> Anyone else feel like commenting on build quality and reliability of xps machines.

I have an XPS 9550. The issues I have with it are:

- The speakers have self destructed 3 times now. Just prior to self destructing they were wonderfully loud (which I at first thought was feature). By the 3rd time I was aware of the flaw is when some app decided I really needed to hear the notification I turned it done so it was only a few seconds - but it was enough.

- The Bluetooth has never worked. It took me a while to notice as I don't use it a lot, and I run Linux so I put it down to a software issue. But then I found if I was real persistent I could get it to pair, but then it sounded like the 2.4GHz signal was woefully weak. I asked Dell to fix it on one of their warranty visits and they replaced the module - but no difference. I now suspect it's an antenna problem.

- As others have said it regularly overheats. On a hot day it will spontaneously reset.

- There is some issue with the connectors on the mother board. In my case it manifests itself by it occasionally rebooting when I pick it up by a corner (thus putting a bit of torque on it). Once I realised what was happening I found I could 100% reliability get it to reboot by tapping it at the right point on under the base. I thought it was just my machine but then my brothers Precision laptop (same case) exhibited the same problem.

- Over time I've come to truly loath the layout of the keyboard with it's dedicated PgUp, PgDn and so on keys. I also disliked the feel with a passion - the cheaper Inspiron's have much nicer feeling keyboards. Of course the 9550 design when for slimness over function, and maybe others have a different opinion. Unfortunately it became less and less reliable over time. Turned out when the Dell man disassembled the thing this spill resistant keyboard was trapping huge amounts of hair. I've never seen a keyboard held in by so many screws - there must be at least 20 of them. And the Dell man asked me to get rid of the hair - it must taken me 1/2 an hour with a vacuum cleaner, and even then I didn't restore it to it's original reliability.

- There is the nostril cam issue. I don't hold that against Dell. I knew about it when I bought it, but that screen was oh so gorgeous. But I wouldn't make the same buying decision again.

- The power cord socket broke. This mostly isn't Dell's fault - the exuberant dog got itself tangled in the power cord. Still Dell design the connector, and they could have designed one that disconnected when it got a sharp yank rather than breaking.

- The rear hinge support (an intricately shaped bit of metal inside the machine) snapped. I don't know why - no event stands out in my mind. It became evident when the screws started popping out of the base, and I saw what the problem was when the Dell man fixed it. Sadly after the Dell man left I noticed the same screws were still proud of the case, and remain that way to this day.

- Early on the screen barely worked. The root cause wasn't Dell's, of course - it was Intel bloody horrible GPU drivers. It took Intel 12 months to get them close to reliable: in the end they had to appoint a new team leader who, according to an interview on LWN, just implemented some basic software engineering practices (like CI). From the outside the effect of doing that was pretty dramatic: it went from dogs breakfast to reasonably solid in a remarkably short time - it should be a case study on the effect of good software engineering practices. In the mean time if you scanned the net for reasons on why your shinny new Linux laptop screen kept hanging, what you found was hundreds of Windows users saying they were taking their new XPS's back because Windows didn't work. Turned out Intel was doing their development on Linux and was releasing their Linux drivers before Windows, so the Window users were in a worse position than I was. Dell was _very_ proactive about releasing BIOS and driver updates during that period, while in typical Dell fashion never actually telling you what the actual problem was. But stepping back and taking the 1000ft view - Dell shipped a machine they must have damned well known didn't work.

- The fans require regular cleaning. This is not a big deal of course - all fans require cleaning. But unlike other laptops the only way to clean these fans is disassemble the thing. On the positive side, removing the back off this laptop is by far the easiest of any laptop I've owned so far. But then you have to remove the fans themselves, with their tiny wires.

- Mine had a battery recall. I only mention it because the article says "like the previous models the battery is not user replaceable", which is true - that's what the previous models said too. Nonetheless, this user was sent the new battery and was expected to replace it himself. It was drop dead easy because as I said, it is almost a pleasure to remove the back off this thing.

Just to be clear I expect laptops, all laptop's, to break. All mine have and I am gentle with equipment. For example, I've never had a phone with a cracked screen or any other similar failure - they've all died from battery problems. But this is over the top - it looks to me like they pushed the thinness thing too far.