M17x DPC Latency

I'm going to go for a refund too. While I could put up with this thing, its got too many bugs and is way too unstable to deal with this. I've got a 3 year warranty too.

Modified information in this post and will be happy to discuss once my case has been resolved, however everything is in inital stages at the moment. Thanks.

 

when did you buy it mate ?

 

Edit: PM sent to ya.

 

Did they tell you about the refund amount? You should confirm this through their sources, because ideally, they should give you the full refund for the price on the the M1730 invoice, along with any additional costs such as shipping (the diffence that you paid them when they moved you to the M17x) etc.; should be a very decent amount of cash.

 

Hi Guys.. Just getting rid of this post for now because many of you have contacted me about this all of a sudden. I'd like to get a full resolution and once that's over I'll be happy to answer questions! However till then I won't divulge names or additional information especially in a public forum on the net. Thanks.

 

Is this on the A02 or A03 bios?This is what mine looks like on A02 and on A03 lots of green bars but every 10 sec or so i get a 100k spike and everything hesitates for that second or so... Very annoying...

 

this is a03. the dell tech on the phhone installed it himself threw remote access from there website...

 

Demand R2!

 

I returned mine for a full refund, had it less than a week though.

Now I'm still hesitant to order a new one with i7 and ATI, this whole experience has just wrecked my nerves and confidence in Alienware.

 

WOW.. thats insane man.. I def would be demanding a replacement..

I am going to go down the path of the ATI cards if I can.. I really was hoping they would resolve the NVidia issue.. I have always preferred them in the past but if ATI cards resolve the issue I am game.. Just not looking forward to the many hours on the phone with them.

 

double post for somereason.

 

No ETA yet .

http://en.community.dell.com/blogs/direct2dell/archive/2009/12/30/19591948.aspx

 

the night before i was on the phone with them until 2 in the morning and i had to go to work at 7 but it my fault cause i didn't say anything to them just in case the issue was going to be solved. but it wasn't.

 

I have to say, you have way more patience then I do.
There is no way i would do that... I will give them the steps that I have done with the results (screenshots ect that I have taken).. I am not going to be on the phone anywhere near that amount. If they try, they can take the laptop and shove it along with a letter from my lawyer.. There is more than enough proof on this forum about the issues... I will do basic stuff for them to confirm but that is it.. The problems with this laptop seem to be common and they can not ignore the fact that they are there.
There are two options they have.
1)They need to provide a fix (actual fix not patch/workaround ) in a timely fashion within the next week or so max and not months from now.
2) send replacement ati cards and/or system that does not have these issues.

 

here comes my questions:

1) even if they provide a fixed driver for nvidia that solves the problem what are we going to do with driver updates from nvidia website? even the current driver 186.62 is old enough for gaming. thanks nhancer for sli.

2) and again if they are working with nvidia for the issue and they are sure it will work why they dont offer nvidia gpus now (at least for the time being?)

one is for sure. Even the people that bought it in the end of June or so have 5 months of quarantee left so if Dell is only trying to buy time then of course they dont have so much time left. I could say that publishing the issues really forced Dell to an unwilling situation. Maybe they just didnt want them to be published, not until most quarantees came to an end.

 

When they say driver I am sure they mean firmware.

 

I have used Dox's 182.46 drivers with Nhancer, and don't have a single complaint about the SLi performance on some of the most up-to-date demanding games.

When it comes to Nvidia drivers, people have this ill-conception that old is always bad.

 

True. I have the new modded whql drivers and my sli is not working.

I am on a trip and only have net on my phone. No driver updates.

But me2 works well enough.

 

nope. they said a driver fix. like that's the end all solution. a driver fix isn't going to do anything and WHEN a newer game comes out that the "magical driver fix doesn't support sli for it" we have to be stuck with the old crust driver.

 

Lewdvig, given the specification and engine of Mass Effect 2, which is an update from 1 (which my old sinlge 8800m GTS used to run fluid and maxed out), I wouldn't be surprised if a sinlge 280m did the job.

As a matter of choice, I refuse to use SLi on games that run fine in single gpu mode, because the second card is just not needed. Most games using the Unreal Engine 3.0 get the same treatment on my M1730 - single GPU, running fine.

And Don, once again, we can use Nhancer and SLi patches for the dual card support.

 

1900*1200 everything Maxed except af and it gets inton single digits in firefights.

The engine is gorgeous. There is no comparison to the first game. I am about 12 hours in. Large open spaces and intense fights are where the game hits single digit framerates.

 

I know they said that. I am assuming they don't know the difference based on reading pages and pages of their "fixes and answrs."

I'd would throw a fit too if that was the solution.

 

yes i do know that you can use nhancher to add sli profiles.

i'm more picky though i want both of my gpu's to run in any game i play regardless if i am getting over 100fps on one game with one card thats why i got 2 cards.

 

it wont be. i know they just read off of a what other people do so they dont know exactly what they are talking about.

 

So use Nhancer - every game will run with two cards, even the ones that never ran on two cards will do the job.

And Lewdvig, I knew the graphics had been amped up, but I had no idea of the level. I did read somewhere that the reviews tested the game on a 260m GTX? Or something to that effect, and that it ran well. Now I have to try this game and see for myself. Single digits is too low, even if you are running off a single GPU. (Are you certain of that though? Sorry if I ask, but have you confirmed that SLi isn't working?)

 

Guys,

I'm now an official member of the ATI camp!

My 4870's arrived this morning as the 'executive escalations' representative promised. He even called me here at work a few minutes ago to confirm that the cards arrived.

I told him that I haven't had an opportunity to test or install them yet (planning on tonight). He said that he'll call me back on Tuesday to follow up.

He also indicated that if I still have issues following the swap one way or another he will work with me to get the issue resolved to my satisfaction (refund, upgrade, etc.).

Once you actually get to someone who cares it's amazing how much better the support experience is.

I'll update as soon as I get the cards swapped and tested.

 

Could you tell him that it is a serious issue that many others are experiencing as well?

 

Some more official word here:

From that Blog.

 

new1838,

Dell corporate is just now starting to learn of this issue. Apparently those in Alienware technical support are trying their dardest to keep this as far under wraps as possible.

If you call tech support and aren't getting any results, call back and tell them you want to speak to someone in 'escalations'. This is the magic word that gets you to someone who CAN help.

The rep I spoke with said that it is an immediately fireable offsense anywhere within Dell if a customer requests to be sent to escalations and the rep refuses to transfer the call.

I'm probably going to get lynched for this comment, but in all honesty Dell themselves actually does care... it's the six layers of middle management that's doing everything possible to keep this issue under wraps as much as they possibly can. Once you get beyond that there are folks who are very willing and able to help.

Hopefully this can help others experiencing the same frustration I was.

The important thing is to make sure you do make an effort to work with technical support, document everything they have you do... Then when you hit escalations you have a leg to stand on.

 

I too have experienced this. I was given the run around with my first M17x and the screen. Long story short I finally demanded escalations and once I was in contact with them, I had a complete replacement system processed in minutes and had it a couple weeks later at home.. Its very impressive what can happen if you get the right person.. Well i guess that can be said for any company.. It all depends on who you get..

 

i'm waiting for my issue to be solved so i can be in the same boat as you as well.

 

I have waited a week and a half as I promised the DELL techs (for no apparent reason) and I have nothing to show for it. I will be calling them tomorrow.

 

regarding our previous conversation about nvidia drivers. yes old drivers may be ok with nhancer. but there are games that stuck when nhancer is used to support sli.
an example? pro 2010 worked fine with sli with 195.62. with 186.82 and nhancer to add sli i got blank screen every now and then.

its not only adding sli support but also some fixes they include in the drivers themselves.

 

No news here. Except that i can't even watch a 320p movie without stutter in sound and gfx. It happens in both Vista 64 and Win 7- tonight my last attempt to a clean install confirms that you can't do nothing by yourself to solve this issue- the stutter remains whatever you do (at least for me)

 

Well, tech came out and swapped GPU (swap 260M for 4870)...

My stuttering is completely resolved. You reading this Dell/Alienware? Get everyone swapped out to 4870's. Pronto.

Simply amazing the difference it's made. 4870 is completely devastating the 260M in 3D performance (when the 4870 is supposed to only be 'slightly' stronger than a 260M).

 

Happy for you

 

i'm happy for you to.

my computer is off and in it's box and i'm not taking it back out. but lets compare it to my previous dpc


do you see a difference?

 

Looks exactly like mine when watching a low-res movie on youtube! I will return my m17x to Dell no matter what. I don't really like a gfx card replacement even if it solves the stuttering...

 

why not?

since that is clearly the answer....

 

Is it ? we'll see. I have heard m17x people with ATI replacements that STILL have the stuttering issues....so that's why i don't feel comfortable with this solution.

 

i see what you mean.....

i haven't heard of anyone with the ati stutter but i havent read every page....

 

FYI -- New update from our old buddy Dell-JohnB:

 

Check the comments on.
http://en.community.dell.com/blogs/direct2dell/archive/2009/11/18/dell-dpc-latency-and-you.aspx

Still i don't think Dell have handled this too well, at least not in My case...tech support has tried to solve my m17x problems with, i must say, pathetic solutions...

 

That is good to hear, perhaps I am a little confused, but weren't there people around that said they still experience some stuttering with ATI's? Same as people that have reported no stuttering. Unless I see some official word from Dell, this might be a temporary workaround and not a real fix.

Perhaps in a couple of weeks you will experience stuttering. But hopefully not.

 

Yep from what I remember someone still had intermittent 16k-20k spikes that would cause audio, video, and in game drop outs/stutters.

 

Perhaps Nick can recap the issues he was having. I know he mentioned seeking a refund and that the system was not stable. I cant recall the specifics (if any) he mentioned.

 

so do all r1 m17xs have this problem? I hope the one I am getting for replacement for my 1730 works.

 

Going to get mixed results on this one. Most do, a few dont. Define 'problem' first. Audio stuttering, lockups, redspikes - there are multiple ways to look at this.

My advice, wait until you receive your system. Use it as you would any other system. If you encounter issues, report it to support or the rep you are dealing with on the exchange. You have a time period where you can request a different replacement or refund. Decide for yourself.

 

It was the 4850 that was only slightly stronger than the 260m, the 4870m is slightly faster than the GTX280m

 

only the ddr4 4870 is faster than gtx280 which was never released on a laptop of course as said it would. regarding the post of John-B saying that two sompanies must cooperate i assume they still believe its a driver issue. even in this case they should include microsoft and their acpi.sys so three companies but who can deal with microsoft.


BatBoy i guess you still refer to vista on which i get 1 stuttering spike in extreme situations. the real situation is win7. i really dont know if its hardware issue as ATIs work good but os plays an important role in my case.