newbie question.. should the laptop be perfect right out of the box?

hey all-

I don't post much, but I wanted to ask a question. I have this studio 15 on order for my girllfriend, it should be here tomorrow or wed. But a lot of the posts around here have me concerned.

Now, I've been a mac user for about 10 years, so it's really surprising for me to see all these problems folks are having with their dells from jump. Sound issues in particular seem very troublesome. With the 4 macs, I plugged then in and they worked flawlessly.

Maybe I'm demanding, but I suspect if there's the s;ightest thing wrong with this Studio 15 and tech support suggests that I "download the drivers" or re-install something, it's going right back in the box and I'll be looking or something else. I mean , a clean re-install of Vista? Sholdn't it work right from the beginning?

Is it too much to ask that the machine work properly? Is there anyone that hasn't had a problem, Sebastien maybe? Is it a windows/Microsoft thing? Why all the problems?

thanks

 

The thing is, to each their experience with a new laptop (no matter how tested the brand/model) varies.

It comes down to usage and how you take care of it.

You have 21 days after you get it to decide if it has been good to you or not and can always return it in that timeframe.

Dont get buyer's remorse from reading negativity on here about it without testing it out, remember majority of people who are HAPPY with it dont bother posting on forums but when something WRONG goes with it is than the small fraction of those buyers will go on forums to tell-all.

 

oh yea, i've been on enough forums to know that the positive folks don't post that often It's just surprising to see so many seemingly different issues that I've never experienced with macs

 

The thing is this, there's not as much problem as you would think there are because not many people who are satisfied with their laptop come out to say that they are satisfied and says "it works right out of the box"....but for those who are not satisfied with their new laptop are going to be angry thus making the problem seems like it is happening to other people too. In addition, more people uses Dell than Mac, so if 1% of Dell user are not satisfied then it will be seen as more of a problem than if 2% of the Mac users are not satisfied with their new macs. Furthermore, you pay the premium for a mac so of course you will get something that is going to be more reliable.

 

also the reinstall of vista (any os for that matter) is because many companies install bloatware (which is just useless or short-lived trial programs which waste space on your computer for the most part......that are installed by the manufacturer....sometimes even to promote other software) on their systems.....and rather than just uninstalling these programs....people like a real "fresh" computer without messy registry keys and useless extra files from the get-go

 

cool.. i thought i'd just delete them instead. so... how's your studio 15?

 

I think that you should think positive, and a good *outcome* for you could very well happen...

No one can say how the arrival of your laptop will be..but I think most arrive in great condition.

When you receive the S15...look it over, very~ very carefully. Do the Clean Installs and tweaking, etc. Look closely at the screen...just everything.

Dell give you 21 days...for a return or replacement.

Good luck to you, and try to stay positive

Cin

 

Let me offer my experience with the Studio 15. I am a satisfied customer (really satisfied), but the Studio had its problems. After a week of use, the touchpad and keyboard started working very poorly. Either I'd have to pound the keys to get a letter typed, or the touchpad wouldn't work at all. First call to tech support and they highjacked my laptop to install drivers (he could have just told me what to do, I'm not that dumb) - that worked for about 30 seconds. Next day, call 2 to tech support and they again highjacked my machine to install BIOS 5. Since then no problems and the Stu and I get along great. So, yeah, there were problems out of the box, and I did consider a return, but I guess things like new drivers and BIOS updates are to be expected with a windows based machine. Take at least two weeks to get comfortable, if issues still persist send it right back.

 

Yes. The laptop has to be perfect and flawless out of the box. Any flaw, any single BSOD, is just a warning indicator to tell you, "PROBLEMS MAY OCCUR IN THE NEAR FORSEEABLE FUTURE!". Thats the way I think of it.

Moment I take it out of the box, I check immediately for any scratches physical defects, etc. My first had the bottom ram cover not screwed on properly exposing the ram and insides. I screwed it back on myself, set it on a table, it was not level and moved side to side.

I then turned on the computer and got a BSOD. Then restarted and it worked. Checked the device manager, noticed the brand and make of the slot drive was the louder brand and putting a disc into it really shows.

The keyboard had a huge valley in the center, and I just requested replacement.

Luckily my replacement brand new didn't have any of the flaws aforementioned and everything was perfect.

You get what you pay for, and you deserve only the best. There is no point in buying a brand new laptop and just "dealing with your problems" just to take advantage of the warranty later on and receive a refurb system. If you are like that, why did you not just get your laptop off of Dell outlet?