Refurbished Screen Replacement For New M17x

Just wanted to get some others thoughts on my M17x experience. I received my brand new M17x on Jan 27th of this year and had some graphics corruption right out of the box. I had two calls into tech support within the first 10 days of owning the laptop and even though I was pretty sure it was a hardware issue, they kept insisting it was software based. Both of my initial conversations with tech support resulted in the tech installing new drivers, followed by my games slowing to a halt, black screens on bootup, days of troubleshooting on my own, and continued graphics corruption. After the 21 day return period had passed, they were finally willing to admit that it was probably a hardware issue. Even though I told them that I had video of the problem they didn't want to see it and insisted that I do further testing to determine if it was the LCD, or one of the graphics cards. After days of testing we narrowed the problem down to the LCD. They sent a tech to install my new LCD and I was annoyed to find that they had sent a refurbished LCD. I don't know if this is standard procedure but it seems to me that if the LCD was faulty from the factory, that I should receive a new screen as replacement. I just wanted to get others thoughts on this matter and see if I'm out of line or have unrealistic expectations but I don't think I should have to settle for a used screen on a brand new laptop. On top of this, the refurbished screen they sent has a burnt out LED in the "Alienware" name so they are going to have to send me another screen. On top of all the other problems I've had with this laptop, I am an Audio Engineer and bought this computer with the hope of running Pro-Tools on this rig, but as you all know, we can barely play an MP3 file let alone run a multi-track session.
I asked for a warranty extension to compensate me for the fact that I've already had to take a day off work and will now have to take another day for the tech to come back and install a new screen. I was told that they couldn't do anything for me other than send the replacement parts. Needless to say, my first experience with Alienware will probably be my last and will probably make me reconsider my history with Dell when I make my next computer purchase.
Sorry for the long rant but I just didn't expect this kind of headache when paying this kind of money for a laptop.

 

contact customer care, and tell them about this. It's their fault that it took them so long to diagnose the problem. Demand a system exchange. You should not be getting a faulty LCD out of the box and have it replaced with a refurb.. BTW - yours is RGB?

 

Their normal procedure when sending replacement parts will be to use refurbished. The only time I have seen them send new is when a new system (model)has been released and they dont have refurbished parts yet to cycle through... I demanded replacement when a similar issue happened on my m17x r1 when going through a couple of screens.. I was fed up and they replaced it with another complete system.. Your call. You can have them swap out again or you can ask for a complete system replacement. The latter is harder to do when you are out of you 21 day grace period.. Believe me, I know. I have spent countless hours on the phone with them jumping through their hoops.

 

I hear you. I really don't want a total replacement as this would result in days of software re-installation and phone calls to Microsoft and others explaining why I need re-activation codes. It just seems like shady business IMO. If I bought a new car and the motor was defective, I would expect a new motor, or a new car, not a rebuilt one.

 

is your screen RGBLED or CCFL ?

 

Oh i agree with you, unfortunately in the small print, they are only required to get your system in working condition and there isnt any guarantee on new vs refurb parts... :-(

It sucks but in the electronic world, most companies do that... Honestly... I dont care that much as long as the refurb is like new and they stand behind it... in the end i want working/functional over new and not functional lol.. sometimes I have had better luck with refurb items then brand new... Although the thought is I paid for new and I want new and not refurb.. but it is what it is.

 

Liquid Crystal Display, 17WUXGA2CCFL, True Life, Samsung

 

Honestly, as long as the LCD is flawless, it shouldn't matter whether it's new or refurbished. Often times Dell will test parts out and repackage them. When this is done they must relabel said parts as "refurbished." So even though says refurbished, it really is a new part. They likely just test the product to send to you simply to ensure that it is problem free and will not be affected by the same problem that you have encountered.

At least Dell is trying to ensure that you have gotten a properly working LCD panel. Although it is unfortunate to have to go through the headache. Hope it works out. As far as the MP3 Issue, I would take a look at the latency threads. Particularly this one. If your getting audio anomolies and stuttering it's possbily due to the DPC Latency issue. Change drivers as well as update your BIOS to the New A03. I'm assuming you have the M17X R1 with a Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quad. But be sure to check out some of the other stuttering, and latency threads too.

what is DPC latency?

 

Thanks,
I wasn't sure if I should expect a shorter lifespan from a refurbished screen or not. It just bothers me to know that I have a used part on a brand new laptop, especially one that I spent several thousand dollars for.
I am aware of the DPC latency issue as well as the beta driver but after all the other headaches I've encountered, I figured I'd wait until they got past the beta stage before installing it myself. I don't want to waste any more time trying to get this thing to work the way it was supposed to out of the box, only to do it again when they release the finalized driver. At least my games are playable at this point.