M15x came .. what a steaming pile... well this is going back immediately

The M15x came by Fedex today.

Aside from the well documented throttling issue, here's one to add to mix:

High pitch screech/whine.

I made a Youtube Video which partially captures the issue:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lbz8dtg76UY

Listen to the whole thing, but 1:00 is most telling. The computer goes schizo on battery power.

Other initial impressions:

Scores a 5.9 in Memory Operations in the WEI. Right. That's about 1 point lower than my lowly DDR2 in my G60Vx.

Touchpad is PURE crap. I haven't tried installing any special driver, but

1) The drivers loaded on startup made the cursor move like a stuttering Crysis demo.

2) Uninstalling drivers and using Windows default drivers helps, but cursor movement is still 10, no 100 times worse than anything else I've ever used.

This is going back to Dell. Man, this was a waste of time.

Edit: the squeal/whine is not caused by drivers (updated to 186.82), Powermizer or DPC latency (DPC is fine, exhibits same behavior with Powermizer on and Off).

 

Man i feel so bad for you, are you going to exchange it or just return for refund? mine is coming in a few days, man this sucks.

 

THat's OK, I was looking forward to the M15x but nothing was life or death.

I'm going to return it.

 

.... Wow you got a bad fan ... ?
Not uncommon...


Touch pad is all a matter of opinion. ....

Throttling is from the bios ... Power tables need to be adjusted

 

Not a fan, not even close.

 

Bad hard drive sounds like ... Barely heard it though :/

 

I know what HDs sound like and I know what fans sound like.

The HD in this makes a distinct but different (and far less obnoxious) sound.

 

Could be a bad cap or the HDD like Moo mentioned. Either way the system is borked. Sucks.

 

Yes, I think so. I am currently talking to Tech support and have directed them to the video. They want me to keep the system obviously and they want to come by and replace the motherboard and possible the Video card. Knowing the complexity of the dismantle and repair process, I am definitely not comfortable keeping a brand new system with a completely new mobo.

I am asking for a return however, unless they are able to step it up and provide me with a brand new system with a few upgrades for this troubling experience.

 

Under no circumstances should you accept work on a new system unless it's minor like a dead HD. Don't take anything less than a new system + a few perks thrown in for the trouble.

 

I just tested a theory that DJ_Pawel PMed me about.. he said his M17x had the same issue and it was a Motherboard problem. The system would exhibit this behavior under idle but not on full load.

I fired up Prime95 and voila, screeching gone. Prime95 off, bam - screeching is back.

This should put the rest of you M15x would owners minds at ease. Unless you get a defective motherboard like mine, you won't have this issue.

 

Try running the throttle tests, maybe this screecher has special powers...lol.

 

How long did you wait from production to recieving it?

 

It throttles. GPU stays mostly at 383/301/767 with the occasional spikes back to full clocks.

 

So Tech Support was worthless. They insisted on replacing my motherboard and GPU (actually, I would have asked them to replace the CPU and HD while they're at it). They would not even send me a replacement system. Said Customer Care would be the only possible solution at this point, and I would be charged a 15% restocking fee (Really? For Defective systems?).

Dell's reputation is well earned it seems.

 

Tech support is always worthless. Call order support tomorrow and ask for a replacement system and/or refund.

 

I had a bunch of issues with mine. When I contacted customer care they said get in touch with the sales rep. I contacted him and he did not even put the repair possibility on the table. He gave me two options, they would send a replacement with the exact same specs, or I could ship it back and place a brand new order. I went with option 2 but did not end up placing a new order.

 

So what do you have now?

 

I emailed a Return Request to Dell.

Dell owes me a few hours of my life back. My billable rates at my firm have probably now exceeded the cost of this laptop...

 

I had an issue with my lights not working that turned out to be a motherboard issue: new one was replaced by the on-site tech in less than 30 minutes, system has been flawless since.
Dell has stood by the product and will replace your defective part. Maybe you should try it first and see. Thus far of all the various posters, I would say one has a legitimate reason to be be pissed at Dell, and that was the guy who had the bad screens -- which no one else has had a single issue with. Before going all ballistic, perhaps you should see if yours is an isolated case.
At least Dell has a customer service call line, online support and web support -- not perfect, but as much as I love Samsung products for example, ever tried to contact Samsung customer support?

 

Call team blackhawk they have served me well

 

What's the contact number?

 

I don't currently own a laptop. I have a $2000 credit balance on my cc that is burning a hole in my pocket. I just got a new 28" monitor for my desktop so I am busy playing with that I am stuck using virtual machines at school however, what a pain. To be honest I am not sure what to do, I am contemplating waiting on the M17x with the i7...
I will be interested if there is a throttle fix also.

 

M17x + i7 is definitely enticing but probably a ways off. If it was available now I know I'd have bought it.

 

if it is in the first 30 days of purchase then they have to replace the entire system with a new one not refusbished but new
anything after 30 days then they have ot sned someone out ot fix it

 

If you were happy with your G60 then the Asus RoG 15" with i7 and 260m is what you should have got IMO.

 

tell them that you want to speek with someone in the Unites states and that you want there esxilation team and when you get back from one of them tell them that you will report them to the BBB and right a letter to the AG
i did that about 2 years ago got them to replace my system once when they did not want to one thing i know is how to work the system and im not talking about the pc's lol

but try that it should work

 

From the benchmarks i have seen, the i7 is clearly faster than the C2Qs but I don't know if its 'dump my current rig and upgrade at any cost' worthy.

I don't think I'll be upgrading until the mobile 5870 x2 is available (or maybe even the one after that). I can wait for a 25,000 3dmark06 scoring notebook.

OP makes me glad I got the M17x rather than the M15x. I had some challenges with mine, but it works great now.

 

There's nothing wrong with the M15x in general, its every bit as good as the M17x. M17x users have to contend with DPC latency and we have throttling but with the throttling, it doesn't affect daily use and at this point is confined to synthetic tests.

 

Only if it is as quiet as the M15x.

 

i had a exact problem .. change a new power adapter would fix the problem...100%..

 

try to run ur laptop without the power adapter...see if the noise still there...

 

i can tell you they arent going to offer you any free upgrades for your trouble. i've spent over 20 hours in the last month dealing with these guys and the most i've been offered is a $50 credit. every person you call will lie and say they can't do anything for you.

make them ship you a new unit out and come pick up the defective one. if not you can call up the CC company and be ugly right back.

 

I love this life or death attitude towards a purchase of a laptop. Dell has wasted my time! They owe me money! lol!

 

Yeah, economy in disarray, people starving, wars, but the end of days is upon us if I DON'T GET MY LAPTOP IN MINT PERFECT CONDITION.....

But seriously, they should have better QC before it ships.

 

I kinda think it is funny also to watch all of the negativity when something isn't exaclty what was expected.

Guess I am old and a bit more patient. Anything will be better than my old D800

 

Now I am not sticking up for "THE MAN"
but it is end of year they are doing thier biggest amout of business as we speak. Having to deal with Dell and server purchases this was the worse time for Dell. Year end budgets need to be spent and need to be recieved by a certain day. They are getting pushed to get hardware out. I am sure this is the same for any large hardware provider.

 

Shouldn't they all. Mass production has it's draw backs. The more that are produced the more will slip through the cracks.

 

Unfortunately that's what has been bred by western culture. Just because I have money and I've spent it with you, I am allowed to be emotional and angry. In reality I think there's always some buyer responsibility as well, you take a risk ordering online and not having your hands on the machine before it is delivered. The positive side is you get better than retail prices and components from say best buy, and Dell will work with you to resolve issues. You can always send it back.

But being emotional about it isn't fair. I went through five iPhones before I got a good one. Stuff happens

Call Dell and work with them to resolve your issues starting with the power adapter. Otherwise ask for a new machine or get a refund and find another 15 inch that is comparable.

 

what is expected is what is advertised. not mostly what they claim it to be.

i feel i have been very patient with dell as ive spent a full days worth of time on the phone dealing with them.

i also dont think that people should have to get 3 different responses from 3 different representatives. i had one blatantly lie to me and not even process an RMA. it took 2 more calls and 2 more hours.

 

IF you guys don't know what you're talking about, please don't respond. I have clearly stated that the issue is worse on BATTERY power.

 

Spending hours on the phone waiting for reps and then obtaining no proper resolution is absolutely a waste of time. Sorry if my time is more valuable to me than your time is to you. I'm sure many people here work full time jobs and have families and friends, and do not have the freedoms of being a teenager or kid in college anymore.

 

your gonna knock on college kids?

Work is far easier then college specially if you work and go to school



Just call who i told you to and get it over with

 

Uh yea I am... most people go to college and party for 4 years (while getting their degrees), as I'm sure you know. The people who work and go to school are the very small minority.

What number should I be calling?

Edit: I called the BlackHawk extension and they transferred me to Customer Care after a quick chat.

 

Two things I will agree with is the Dell customer service is horrible and inconsistent, even when getting something as simple as a status update. The other is the touch pad on the alienware is one of the worst I have messed with on a laptop.... but that is minor since I use external for most tasks anyway.

I was lucky in that mine arrived pretty much flawless, but I would most likely ask for a replacement also. I have to travel a lot and outside of the holidays, I would probably not be home to receive an on site repair.

 

huh? I'm 35 lol.

I've been through it with Dell also. The difference is I didn't start a thread to complain about it then tell people not to post.

Go to ihatedell.net. People there love this stuff.

 

Sorry, but people who do not read or comprehend the English language absolutely should not post. There were two who suggested a Power Supply Issue, when that thought should have vanished on post #1.

If you didn't notice, I created this thread to detail the defects, not about the support itself.

 

This was the primary reason I returned my M15x to Micro Center - whoever designed the touchpad on this is an idiot. I've used a lot of laptops over the years; this one is easily the worst touchpad ever.

PS, FWIW, I bought a G60VX after the M15x, so I went the reverse direction as you I stuck a T9900 in it and with a little OC on the video card, got 12,493 on 3dmark06 - Got 12,550 or so on the M15x with a i7 720, plus now I have two hard drives and a lighter system than the M15x.

N

 

It's not so much a touchpad issue as it is a driver problem. Another owner that uses linux on his system reported the touchpad working perfectly but he had issues with Windows. If anyone is to blame, it's synaptic.

 

I also am currently using a G60Vx with a T9900 @ 3.5ghz. I never did break 12,000 in 3Dmarks however (W7 HP 64 & 186.82).

The M15x's screen is absolutely gorgeous though.