Dell m6400 Random Black Screen Experience Log...

i am aware that there is a lengthy thread on the owners of the m6400 and even a shorter thread on the crashes of the m6400 while gaming, namely wow and others...

i've recently purchased an m6400 and i too have become a victim of this issue.

until recently, i've no quarrels with Dell, i've purchased mostly Dell systems for my business, over 20 or so systems to date... and they have been doing well for my uses.

but the frustration with the m6400 is begining to wear down on me.

i make this thread and hope that someone from Dell becomes more aware of the situation.

it seems that the m6400 with the 3700 graphics card has brought many woes to owners who utilizes any program that uses 3D accelerator...
in my brief review of the threads here, it seems that the only resolution is like playing a lottery... get the card replaced... and see if it works, if not, repeat... some works after one, some after numerous replacements.

it also seems that this issue is not related only to games such as WoW or FFIX or Guild wars, there's been issues reported with Google Earth, as reported by fellow NBR members, SolidWorks, and by other dell users who have responded to my post on their "support" or rather, "support-less" forums...

now firstly, i am not bashing on dell... as a matter of fact, i have nothing but praise for their service department on the business machines... they've been quite responsive and the quality of service is excellent... just that the resolution of the problem is very disappointing to say the least.

in my experience, the crashes happen most frequently during WoW and also happened while i was installing a program and even in google earth... but it was very random...
i'm sure it's basic tech service procedure to have me check external monitor, fine, then they asked me to reseat the LCD cable.. hmm... i'm being asked to go inside my computer?

i've asked them if it will void warranty if i do this... answer is no... but i still felt that ANY customer should not have to disassemble their machines to make it work...

well, they scheduled a repair, replaced the graphics card and now... it's more frequent.

on a side note, i have to say, dell pretty much sucked on the packaging of the replacement card... the fins were pretty dented on 3 locations... seems that the packaging failed to hold the card in place.

well, as i was saying, it fails more frequently... so far, it failed over 10 times... in frustration, i don't even check the machine... and resorted to using my old one.

now i'm scheduled for yet another replacement... i hope for the best as i am really pleased with all of the other aspects of the machine... except, of course, the power brick... who can have any love for such a big ugly thing?

i am contemplating a requesting a full refund or even asking to replace the quador 3700 to the new ATI card...

but in the end... it's definitely not what i have paid good money for...

the resolution is pathetic... try and let's see? now i have to take off another day off work and schedule an appointment with the tech...

wonder if dell is going to reimburse me for my use of personal day?
wonder if i can charge dell my regular hourly wage when i perform these tasks...

anyway, next week, new card... new hopes? well... let's see...

and as for those who ask... why did you get a workstation lappy and complain it does not game well?... it's not really just a gaming issue... any machine purchased by the end consumer should come as a full working order for the ENTIRE package...
fine, show me the disclaimer that says, you cannot game on this machine... and i'll stay quiet...

thank you very much for reading...

what do you guys think? should i request for refund or request for the ATI card?

 

call and complain, they might replace the machine, or at the very least send a tech over. im assuming you have the ProSupport warranty?

 

i did call and have tech come over once already.. 2nd replacement is scheduled... just wondering if this has been forced upon us as being the norm? accepting sub-par machines and resolutions that are... like taking random shots with a blindfold?

 

i cant comment because i dont know how widespread this issue is.

 

well, 2nd time it was replaced and it seems, so far, 2nd time is the charm...

no black screen when i was using it for gaming...
and it seems to be fine.

the Heatsink did not come dented on this one.

the area on top of the keyboard does not feel as hot as it did before...

now question... what kinds of stress test on video cards can i perform on this new card? it seems fine for gaming... but i want to check and make sure the problem will not arise in the future...

thanks!

 

I used this stress test, FurMark OpenGL Benchmark and Graphics Card Stability Test to test the graphics on my old replaced precision M90. If there is a problem with your GPU, I'm sure you will see it when running this stress test.

 

These stress the video cards pretty well...

 

Still stable after stress test?


What drivers are you using?

 

I'm definitely beginning to think it's heat related.
I'm been running mine with no issues once I used the dell driver for months.
However as soon as I switched the radiator back on in my room boom...blank screens again.

If I leave the room cool the system works perfectly with no issues..
So I'm thinking "fcukin Nvidia and their crap cards"..

 

MataguaySky, i've been busy and have not been able to run any tests yet...
will post as soon as i have something...

Airblazer... are you using any laptop cooler?
it is still of concern if it is a heat issue... perhaps consider the new ATI card.

so far, no crashes but i really did not run or test fully...