Advice please -R1 being replaced with R2...

Hi,

I have finally been told, after many months of grief, that my M17x R1 will be replaced.

I would like some advice please, firstly do they have to replace to the equivalent value of original laptop? If they don't can I pay for upgrades?

Do I get any say in the specs?

Secondly, gfx card - I am thinking of going for the ATI 5870 (single) over the GTX285, maybe upgrade to 2 cards later. What do people think?

Thirdly, i think i will go for i7 840QM processor.

Is there anthing else I should consider?

Thanks in advance

Shaco

 

They will replace equal or upgrade to your current config.
You will be happy with the replacement.
If you have one gpu in your R1 then don't expect SLI or Crossfire in R2..
The chances are slim to none to get that.

 

I have sli 260gtx at the moment - which has been the cause of all my problems.

 

So, you will get either crossfire or 285m SLI.

 

Do you know if I would get a choice?

 

You will not get a choice. They will replace the laptop with equal or better specs of what you had, which in this case will be better specs.

 

Yes, but if they do short-change him and give him a single GPU, he has a reason to make a case against that and demand that support for a second card be added to his warranty and system.

 

He had sli before, therefore they gotta give him sli or xfire, that's non brainer. Otherwise they would be downgrading him the system, SLI gtx260m > single 5870 or single 285m. The replacement rules are equal system or better.

 

main point: you should get equal or better for each component, e.g. they can't give you more ram and a smaller hard drive. dual video means dual video on the new system. if the old laptop had something that you didn't get in the new one, ask for something to compensate.

if the "order" has already been placed, you're stuck with what's on it until you get the system. When you get it, you can go through the components and ask that individual things be upgraded that are sub-spec. On mine, I got the wifi card upgraded to the intel one and windows upgraded to ultimate (wanted pro but because of all the problems, the guy said "my gift to you today is the ultimate edition"). When i was going through my system exchanges (yes, plural), they kept making me feel like they were doing me a favor giving me a "new" machine. I kept having to remind them that it isn't "hitting the lottery" since if the machine I had originally just worked, the conversation wouldn't be happening...

monitor your "my account" page and the order should show up and you can track it. also, make sure your warranty transfers with the new service tag (can take a few days/week) and the dates are correct. You might also want to consider extending it...

 

Blasterbeam210, the reason why I mentioned this contingency was because it can happen. It shouldn't, ideally and I know it goes against the rules -- which is overstating the obvious -- but it does happen. Just like laws get broken, sometimes, even by those trusted to safeguard its principles. I think it is very important to caution a member about such possibilities, especially when they're on the verge of a system replacement.

Let's take your dual GPU example into consideration. I can actually link to threads, on this very forum where people have been given single-GPU configurations in place of a dual GPU system. In recent months, an M1730 user who had a twin 9800m GTX setup, was given an R1 with just a single card. In fact, I will link to this anyway.

The rules are there, and while it's nice to know that we won't get jerked-around all the time, it is also wise to keep an eye out for such situations. Always inspect the goods thoroughly upon receiving the replacement. If all of us naively walk around assuming that the company representatives are going to give priority to our interests and uphold the rules, then I am pretty sure a good number of the M17X owners would still be on their 23rd zapped GPUs in an M1730, while others would be getting their units returned from depots, downgraded to the 8700m GT.

 

I hope you get the sweetest possible upgrade man. I do find it a little odd that if you bought a mega-super-awesome warranty that you're entitled to the same configuration even though technology has improved leaps and bounds since the 8800GTX/M1730 days. Two 5870s are obviously a good bit more powerful than a couple of 8800s. And now you'll be rocking an i7-XXX cpu too. What if the warranty got you a computer that was comparable in 3DMark score? Now that would be funny.

 

Thanks for all the comments, I look forward to the conversation with Dell when they tell me what I will get.

Out of interest, what do people think is better 5870s or 285s?

Might as well ask for what i want, might not get it but worth a try.

 

For gaming 5870 CF will beat the 285 sli...for productivity using apps with nvidia support then 285sli will beat 5870. If you had nvidia sli before you will get nvidia sli if you had crossfire ati then you will get crossfire ati. Your rep can get anything requested but it is the exchange department that ultimately puts in the exchange request.

 

If you're up for gaming, I would advise that you try to get your rep. to put in a word for the ATi 5870s as they'll offer you some significant gains in performance. There's no harm in asking, since officially, the 285ms are more expensive anyway. Pitch your request like as though you're asking for a 'downgrade'. Heh.