Gettinf Dell to replace my m17x....any advice?

Hi folks.

Brief outline of my probs...hadmy system 3 weeks, since getting it, had nothing but trouble...a/c adaptor failed, warnings of non dell adaptor all over the place, not charging.....sporadic....was sent a new a/c with the wrong power lead....had to wait for the righht power lead....

Now i have problems with crossfire on my 5870's...they flicker like crazy when enabled but dont when just one in use...3 games tested....vsync cures on some games but why bother if i have to use vsync???

Spoke to a dell techh who tried to walk a novice thru stripping down to the gpu's..not a good idea.....wanted me to start swapping them about to diagnose problems....i couldnt go thhru with it as didnt feel comfortable....he said would have to come out to thhe machine....do whatever it takes..maybe replace the motherboard or anything else....i dont feel that this is right as its sooooo new...shouldnt have to be having things replaced or fixed soooo soon.....

All this and my system is only 3 weeks old....not at all happy and ideally i would like a replacement as not at all happy with this machine.....

Anyone have any suggestions or have any experience on resolving such issues .... infor very gratefully received.

PS...and im a good typer, looks like something wrong with my "H" key too........For God sake!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All this and this is my first Alienware laptop....can say it has really put me off and dissappointed me so far....

 

My current machine is a replacement that i had to fight tooth and nail to get and it arrived a few weeks ago now.
I also have the crossfire flickering and am currently awaiting a tech to be dispatched to try and solve it.

Because this issue seems to be occuring for quite a few people the chances are that any replacement you would recieve would have the same issue so i think it will probably be a waiting game to see if they can come up with a fix.

 

Why did you have your first system replaced...can you elaborate on reasons, what was done to rectify prior to replacement and how long it took?

Im not happy paying £2500 for a high end gaming laptop which doesnt really act as a high end gaming laptop due to these problems

I have spoken to lots of people on NBReview.....lots of whom dont have any problems with their crossfire setup....it seems primarily that it is us in the UK that have problems as a few "across the pond" guys i spoken to have no problems at all......

 

My r1 model got replaced due to the issues i detail in my thread:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/484390-17xr1-advice.html

I agree that it's a pretty poor job they've done so far that they can't seem to produce a problem free system and i also understand that some people have reported no crossfire problems.
But theres the niggling point in my mind that questions why it is eliminated by v-sync and that this points more to a software/driver issue rather than something wrong with the cards.

I might be totally wrong and it might be hardware related but it just seems funny how there are quite a few with the issue and the whole v-sync fix, and the lack of proper driver suport this far.

In truth i don't know what to believe but i've asked tech support if they will try their in office systems to see if they can reproduce the problem - might give a more solid verdict. I am waiting on that atm.

 

Stevie if you just got the system call Dell and tell them you are not happy (NOW) you have 21 days to return for any reason, and seeing it has problems return it now and order another one. They may offer to send a new replacement and thats ok too.

 

The R2's are nothing like the R1's that have all the problems, yes there are some systems that arnt working right . But I would not say Alienware can't produce a good system. As a matter of fact they produce thousands of trouble free systems even R1's. Some times you get the lemon in the bunch.

 

The vsync related issue is a known one, if I remember right it's driver related and until the drivers for Xfire 5870's get sorted out a new system won't fix that. Here is a link where it's discussed/explained and where there's a workaround: 5870 Crossfire Flickering. The power thing is another known issue as well, it's a problem that they haven't found a solution to on the "Unknown adaptor" issue as well, and again til they find out whats causing it and fix it the chances are a new system will still have the problem. Here's a link on that thread: Power Adaptor Not Recognized???. As for the keyboard I'd just demand a new keyboard if the keys aren't working right, that's easy to replace. If you're inside of 21 days from purchase you could request a new one or a return and reorder, if you're after 21 days they may hard ball you and say no or send a refurb. But as I mentioned the problems you're having other than the keyboard are all known, and until Dell finds a solution the chances of having it on even another brand new system are pretty high.

 

I posted that thread if you look......."power not recognized"

 

I had my system delivered to me on the 21st June just gone....have raised one issue with dell about the power adaptor well within that time, the latter one regarding the crossfire flickering, i addressed directly with dell tech today as its only over the last few days that i have even had the opportunity to install any games on it ( i was more primarily concerned with getting what i thought was the only issue - the power a/c sorted).

The power a/c seems to have been sorted but that wasnt until today when i closed that case with the tech and also told him of the other probs i was having in relation to crossfire.

He said he couldnt authorise a replacement or re-order but advised me to speak to my sales advisor. He isnt in until tomorrow. Tried calling everyone at dell uk but no joy in getting through to anyone.

I appreciate what a few people say about "a new system wont cure it" but if others are NOT having any probs with crossfire or power supply, there is SOMETHING wrong SOMEWHERE and IF i have a LEMON then i DONT want it.

£2500 or what, about $3500 dollars is one heck of alot of money to pay for something that doesnt do what its supposed to do.....irrespective of wether dell know of issues or not....if thhey do know of issues, the product should be withdrawn until its corrected.

Leaving customers in the dark as to when they may or may not be able to expect a fix to hardware hat has ALREADY been sold to them as FUNCTIONAL is not an option.

I wouldnt expect to buy a car that doesnt start or a kettle that doesnt boil....why should this be any different?

 

Sorry about that I didn't even notice that, I just know the power adaptor thing is a problem a lot of people are having that doesn't effect the computer functioning so from what I know of Dell they'll say you have to wait on that part to be fixed. On the crossfire thing they really need to get their stuff together on the Xfire 5870's, some people are having no problems other than the drivers, some people are getting bonk'd cards after bonk'd cards, a lot of people are having the flickering/vsync issues. I just know on issues like that that Dell quite frequently basically says "tough, you bought it already, wait". It's not right and by all means try to get a new system, I hope you get one and I hope it works, I just know after my R1 replacement battle that it's not going to be easy at all. You may want to go over and read the Dell/Alienware replacement thread over in the main Alienware forum, it's got a lot of good suggestions for getting fair replacements. Good luck!

 

I have the same crossfire flickering issue, just awaiting on a replacement currently. A tech came to swap the cards and the replacement cards were DOA, go figure eh. They are taking their sweet time, but I don't care. It still works for now, and the longer I wait, the more chance I have of getting a 740QM (Dell Australia still has the 720 on the m17x).

 

Stevie I hear you, I would not want to spend that kind of money and have to wait for a fix. Dane has been there and so have I. You spend a lot of money for the best and expect the best. Call 2morro and flat tell them what they need to do to make you"the customer" happy. period

 

Yeah, thats what im going to do when my sales manager comes into work in a few hours.....basically, even i know (now after lots and lots of reading on flickering) that this problem has been around since January so Dell have had plenty of time to sort a decent fix to this problem.

It really is like buying a brand new Lamborgini and then finding out the top speed is REALLY only 60mph, going back to the dealer and having him say..."oh, sorry bout that sir, you bought it like that....you will have to wait for us to find a way to fix it for you, so up until that "undefined" point in time, you "the customer" have to put up with the performance you have now!!!

I will report back with my findings or results later on......

Thanks for everyones input on the subject!