Do you think I can get a refund/different model/replacement?

Ok,

So I bought a Dell XPS 15 (L501X) for about £778.99 about just under 3 months ago (from the time it arrived). I wouldn't say I am distraught, but I am quite frustrated.

The setup is:

CPU: Intel Core i7 740QM @ 1.73Ghz, turbo boost up to 2.93Ghz
GPU: 2GB Nvidia Geforce GT435m
HDD: 640GB @ 7,200 RPM
Display: 1366 x 720 HD

The situation is I have had several issues as follows:

Heat -(the main issue)
While playing games or watching anything graphically intensive, the GPU can reach the 90C's (96C max) over a short period of time (1 hour) and the CPU enters the 80C's (87C max). The left hand palm rest also gets extremely uncomfortable that I have to keep my hands way above the computer to keep the cool. I have not measured the tmeperature leaving the exhaust fan but I kept my finger a few cetimetres from the vent and after a seconds I was actually in pain. This laptop is advertised to play games and watch HD films. Am I wrong to think this should not be happening? Especially when I pay £800 for it. Yes I know I didn't get all the fancy FHD screen and blu ray player but I am quite young and don't have that much money..£800 is lots for me.

I phoned DELL twice in the past 2 months. First time I was told the temperatures were far too high. Apparently they GPU is never supposed to reach above 70C and the man told me to flash the BIOS which I did. After no change I was unsure, so I called again. The second man told me that the GPUs can withstand up to 105C...MAKE YOUR MIND UP DELL. So he told me not to worry. This left me clueless as I did not know what to believe.

Additional detial, I have bought a Targus Chillmat for £30 which did an excellent job at reducing my temps by about 2C!!! No but seriously I don't regret it...every little helps. lol...it's 5C sometimes

USB ports not working
Heading speaks for itself really. I plug my mouse in my USB ports and sometimes it randomly switches off so I have to use the touchpad. For some reason the only eSATA port which works as a USB port too works only. Could this be due to my cooling mat potentially using up the power?

AC power adaptor not working
Once again, heading speaks for itself. On several occasions since delivery, my DELL XPS 15 does not charge when connected to the power. I get a message saying "plugged in, not charging". I do not understand why this would happen?? I check it is correctly connected at the back and at the wall..but nothing. It returns to normal after reboot, but the same problem comes up on some occasions.

Sound skips
Almost always, I notice the sound from my headphones skipping and I hear like a weird sound. This happens about 5 times a minute, sometimes more at quite regular frequencies almost staying to a pattern. I am not sure however if this is my internet. I get this problem when playing games (offline and online), on itunes and youtube etc. Could the sound card be damaged or something? Or could it just be the internet...seems unlikely as it happens when not connected.

Instant Launch button not working
I press it. But nothing. It used to work, then suddenly stopped working. I have checked that it should turn my display off, yet no response. Is there maybe an override control that could be used to change this? Or is the button broken.

Ok, congratulations on getting past my problems..sorry.

So tomorrow I was planning on calling DELL. I know extremely unlikely, but is there a chance I could get a refund? If not could I choose another model? I was thinking of the DELL XPS 17 as it is larger and therefore has better air flow. (I know unlikely again).

The bare minimum DELL should do though is replacing the thermal paste correct? and checking the problems I've specified?

Could you give me your opinions, do you think I stand a chance at getting a refund/different model/complete replacement?

Thanks

XMaggotHeadX

 

A refund? No, not at this point as you are well past the return window. Wrt a replacement or different model your chances are low too. With Dell and they are pretty good or shall I say better than others at replacing defective units.

But in order to get there you need to show them that the device is a lemon. That's starts by initiating service calls to get them to replace a defective part(s) or a defective part recall has been issued i.e. Nvidia defective GPU warranty.

Wrt to the second tech saying the GPU is designed to reach 105c, that's not too far off. Notebook parts are designed with high thermals in mind. More realistically I would say 90c max before you would have to be really concerned. Intel's website has thermal specs listed and their CPU's can get up there temp wise too. Mind you that's not the best for any system if you want to keep it awhile but laptop parts can withstand lots of heat and still work.

Wrt the power adapter, my Vostro 1500 sometimes quits working too, been like that since day 1, IMO it's a glitch but the device still works. All I do is unplug the adapter, replug it and it starts working again.

 

Dell will, for the most part, replace all parts until they run out of warranty part inventory. If you get to the point where they've tried and failed to repair a particular part 3-4 times or replaced a part to fix a problem without success 3-4 times, you could probably start nudging/petitioning a CSR to get you a replacement unit of the same model if you're still under warranty. It will probably be the same or similar (marginally superior) configuration of the same product line.


Looking over your issues, aside from the heat issues, many could be potentially attributed to wonky configuration or driver issues, and not necessarily (although possibly) due to hardware). One by one:

w.r.t to the charger issues, you could probably get them to send you a replacement charger based on what you're describing. I had that issue on my old e1505 - turned out the brick was going bad.

w.r.t USB issue, that's a little strange. Have you noticed the power status for the laptop change when the mouse disconnects? It's possible the power config is set to set USB devices to sleep or power save on battery power.

w.r.t. audio, could be a driver issue, could be headphones or the jack isn't grounded properly.

w.r.t instant, check the BIOS settings to see if it's disabled for some reason. Also, have you uninstalled any Dell software? You might've gotten rid of necessary components.

w.r.t. max temps, 105C is probably the quoted max temp for chip failure. 70C was probably the design max temp. Do you have your power settings set to have the processor running at 100% all the time? For the most part, the 740QM will do most things perfectly fine at 70-80% processing cap, reducing the max temp substantially.