M17x Warranty - Replacement advice

So I've got a 2 year old M17x R3, still under warranty (with accident insurance) but not for long. Has worked without any issues, up until recently...LCD has a discolored band across it. It's a 3D LCD. This color band is there all the time: during normal use, while booting, in BIOS, etc. The only way I have a clear view is via external monitor.

Called AW support and after troubleshooting they determined the LCD is bad and needs replacing. Problem is this LCD screen is no longer made and never will be. So they offered to send me a non-3D LCD. That's not a suitable replacement. Not to mention when I bought this one, the 3D LCD meant no Optimus in this laptop, so it runs solely on the graphics card (heavy energy consumption) and my battery life is short because of it. I'll take that tradeoff with the 3D screen, but certainly not with a non-3D.

The other option they gave me was to wait for a replacement laptop to come thru the system, in other words send me a refurbished laptop with same or better specs. Problem is who knows what I'm inheriting. Like I mention, this one has functioned smoothly other than this issue. Warranty is almost out on this one. If I extend it, it will transfer. But extending it is no longer an online option, so I need to call to see if I can still extend it at all. If I can't I'm taking a bad gamble. If I can, I'm still taking that gamble, but I'm spending $$$ for reassurance on a refurbished product.

Advice? I'm I being presented good options here? Or should I be pressing for better?

 

Hi there, sorry to hear of your problems .

I've been seeing this 'wait for a refurb to turn up' quite a bit in the States. This is in my view unacceptable (undefined wait) and if they cannot get the parts AND there is nothing at the outlet that meets a like-for-like specification or better then they should build you a new one.

See the thread I link in my sig for my experience and others

Good luck - stick at it!

 

I was in the same boat as you for awhile, after of two days of them searching the outlet they could not find one and told me they would be building me a new one. I would honestly take your chances with a new build as when i check the outlet i have rarely seen any of them with the 3D screen option.

 

Was your R3 refurbished or new? If it's new, insist on a new replacement laptop.

 

I have noticed this for both recently. I think they are doing this to try and cut corners.

 

Thanks for your input, everyone. Looked into it this morning, I can still extend my warranty+accident so at least I can have some reassurance in whatever scenario I end up with.

@ Tsunade_Hime - yes, I bought this R3 new.

@ MickyD1234 - thanks for the link, I'll read thru it and look for others when I get a break from work. Seems like I need to do a little studying to see where my specs stand against replacement options, be it refurbished or new. I checked out Dell outlet, and while I saw some screens that were 120Hz, and therefore possibly 3D, those didn't come with matching/better specs for my other components. I remember paying a few hundred extra to upgrade the processor & also the video card to the 580M.

The rep told me yesterday they'd be submitting me for a replacement via refurbished unit, but the request wouldn't go thru until next week - so i have time to go back to them, ask questions, etc. I'd certainly prefer a new machine to an old one (who wouldn't ), I'm just not sure what is within my rights to insist upon, or how to go about it. Hopefully I can glean that from some of the other threads involving the same experiences.

 

Thanks Cploof88. Did they contact you after 2 days? or did you stay on them and contact them over those 2 days for progress reports? They told me waiting for a refurbished system could take up to 4 weeks - heck of a lot longer wait

 

@ JakenSD - You've got it . That 'like-for-like is a very fluffy term when it comes to legal obligations. Dell sell this machine as a primary gaming machine. As such GPU, CPU, Display, HD size and speed, are all to be considered when making this evaluation.

As long as dell performed the upgrade then it's all part of the warranty deal. From the replacement R3/580m combo I've seen dell offer the 765m which is considered acceptable. Problem for dell is that the factory is only tooled up to produce (and support) the 120hz display with the 780m - huge bonus

I would just call and say you're really not prepared to wait, you need a working machine, unless they can show you in the warranty that wait is in the policy?

If there is a 120hz model available then it's 3D but make sure they supply the glasses. I've seen a few outlet 120hz machines sold just as 120hz and the glasses are missing

Just an FYI but I saw one R2 owner get a new m18x, Even though the gaming performance of the new 17 model offered was far better! He successfully argued that his original purchasing decision was based on the published specs of dual card capability

Good luck, keep us posted

 

Thanks Mickey.

I received an email over the weekend stating the following: "your exchange request has been approved. It will be processed and will enter the production stage shortly under dispatch number blah, blah...in the next few days, we will give you a call back with the specifications of the system."

I wasn't expecting an approval until Wednesday, per my phone call, and though they told me it would be a refurbished system, the email makes it sound like this will be a new system, unless I'm mistaken? At the very least I'm pleased this seems to be moving quicker than expected.

 

Excellent news. That is exactly how it worked for me and others that got a new machine. The request is handed off to someone that does the like-for-like evaluation and places the order for a new machine.

You have a 120hz model so you'll probably get a 780m since that's all they build for 3D, but they might try to skip the 120hz for a lower but more than equal 765m so be prepared. If you can agree it over the phone things move much quicker

A refurb could still be in this somehow until that call - fingers crossed

 

Sounds good. Hopefully I'll get that call soon

 

Gathered all the spec info so I'm prepped once they call/email. One thing: back when I originally ordered my system I upgraded to the 580M because there were specific benefits to having it for the Adobe suite, which I use pretty often. Specifically, it was one of only card available from Dell/AW that would provide GPU acceleration for Premiere Pro which, after Photoshop, is the program I use most. Just checked the updated list from Adobe and the 780 is on it, the 765 is not.

 

Good stuff!

If you get a new build offer then I don't think you need to worry. The 3D 120hz model is only built with a 780m .

I can't imagine the 765m is lesser a card then the 580m so probably just an oversight on Adobe's part?

Just sticking to the 3D requirement should get you the same or better GPU (as long as it was a dell supplied upgrade?) on anything they offer.

 

Yes, the 3D & 580M were Dell supplied upgrades. Pretty much everything was except for the SSD I put in as the OS drive. I may be fine with the 765, Adobe may not update it's lists the way they should. Regardless, on the whole I'm looking at a huge bump if they replace it with a new system. I'll insist it stays 3D.

 

Well MickeyD1234, you were right on with this. :thumbsup: Received a voicemail and notified a new system would be built, 3D with the 780M.

3D LCD
4700MQ
16GB RAM
GTX 780M
80GB mSATA + 1TB HD
Broadcom 4352

The only specific I didn't get was for the optical drive. I currently have a Blu Ray drive. Wondering if this bundle comes with a BR drive, or only available with a DVD drive...

 

Great, nice build! I thought it would work out. They had long enough to get one into the outlet if it was going to happen. Did you have to call much?

That thing with the Blu Ray is a bit strange. I just tried to build one and never got the option so maybe it only comes on a different base model (or more stocking issues)?

You could always swap them over before returning I guess

Edit: After all, why sell the 3D and then not give you the option of 3D movies on BR?

 

Actually I didn't call at all, just allowed it to play out.

I tried to build one as well, no option for the BluRay drive. No, doesn't make much sense not to have that option. I sent an email asking about this, will update when they reply.

*edit - just checked the AW18 models as well, no optical drive options for any of those bundles, either.

 

Well I do admire your patience . Good to know though that they do follow up and the wait they go for is about two weeks.

Will be interesting what response you get. I do know that in the past when their were parts shortages you would get a 'possible delay' warning. Maybe now they just want to push whatever they have, like the 3D screens which I hear have vanished in the US?

If it becomes a problem for them then I'd just swap it out. Very easy job

I like the disk option it comes with. Easy to add a dedicated SSD later and still have a blindingly fast data drive!

 

I didn't call, but I was fairly anxious. Truth is I saw a similar system on the outlet so I decided to not call while it was up - but I was checking the outlet at least twice a day to see if it was still there, lol. From calling AW to getting the decision to build a new system was 19 days, another 8 days for it to be delivered (sent via FedEx Next-Day).

All in all a pretty good experience, I have to say. I asked about the lack of a BluRay drive in the new system, they said the 3D version simply couldn't come with a BluRay drive. They gave me the option of swapping the drives or receiving a USB BluRay drive, I opted for the latter.

Anyhow the beast just arrived, it looks awesome! Love the aluminum casing.



I'm at work with some things to do (had it delivered to my office), I can't wait to get home and fire it up. Picked up a Samsung 500GB mSATA, so first move will be to swap that in.

 

Excellent news .

At least they could offer an option on the blu-ray. A 3D machine that cannot use 3d blue-ray movies is ridiculous. The 3D always came with the BR in the past (although you could opt for a cheaper DVD).

With my 'conspiracy theory' head on, I had a look at the latest options in the UK. A real mess with the inability to select a decent GPU without it glitching on the power cord- unless you select the top model to start with. Anyhoo, no BR drive at all on any model. I can't believe for one second that there is a parts shortage. My theory is that dell are getting rid of old stock.

If you still have not returned the old one you could easily swap the OD? You'll probably find you can open up the external unit and fit it inside anyway?

Be careful with the msata. You already have an SSD in there accelerating the HDD so turn it off first. I doubt you will see much difference but if you already have it then no harm in trying it out . You can still allocate a portion of the new SSD to accelerate the HDD. Chipset Software — Intel® Smart Response Technology User Guide.

Good luck, I'm here if you have any more questions

 

Thanks Mickey.

The more I think about it, the more odd it is that the 3D system can only come with DVD. I'm sure I could swap out the drives. I thought about that option but figured, with my current drive being 2 years old, maybe it was better to take a lesser, but newer, drive and the external option. Truth is I'd like to have a BluRay burner - so in the future I'll probably be looking to replace the ODD anyway. I can always sell the external drive to make up for the cost

I haven't messed with the mSATA drive as of yet. I saw that the included mSATA was set up as a caching drive - I had expected it to be the OS drive - so I held off. I'm unfamiliar with the configuration so I need take some time to learn about it & set up my system as best as possible. I have another week or so to return my old system, so I have some time.

What I wanted to do was take the 500GB mSATA I purchased and set it up as the OS drive, keep the 1TB HDD for data, and wipe my current OS drive (180GB SSD) and insert into the 2nd bay - have it as another data drive for now. Down the road, once SSDs get a little cheaper/bigger, I'll put larger SSDs in both bays so I can have a quieter & more power-efficient system.

What do you think? After some research it looks like the OS on mSATA might run a little slower than putting it on an SSD, but not enough for me to really notice. Besides, I'm expecting the mSATA (Samsung 840 evo) will be faster than the SSD I've been using anyway (Corsair Force GT 180GB).

 

You're welcome

With the msata port and RAID bios (allowing caching) your options are wide open. Usually when someone gets the accelerated HDD I suggest they leave it alone and just put the new ssd into the spare slot, change the boot order and install. The original drive continues to be cached and can be swapped back in via the boot order if there are problems.

Since your SSD is going to replace the msata this is not possible. You can set aside a portion of an SSD for caching but by the time you get to configuring it the drive will already be in use so you could end up wiping the OS - if it will let you!

What I would do is first figure out how to turn off the cache. Then swap out the msata and start it up to make sure all is OK. Go into bios, change boot order to the msata and boot from the windows DVD (F12). Install. Test. All, OK? Phase two: insert second SSD and use the attached doc to set up some space to accelerate the HDD and the rest can be plain data storage.

Just to set expectations though, first you are correct about the msata being slightly slower, but in reality (and I have tested it) the difference between sata2 and sata3 on an SSD is not noticeable except in benchmarks. Second, an accelerated HDD is almost as fast as a dedicated drive so expect maybe a couple of seconds off win load but after that it will be hard to see.

Chipset Software — Intel® Smart Response Technology User Guide

Oh, and you will almost certainly find you could open up the external unit and put it in the ODD bay. Much tidier and you can put it back in the external case when you want to sell it?

Good luck

Edit: Just had a thought, you may be able to setup a single RAID volume at the point you add the second SSD. Just go into the IRST software after you plug it in and see your options. The speed overhead is minimal and you no longer have to be concerned with what is on what drive

 

So after considering what you wrote above about leaving the accelerated HDD in place, I'm thinking about a different setup. Currently I've got the 80GB mSATA: 64GB dedicated to caching and about 10GB left over for data. I still replace it with the 500GB mSATA, giving me around 430GB of extra storage space from the mSATA slot. That was what I wanted to have available anyway (some extra SDD storage for data and scratch disk purposes) - I'm just getting it through the mSATA port instead of one of the bays.

so:
Bay 2: new SSD for the OS
Bay 1: 1TB HDD for data
mSATA: caching and data

The accelerated HDD stays in place and becomes just a data drive, with the OS going on a new SSD I'll place in the 2nd bay. Change the boot order accordingly and off we go. I assume I'll still see some benefits with HDD acceleration even if the HD drive is no longer the boot drive (faster loading of frequently used data such as movies, music, etc). I'll need to instal IRST on the new OS to get the acceleration going again.

Couple questions about my approach here. I understand it's better to install an OS without other drives present in the system. I thinking my steps should be:

1) Go in and replace the mSATA, test it out and make sure all is good.
2) Go in a again, remove the mSATA and HDD, insert new SSD into bay 2 and get the OS installed.
3) Go in again (gotta do it) and put the mSATA and HDD back in.

In this config, can I partition the mSATA to have the following partitions 1. 64GB for caching, 2. 25GB or so for scratch disk use (Adobe CS6 software) 3. and the rest for data?

Any idea what my bios setup would need to be? It's currently set as RAID, for the acceleration. But once I'm setup, would it need to be ACHI to boot from the new SSD?

 

That is a valid solution. Once you install the new msata ssd caching will be broken and you should set it back up at this point before you install the new OS ssd. It can also be configured from the RAID bios using the hot-key combination (can't remember it right now) that comes up on screen before the bios post screen.

Yes you do get the option to partition as you wish (from what I see in the documentation) but it looks like you just get to pick the cache size and then allocate all the rest as a single data drive?

Then when you fresh install you just watch the size (ignore any drive allocation letter) and install to your newly installed bay ssd. Taking the msata and HD out again will simplify your options and less chance of a mistake but as long as you opt for the fresh install on the new ssd it should ignore the current installation.

At this point if the new installation does not go well you will simply be able to change the boot order to put it back on the HD

In the BIOS do not change the access mode, this will break caching completely. You do not need ACHI, it just turns off the RAID bios and has very little overhead. Just select the drive you want it to boot from (boot order) and all is good. Do this at the point just before you install windows and the install will (or should) only see a blank boot drive and offer this first. Of course boot from the CD (f12) or all kinds of problems can occur if you run the install from inside an existing installation...

HTH

 

Need some guidance Pulled the 80GB mSATA and replaced it. As you wrote, caching is broken and needs to be reset. But the options it's currently giving me are throwing me off.

What my RAID BIOS looked like prior to doing anything:


Now that I have the 500GB mSATA in place, it only allows me to set up the 1TB HHD as a RAID volume, I don't get the option to set up the mSATA. Here is what it lets me do:


I checked both drives via Parted Magic and both are totally clear, no allocated partitions.

Should I delete the HDD raid volume, insert the new SSD in bay 2, install the OS, then get Intel RST installed so I can use the UI to set up the caching correctly? Big thanks in advance

 

I didn't think you could even create a raid volume with different drive types??

Yes

Delete the raid so it shows 'non-raid'. Then put in the new boot SSD in bay 2, change the boot order and install. You should then find you can accelerate the HDD (and create a second SSD data drive) inside windows IRST. You may even find that you could add the SSD space together for a single drive but that's not something I have seen or tried. But since it has already raided completely different drive types who knows?

Shame that creating that raid will have wiped the original install.

Good luck.

 

Okay, thanks! New territory for me, so even though I think I'm good at figuring these things out, it's always a worry that I'll miss something. Looks like everything is coming along just fine, on to OS install...

I imaged the HDD before starting any of the work, so I can always put that back on

 

Sweet! Fingers crossed

 

Just be prepared that they may build a system and not call you first, that happened to me and it did not meet my approval as they moved me from a 7970 to a 770m and I wasn't having that. Keep an eye on your account because that will show your orders or if you don't have access to that phone in every few days to check on it and confirm the specs. Or just have better luck then me and they will call you

 

Working out fine. OS installed, currently in process of installing needed drivers for the system...

Thanks for all the advice to get this far! :thumbsup:

 

You're very welcome, I'm glad it's working out

 

Someone needs to update their sig with their sweet replacement.

 

Good suggestion :thumbsup:

 

Working out really well. Went back to the drawing board Monday with the W7 install and studied up on the optimization tweeks. Totally happy with what I have now. Gotta say I'm surprised at the improvement over my previous system. Of course I had expected it would work better/faster - but it's much snappier than I anticipated. maybe knowing a bit more about the optimizations helped. Haven't even used the Adobe video software yet, can't wait to give that a trial run.

Been installing everything in stages, imaging everything along the way with Acronis and I'm just about done. All my data (Word files, movies, etc) is running off an external drive for now. When I click anything, a movie for example, it opens up pretty much instantaneously - not bad coming off an external. I had been holding off on activating the RST acceleration for the data drive until I got everything else in place, but it's working so well without it I think I'm just going to set up the mSATA & HDD as standard disks, NTFS, and skip acceleration. Keep it simple

Been super pleased with this experience, my hats off the Alienware/Dell. And of course thanks for the advice!

Old benchmarks vs the new:

 

Cool, glad it's working out. You should still be able to install IRST just to see what it offers. I'm sure speeding up the data drive will be beneficial but of course if your happy with it as-is, enjoy