Dell Studio 1557

I have just been notified my computer(the one listed below) has been shipped,I have been reading these posts since Nov 26 (I started reading the 1747 threads)when I ordered a 17" that postponed,postponed then canceled Jan 7th.

I broke down and orderd a 15" because of the unavailability of HD screens in the 17"(I wanted BluRay as well),saved a few dollars,but i'm disappointed with all I read hear.The sales rep tries to comfort me by saying only a few systems are involved.
How do you guys feel about that statement? It appears like there is quite a few 1557 computers all over the world with problems.

Do you think it is Windows 7 compatability issue?

I'm almost afraid to boot up.An awful lot of money spent for an iffy computer,but where do you go...just wait? Thanks for listening there is not many places one can vent.

224-7186 Studio 15 Notebook 1 $1,331.14
312-0695 85 WHR 9-CELL,LION,PRIM BATT 1
313-4783 HD AUDIO 2.0 1
313-8416 Black Chainlink 1
313-8861 8X DVD+/-RW DL,INSP 1
317-2200 Core i7-720QM CPU 1
317-3080 4GB,DDR3,1066MHZ,2 DIMM,1557 1
320-1177 15.6INCH FHD TL LED DISPLAY W/CAM,INSP 1
330-2938 BACK-LIT KEYBOARD,INSP 1
330-5139 DELL RESOURCE DVD,BACK-UP,1557 1
330-5200 512MB ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD 4570,L1557 1
330-6222 Windows 7 OS Label,CNB 1
341-9700 500G HARD DRIVE, 7200RPM,I1557 1
410-2185 MCAFEE SAPPHIRE MUI,15MTH,I/S NB 1
420-6436 PC-RESTORE, DIM/INSP 1
420-6576 DELL WELCOME,SW,DIM/INSP 1
420-7938 DELL CONNECT 2.1,DIM/INSP/XPS 1
420-9100 DELL DOCK CONSUMER,INB/XNB 1
420-9100 DELL DOCK CONSUMER,INB/XNB 1
420-9352 DELL,SW,WILD TANGENT INC GAMES I/S 1
420-9691 DATASAFE LOCAL BACKUP 2.0 BASIC 1
421-0092 DELL-DOWNLOAD-FLAG 1
421-0187 DELL SPRT-CTR SW,64BIT,2.0 1
421-0323 WINDOWS LIVE SEARCH,MUI,CSMR NB/DT 1
421-1193 DOWNLOAD-STORE-LINKS,CNB 1
421-1362 DELL SOFTWARE,ROXIO 1.0, CNB 1
421-1367 WIN 7 HOME PREM, 64, ENG,INB 1
421-1582 CYBERLINK POWERDVD 8.3 DVD PLAYBACK,CNB 1
421-1777 DELL WEBCAM SW 1.4 APPLICATION KIT,CNB 1
430-2955 INTEL WIFI LINK 5300 802.11AGN 1
465-8687 PLEASE CONTACT ME WITH MORE DETAILS 1
421-0304 MS WORKS 9.0/HS,ENGLISH,I/S/X NB 1
905-0097 HW WRTY + SVC,STUDIO 1557,SOL,INIT,CA 1
905-1480 RTD,STUDIO 1557,SOL,INIT,CA 1
920-5080 WARRANTY SPRT,INSP,INIT YR 1
009-6800 SHIPPING FEE 1
313-8834 NO WWAN,STUDIO 15 1
950-9057 NO WARRANTY,YRS 2/3(1-1-1RTD) 1
600-0043 ON $2.14 ADS, NOTEBOOK PCS 1
Subtotal: $1,329.00
Shipping and Handling: $0.00

Environmental Disposal Fee: $2.14
GST/HST: $66.56
PST: $106.49
Total Price w/Discounts: $1,504.19

 

It could be a correct statement. The problem with searching the internet for comments on anything is that motivation from anger is more powerful than motivation from feeling content. This means that you will more than likely read more posts by people who are unhappy with their machines.

I work in the marketing department of a mail order company, but I do get to see customer correspondence, as in the mornings I often help opening the post if we've had a lot in, or post room attendance is down (which is all to often). One day I actually made a point of keeping a tally of those letters that were good vs those that were bad, and it was 80:20 in favour of the bad letters. Now that does not mean 80% of our products are bad - in fact looking at the database I know this can not be true because of repeat purchase patterns - it is simply that people are more willing to complain than they are to praise something.

The best advice in this case is to stop reading about other peoples machines. You've paid for yours, it is being shipped to you, but you do not have it yet. Wait for it to arrive, then decide if you want to keep it.

What you are trying to do is make a decision before you have even used the machine. Why, when you have a window that you can return the machine in anyway if it is defective?

Let me put it this way - you buy a jumper from a mail order catalogue, but then make a decision to keep it or not based on whether that jumper had a hole in it for some of the people who already ordered it. Surely it's better to wait for it to arrive and check it yourself?

 

I spoke to a sales rep today. They called me to ask if I wanted to purchase a different dell system (I returned my 1557). I told him I was thinking about a studio 17 or studio 16 xps, and he told me that if I get an i7, they experience the same problems with those, as they have with the 1557s.

Yes, it may be that some people come on here to complain. It may also be that people come on here to read up on the issues, ignore them (assuming that it is not widespread), get their machine and realize that they should have listened.

I'll put pictures of my problem online as soon as dell gives me a full refund. Like I said previously, I registered for the SOLE PURPOSE of warning people away from a 1557. Another user had it right - it's a nice computer, but it cannot handle games. It's for multimedia.

And it doesn't even do light gaming without overheating and downclocking >_<

Get an asus core2duo g51vx from newegg. Same price as a studio1557. 260m+p8700 (upgradable to core 2 quad) Or if you must have an i7, get an n81 or something - that even comes with a 4650 like the studio xps.

I've had good experiences with HP, toshiba and asus. I've bought two computers with dell. One was 6 years ago, and it's still running ... but it had serious heat problems, and the only reason I didn't return it is because they didn't show up for a few months (inspiron 5100)... the second? was a studio 1557 a few weeks ago. At least it would either downclock to 600mhz under load, OR overheat and throttle the graphics card (103 was max on the 4570) ... not both.

 

Same here, i`ll send my 1557 back next week...

buy before i may fry some eggs on the keyboard....

 

Funny, I have this laptop (1557 1080p LCD) - I don't have the same overheating or throttling issues with the as others. I'm playing CODMW2 just fine. The only time the power supply gets really warm is if it's charging the battery.

To stop throttling, change the setting in minimum processor state:

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r23639106-WIN7-CPU-throttling

at 50%, cpuz still shows 7x multiplier, and throttlestop shows same. 60% = 8x, 70% = 9x, 80% = 10x, 90% = 11x, 95% = 12x, and 100% pegs one of the cores into turbo mode, and cpuz reports 16x, 18x, or 20x multiplier. Throttlestop reports a much greater effect on multiplier doing this way than using throttestop itself to fix the multiplier.

???

 

Gday guys,

Received Dell 1557 almost 2 weeks ago and experiencing a few of the problems posted here.

1. Fan revs up and becomes noisy even when I've only got Facebook open in Chrome and nothing else
2. Can't get Everest, HWMonitor, CPU-Z or Furmark to show CPU Fan Speed or GPU temperature (Everest shows GPU Fan speed and all of them can show CPU temperature).
3. With PowerPlay turned on and laptop unplugged, watching flash fullscreen (youtube, etc) crashed the display driver, sometimes it "recovers" and performance is awful until I restart, most times it just switches between a full black and full white screen. Also can get the 3x larger mouse icon effect doing this when plugged in.
4. Brief spinning then clicking noise coming from top left, every 3 or 4 seconds. High pitch morse code like noise coming from here when I put my ear up to it as well. is that where the HDD is?
5. Poor battery life. I wouldn't mind so much if I didn't just find out that you shouldn't leave a fully charged battery plugged in. It's getting irritating having to turn plug/unplug constantly.

Is there any software that can graph CPU usage, temperature, fan speed, etc on a timeline so I can try see what's going on and why the fan is kicking in? I think these days the fan should only kick in when doing something that needs it, and I'd guess Facebook shouldnt be one of those things. What about a good recent demo release of a game so I can make sure it handles those OK?

Also a question about Bluetooth, I've got an Android 1.6 acer liquid, can I:
a) transfer files between
b) stream music from laptop -> android (cuz the android is plugged into my speakers when im away from them)

cheers

 

@Kookymonster: Congrats! You must be playing in a basement or cold apartment, compared to the rest of us. Or maybe you've got a cool running chip - not all graphics chips are created equal. Or maybe dell did a better job attaching the heatsink to your gpu.

No matter what the case is, there are tonnes of people having problems, with several people having acceptable heat levels, and none reporting that it is an excellent machine.

Edit: Additionally, having to use a 3rd party utility to get proper usage out of your computer seems wrong. A brand new computer, with a brand new install of any operating system should not need 3rd party software to ensure that it runs properly - Throttlestop may work for windows, but what about other OSes?

 

@Mawki: Use GPU-z to show temps and fan speed, iirc.

 

OK.....

After having some logon issues with this site (how frustrating) I'm back

God knows who asked but I am having a proper full blown argument with Dell over the missing antenna for the HSDA card in my laptop, the asian support guys didn't understand what I was even on about as I'm sure the query fell way outside of their training for normal everyday problems and the customer complaints team weren't interested so the next step is they are going to be getting a solicitors call and letter before I may even for the hell of it pop em with a small claims court summons.

My system regularly has issues, I have even now bought a new version of Windows 7 ultimate and done another clean install.... Quite frequently the display driver crashes out and just can't recover, other times it recovers but the laptop has to be restarted due to graphics lag. I have "somewhat" got this under control by running the ATi 8.56.1.15 driver without catalyst running.... So far it hasn't been too much of a with this driver.

<sarcasm>Other than that I'm all happy :-D</sarcasm>

 

i`ve decided to give tech support a chance to repair the overheatin issues... if not, this baby is going back... and i really have no idea of what am i going to buy next....

IT WON`T BE A DELL, THAT`S FOR SURE

 

I'm telling you. Asus, if you buy online (not from staples or best buy, etc) will give you a 2 year global warranty and a 1 year accidental damage warranty for free. I'm sure they add a little onto the price of their laptops, but they still end up being cheaper than the alternatives.

 

anyone know what I can use to know for certain the system is overheating?

 

Yup...I am still waiting for when I have the time to call customer service regarding the lack of antenna. Let me know how you get on...it wasn't an easy conversation with the technical support desk, explaining to them it wasn't possible to install an antenna by installing a piece of software.

My gripe here is entirely with Dell support, not the product...I had no idea when buying it that I could have potentially installed a WWAN card and since I had a USB dongle modem, I wasn't particularly fussed. Given I've found this out post purchase, I will simply pursue the matter with Dell doing everything you do (if what you do works!)

Maybe that's what makes it easier for me to say this laptop is excellent (I think someone was saying no one had said that), from my perspective it is way more than I actually thought I was getting and I have had no problems at all with it. Except maybe with IE8, but that doesn't mean it's a craptop....just a crap MS product that I am oddly loyal to.

I haven't really pushed the laptop, so maybe the problems are still lurking under the hood, but after a month where I have used every feature I know about and some I didn't, I'm very happy. I have had no random stops or heat issues in fact it started creeping me out a bit as on my old IBM, I never got through a week without a BSOD.

Digit100100

 

I used Everest and Realtemp.... both showed that just after a fresh start, core temperature reached about 76 degrees celcius.

I`ve alredy made the call, mine is getting back to dell.

 

I cant seem to find anything to show me the CPU fan speed, any suggestions?

 

you may turn on your computer holding FN key. Some test will run... then a menu appears.. i don`t remember well, but it should appear 3 or 4 options. On custom, you can run a test on your fan, it test shutting down, mid and high speed, showing fan speed. If it`s ok, a green tick should appear.

 

Wheres the BIOS update DELL!!!!!!

 

man even if i do decide to return this baby i cant think of a good replacement for it with when it comes to 15" size that doesnt have i7 problems, whether heat or power brick. sigh.
i mean that alienware m11x looks nice? but i reallly need i7 for the programs i utilize, not to mention that screen is too small.

suggestions? if i do return that is

 

@OneCool: They issued a bios update. It raised the critical temp of the GPU, so it didn't shut off early...

 

on the fence about returning this one, does anyone know what Dell UK's return policy is? I've seen 7 and 21 days on the website, I've had mine for 14. Ran the diagnostics program last night and it passed all fan and heat related tests, but I still don't know how I can access CPU Fan speed inside Windows 7? It seems to be overreacting, the CPU temp seems OK (in the 50s idle) but the fan sounds like it is on about medium (2500rpm+) even when I've got nothing but Facebook + Chrome open, or even when I'm not doing anything at all. Any advice? I wanna know for sure it's an issue before I ring them to possibly return.

I got the 1080 res on this one and worked out pixels per inch is 140, which is insane! If I return it, I was thinking of trying to get a powerful, 13-14inch at 768/800/900 res (~100-110 PPI, more forgiving on my failing vision) and plug it into a dell 20" when I'm at my desk. whats the best out there at the moment that can do that?

 

Hi,

I registered because I'm really at wit's end here with my new 1557. Firstly, I've been having problems with watching videos online (streaming) fullscreen. It appears to be worse on battery power. What will happen is, the screen and video will freeze up, start flickering, and eventually go blank. I'll either have to reboot it, or it will crash with a BSoD. Other forums have helped me (sort of) find the problem, which is presumably related to the ATI driver. Dell has not updated their driver, but I've been running updates from other places such as ATI's website. The problem persists.

I'm posting here because last night, I got a new and scarier issue, something I've not seen in my laptops yet. After a crash, I rebooted but windows needed to be repaired as it wouldn't start. I tried to go into safe mode, but the power button actually stopped being able to turn on the laptop....I'd push it, and the keyboard would light up and die. The computer WOULD NOT BOOT! Luckily this was not consistent, and after a few tries I was able to boot up from the windows 7 CD and repair the OS by system restore.

Any ideas? I know I'm much more knowledgeable than Dell could ever be, and I know a call to them will probably be a total waste of time. On top of these major problems, a BIOS update has rendered my eject key useless. I have to right click on the CD in 'my computer' and eject the disc that way.

Please help

- Kris

 

Hi there - I have only one suggestion and that's when the power button stopped working. Unplug all power sources, ie AC and battery....wait for a minute, then plug back in. That used to solve a problem I had years ago on a Dell I had long forgotten about...not sure if still relevant, but worth a try.

Good luck.

Digit100100

 

Yeah, that's what enabled me to get past the problem...I jingled the AC cord around a bit, waited 30 seconds and it worked. Odd.

 

Jiggled or just unplugged?

Theres a big difference between the two.

Edit: There seems to be 5 or 6 others here thats having issues with online videos or playing hd videos in general.

I dont have this issue at all and never have.I recommend a clean install of Win7.People can say all they want about "just uninstall what you dont want" if thats what you want fine.
Its not good.For one thing Windows isnt Linux.The way Dell installs there drivers is it installs ALL DRIVERS at one time and reboots.Windows doesnt work very well that way.You install the chipset driver REBOOT install video driver REBOOT sound REBOOT and so on...

 

@OneCool: It seems like you've got an awesome unit, or suffering from some cognitive dissonance (and convincing yourself, and us) that you've got a good laptop.

Either way, it sounds like most people ARE having problems - telling people that you aren't having problems isn't helping.

 

What are you talking about?

This is my 2nd 1557.The shut down issue really pissed me off (did you not read this thread or the 1557 is overheating?) and I suffered 2 different 1557's doing the same thing.15 minutes into anything that stressed the GPU the PC would hard shut down and sometimes wouldnt reboot without sounding off some beep code that no one here could help me with.

Long story short it took ME tearing the laptop down and shimming the GPU to get it where its at today.

Im not sayin it doesnt get hot.... this laptop is hot!I dont care how hot it gets on anyones lap...I use it as a desktop replacement only

All of your bit c h in is justified in my eyes

 

http://en.community.dell.com/forums/t/19303691.aspx?PageIndex=2

Scroll down and someone called 'hwam' says he's got the solution to this issue.

It basically comes down to the fact that the video drivers that Dell provides were BEFORE Windows 7 was released. So the point made is that these Dell drivers are not/less compatible with Windows 7, which causes these random freezes.

Concerning the freezes while using flash applications, try right-click on flash application, then turn off hardware acceleration. It helped me

I haven't tried 'hwam's solution yet... I prefer waiting for Dell to release new video drivers that ARE compatible with Windows 7, instead of risking bricking my video card.

I haven't had any freezes/BSOD's/crashes for 2 weeks now

Good luck

 

Try these ftp://ftp.dell.com/video/R253974.exe

They work good for me.

 

Which version is this?
How did you get this one?

Can you tell a bit more?

 

I unplugged the AC cord.

Regarding the dell forum thread, i've been following that (as well as a few others). I've been waiting for results from people who followed hwam's comment but haven't seen any posts since.

I have heard about the hardware acceleration thing. I will try that out and report back. Also onecool, please elaborate on where you found that and what it is

Thanks for the support guys.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=454204

I hope that helps guys.

If it doesnt we need more info on your setup.Screen size,memory speed... so on

 

Interesting! Thanks a bunch OneCool, hopefully this solves the horrible crashing.

 

Hi All!
(Another 1557 owner here, registered with the main purpose of sharing my experience with everyone else...This is going to be a long post, so if u r running short of time just read the bold parts..If you are comtemplating buying a studio 1557 with i7, my suggestion is 'DONT'...)


Recieved my laptop 3 weeks back...& few days into using started facing the issue of freezing..was really surprised as Ctrl+Alt+Del also did not work, & this was something totally new for me...even the worst Pcs & laptops in my experience atleast respond with the task Manager...FYI I was just working on IE & Chrome, watching a few videos online, with no softwares installed...so whoever thinks this laptop is for multimedia...well it isnt )
A quick Google later, I found this thread & the other one at dell community (someone posted about it having some solutions earlier on)
so went through everything, tried the different solutions of updating BIOS, drivers etc...nothing worked...(I did not try a clean install & disabling Catalyst as suggested by some)...
Frustrated with everything I called up Dell customer support 2 days back ..they made me run the memory diagnostics & said it could be a motherboard problem..he also asked if it was heating up a lot to which I said yes...I also had a problem with one of the keys, so they sent a technician the very next day. So the motherboard, cooling unit, Keyboard & Palmrest were replaced... after that I used it for 2 days, during which I dint have the freezing issue, but I started having the enlarged cursor after exiting full screen flash videos & also the system got really slow...

Another call to support, & few tests later, they suggested restoring to factory settings...I finally lost it & asked him what good would it do, because the problems were there from day 1, since when I had not installed anything ...he immediately said something like "I understand...will escalate it to customer complaints & request for a refund"...to which I have said yes...will talk to them tommorow & send it back ASAP...am done with this laptop, still dont know what to get as a replacement, but even my 5 year old Acer performs better than this...seriously what good is an i7 when u can use it?

Also the general feeling I get from reading these posts & also by talking to Dell support is that they are very aware of these problems, ( they wont admit it ofcourse)...my questions is, if they know, why are these still on the market....shouldnt a company as big as Dell be more concious of Quality Control rather than replacing random parts or issuing hasty refunds in leu of damage control? I for one know am never going to buy another Dell again...

 

Hahaha DCx, you clown!

So you've decided to up the ante on the griping front by chucking a few fancy terms, huh? If you'd read any of OneCool's earlier posts you would realise how off the mark you are.

When you say most people are having problems, have you actually counted how many different individuals have posted in this thread, and then how many of those are harping on like you are? If you meant most people who are moaning in this thread are having problems, then you'd be right! Duh! But if you're saying most people who own a 1557 are having problems, then you are talking out of your ***! Fragilex got it right earlier about the proportionality of the people recieving any given service or product complaining.. It has been acknowledged here and elsewhere that this machine has a high performance (as opposed to an energy saving) chip, so it does get hot. However, it is only in this thread that people are chucking their toys out of the pram about it!

Have you sent yours back yet? If you have, then stop complaining! If you haven't then what are you waiting for???

I, for one, have been using this laptop as my home workstation using CS4/LR2 for graphics and photo editing; I've also had no problems watching youtube or any other HD content full screen, and use the machine in a dual screen extended display configuration, the GPU providing a separate colour profile for each screen. I've had no problems with it since the initial issue with the subwoofer (which did make me tear my hair out, but, hey, that's Dell Customer Service for you! ), and I positively LOVE this laptop, it rocks! I'm sorry if "telling people that I'm not having problems isn't helping", but what should I do? Make some problems up to satisfy you????

LOL

 

@Nifkin: Thanks for putting words in my mouth and making fun of me. I'm glad that you're functioning at the same level as my 4 year old.

 

also@Nifkin: For someone who claims to use their computer for quite a range of complicated tasks, you seem to have had quite a lot of trouble with a very simple problem. So you'll excuse me if I don't take what you're saying seriously. I may also add that you're putting very VERY little strain on your GPU, so you're probably not in a position to comment on that issue. Also, if you bothered to read any past comments I've made, you'd know that I have acknowledged OneCools contributions AND I have returned my 1557.

So, uh, thanks for your "help" and "comments".

 

Oh come now, let's not resort to forum wars.

I understand that you are unhappy with the machine that you've bought; but if you can carry on in the forum letting people know how bad it is, you have to accept that people who are happy with their purchase will do the same, but telling how good the machine is.

I'm not suggesting that what you are doing is wrong; had I the experience you've had, I would likely do the same. I am merely saying that you cannot seriously expect everyone to agree with you regardless of their own experience.

Two sides to every coin.

Now, can we maybe leave the in-fighting here and all try to get along, helping and advising one another as this forum is intended?

 

Awww DCx, I didn't put words in your mouth! Good God, no; I quoted you directly!

So what's this "very simple problem" I don't get? You didn't finish.

As for my GPU usage, here's me from an earlier post:

I've made it very clear that I won't be stressing the GPU as much as gamers will be. I also pointed out that I'm a photographer, and that I use the lappy for image processing primarily, and everything else after.

And seeing as I still own a 1557 I'd say I'm in a better position than you, having myself used the machine for months, to make comments as to its performance. All you seem to be doing is getting all uppity if someone even suggest that it's a decent machine! Why on earth is it "not helpful", as you said to OneCool, if someone wants to say they're enjoying their 1557?!?!! Lol! I really don't understand people who want to hang around forums being bummed out all the time; I can't beleive you've sent it back and you're still ranting and raving about it.

But seriously DCx, no disrespect; I'm just trying to lighten things up in here, coz it's sooooo gloomy!


EDIT: Well said as ever, Fradge!

 

let's get back on track, shall we?

Still can't find something to show the CPU Fan Speed in-OS, would be interested to see CPU temp vs. fan speed, I think mine's overreacting a little and the noise of the fan makes the whole experience cheap, when I certainly did't pay for a cheap laptop.

 

I installed these today and I was finally able to play a full screen video without my $2400 laptop crashing. Thanks for the tip! Note: I haven't tried options like HDMI out, etc. so I am not sure if those work, but I get video and sounds, which is all I need.

 

@Mawki: I don't think windows reports CPU fan speed, and I'm not sure which 3rd party programs can report it - maybe the new i7 motherboard isn't fully supported yet?

 

@Nifkin: You sound like you're 14 and trying to prove something. No disrespect, I'm just trying to lighten the mood.

 

Earlier on I was like your four year old, now I'm fourteen? Wow. All I was trying to point out was how needless and unhelpful all your moaning is. Has your complaining here solved anything? No. Is getting annoyed with people who don't share your point of view constructive? Nope. This last post of yours bears no relation to the subject of the thread whatsoever, and is 100% a personal attack. Well done. I should have expected you not to get over things so easily considering that even from your very first post you've had a tendency towards drama. Now, for the sake of this thread, isn't it time you knocked it off?

 

Try Everest; I believe that will tell you fan speed. It wont allow you to control it though.

 

OK, definitely going to return the system as the fan just won't let up no matter what I try (fresh OS, latest drivers, diagnostics), also 1080 res on this wasn't a good idea (140+ PPI/DPI). I think here in the UK the return policy is 7 days from delivery and as I'm up to 16 I fall outside that, but should be able to return on the grounds of the fan and I'm quite sure the rest run similarly.

Any suggestions, even info on what to expect?

 

@nifkin: All I was trying to point out was how needless and unhelpful all the moaning was.

Which is bad, unless you're the one doing it, I suppose? Again, I suppose you're the expert on needless personal attacks - as is demonstrated in your first response to me.

Let OneCool speak for himself, if he cares. Why are you offended on his behalf, for something that wasn't offensive?

Don't worry, I know your kind. You can give it, but can't take it. You can't stand hypocrisy in others, and can't see it in yourself. Your personal worth depends on winning arguments that you start over issues that don't concern you, and so I apologize and I'll let it drop.

 

@Mawki: If you complain to customer service long enough, and just keep repeating the same idea (but using a different way of phrasing it), eventually customer service will give up and let you have their way. I believe they finally say "I don't get paid enough to deal with this".

They will try to screw you out of a restocking fee, so make sure you speak to tech support first, and get them to admit there is no way to fixing it. Use the name of the tech constantly. Chances are, the person you're dealing with won't know who the other person is, but will understand that you'll use THEIR name constantly if they don't agree, and if they don't accept your reasonable offer of a full refund for faulty hardware, demand their name, and ask to talk to a supervisor. Keep track of these names, and every person you talk to, mention each of them, over and over again.

Although tech support is sourced in hyderabad and they get paid very little compared to UK wages, they still make quite a bit compared to their countrymen. They won't want to lose their job, and complaining (even for no reason) and using their name will make them unccomfortable and worried.

It's a little bit mean, and a tiny bit cruel, but dell doesn't have a problem taking your money.

Alternatively, you can get the sales agent to offer you a 15% refund if you keep the computer - which isn't a bad idea if you have a long warranty or an accidental damage plan.

Which leads me to another point. Accidental damage warranties are great, and worth every penny *IF* your computer gets damaged by accident. Especially if it's a 2 year plan, and your specific model has been retired for several months. They're even better when your computer makes you want to throw it across the room every time you turn it on. I don't think throwing it counts as accidental damage, but knocking a cup of water on it? Making sure it makes it onto the motherboard? Totally accidental.

 

LOL, it's a good thing I'm an alcoholic, a spilt beer beverage is much more plausible.

 

Hi I wanted to buy this laptop and I might just get it tomorrow from someone. I was wondering if ALL dell 1557's have the freezing issue.

OR is it just for some laptops that turn out defective. I just finished reading this thread here and I don't know if I should buy this laptop anymore.

http://en.community.dell.com/forums/t/19303691.aspx?PageIndex=9

 

Whoops! nevermind, two crashes this morning. The new video drivers didn't do anything for me. great......back to the drawing board.