finally free! returning my 1520- good riddance dell.

i am going to return my 1520 and i feel great. i have had a replacement, and returned my 1520 to the depot for a horrible screen to no avail.

no more dell for me! never again will i buy a dell. not unless they make an obvious change. when the number one topic for the month on dells is the 'grainy screen' thread, you know they have problems.

HP here i come. i think i'm going to take advantage of the 30% coupon. i sincerely hope HP isn't as rotten as dell.

hopefully all of you with dell problems can get them taken care of. i couldn't.

 

Well seeing as Dell doesn't make LCDs you're not shielded by swapping OEMs...

 

they all use the same parts... so good luck with that.

 

HP qa is terrible imo. I used to have a Compaq-HP nx9010. Everything stopped working after the warranty expired. The keyboard didn't work, CDRW screwed up, wireless button failed and the fans roared constantly like a jet. Battery life was pathetic.

I really hope not every HP laptop is like that. The business line seems to be better. Everything else imo suck.

edit: Just realised the nx9010 is classified as a business notebook. omg

 

If you think Dell's support is bad... just wait til you taste others.

 

personally id tell you to maybe look elsewhere than hp.. i think they make a MUCH NICER notebook than dell and ive personally never seen a bad hp screen and ive seen a number of them in person from friends and in the stores and they all look pretty good.. some look great.

congrads on being done with dell its a great feeling..

 

lmfao you are seriously in for a bite on the ass man, and I mean a big one.. lol

Dell didn't become number one for sucking..but w.e.. lol

 

Number one in volume does not equal number one in quality, reliability, or customer service, which are all that really counts to the consumer.

 

lolz! True to that!

Rather I'm just lucky or something but so far my experience and everyone I know in person that has dealed with Dell is more then pleased with everything on the charts.

Example.. today I dropped my laptop and it got kicked because I was walking when it dropped. Cracked the LCD to hell, because I had it open and was working on it, when this drama happen. Not to mention the lid is scratched terribly after skittering across the gravel.. Got on the phone well dell, they're sending me out a new screen and bezel and lid.. And I got a depot warranty on top of that. Although, after all that the computer still is running, using it now, just on a external monitor for obvious reasons. I wonder how far I can drag this.. maybe I'll spike it from the roof onto the ground and get a whole new one LOL might not be so lucky, they might dell me to go fly a kite.

 

well yeah you will get that only if you have the accident warranty. no way if you told them what happend without the warr they would replace the parts

 

DELL is doing really great on the Large Business and corporate lines..... They cost a lot but they give excellent support for those PCs and notebooks....

But for the home and small business market these babies are comparitively cheap and hence you are seeing the difference....

 

i am not totally retarded, so i do know that dell does not make LCDs. but they do choose the LCDs they put in their laptops. the LCDs that i had were all definitely rejects. no way in hell they could pass any sort of real quality control check. also, an OEM is an original equipment manufacturer. the company that makes the original equipment. dell is the reseller. changing the OEM is exactly what i hope to do, as well as maybe purchasing from a reseller that has some quality control.

i realize lots of people have good experiences with dell. hell, that's why i tried them to begin with. their laptop lines up until now were pretty solid. that has changed in my opinion. their 'number one' status is slipping- to HP. watch dell go down the drain in the next year mark my words. they have started to put inferior parts in their computers, and it will burn them soon enough.

the reason i'm posting this is not to convince anyone of anything- everyone has different experiences, some good, some bad. mine has been bad. it is nice for others to know they risk LCD problems with the dell higher resolution 15.4" laptops. word.

 

Right now, Dell is having a screen quality issue. Every single laptop at the local CompUSA, from the $499 special to the $1800 monster has a better screen than my Vostro 1500 (AUO2077 screen). While I was there, I looked at a comparably priced HP. The screen quailty was excellent. I looked in the Device Manager and found out it was an AUO screen. Somewhere along the line, Dell decided to start using some really crappy screens, presumably to save money.

In my case, Dell has one chance to fix it and if it's not to my satisfaction, I'll return it and go with someone else. There's no doubt that you can't beat Dell for features/price. But if part of that price is having to put up with the hassle of getting a decent screen, it ain't worth it.

 

Its already known that Compaq had some serious QC issues. This was especially true before HP acquired Compaq some years back. But since then, compaq's QC has improved, but I would still buy a HP over a Compaq. If you look at the recent consumer satisfaction index that just came out HP has improved while dell dropped a huge 5 percent... and is now lower then Gateway now. I think if you visit the HP forum you will read that the HP's are probably built as well as dell if not better. Personally, I would take my HP DV6500t over any of the new dells. At any rate, HP is now rated higher then dells. And for that person that assumed Dell is number one.. don't think so. HP sells more systems volume wise and like I said before has a higher customer satisfaction index. I did use HP support for one issue removing Norton and they were about the same as dell. Probably a bit less confusion getting routed to the right person then dell.

My HP experience has been perfect.. They shipped out the system much faster then Dell and was shipped overnight FED X before 10:30am service.. It usually takes 3-5 days from Shanghai to your door. I waited less then two weeks from the time I ordered.. Don't pay for the 2nd day air.. it appears every system at HP gets the FED X shipping included. I only paid 1088 dollars for my loaded HP and that included tax with 2 years warranty. With the 30 percent coupon and added warranty, the HP is a screaming deal right now and the displays are much nicer then dell.

About my only complaint with HP is their systems come with more bloat/junkware. They also do not include any restore discs. You have to make your own from the image on recovery partition. I was able to get mine to run really sweet but I also bought a vista anytime upgrade DVD from compusa for 5 bucks. There is a guide on the HP forum that shows you how to easily do a clean install with the anytime upgrade disc. I give dell credit for including that disc. With HP, you have to order that disc.. and HP will not send it out either. But other then that, the HP is worlds better notebook in design and actually has better built in altec lansing speakers.. you won't have to plug in externals with this.. at least I don't find the need to. So if the screen is nicer with better sound what do you think most would conclude? The HP basically is excelling the dell in both visuals and hearing and is more pleasing to the eyes in design. The dell honestly looks like a dated moped next to a newer HP. Yes dell has some nice colorful lids.. But under the lids is about as bargain basement design as one can imagine. I hardly think a thick brick in notebook design is creative or cutting edge.

Of course the HP 14/15" notebooks only offer the 8400m GPU. The 86xx gt is absolutely the only reason to buy the dell over the HP. But understandably, that is enough for many a gamer.

 

If you order the DV6500t online, you can add a system restore disc for $19. I like the look of the Dell, though the HP is a bit nicer.

How's the battery life on your HP? I think that's the biggest complaint I've found for the DV6500T. And I think HP's 12 cell battery is a bit clunky compared to Dell's 9-cell since HP's 12-cell protrudes from the bottom and is not centered on the bottom of the laptop. The battery, the lack of an 8600 GT option, and the lack of screen options are what kept me from buying the DV6500t over the Vostro.

 

My previous experience with HP-Compaq has put me off despite whatever you say. It is the same as the OP with his bad experience with Dell.

 

News flash: all PeeCees suck ball sacks.

I've been using computers since a PDP11 on an acoustic coupler, printing to green bar in 1979. The only machines that don't suck completely are pro caliber UNIX workstations (Sun, IBM, higher end HPs, new Apple Pros).

If it runs Windows in any form, it is temporary junk, so don't get too fond of it. Pee Cees are for games, kids and grandmas. Not trying to start a flame war, but it's true that all consumer vendors make consumer-grade crap.

If you want better, you have to pay for it. At any given price point, all that differentiates is style and features. Quality is whatever the Chinese want to make for you.

I just bought a smokin' hot Vostro 1500, and I only expect it to last a year. Once that is done, I'll step back up to a Mac Pro. YMMV.

 

I bought an HP dv2500t and couldn't wait to get rid of it for a Vostro 1400. Its all plastic, and the palm rest creaked when I had my palms on it. The left side palm rest gets uncomfortably hot because of the hd location. The keyboard is absolute trash compared to the vostro and the touchpad is glossy so there's alot more friction when using the touchpad. Also, the touchpad is centered with the laptop not the keyboard, which is stupid because you can't scroll while keeping your hands on the home keys. The screen is nice but its glossy, so if you plan on doing anything in the presence of a bright light behind you, forget it. Dell has way better driver support too, and the dv2500t only comes with 64mb dedicated 8400gm.

I hope you have better luck with your HP, but I would rather have a tech come out and replace my screen 5 times until I get a good one than to have an HP with all the issues listed above.

 

different people have different experience with different companies. i think we should stop bashing any company here. if you dont like, say Dell or HP, then dont buy their product and choose product of other companies.

 

No company does physical, human to product examination for quality control.

They all just hook them up to a machine, clock the hell out of them until they fail and then the ones that work fine they package and sell.. lol

NO COMPANY does human quality control, NONE - at least no with electronics.

And a damn computer can't tell if a screen has grain..lol

The only quality control that people are involved with is testing packaging. Like dropping boxes and shaking the hell out of them, of course with machines. But that's in development stages, not production..

 

of course no electronics company has people staring as screens for QC. who suggested human quality control? why then, are so many dell LCDs bad, while most other resellers don't share this problem?

sure, maybe it isn't QC. maybe dell just purchased some bad hardware. i have trouble believing the screens in dells are consistantly good, when i have personally seen three that were bad.

whatever the reason, dell has put some lousy LCDs in their laptops, and i will be glad to move on. the sad fact of the matter is these companies are out to make a buck. if they can make more money with an inferior product- they will do it. they really don't make 'em like they used to. lol.

kamote- i agree and disagree with the stop bashing. i am not writing about my experience to bash dell, i just want other notebookreview members to know what is really up. that is what this forum is for, i believe. it really irks me that one of the people who reviewed the 1520 actually RETURNED it. they gave a good review of a product they were not willing to own. so this is my review.

my dell 1520 ruled, but the screen was awful- had to return it after one replacement laptop and a 'repair' at the depot did not result in a change. all in all, i spent at least $60-100 in cell phone time, aside from hours of frustration. it took at least a month for dell to show me they could not fix the problem. i just don't think people need to waste their time like i did. oh, and i had to pretty much fight to get them to not fix the problem twice. the CSR gave me every line of crap he could ranging from- you can't replace LCDs (???!!!) to it's just part of the manufacturing process (my ass). until dell convincingly resolves this issue- i would keep your money.

also for your information. i was cautious about getting a 1520 because of the screen issues i had read about, so i went to a dell kiosk. ignorantly thinking the products there may be a good representation of what they might actually send me, i saw that the LCDs there looked great. now, don't go thinking what i did. dell is not afraid to participate in a bit of false advertising in this respect. what you see is not what you get. isn't this illegal in the good old US of A?

 

hp is really really bad. I would never buy an hp even if it was the last comp on earth. Its just that bad.

 

asus for the win

 

lol in all do respect, I think Dell lost a lot of money in this screen issue. A lot of systems, sent back, on top of all the shipment fees to send and return all these replacements.

I'll have some info on when my replacement screen comes after, dropping my computer on it's screen and it shattering, lmfao.. Might see some progress in this matter.. I wasn't to polite on the 'sending me garbage' message.

Don't make a dick out of me Dell.. lol

 

If you didn't notice, they aren't #1 anymore (or ever since the middle of 2006 actually). They trail HP by a long ways, and Dell's most recent quaterly results showed abysmal performance. HP sold 2.4 million notebooks. Dell? Just over 900,000. Hell, they even got outsold by Apple, who sold 1.2 million. They are losing customers right and left, and are having both QC and supply issues. If thats not your definition of sucking, well, then, I'm really not sure what is.

I had a Vostro 1500. It had an absolutely ****ty screen, with low brightness levels and a lot of grain. Thats not why I returned it though; it was too heavy for carrying around for a few miles every day. Other than that (and the buzzy headphone jack), it was fantastic for the $850 I paid for it.

 

Yeah I read up on those results a day after posting. Ah well, just a bump in the road. Every company has them. They get a lot of demand just haven't held up.

Time will tell Dells fait.

I could care if they are dead last, my laptop is great so statistics can eat me. lolz

 

i wish dell would just equal their past quality in laptop screens. why did they drop the decent panels they put in laptops all the way up to the new models? i wonder if they will ever tell us. i can't believe it's a mistake, because HP has decent screens. hey, must be the money!

it's just crazy to buy a brand new dell and have the screen be a step back from the last model. what are they thinking? totally stupid move.

 

I don't think they were 100% in the 'know' that the screens were grainy. I heard Dell are usually really picky with the parts they use. What ever the reason they're paying for it 2 times over with all the threads on here and laptops being replaced lol.

 

I'm going to just step in here a bit.

All laptop brands have their good points and their bad points. It doesn't matter who makes it. One thing to remember is that the companies, whether it be Dell, HP, Compaq, Toshiba, or any of the numerous other don't really ever make the laptops. They go to an ODM (original design manufacturer) who builds a laptop to spec for them. Why do you think it is always estimated 2 weeks to get a new laptop built and where do you think you are sending your laptop when it is sent in for repair?

Therefore the ODM is responsible for Quality Control and so forth.

The commercials that show the "warehouse" where they put the machines together? Yea. They probably do have them that do the desktops but do any of the commercials ever show laptops? No.

On that note I went to a tournament last year where another attendant said they had a conversion with a Dell rep where it was said that Dell does not make their own laptops.

Now then...

HP -- A friend had gotten an HP laptop from the store. The audio did not work immediately out of the box. There was nothing. No headphone audio or speaker audio. The control applet reported an audio device but adjusting it did nothing. He returned it the next day. On that note I have dealt with HP support for other devices (not laptops or desktops) and they suck bad although not as bad as some other companies out there...

Compaq -- No reports here but I have a Compaq desktop computer at home here using an HP lcd. Beautiful. Their support appears to be either USA based or their Indian techs have almost no foreign accent. They have good tech support although don't try to get a clean install disc. It won't happen.

Toshiba -- Wow. Horrible techs. I've dealt with them a few times for a friend laptop. They don't seem to know what they are doing.

Dell -- Strong accent sometimes although if you know how to talk to them (arguing isn't the right way) then you can get them to do just about anything. My test involved getting them to replace my dvdrw drive 3 times, followed by an lcd replacement (onsite tech), then a full laptop replacement. The lcd and laptop replacements were legitimate but the dvdrw ones were for the heck of it.

If you need to speak with a Dell rep then try either Chat or if you can wait a little do Email. They typically responded within 24 hours when doing Email. When on Chat once they offered to callback the next day and did so on schedule. I actually missed their first call and they tried again within an hour from that attempt.

Unresolved issues will respond to a complaint within 5 business days and may offer to either replace your laptop or refund your money if they feel the complaint is warranted. Other options may be available to them but those were the ones they gave me. They can accommodate special requests (within reason) so if you have any when one of those reps call then that would be the time. The reps appear to be located in the USA unlike the actual computer techs. My special request btw was just that they install XP on the machine (that came originally) rather than Vista. They were going to just ship a new machine and at the time of the replacement Vista was being install on all new machines.

 

yes, we know that they (dell, etc) do not manufacture the computers. that does not mean they (dell, etc) are not ultimately responsible for the quality of their machines, however. do you think we should just call up the LCD manufacturer and complain? really. come on now, people. dell is responsible for the quality of their machines, and therefore all of the parts in that machine.

if you have a problem with the hard drive, do you call hitachi? no. you call dell. do you call seagate? no. you call dell. why? because dell is responsible for the quality of the parts in their systems.

if they are receiving bad parts from a certain OEM, they need to drop that supplier. suggesting that it is not dell's fault they have received a bunch of bad screens is nuts. it is their fault. if they have a problem with their OEM, it is THEIR responsibility to make sure that OEM provides them with a quality product. i don't care if they manufacture the thing out of parts from mars, they are still responsible for their systems.

or, in this case, that they get a CHEAP product. we all know that dell cheaped out on the new 1520. this is not new news. the screens are bad because dell thought they could get away with an inferior screen, and assumed most people wouldn't know the difference. they were wrong.

it's a total bummer because i had a good opinion of dell up until now. i think their laptops were pretty decent 'till the new ones. maybe they will fix the problem. hopefully.

 

I had a vostro 1500 and returned it coz of the problems with the lcd screen. But performance wise dell vostro is the best. All the other laptops are loaded with bloatware including the one which I currently own (see my sig).

 

bloatware sucks. that is why a reformat is key with any new computer. i reformatted my gf's inspiron 1100 and it is running like a champ on an old celeron! awesome. the only problem with my 1520 is the LCD. sad. i wish i could keep it, honestly i do. it's the fist computer i have ever had and i love it but my head feels like it's going to split open after looking at this grain.

 

There's really no difference between the two anymore. Both HP and Compaq have blended together so much so that the Compaq name is just a marketing tool.

Anything listed with "Compaq" in the name is now known as "HP Compaq" and will have the HP logo on it.

 

Compaq rocked back in the day, my Pasario 5000 was my first computer.

GWT, has his facts pretty straight.

 

my screen is fine but ilive in england so i also got the good touchpad. oh well you could come to england but the " and the @ are the opposite around here.

 

Yep and I remember when the Compaq "brand" was only going to be around for a couple of years. That was the so called agreement they had as they kept it around until it was phased out. This didn't happen apparently. Sorry. I don't have any references. I was only pulling that from memory as it was several years ago when it happened. (check around the timeframe that the HP/Compaq merger happened)

 

as someone else posted even though dell does not make these systems in fact from what i have been able to find out compal is responsible for the 15xx either vostro or inspiron.. but thats another thread.. anyway what ever happend to the so called 48hour or however long they said they tested them for, if they actually did test these systems before they left the dell facility they would not have to send these back and forth. trust me i liked my delland wanted to keep it as much as the next person especially since it cost me a ton less than what else i could find with all the discount i was given..

but yeah as they said no matter the manufacture for dell ... DELL AND ONLY dell is responsible for the end results.. if they had many systems coming back they should have set up a test facility or something like that.

dell has a problem with screens i dont care what anyone tries to post here.. and its not people being to picky its dell sending out crap for screens.. PERIOD.. honestly the chance of you getting a good screen when getting a replacement is prob less than 25%.. no thanks

 

word to that. couldn't agree more. it's a shame. love the 1520 other than the screen.

 

finally. the my dell days are over. the UPS man picked up my 1520. i am so relieved. too bad dell couldn't come through. i wish they had, i really liked the 1520 except for that crazy bad screen. now hopefully they will come through on returning the money soon, 'cause i need to get another computer.

 

Just to let you know they have 30 days from the time they said they would refund the money. Hope you got the name of the rep that you spoke to do the return and stuff because that may become important in the future.

 

Sorry your machine sucked the balls that it did.

I have to say, I've seen lots of high-end $5000 displays, and I am loving the accuracy and 'pop' of the WSXGA+ 1680x1050 LG panel that I got.

I'd give a Vostro a shot, personally. I even got a refurb, and it's exceeded expectations.

 

try paying 14% Canadian tax.

 

Is that because of import?

 

wow finally you can breath... feels good doesnt it.. lol

 

yeah. aaaaaahhh... for the first time since my computer came in the door late august, i don't have to think about it. no calling dell. no waiting for dhl. no csr's promising things that don't happen- and especially not looking at that awful screen.

i am typing on my gf's inspiron 1100 and the screen is grainless. goodbye headaches! what really pisses me off, though, is that i bought the thing during a tax holiday which saved me about 100 bucks. i have now wasted that opportunity on dell. thanks, dell.

 

so who cares... buy one online from someone in another state and viola no sales tax.. imo id jump on that sager/compal deal... but i wanted a 17" instead..and imo the sager i got is wayyyyy nicer and better built than any of the dell's i got before..

 

ya. that is what i will do, i think. the sager/compal idea sounds great, i'm just concerned about warranty issues. after my first laptop buying experience, i will likely want a damn good warranty. lol! even if i wanted to go back to dell, the same laptop i bought is now about $200 more expensive. go figure.

 

after dealing with sager on the phone so far they have been great..and i doubt you'll have the same issues or amount of them...