nüvifone™. The navigation phone.
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10 out of 13 people found this review helpful
1.0 stars
"Poor Reliability, Bad Customer Service, very long..."
Pros: Very fast machine for a notebook, exceptional screen
Cons: Tech support, warranty, reliability, price for what you get
Summary: I purchased a new XPS M170 from Dell in April of this year, 2006, right before they released the new M1710 and had almost all of the high end options installed. I realize that my machine is the previous generation, but same issues would apply if I ahd wated 8 days to place my order. I had purchased this notebook as a game machine. I choose this particular model because I was going to Japan for 6 months for work starting the end of May and I wanted something that was decent and that I could take with me. I realized this was not going to be the best performance as it was a notebook but it seemed like the best alternative that I had at the time.
When I received the computer things seemed to be good except for the standard software bundle that Dell loads onto their machines. However, after I loaded on the first game, my problems started. After about 10-20 mins my screen would show some graphical glitches and then my computer would completely lock up. A hard reset would be required to restart the machine. If I turned off all anti aliasing and turned my graphic settings to bare minimum I could get some games to run about 1 hour before locking up. This is with the nVidia 7800 GTX go video card as well. Talking with Dell support they had me do a bunch of diagnostics (which I had already done plus more prior to calling them) and then tell me that it must be a software issue. I kept telling them it seemed to be hardware related.
After several reinstalls of the operating system, several different programs, and many, many calls back to Dell (over 4 weeks I had logged 27 calls with Dell) they finally agreed that it might be a hardware issue. However, at this time I only had 4 days left before I needed to leave to Japan and my standard 1 year hardware service warranty said it would take 1 to 2 weeks to fix my notebook and send back to me. They also could not send it to me in Japan, but would have to send it to an address in the US and from there I could have a friend forward it on to me. I asked if I could have my roommate replace the video card instead of having to send it back to the Dell Depot since he is a Certified Dell Replacement Parts Technician for his company but was told no as he is not a Dell Warranty Service Technician (he is basically more qualified, but isn?t a direct employee of Dell). They said they would send me the video card but my warranty would be void after that if he replaced it. I was not going to do that as I was already having troubles with the machine and did not want to have other things fail later and have no recourse.
I asked what else I could do and was told I could pay $450 for a Gold warranty and get next day service which also included international warranty service. I said fine as I had no choice as per timing and the international warranty would be a good option. Sure enough, Dell sent out a technician the day before I left, replaced the video card and everything worked wonderfully. Until 1.5 months later...
My video card has died again. Any semi graphic intensive program (And by semi I mean even Starcraft which was designed for video capabilities back in 1997) again freezes and locks up the machine. I once again called the main Dell Tech Support line as I have the international warranty and was told they can not help but instead was given 2 other numbers. One for international warranties and the other for Japanese Dell customer support. Well, the international warranties number I was supplied with is only for Government and large corporate accounts, and the Japanese support line was for sales only, no tech support.
I called back to the main Dell Tech Support in the US and asked why they gave me those numbers and what we needed to do now. After many diagnostics again (repeat of the exact same they had me do back in May and same results) they once again told me it may be software related or maybe a bad fan on the CPU. It is hard for them to grasp the concept that I on a technical stand point I am above the average user and that I have already the troubleshot the main issue back to the video card again. The CPU is fine as extensive mathematical computations do not hinder it, only anything that uses moderate graphics. Granted, their may be some other problem that is causing the video cards to blow, but it is definitely hardware related and not software. Finally I have re-convinced them that yes, it appears my video card is again bad. However, they said they can not send me a replacement as I am overseas even though I have a international warranty and that they will get back in contact with me in 1 to 2 weeks via email. Thus far I have paid over $3000 for a computer that I have been able to use 6 weeks of 13 and counting for its intended use, and am once again left hanging with frustration due to Dell's customer service. I have decided at this point to never again buy Dell and not let any of the groups under my direction purchase Dell equipment again. My friend that tried to help me before, who is also an IT manager for one of the Emerson subsidiaries has also been put off by Dell from this whole episode as well.
- 4 replies to this review
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Your description describes an identical problem i had with my M1710. I don't have a resolution yet, I am here because I am curious if other people had a similar experience. I have a warranty extention with them and I have to log a call tomorrow. But I am extremely disappointed and worried. After they replaced the video card less than 1 1/2 months ago, the same problem surfaced again.
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Interesting i have exactly the same situation...im in japan for 3 months and my xpsm170 has gone ape, i purchased the international warranty but they are lagging with a response badly... MY USB'S are fried and i have reinstalled the system several times, still bad even worse....
the technical japanese support dont speak english and all i end up doing is speaking to england about the problem , do you have any advice for getting the ball rolling?? because im about to launch the dell off the 23rd floor, thanks for youre time... -
Based on your comments about your XPS 1710 system, you basically had a bad apple with the graphics card. As for the bad customer service, I have 3 years Gold support with my Inspiron system and have no problems with it.
First of all, there is a difference between a Certified Dell Replacement Parts Technician and a Dell Warranty Service Technician. Very easy to explain. If your Certified Dell Replacement Parts Technician friend replaced the parts and say... accidentally break that part, your Certified Dell Replacement Parts Technician friend would be replacing the broken part. Where as if the Dell Warranty Service Technician was replacing that same part and shattered the entire laptop ... Dell would be sending you a new laptop. So get a grip, the policy in the warranty tells you exactly how it works.
The problem of troubleshooting over the phone is that the Dell technicians do not get to see your laptop in person so they think one way while we think another (if you know what you are doing). OS reinstallation would have been extreme for me unless I can see a LOT of multiple problems. I would refuse to reinstall the OS and request them to fix something else. I KNOW MY SH*T so I would be firm about what to fix, but if I did not know a whole lot then I would probably try SOME of their diagnostic suggestions. Dell techs should know a lot about their own laptops so I doubt they would give you all bad advices. Plus, their Gold support is NEXT BUSINESS DAY so I haven't been let down yet.
It's okay deal for the price and performance, I don't have much of a problem with it. I would recommend it to friends cuz they do offer pretty good performance for the price. HP is very close 2nd though, I also have a HP notebook and it has been reliable for several years. Woot! Either one will be a good choice. -
Your reveiw of the dell customer support and a defective M170 does not belong in the M1710 reviews.
Why because it is meant to be for reviews of the M1710 not the M170 or the dell customer support.
