Vostro 3550

I have recently got a new Vostro 3550 and have a few questions which i hope someone here can answer!

First thing i noticed was that the Intel Centrino Wireless N 1030 was suffering from severe packet loss when using wireless internet. After much fiddling around with the power settings and looking on the internet, its actually the bluetooth which interferes with the internet settings - Turining it off boosted internet speeds tenfold. Is this a localised problem to only some machines or is it widespread? Should i repair it under warranty?

Secondly, the laptop vibrates a considerable ammount. If i put it down on a hard flat surface, there is a very noticable humming sound emanating from it which is only solved by hoisting the back up by something. It is also noticable just by resting your hands on it. Should i be worried about this?

Apart from that i have nothing but praise for the vostro, but i am concerned about these two issues. I have updated all drivers for everything apart from the Radeon HD 6630M (switchable). Here are the specs if that helps

Windows 7 64bit
Core i5 2.3Ghz with turboboost
4Gb RAM
Seagate 500Gb hard drive 7300rpm
Radeon HD 6630M 1Gb (switchable to Intel GMA 3000)
Intel Wireless N 1030

Thanks in advance

 

You can always replace your wireless card yourself, what Dell will do is just offer you the same card under warranty and it's probably not a bad idea considering your card could just be faulty. I would recommend upgrading the card to a model that is being used in other Dell laptops (e.g. Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230) that offers the same functionality. You can just download drivers for that from the support section and install them on your laptop and it'll work fine (assuming you download the correct version e.g Windows 7 64-Bit). Laptops that offered that card are the current Dell XPS 17 (L702x) and the driver for that is here. It should work in theory, as I've done it on my Inspiron already.

As for the vibration and humming, that's more than likely your Seagate Momentus 500 GB (7200RPM). I had the same issue with mine, it makes much more noise but my laptop doesn't shake mostly because it's an older design making it heavier and sturdier. You can solve that issue by just getting a SSD, with which you won't have that noise at all, but price/size ratio for a SSD is a bit tense at the moment. Meaning if you absolutely must need 500 GB-sized drive then you will most definitely need to spend at least $700 dollars to get the drive. I would recommend a 256 GB Samsung 470 Series, as that is more manageable with prices as low as $270 from what I've seen.

 

Thanks for that, ill probably replace the card. As for the hard drive, i think a steady state may me the way forward. The seagate may be fast but i think i can handle a slower one without the earthquake that is my laptop at the moment.

Thanks for the advice!

 

I know the wireless card is easy to change but for warranty purposes the old one should be put back , right?