One week with the M17x

I ordered my machine around 1-2-10.
I received my machine on Wednesday, January 13th.
I have had several issues with the final straw being on Wednesday, January 20th.

For starters I live in the US. I ordered the M17x with the q9000, dual 260m, 4GB 1066 memory. I couldn't bring myself to spend more, even though I wanted the dual 280m. They announced the i7 a week after I ordered the machine, which I wasn't too concerned about (though maybe I should have been.)

Problems that have been occurring:

After showing my new machine off to a friend I shut it down and left it for an hour or so. When I returned, I powered the thing on (still plugged in) and was getting bad graphics display in Crysis (I had just used Crysis to show it off). I determined that the video cards were not running and I pushed fn+f7 (I think this is the combo. I can't be sure as I don't have the computer in front of me.) and instead of the reboot prompt I received an error. I restarted the computer anyway and still had the cards disabled. After several reboots and attempts to enable discrete graphics it was finally working. I do not recall the error I was getting. I figured that I would either rid myself of the error or take note of it later. I did not enable stealth mode either. This has happened on two occasions and is IMO a serious problem.

The lights above the keyboard for the sound and stealth mode etc. will sometimes not come on after a cold boot. I haven't noticed this problem after a reboot. They do come back on after a reboot. Irritating.

Last night I was playing Borderlands and I plugged my headphones into the jack. I have headphones which have a mic plug-in as well. When I plugged in the headphones it was working right away. After a few hours I paused the game, on one occasion, and walked away for a few minutes. When I came back and continued, the sound was coming out of the speakers and not the headphones. I unplugged and replugged the headphones and it was working again. I restarted the computer later in the night and after starting Borderlands again the sound was coming from the computer again and not the headphones. I had not unplugged them again. I did another unplug/plug-in and it worked. Also irritating.

I am getting the sound/video stuttering that has been discussed.

Questions before there are any discussions:

1. Will it be worth returning this for the refresh in attempt to stop these problems?
2. Does the M15x have similar issues, because returning the M17x for this model might be an option.
3. Is it 21 days after the SHIP date that I have to return it, or is it a different day.

Thank you in advance for any assistance.

 

1. Yes it's worth returning it for the refresh. Go do it.
2. M15x has throttling but there's a workaround for it.
3. It's after the ship date.

 

1- of course, i would return it and get the m17x-r2
2-go for the m17x-r2 period (m15x has Throttling problems)
3-21 days

 

I hate to tell you this, but if you are not satisfied with the system or are not interested in 'tweaking' the system then I suggest you contact Dell ASAP and request a refund or return as your 21-day is going to expire soon. Now, on that note, it used to be 21-days from date of invoice. I know, from date of invoice isn't 'right/fair' but it is something they were doing when I ordered my system last year. It may be 30 days now - regardless, do not delay and make that phone call.

By the time we sort out the issues you described, you may be past that time period and stuck.

Note, when calling, the support rep is going to try to troubleshoot (and its to be expected). Just remember, if you want to return it now for the M17x R2, you need to explain this and do it now, not later.

Hope it works out.

EDIT: wow - so many quick responses Nice job guys.

 

if your not happy with it, i suggest calling dell right away for a refund. what is your power settings, does it hibernate when you leave it idle? i have heard alot of problem from coming out of hibernation. i myself disable hibernation on my M15x and just use a screensaver instead. but since this is new i suggest returning it for newer version.

 

I use the high performance power settings and I have hibernation disabled.

Thanks for the responses so far everyone.

 

I know nobody is fresh but your M17x is fresh and you should not expect any issue with it (esspecially issues that seem not come from bad drivers or OS). So return it, get a refund then get a R2 then come back here to have some fun with us... Cheers mate...

 

An update on this issue.
I called and spoke with customer service and, after 2 hours, they are refunding my money with the return of my M17x. I am going to give the R2 a try. If I have similar problems with the new machine, I think it will be best to try something else. The only problem I have is, what else can I buy that looks as good as it performs?

 

Alienware basically looks as good as it performs. It's shameful that they have some issues with it these days but as long as customer service is good you don't need to worry too much.

 

Sure, the Alienware looks great and performs better, but I don't like having a new machine with these little issues. Customer service only goes so far when you run out of patience waiting for a fix. The way I see it, I wouldn't buy a brand new BMW with 3 wheels. Why would I settle for a brand new Alienware with 3 wheels?

 

nothing looks as good in this performance area (My opinion). The Asus (G73) still looks kinda blocky and weird, and I have never found clevo to have convincing looks.

The alienware just looks really good. I know its kinda discouraging, but dont give up, these machines are beasts as long as you dont get a lemon