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Alienware x51 r2 - blank screen
I bought my Alienware x51 r2 last October. I have had problems with it ever since.
While gaming, streaming a video, surfing the web, or even while simply booting, the screen would go black and the TV would display "No signal." I would then have to restart the computer.
Dell replaced the video card. It worked for a month. Then the same thing started happening again.
Dell replaced the video card a second time. It worked for a month. And now the same thing is happening again.
I cannot watch a video on YouTube or Amazon for more than five minutes without the screen going black. This 1000 dollar computer is now useless.
The first card was an Nvidia 660; the second a 760, and the third another 760.
I am beyond frustrated. I am not a computer expert; that's why I chose not to build my own and bought a pre-built one instead. This was obviously a huge mistake on my part. If this problem persists you can bet I'll never purchase a Dell product again (and I'll spread the word to everyone I know, too).
curiousartemis
7 Posts
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June 2nd, 2015 23:00
Knock, knock, hello, anyone out there? I was hoping to at least get a response from the Alienware rep.
curiousartemis
7 Posts
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June 4th, 2015 21:00
bump...
And it's still happening. Just turned it on, decided to test it by loading Skyrim. After 1 minute of playing, it restarted, then midway through booting, the screen went black/blank. It's still like that. Clearly on but displaying nothing.
Game7a1
727 Posts
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June 4th, 2015 21:00
Have you tried using the top HDMI port for a bit? It won't be meant for gaming, but if the display works through there, then I would think the problem is not the GPU.
Game7a1
727 Posts
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June 4th, 2015 22:00
Have you requested a motherboard replacement? It could be that there's something wrong with the PCI-E slot.
curiousartemis
7 Posts
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June 4th, 2015 22:00
Yep, that's what I'm using in the meantime. I can watch videos now at least, but this is primarily a gaming computer... I have a separate laptop for writing, working, surfing, etc.
Basically every time it's started to do this I just switch to the other port until Dell "fixes" it.
I requested a phone call from a tech sometime tomorrow afternoon, but I have a feeling that, just like last time, he'll do all the stress testing and what not and just conclude I need to ship it off again. I'll be so annoyed if all they do is replace the card a third time.
curiousartemis
7 Posts
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June 4th, 2015 22:00
No, I haven't. Do you think that's something I should mention tomorrow? The first time the tech actually came to my house and replaced the video card; the second time Dell had me ship the whole computer off. I thought they would figure out what was wrong with it on their own, but all they did was replace the card again... should I specifically request to have the motherboard replaced?
I'm nervous about sounding stupid b/c I'm not at all computer savvy :) Thanks for responding though!
Game7a1
727 Posts
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June 4th, 2015 23:00
Do mention it at least. Make sure you ask a technician to come by and have it replaced where you can see it being done.
curiousartemis
7 Posts
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June 4th, 2015 23:00
Okay, I will do that, thanks!
curiousartemis
7 Posts
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June 5th, 2015 00:00
I just tried to run the self-diagnosis via the Dell website and the computer rebooted after about 10 minutes, then black-screened mid-boot, and now the fan is blowing SUPER HARD.
The "fan-blowing-hard" thing hasn't happened in months, but it has happened before, in conjunction with the blank-screening. They're definitely related.