Enough problems for a replacement?

Hi all,

I have a Studio XPS 1640 I purchased in late August of 2009. I still have ~190 days left on warranty and ton of problems. Do you guys think these issues are enough to warrant Dell sending me a replacement?

1. Throttling - I had issues throughout, eventually got Dell "fix" with the A14 bios update and the 130 watt adapter. Still throttles under heavy sustained loading.

2. Screen - The often complained about scratches and scuffs from dust on the high gloss screen, despite good care. In addition, there seems to be light bleeding around the bottom edge and sometimes it has an orangish tint in the area.

3. Sound - This issue started just a few days ago. The sound card now always reports headphones plugged into one of its jacks, effectively disabling the laptops speakers. I am forced to use a work around where I make the on-board mic "listen" to the headphone jack, and then the laptop speakers will output sound.

My hope is that the next-gen laptops arrive next month (February) and that if these issues are enough for a replacement, I will be able to get a new Sandy Bridge powered laptop. What do you guys think?

Thanks for all the help in advance.

 

Have you contacted Dell about any of these issues? They won't replace it if you've never sent it in for repairs/had a tech come put new parts in. If you have called Dell repeatedly about these issues and had them recur then they might replace it, but I sincerely doubt you'll get a Sandy Bridge replacement if you asked for one now. More likely they will give you a refurb XPS 15/17 or something.

I suggest calling Dell to fix/document your issues and getting the ball rolling on that and then wait a few months until the Sandy Bridge laptops aren't super new anymore. Then you may get one.

 

I think the general rule of thumb is that you need have had the machine serviced up to three times before you qualify for a replacement. You can sure try to ask for a replacement, though; I'm not actually sure how strict the three service rule is...

 

You both make a good points.

Yeah I've sort of let the ball drop on the screen issue. Until recently, the laptop has been my only computer, so having it out of commission for several days while it is being repaired has not been an option for me. The scratches are annoying but bearable, as is the bleed through and orangish tint. What really got me thinking about contacting Dell was the sound card crapping out a few days ago.

Starting with an XPS desktop back in 2001, my experience with Dell Tech support has never been a good one. As a result I've tried to keep my communication with them to a minimum. When I requested the 130W replacement, the tech I spoke to in the XPS tech support group claimed that he had no idea of the issues and that I could only purchase a new 130W power supply through him. I actually had given up, but when I was about to hang up, they asked me to complete a survey. Feeling annoyed, I completed it, giving good scores for the tech's verbal skills, but poor scores for his knowledge and my overall experience. At that point, the customer service rep administering the survey connected me to the XPS tech support manager who resolved the issues. So in the end, I was able to get the problem fixed, but I felt like it was only by chance and I had to jump through hoops to get it done.

I guess I was just hoping that with all three issues at the same time, a replacement would be cheaper for them than sending out a tech, possibly more than once, w/ multiple parts.

TL;DR: Should have contacted Dell about the screen earlier. My past experience with dell tech support hasn't been good. Hoping to use all three problems at the same time as leverage.

 

I'd get in touch with them an at least start getting things fixed.

If this is the first time you have contacted them about this system, I highly doubt a replacement will be provided because as far as Dell's info says, that laptop has run like a champ since new and now is starting to have problems.

Stay on them until you are happy, maybe eventually you will get an exchange.

 

Do you experience throttling due to overheating?