Computer has been sunk!

Deimos01 · 04-14-08, 03:31 PM

Some of you may be familiar with my ongoing computer woes. Well, yesterday it finally went belly up.

6 month old Dell XPS 720 system that has been plagued by the nvidia display error for the last 4 months and a couple other issues like hanging on restart. Yesterday while trying to re-install my videa drivers for about the umpteenth freakin time, I tried to start it back up and got ... NOTHING! Comp turns on but does not even try to boot up. So, on the phone with Dell tech for the 8th time to tell them I didnt pay 3k to become a computer mechanic and I want a new machine that works. "Well, we cant do that until we've followed all our proceedures" say the tech.

So, they are going to send a guy out to replace my mobo.

I'll tell ya, Ive owned a few Dells in my time and always had a good experience until now. Im pretty sure this will be my last Dell

No real point to this thread other than Im sad that I cant play SH4, Im pissed cause I cant play games on my gaming rig and Im dissapointed that the level of customer service of this once fine company has gone straight down the toilet and I thought you guys would understand.

Quillan · 04-14-08, 03:41 PM

[Heavily Indian accented english]"Tank you for calling Dell customer support. My name is Bob. May I be helping you?"

Did you speak to someone in the USA? I'd be shocked if so.

Khourieat · 04-14-08, 03:45 PM

I feel for ya, my 3 year old Dell (also a $3k machine) went the way of the dodo a few weeks ago, I decided to instead invest $1600 on parts and put it together myself, much happier then whatever Dell provides these days.

If you need a computer for web browsing, they are great, spend $400 and get tech support and whatnot, for gaming, no more Dell for me.

I started with tremendous nvidia driver/blue screen of death crashes, which culminated in a completely corrupt registry.

So I swapped a brand new HD into the system and tried to install win XP Pro, Home and win2k, and none of it could boot into windows, blue screen every time. With no way to extract my old data (this was the only SATA system we had) my wife and I just figured it was eaiser on my sanity to build a new system then to try and figure out this one for the next 3 months...

I THINK it's possible Dells cruddy RAM gave out under me, but I don't know for sure, and don't have any extra RAM to test it. The only thing I miss with my Dell XPS is the sweet case, I'm gonna miss that front LED, used to change it's color once a month at least

Deimos01 · 04-14-08, 04:02 PM

Amazingly enough I did actually speak to a guy in the US. Although I have spoken to "Bob" a couple times too.

I built my last system but it was getting a tad long in the tooth and I just didnt have to time to get into building a new one. Next time Im gonna make the time though. Im thinking the RAM may be part of my ongoing issues and I asked the tech if they could send a couple new sticks along with the service guy and new mobo, just in case. Answer... "No, we have to follow our proceedures. If you are still having problems we will send you new sticks then."

So that means another several days of testing and likely another session on the phone with Dell on a day off when I should be playing and having fun.

I wonder if dynamite is covered under the warranty. :hmm:

Wilcke · 04-14-08, 04:17 PM

Sad, to hear! We use Dell at work and they are truly rubbish. I talked to our IT guy and his take is "yeah they are", but "we get a huge discount", plus "I buy the full blown warranty" that way when something goes wrong "they have to come out and fix it".

Its a corporate account so its onsite only, no telephone techies to deal with....if its doing something funny he just calls and they come out....amazing.

I would not have one in the house if I had to deal with "fix it over the phone". I will continue to build my own.

walrusbomb · 04-14-08, 04:29 PM

problem is DELL doesn't test under "hardcore gaming" loads enough to know you're gonna overheat that badboy.

I've taken quite a few dead DELLs apart and was never impressed with their airflow.

FIREWALL · 04-14-08, 04:49 PM

Iheard a rumor somewhere that DELL mobo,ram and other hardware won't work or is not interchangeable with other computers.

I guess what i'm trying to say is DELL stuff only works with DELL and nothing else and costs more.

Any truth to that ?

Quillan · 04-14-08, 05:13 PM

Not always true, but I don't have any personal experience with Dell so I can't say for certain. One common thing I've seen with Dell computers is they sell you a motherboard that has no AGP or PCI-E x16 slot, so all you can use is the integrated graphics chip, but they claim it's got advanced graphics. Gateway used to have proprietary motherboards that required special memory or special power supplies, but I don't know if Dell goes that far.

Skullmosher · 04-14-08, 05:32 PM

The trick they most often use is to have proprietary mobos made that switch the positions of their power connections or require weird interlocks from the power supply, virtually guaranteeing that you can't swap out your motherboard. That's one of the reasons I always build my own systems. Not only is tech support more friendly, but it's available 24/7.

04-14-08, 05:38 PM

mines a dell 2 years old and it plays sh3 fine but usually lags!!

i dont know about sh4 though..........

WHAT AM I DOING HERE ANYWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

kylesplanet · 04-14-08, 06:23 PM

I bought an Alienware the last time (which has been purchased by Dell) and have had great luck out of it and the support team has been awesome, but my sister bought an XPS and it has been about like you guys have described, trouble all the way.

The tech guy at Alienware said they were owned by Dell but were really still a completely different entity. With the cost of the Alienware products though I'll probably build my next one, I've learned a little about them since I last ordered but this one should do me a while.

I think I will keep this cool case though, that is one big mother!

skwasjer · 04-14-08, 08:03 PM

Alienware sucks as well. I owned an Area-51 (laptop, 4K+ euro, luckily the boss payed), and it was rubbish. Worst purchase ever. Personally I wouldn't do it because I build my systems myself, but I'd trust that small pc store around the corner that builds pc's more than any large system builder.

FIREWALL · 04-14-08, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kylesplanet

I bought an Alienware the last time (which has been purchased by Dell) and have had great luck out of it and the support team has been awesome, but my sister bought an XPS and it has been about like you guys have described, trouble all the way.

The tech guy at Alienware said they were owned by Dell but were really still a completely different entity. With the cost of the Alienware products though I'll probably build my next one, I've learned a little about them since I last ordered but this one should do me a while.

I think I will keep this cool case though, that is one big mother!

You think your case is a big motha ?

My Ultra XG Quantum is 35lbs empty and size wise I could sublet out half of it. :rotfl: Hell even the metal Quantum name plate is held on by 4 allen screws.:p

Monica Lewinsky · 04-14-08, 08:44 PM

I think your problem starts with Dell.

After all, you were talking to this guy:

http://learnabit.homeserver.com/lab/MSTechsupport.jpg

Well, after your done with that Dell phone call, you can next call this country with your possible Spyware infection in your PC:

http://learnabit.homeserver.com/lab/conan.wmv

There is a reason why Dell is a 4-letter word.

JoeCorrado · 04-14-08, 09:21 PM

Running a 4 year old Dell 4550 that I have upgraded with more memory, second hard drive, NVidea 7600 AGP, and a new power supply. Still chugging along nicely and no issues at all.

It will be time for a completely new machine soon and I plan to build one myself- haven't done that in a long while because the prices had dropped so far that it was a wash to buy an out of box rig... this Dell was top notch a few years back, but that was a long while back. I think that for the same $3,000 that I can do a little better these days building from scratch but I'm not doing it because I have any issues w/ dell.

I bought a dell 521 a year or so ago for my daughter, added more memory and have had no problems with that machine either.

Soumds like you got the bad apple.

04-14-08, 03:31 PM	#1
Deimos01 Frogman Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: St louis Posts: 304 Downloads: 18 Uploads: 0	Computer has been sunk! Some of you may be familiar with my ongoing computer woes. Well, yesterday it finally went belly up. 6 month old Dell XPS 720 system that has been plagued by the nvidia display error for the last 4 months and a couple other issues like hanging on restart. Yesterday while trying to re-install my videa drivers for about the umpteenth freakin time, I tried to start it back up and got ... NOTHING! Comp turns on but does not even try to boot up. So, on the phone with Dell tech for the 8th time to tell them I didnt pay 3k to become a computer mechanic and I want a new machine that works. "Well, we cant do that until we've followed all our proceedures" say the tech. So, they are going to send a guy out to replace my mobo. I'll tell ya, Ive owned a few Dells in my time and always had a good experience until now. Im pretty sure this will be my last Dell No real point to this thread other than Im sad that I cant play SH4, Im pissed cause I cant play games on my gaming rig and Im dissapointed that the level of customer service of this once fine company has gone straight down the toilet and I thought you guys would understand. __________________ "No matter where you go... there you are" - Buckaroo Banzai

04-14-08, 03:41 PM	#2
Quillan Samurai Navy Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 579 Downloads: 2 Uploads: 0	[Heavily Indian accented english]"Tank you for calling Dell customer support. My name is Bob. May I be helping you?" Did you speak to someone in the USA? I'd be shocked if so. __________________ We, the unwilling, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, for so long, with so little, that we are now qualified to do anything with nothing.

04-14-08, 04:02 PM	#4
Deimos01 Frogman Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: St louis Posts: 304 Downloads: 18 Uploads: 0	Amazingly enough I did actually speak to a guy in the US. Although I have spoken to "Bob" a couple times too. I built my last system but it was getting a tad long in the tooth and I just didnt have to time to get into building a new one. Next time Im gonna make the time though. Im thinking the RAM may be part of my ongoing issues and I asked the tech if they could send a couple new sticks along with the service guy and new mobo, just in case. Answer... "No, we have to follow our proceedures. If you are still having problems we will send you new sticks then." So that means another several days of testing and likely another session on the phone with Dell on a day off when I should be playing and having fun. I wonder if dynamite is covered under the warranty. :hmm: __________________ "No matter where you go... there you are" - Buckaroo Banzai

04-14-08, 04:17 PM	#5
Wilcke The Old Man Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 1,441 Downloads: 234 Uploads: 0	Sad, to hear! We use Dell at work and they are truly rubbish. I talked to our IT guy and his take is "yeah they are", but "we get a huge discount", plus "I buy the full blown warranty" that way when something goes wrong "they have to come out and fix it". Its a corporate account so its onsite only, no telephone techies to deal with....if its doing something funny he just calls and they come out....amazing. I would not have one in the house if I had to deal with "fix it over the phone". I will continue to build my own. __________________ Wilcke **For the best in Fleet Boats go to: Submarine Sim Central. http://forum.kickinbak.com/index.php Check out: A Brief Introduction to the Pacific Submarine War by Ducimus http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=128185 Operation Monsun plus OMEGU, the #1 ATO Solution for SH4! Signature Art by Gunfighter**

04-14-08, 04:49 PM	#7
FIREWALL Eternal Patrol Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: CATALINA IS. SO . CAL USA Posts: 10,108 Downloads: 511 Uploads: 0	Iheard a rumor somewhere that DELL mobo,ram and other hardware won't work or is not interchangeable with other computers. I guess what i'm trying to say is DELL stuff only works with DELL and nothing else and costs more. Any truth to that ? __________________ RIP FIREWALL I Play GWX. Silent Hunter Who ???

04-14-08, 03:45 PM	#3
Khourieat Helmsman Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: NYC, USA Posts: 110 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	I feel for ya, my 3 year old Dell (also a $3k machine) went the way of the dodo a few weeks ago, I decided to instead invest $1600 on parts and put it together myself, much happier then whatever Dell provides these days. If you need a computer for web browsing, they are great, spend $400 and get tech support and whatnot, for gaming, no more Dell for me. I started with tremendous nvidia driver/blue screen of death crashes, which culminated in a completely corrupt registry. So I swapped a brand new HD into the system and tried to install win XP Pro, Home and win2k, and none of it could boot into windows, blue screen every time. With no way to extract my old data (this was the only SATA system we had) my wife and I just figured it was eaiser on my sanity to build a new system then to try and figure out this one for the next 3 months... I THINK it's possible Dells cruddy RAM gave out under me, but I don't know for sure, and don't have any extra RAM to test it. The only thing I miss with my Dell XPS is the sweet case, I'm gonna miss that front LED, used to change it's color once a month at least

04-14-08, 04:29 PM	#6
walrusbomb Planesman Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 180 Downloads: 13 Uploads: 0	problem is DELL doesn't test under "hardcore gaming" loads enough to know you're gonna overheat that badboy. I've taken quite a few dead DELLs apart and was never impressed with their airflow.

04-14-08, 05:13 PM	#8
Quillan Samurai Navy Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 579 Downloads: 2 Uploads: 0	Not always true, but I don't have any personal experience with Dell so I can't say for certain. One common thing I've seen with Dell computers is they sell you a motherboard that has no AGP or PCI-E x16 slot, so all you can use is the integrated graphics chip, but they claim it's got advanced graphics. Gateway used to have proprietary motherboards that required special memory or special power supplies, but I don't know if Dell goes that far. __________________ We, the unwilling, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, for so long, with so little, that we are now qualified to do anything with nothing.

04-14-08, 05:32 PM	#9
Skullmosher Nub Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 3 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	The trick they most often use is to have proprietary mobos made that switch the positions of their power connections or require weird interlocks from the power supply, virtually guaranteeing that you can't swap out your motherboard. That's one of the reasons I always build my own systems. Not only is tech support more friendly, but it's available 24/7. __________________ ********************************** "Violence never settled anything." -Ghengis Khan **********************************

04-14-08, 05:38 PM	#10
magicsub Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	mines a dell 2 years old and it plays sh3 fine but usually lags!! i dont know about sh4 though.......... WHAT AM I DOING HERE ANYWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

04-14-08, 06:23 PM	#11
kylesplanet Commodore Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 629 Downloads: 39 Uploads: 0	I bought an Alienware the last time (which has been purchased by Dell) and have had great luck out of it and the support team has been awesome, but my sister bought an XPS and it has been about like you guys have described, trouble all the way. The tech guy at Alienware said they were owned by Dell but were really still a completely different entity. With the cost of the Alienware products though I'll probably build my next one, I've learned a little about them since I last ordered but this one should do me a while. I think I will keep this cool case though, that is one big mother! __________________

04-14-08, 08:03 PM	#12
skwasjer The Old Man Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Netherlands Posts: 1,549 Downloads: 26 Uploads: 3	Alienware sucks as well. I owned an Area-51 (laptop, 4K+ euro, luckily the boss payed), and it was rubbish. Worst purchase ever. Personally I wouldn't do it because I build my systems myself, but I'd trust that small pc store around the corner that builds pc's more than any large system builder. __________________ S3D - Silent 3ditor (v0.9.9) - S3D homepage - Open sourced S3D file parser API's - SUBSIM thread SH5 mods: Speech Recognition for SH5 \| Digital UI Clock Tutorials: [TEC] Import/export 3D models to/from game using S3D [TEC] How to work with the model viewer in S3D - VIDEO

04-14-08, 08:44 PM	#14
Monica Lewinsky Grey Wolf Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 845 Downloads: 11 Uploads: 0	I think your problem starts with Dell. After all, you were talking to this guy: http://learnabit.homeserver.com/lab/MSTechsupport.jpg Well, after your done with that Dell phone call, you can next call this country with your possible Spyware infection in your PC: http://learnabit.homeserver.com/lab/conan.wmv There is a reason why Dell is a 4-letter word. __________________ Sink them all! Last edited by Monica Lewinsky; 04-14-08 at 09:10 PM.

04-14-08, 09:21 PM	#15
JoeCorrado Weps Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Illinois Posts: 366 Downloads: 176 Uploads: 5	Running a 4 year old Dell 4550 that I have upgraded with more memory, second hard drive, NVidea 7600 AGP, and a new power supply. Still chugging along nicely and no issues at all. It will be time for a completely new machine soon and I plan to build one myself- haven't done that in a long while because the prices had dropped so far that it was a wash to buy an out of box rig... this Dell was top notch a few years back, but that was a long while back. I think that for the same $3,000 that I can do a little better these days building from scratch but I'm not doing it because I have any issues w/ dell. I bought a dell 521 a year or so ago for my daughter, added more memory and have had no problems with that machine either. Soumds like you got the bad apple. __________________ ============= My Game starts with GFO - Keepin' it real as it needs to be!