think the Dell Inspirons are reasonably well built for regular consumer machines. I have flip flopped on this from my old, "Dells are all crap" stance after dealing with a Dv2000t that is plagued with problems. The build quality of the Sony notebooks never impresses me these days and the lids on the Dells (Compare the E1505 to the HP Dv6000 or the Toshiba A205 ) seem much sturdier (no ripples). I think the thickness and heaviness is just the result of keeping the price down and the lack of apparent talent in Dell's design department (Save with the 1330, Perhaps they were all working to hard on the 1330). On the flip side Dell offers many options such as high resolution screens other consumer brands seldom make available and they tend to run pretty cool.

 

Really? They're heavy? I guess all I've seriously looked at in the dell line are the latitudes, which actually have equal or lower starting weights as (what's been) my brand of choice in thinkpads.

What alot of people make the mistake of doing for instance is comparing a 6 cell d 630 with a 4 cell t 61 (since those are the biggest batteries that will still fit flush with the case), but same size battery, 630 is actually lighter than the corresponding thinkpad or hp.

d 630 14.1" 4.37lbs, t 61 14.1" 5.0lbs, hp nc 6400 14.1" 4.6lbs.


Similar for 12.1 and 15.4 sized latitudes +/- an ounce vs the competition's business lines. Of course not quite as light as vaio's or mbp's, so I guess it depends on what you pick to compare, size/weight is relative (as is build quality). But to simply assert that "dells are so heavy" is kind of a generalization imo, ymmv.

 

The head of the design team of the M1330 is the same guy who led the team designing the M2010 afaik.

Ok, one might argue if the M2010 is a notebook. And it is heavy for sure (to stay on topic).

 

I don't care what anybody says. I have owned 2 sony's Centrino 13.3 inch model and a dual core 13.3 inch model. Both have keys fallen off, one has a screen that has streaky lines in it. And both are pieces of junk in my opinion. If that is Japanese quality I don't want it. Now I do not know about dells lately, but my 8600 is still going and although it is heavy it is easy to work on (aka upgrades like video cpu ram), cheap to upgrade, and with the side battery and a D800 battery I can get up to 10 hours of battery life.

Now the only laptops I have seen that are light and durable are thinkpads. Truly great notebooks. As for Sony maybe they were better back in the day, however, my two recent purchases from sony have been complete crap. For the price I don't know why I even bothered buying them. My next small laptop will be a thinkpad.

 

Have any proof? I thought it was because they use all magnesium aluminum alloy cases instead of the cheap plastic used by other laptop manufacturers.

 

I know a lot of people bring laptops everywhere they go, but seriously why must a laptop be "road ready"?? Do people not take care of their laptops or what?? lol

 

hmm.. this was mean.. I took it out.

 

Or...heavy CAN equal high end components, but in a mid-range laptop you are usually correct.

 

Not all Sonys are built in Japan. I believe most are not anymore. I think maybe the TX or the new TZ may still be made in house by Sony. My friend has a TX and the build quality is pretty nice on that. I think as a whole, Sony charges too much for what you get. I almost bought a CR Sony and saw one at best buy.. What a pile of junk. The screen was horrible with the worst viewing angles I have seen in years. The MB style keyboard they say is so great is not. The keyboard is small and has a lousy feel to it. The whole think looks like a toy. All I can say about Sony is they are only good in the ultra portable market. They own the 11" screen and can do amazing things in tiny sizes. Their warranties are way expensive as well and generally their customer service for repairs is below average.

As for the Dells being a bit more heavy. I think the fact that they run cooler then most other brands that come in a bit smaller and lighter speaks volumes. The fact that reviews keep coming in saying how cool these magnesium alloy inspirons are is what keeps me waiting. HP has a nice 14 inch model but it runs hot.. All the HP's run hot. I don't think people understand the importance that heat plays and the lack of it. It should also reduce the likelihood of failures caused by excessive heat.

 

There are a lot of companies that give laptops to their employees (while they're still employees ), and believe you me, when property is not their own, they treat it like dirt. I have a friend who was given a rental car for one of his jobs, and because he wasn't liable for any part of it, he and some co-workers played a little "bumper cars" with theirs. And then someone threw up in the back seat.

 

Wow juventas, I guess I can see what you mean then. ROFL