M11xr2 refurbished

My r2 came in the mail today...

Turns out it came faulty/damaged from the outlet store. It didn't come in the original box, missing the customization plate and has tons of fingerprints everywhere!

Not sure if it was just an oversight but the plastic piece between both the hinges is separated a bit, which is causing a squeaking noise and seems a bit hard to move back and forth. I realize the refurb might be exactly that, a fixed hinge problem... but is it indeed fixed? Best way to check?

After further investigation, I disassembled the front panel and noticed a "check" on the left hinge as if it was "passed or OKed"... with the panel removed i no longer hear the squeaking, looks like it was just rubbing since it wasn't on properly. I cant seem to put it back on without it separating as i press in all the tabs... all of the "teeth" seem to be fine

Needless to say, I called dell and they're sending me a replacement but for now i get to test this lemon out

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Couple questions:

When the replacement arrives, will it be as easy as swapping the HDD? Assuming all of the hardware is the same...

Best driver for optimal performance when gaming?

Necessary mods/tweaks?

Safest/best GPU OC?

I recently had the r1, for a couple of days and noticed that the AC adapter was different and significantly longer than the r2... is the r2's a non OEM charger? (it is dell branded, but non-alienware)

Im getting about 4hours of battery life with OC enabled in BIOS to 166MHz, sound about right? Everything else is untouched and from the factory...
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Thanks for the help!

 

You will have to fresh install the HD if you swap it to a different unit. Its a different system. They just may upgrade the replacement for your trouble. I have even seen them send a new build as in we are sorry.

 

I love the computer, i hate the name.

I HATE dealing with dell. PERIOD, Everytime you call them its an all day event. You call introduce your issue/concern... transfer...introduce...transfer... and so on and so forth. The quality of the service is a whole other story, as if they are reading bullet points off a WHAT-TO-DO chart... Its terrible, slow, and plain annoying. But thats something entirely different than my main concern... I mean i did get the r2 for about $850 shipped, which is a reasonable deal considering the r1 ran me about $750 NEW, which was great considering it was immaculate.. but slow as heck.

But yeah, i pushed for a replacement and stressed my concern. Hopefully it will be new unit entirely.

 

Call Alienware, not Dell.

All calls are handled by Dell employees. But Dell has several different levels of helpdesk / support. When I have a problem with my old Dell XPS M1330, I always get transferred to the "XPS" helpdesk, which is a premium-consumer level helpdesk. You get a much different level of service than if you had just called Dell directly, which just puts you into the regular-consumer level helpdesk that handles all calls from Grandma Agnus who can't figure out how to get her printer working on her $400 Inspiron that she bought.

 

Well, ill have to hand it to dell...

After calling and complaining about the quality of the refurb, they sent me a brand new replacement. I guess it was worth the wait after all...

 

Nice! Glad to see Dell saw you through

 

What were the spec's of the new one? Same or did they upgrade it any?
Would like to know how your did.

 

A note on the check mark on the left hinge, when I opened mine up there as the same check on the left hinge of mine too. If you check the video of the guy on YouTube opening his to show his work on the hinges, you will see the same things. Oddly, mine had one of those little five-pointed stars on the right hinge like a person draws idly in school... some kind of code perhaps heh?

BTW, congrats on getting a new replacement, you deserve it!