Gave up on my V1500 - Refund

Hi

After owning my Vostro 1500 for 2 months and trying to get the 'static noise on line in & out socket' sorted for 2 months I have finally given up on it.

I have been given a driver update, bios update & an engineer came to my house to change the audio hardware but this did not resolve the issue.

I believe the Vostro 1500 has some major flaws and was not ready for release.

I asked Dell to refund me as the notebook is useless to me without clear audio so they will collect it on Friday and refund me. I'm glad to finally get rid of this rubbish notebook!!!

 

Sorry to hear that it didn't work out for you. but my vostro is very dear to me, probably due to the head phone wasn't a must for me as it was for you.

 

Sorry to hear about your bad experience!

 

glad they gave you a refund after the 21 or 30 days (whatever dell uses)

 

clear audio on the line in socket is crucial to me so it had to go. If they had managed to sort the audio I would have kept it and even overlooked the wobbly battery!

 

Is the static you get a lot of radom high pitched noise, almost like the sound of a HD just starting up? I get this sound in the Vostro, and I admit it is very annoying. But I notice I also get the same noise with my desktop Dell Dimension 9100. So, maybe it is a general Dell issue?

 

No audio issues, here. At least not with watching news clips, YouTube videos or song samples on the internet using Panasonic (for portable Walkman) headphones.

I haven't tried it with stored mp3s or inserting a music CD into it, yet.

 

Thats odd. Ive had my Vostro since August and havent had a problem with the Audio yet... also, they released a new SigmaTel driver (at least it was new for me) in September.

 

if line-in is that important, why not buy an USB soundcard??

 

It was a 'digital' static noise almost like when you watch a satellite transmission and it breaks up.

Because I paid for a laptop that should have a working line in. There should be no need to add a usb soundcard!

 

Dell Product Group has found that this is due to a hardware design flaw, involving the processor C3 power states. They do not have a work around for it since it is a design flaw with the layout of the motherboard, so a motherboard replacement will not resolve it.

This affects the Vostro 1500 and the Inspiron 1520.

 

I think Dell should have put the jacks up in the front like in the 1420. I believe putting them in the back/side is too close to the processor etc.. and it picks up more static. If your not willing to invest in a creative express slot card, then I agree the best thing is to return it.

 

I'm not sure what the vostro 1400 uses for their sound interface, but if you plan on purchasing a new notebook, make sure it has a built-in Intel high definition audio compliant audio chip i.e Azalia. This will produce the quality you are looking for.

 

Wow, where did you read that from? Thats scary. I can't believe dell would ever publicly admit to such a flaw. But it does not surprise me one bit. I have been reading about this issue with the 1500/1520 since the new launch back in June. To me, this forum's purpose is to alert potential customers to issues like this. I personally would not buy a 1500. There are way too many posts and they all form a trend/pattern. There obviously must be something up with the headphone/line jack on the 1500/1520.

 

Oh I know a great many things about Dell and known issues with Dell computers and hardly any of them are public knowledge.

Like the issues with the older DC Power Cord (cigarette ligher connectors) included in the Dell Auto Air AC/Adapter Kits (Part numbers UT101 and YT066) being plugged in for extended periods of time and causing internal arcing due to softening platics which has been fixed on new stock (but they won't tell customers who have the current ones since they don't want a flood of people wanting replacements).

Or the issues with the XPS M1330s producing high pitched buzzing sounds which was due to design flaws on the motherboards which are fixed with the Rev A04 motherboard, but Dell hasn't got them in stock yet and may not have them for quite a while.

Or the fact that 27 thousand M1330s were shipped with another design flaw where cables were shorting out resulting in distorted platics and inverter damages to the LCDs. While Dell claimed it wasn't a saftey hazard (yeah right) they fixed this with thicker cables and cleared their stock of the old units.

There is also an issue with the Dimension 9200s that pull down network ports on switches and leave the network card undetermined. While this is planned to be addressed in an upcoming BIOS revision, Dell hasn't admited to the problem.

There are known issues on the Firewire ports on D820s that Dell isn't talking about.

Many Vostro systems are coming out of the factory with PC Restore options that do not work (Product Group has no clue about what is causing this yet).

Several Vostro systems have Panasonic batteries that do not fit as the mold was not in spec. These were suppose to be purged from inventory but weren't.

The issue with the GX620 Power Supplies failing due to a capacitor issue and Dell not releasing this information since over a hundred thousand systems are affected.

And the list goes on and on.

 

There are also USB dongles (made by Turtle Beach and others) that have line in and headphone jacks. This is probably the route that I will take. Hope it works.