Dell XPS M1730 Owner's Lounge, Take 2

Well i was going to get 3 years but im still waiting for the engineer to come 2 weeks after he was supposed to It`s seriously putting me off and i think in 2 years i may go elsewhere

 

Great news! You will definitely see an increase in performance. Be sure to hit up my M17x blog (signature link) with updated drivers when you receive it and feel free to PM me with any issues. It takes some getting used to (HybridSLI), but you will love it. Congrats!

 

@marine_engineerUK great deal man congrats from me to.

 

Dell wants $155 for a battery. I've seen them online for around $80.

 

Well, still no call from Dell and the customer resolution center will not connect me with anyone. They did however cancel the Studio XPS 16 order they were trying to force upon me... What happens next, I have no clue. Refund or M17x I guess....

 

Resolution center was supposed to call me today as well, as an 8800 was supposed to be sent here today.

 

Do people generally find things wrong with their m1730's that they have to keep sending it off to dell to fix? I mean, sure I could always take up warranty, but surely it is a hassle to have to have it going to repair so and so?

 

i got an oem one @ 130 SGD (dell's 250 SGD)off my local tech store. total rubbish.. says cell made in japan manufactured in singapore(my country) with 1 month warranty.

after a month stupid things happen like the battery overheats itself and forces an auto system switch off when it gets too hot. it usually switches off when it has 60% left. but sometimes when im in a place with extremely cold air con, it stays all the way and doesnt overheat.

the cells are also probably sucky quality cos when i bought it, i could get about 1hr 15 min max out of them. now just 6 months later, im left with 40 mins max

 

of course its a hassle to fix but who else and where else can you turn to if you dont buy warranty and get dell to fix it? sure you can order parts yourself and fix it yourself but the parts itself will cost more than a year of warranty.

and seeing how often the system has problems, youll prolly spend so much money on replacement parts that you can buy yourself an m17x by the end of 2 years

 

cheers guys, looking forward to getting my hands on it for sure! Will deffo try the drivers from your blog batboy.

 

Thanks for the feedback. My concern is my official Dell battery died after 1 year. Am I going to have the same results if I buy another one from them? The funny part is I barely use it on battery. But this one is so dead I can't even move the laptop without shutting it down and restarting.

Any more feedback?

 

Same damned thing happened to me. Was perfectly fine until one day. Fortunately I'm getting a system replacement so that rectifies the problem.

 

I'm just looking to buy a good battery. Even if I haave to spend a couple more dollars

 

my dell batteries hardly lasted 6 months each.. i dont even use em.. but i do condition them once in a while

 

I took a shot on an eBay auction. 1 yr warranty and the seller has a buttload of positive feedback....see what happens.

Thanks all

 

Cor! i've just seen your avatar hank, she looks a bit like my wife.......NOT!

Who is she?.

DOWN BOY DOWN!

 

Kelly Brook - British supermodel, actress. 32E boobs; all natural; nothing plastic on her like the anorexic 'Megan Foxes' of Hollywood.


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Dell DID in fact call today, but I was out of the house. Some LONGGGG drawn out automated message (apparently an algorithm to detect whether an answering machine has picked up or not is beyond them) about pressing '1' if this is the right number, or '2' if something else blah blah. I almost deleted the message before I realized at the end it was FROM Dell. I guess I'll call back in a few. Hopefully they call ME back anyways considering they have me waiting and LIED about the 14th being the ship date for the cards, as they'd have been here by now. My patience is running out...

 

You should get it from eBay or somewhere else. I had mine replaced after almost a year under warranty.

Unless it`s the mobo, everything else can pretty much be changed by the user or tech.

 

spoke to dell this morning regarding my wait for a replacement 8800m gtx sli(over two weeks now) and they said again they have no stock and that there were a fair few waiting in front of me for a new card .
They are going to phone me this after noon supposedly to discuss the matter . How do you think i should approach it? I have been patient and polite so far but its beginning to annoy the hell out of me

 

Not being able to use the laptop for over 2 weeks would have me very upset. I'm praying I never have the issues alot of you are having.

 

Well, at this point, a lot of people request the m17x instead of replacing bad parts on the m1730...so I don`t know what to say, try to see if you can get that. But you would need a good ammount of luck and an easy rep...

 

I'm wondering how good the Alienware laptops are now that Dell owns them. Is the M17x built better then the M1730.

 

Hi Dazr, Most likely you will end up dealing with a guy named Sujay, I have just finished dealing with him for the past 4 weeks, from my previous posts you will see the outcome was a m17x replacement but only because they no longer have the extreme x9000 cpu available. They should offer you a replacement m1730 but it might be quicker requesting a 9800 card as a replacement because your new system will have one of these anyway so it will save waiting a further 2-3 weeks without a working system. how many problems have you had with your current system? If you have had a lot of problems you could always try and push it for the m17x as a replacement for the constant let downs and inconvenience. If they still refuse to help and insist on you waiting for a replacement card there is a post further back that contains dell corporate emails, send a polite but strongly worded email, out lining the problems with dates, names of tech support agents etc and how much you feel let down. this is the avenue I had to take in order to get a replacement system. Good luck and don’t let up, keep pushing them but politely as in the start I was bit irate and got nowhere

 

i just received my m17x as replacement for my 1730 yesterday. and i must say besides the lack of the extra logitech lcd screen, the alienware is a hell lot better. temps are cool, fans come on easily and the gfx on load for hours never exceed 75 degrees. the system also feels more solid compared to the plasticky feel of the 1730.


however the 1730's touch pad buttons are better. the m17x touchpad buttons are really hard to press.

 

@rugbyboy:
what are the specs of youre m17x now and what specs did you have in the m1730?
they also promised me today a m17x for replacement, because they don't longer have the x9000 cpu.
but like i said they "promised",....

 

I was just told that after my refusal of the Studio XPS 16 as a replacement that an order is being submitted for a M17x to replace my M1730. I don't know what configuration they are offering yet hopefully tomorrow I will have some details. I called 8 times since friday with no return phone calls. Finally today they transferred me to someone who gave me that information. We will see what Dell actually does.....

 

Bpat, you seemed clued up with most things.

Ive had enough of Dell now and have asked for a refund, i`m looking at a Sager which in the UK is rebranded under a different name.

This is the laptop

http://www.kobaltcomputers.co.uk/comanchesli_overview.php

This is the spec i`m considering, whats your impression of sager and the spec below, how does it stand up to an M17X ?

 

@the stig: yes i know its a hell here for 3 full months but i never give up,...never, now about 100hours phonecalls to the support and 20 emails to everyone with a email that ends with @dell.com
I realy hope they will give you the refund, i think that kade storm also wanted that comanche if he gets his refund,..but there was also a problem about that i guess...
just don't give up!

 

Another thing i need to ask, my M1730 was bought from a Dell re-seller just over a month ago so its not long ive had the laptop for, Dell have told me that they would only refund the amount that was originally paid for the laptop by the reseller. Ive contacted the re-seller and he is saying that its really my problem with Dell as he only offers a refund within 2 weeks of the purchase.

At the min i`m being left a bit high and dry by all concerned and i`m the one thats suffered most lol, do you have any advice ? Your talking £800 difference here which is about $1400 from what i paid for the laptop with what Dell are offering and they also said they can`t pay a customer direct, it goes to somewhere else and they pay me.

 

they have to do something cueball and the point is they are out of stock with diffrent things of hardware for the m1730.
They most offer you the same or better, so finaly everything will go fine, but i know we all have to push them every day, this is a real battle.

 

i'm in the same situation like you, thats why they didn't give me that refund and always sended a engineer for a repair or give me a m1730 replacement.

 

Ive told them i don`t want a replacement as i don`t want to experience anymore shoddy service from Dell where the right arm doesn`t know what the left arm is doing, i also stated that with the M1730 not being manufactured anymore i didn`t want a replacement thats going to be made up of mish, mashed parts from all across the factory out of customer returns.

A laptop thats giving me problems that hasn`t been cured after the 1st repair then 3 further problems after where the engineer didn`t even turned up and i didn`t get a courtesy call either to explain why, after that i then found at that the battery is faulty lol ..... What a company.

What stance are you taking, where do we both stand legally ?

 

The rep (parvinda) phoned me back as promised to tell me there are no 8800m`s in stock again, but said my case was now being escalated (what does that mean? ) as it had gone over 12 days and she would phone me back when she gets news from upstairs . I`m still managing to be polite and patient atm but don`t know how long i can stick it

 

I now need a reason not to buy this M1730 (its direct from Dell)

£1181.62
Intel® Core 2 Duo Processor T9300 (2.50 GHz, 800 MHz FSB, 6 MB L2 cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 (64 BIT) - English
Microsoft® Works 9.0 / English - (Does not include Microsoft® Word)
1Yr Premium Warranty Support
17.0" UltraSharp WUXGA (1920x1200) TFT with TrueLife with Integrated 2.0MP web cam
6144MB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM (1x2GB + 1x4GB)
320GB Free Fall Sensor (7200RPM) Hard Drive
Dual SLI 512MB nVidia® GeForce 9800GT graphics card
INTERNAL BLU-RAY ROM COMBO (BLU-RAY, DVD AND CD READ, DVD & CD WRITE) WITH SOFTWARE
Primary 9-cell Lithium-Ion Battery (85 WHr)
Sapphire Blue with White LED Backlights
Intel® Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-Card - Europe - Core 2 Duo Processors
Dell Travel Remote Control
Services & Software
UK/Irish Additional 220V AC Adapter Power Cord
1 Year Premium Warranty Support

Do you think I can haggle the price down to a round £1000?

 

Or, tell them you want 4 years NBD warranty included.

 

It should go to the infamous Sujay now as he tends to deal with the escalations in the UK. It took me 4 weeks to get the m17x sorted out. I know its hard to keep polite but it does pay off in the end, being polite dosent meen you cant be firm and strong worded as i said before sending emails to the corperate level people should help also. I found Sujay a bit slow in getting back to me at times but just keep calling and emailing him and keeping a record of the above times dates etc and include that in your emails to corperate and he will soon pull his thumb out his backside!!

 

Worked for you?

 

I didn't buy mine new, swapped my m1710xps for it

Bought 3 years NBD for £160.

 

Stig - scrap the harddrives. Get a single Intel or Crucial SSD. Those will blow your 7200's OUT of the water. Just trying to maximize your efficiency here with a new system. Make it cheaper off the bat and get an SSD or two after market.

 

Or threaten to go to a proper manufacturer if you don`t get what you want

 

If anyone has working emails for contacting Dell higher ups (not tech support - I'm talking Corporate or Execs), please share. I'm trying to get things rolling here to get a system replacement in the works. I've emailed the classy Michael dell address, but these addresses apparently don't work:

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

 

my 1730 specs are
2.4ghz t7700
2gb ddr2 667ram
2x200 7200rpm hd no raid
8800mgtxsli
3 years completecover guard which includes theft


my m17x specs
qx9300
4gb ddr3 1066ram
2x500gb raid0 but i removed it
gtx 280 sli
warranty continued from 1730 which means 1 1/2 years left


i paid an extra 1200 sgd for the extreme processor becos my 1730 dint have one. my case took about 1 year 1 month to reach the m17x replacement stage. but it only took 1 week to settle when the case escalated.

my case is relatively unique imo becos i asked for the m17x becos i cannot use my 1730 with an external monitor. with sli on an external monitor, there would be video distortions. its a design problem so the only way is to get a new model. my 4 gpu and mobo replacements was due to the distortion problem cos they thought changing the cards would solve the problem but the cards they switched were refurbs and kept having probs


@hank, i tried lots of emails but only [email protected] gave a reply. shes the senior customer care support in asia if im not wrong.


i also said id go to small claims if the case wasnt solved within the week when i spoke to the escalation team so i guess that helped.



my advice to those asking for a m17x would be to lay out the specs and tell them to work it out. dont just ask for a m17x. ask for it with the specs all written out and remind them that the m17x is now costing the same as the 1730 when it was in the market

 

i have very good news too.
My m1730 will be replaced with:
a l i e n w a r e M17x
-qx9300
-17 inch
-4gb ddr3
-500gig (250 x 2)
-dvd writer
-9cell battery
-2 x 280M sli 1gig
-1510 wireless
-bluetooth
-vista ultimate 64bit
-3year warranty

and now i open a bottle of champagne

 

gratz! do you have to pay a cent?


remember to ask for the win 7 upgrade coupon

 

thx rubyboy and no

finaly after 3 months problems

 

Congrats Bpat, made up for you as it sounds like you had a load of hassle.

What were the circumstances surrounding your problems, when i suggested to them that i would accept an M17x as a possible replacement given that the M1730 has been discontinued they basically slammed the door in my face and were having none of it.

They said that under their terms they can only replace a laptop thats classed as a refurb with a refurb, i explained to them that i wouldn`t accept an M1730 thats been thrown together from ex customer parts that were lying around in the factory, they said my only option then was a refund but seeing as i bought it from a Dell re-seller i would only get refunded with the amount that the re-seller paid them for the laptop and it would go into another fund somewhere outside of Dell and this 3rd party would have to pay me.

Mine is an X9000 Extreme, they don`t advertise them on their site anymore, i know what they would do here.... They would wait till mine is returned and refurb mine or take the motherboard from mine and put it in another machine, basically a mash of parts thrown together.

What Dell are offering is approx $1400 (£800) less than what i bought it for, ive only had it around 5 weeks.

have a look at my thread further down on the forum and see if you can give me some advice.

 

After reading some new posts I tried using my 40" tv as a monitor via dvi to hdmi. My tv image got cut off at the bottom and top. Anyone else have this issue and know how to fix it? I have tried messing with both display options and got nowhere.

 

Hey guys I now face a new problem. Batboy, I did not uninstall my drivers and install new ones, i kept my old ones, but i switched rooms with my laptop. The previous room was really hot since there wasn't any flow of air in it. As soon as i switched room my fps went back to normal, I opened 2 WoW clients with 45 fps in each and i even opened 3 of them with virtually no lag whatsoever. I noticed that sometimes when i am playing the game (either WoW or CS:s) my laptop suddenly freezes and it restarts by itself. Is this because of my motherboard or what? it gets really annoying since it happened twice yesterday alone. anyone can help me with this new problem?

Thank you and sorry for being an annoyance

Batal

 

thank you the_stig.
i finaly gets what i deserve after 3months of problems.
The support of belgium is in holland.
I have had weeks that i call the support every day for all my issues.
did you try this:
https://support.dell.com/support/to...anding_issues_care?c=us&l=en&s=gen&redirect=1

grtz

 

I phoned support again today after being told my case would be escalated .The rep basically brushed me off saying the system was down (yea right ) i have sent numerous emails to the reps who have dealt with me and also escalation etc etc which i have not received one reply. Any idea what to do next ? Btw im not after a new laptop i just want this one fixed .