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My Horrible Dell Experience
As the title suggests, I am going to share ongoing issues that I am experiencing with my Dell XPS 8500. I bought it a little over 2 months ago. Here I go...
It all started about a week after I purchased the computer. The hard drive started to become really loud constantly when using the computer. I called Dell, and they went ahead and replaced it. At about the same time, the computer suddenly stopped recognizing the graphics card. I contacted Dell, they replaced that. Everything was fine for about 1 week after that. And believe it or not, the hard drive again started to make nonstop noises whenever operating the computer. It became so unbearable that I decided to go ahead and not use the computer at all. I called Dell once more and after much convincing, had them replace the computer for me.
About 1 week later, I received the computer, inside of it was an Nvidia 620 GPU. The computer I was using had a Radeon HD 7570 - a much better card for gaming. This is one of the reasons I bought the computer in the first place. After calling Dell and being transferred from one call to the next, they finally agreed to have a technician come by my house and swap the card.
From there, everything was fine up to today (about 1 week later), I purchased a new Acer 23" 1920x1080p monitor. Everything looked very small on the monitor. I Googled for a while and discovered that I need to change the UI scale (or something like that) in the Catalyst Control Panel. For some reason, this panel wasn't installed on the computer. In the Device Manager, the Radeon HD 7570 appeared with no problem whatsoever, just the Control Panel was missing. I used Dell's live chat to contact someone. He went ahead and uninstalled all of the GPU related drivers. However, he was unable to reinstall them. Suddenly, the support technician disconnected from the remote access. He never called me back, and I didn't get an email from him.
During this time I also found out that my CD drive didn't open for some odd reason. Again, I contacted someone via the online support. After doing a lot of testing, he said that I needed the following parts replaced: My motherboard, Graphics Card, Power Supply, and Optical Drive. Pretty much everything except for the case and the hard drive in the computer. I asked if I could simply get another full system replacement. The support technician said I could - but I would get the downgraded Nvidia card. He said that the previous replacement for the card (for the last replacement) was just a "courtesy" from them. I find this just plain unfair. If I were to send to Dell a Radeon HD 7570 card, I expect you guys to send me back a system with a Radeon HD 7570 card. NOT a card that belongs in a netbook.
This is where it all stands right now. I am getting all of the indicated parts replaced. I am absolutely with Dell. I will never be doing any business with them whatsoever. I am also advising anyone reading this also heads this warning. I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that my family, friends, and colleagues never buy Dell products - unless this is all fixed.
Alexander11
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March 20th, 2013 19:00
My father also has an array of old Dell computers, he says they work perfectly for him.
However the system that I got is just unacceptable. I didn't upgrade the computer myself, it came with the Radeon HD 7570 card. The whole process has been a pain. At this point I either just want a full refund, or have the XPS replaced by a different product line (ex. Alienware X51) worth the same price. I don't care if it is refurbished, I just want something that works. The Dell XPS 8500 computers that I got do not work. I can't even use the computer until the upgrade the indicated parts.
If there is another problem with my computer after those part replacements, I'm thinking of just bringing this to small claims.
rdunnill
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March 20th, 2013 19:00
I'm sorry to hear of your experience. It's strange, because I own a bunch of old Dells (Dimension 2350, Dimension 3100, Optiplex GX620, Vostro 220s and Studio 540s) and they not only work fine but have been quite amenable to upgrades.
rdunnill
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March 20th, 2013 19:00
I have five, plus two Dell cases with custom internal parts, a Dimension 3000 and an XPS 7100.
Regarding the video card, neither the 7570 nor the GT 620 is particularly appropriate for gaming. I'd sooner swap in a 7770 or 7850, and maybe a gamer's power supply like the Seasonic 520-watt installed in my XPS 7100 chassis.
As for the optical drive, I find it hard to believe that the motherboard has anything at all to do with the drive door not opening.
Alexander11
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March 20th, 2013 20:00
Again, no upgrades were ever done by me. I will be making my own pc this summer to replace this piece of plastic junk.
Like I said before, this whole thing is a mess. The motherboard is being replaced because the graphics card isn't being detected.
At this point I just hope that the replacement parts can fix things up. If not, I will make sure Dell does the right thing to me as a customer.
rdunnill
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March 20th, 2013 23:00
Is it the nVidia card that's not being detected?
Alexander11
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March 21st, 2013 08:00
No, they replaced the Nvidia card with a Radeon HD 7570 - that is the card I bought it with. It was being detected with no problem until the tech support tried to re install the drivers for it (because the Control Panel wasn't installed). After that, the card wasn't detected whatsoever. He couldn't install the drivers at all. Now they are replacing the motherboard (again), graphics card (again), power supply, and optical drive. If this doesn't fix the issue, I am going to call them on Saturday and demand a full refund with regards to the Connecticut Lemon Laws. I am absolutely furious with how Dell is conducting this all.
Alexander11
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March 21st, 2013 11:00
I would honestly like a Dell representative to comment on my post...
Alexander11
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March 21st, 2013 19:00
Thank you very much.
I too have no clue what the technicians are doing with my machine. I have taken very good care of the computer.
At this point in time, I am seeking a refund from the Ebay seller who I bought this computer from. Hopefully the Lemon laws in my state will cover this very new computer. I have contacted Ebay and they said that the best options for me is to not seek a refund from Dell, but through the Ebay seller who sold it to me in the first place. This weekend I will call them. If they do not accept the computer back, I will be seeking guidance from my local police department. (This was also recommended by Ebay).
rdunnill
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March 21st, 2013 19:00
I have passed your request on to Dell management.
Regarding the video card, if it's recognized by the BIOS, it should work in Windows. I'm not sure what these technicians are doing, but I find it hard to believe so many parts could be faulty unless the machine was exposed to a lightning strike.
RoHe
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March 21st, 2013 20:00
Since you bought it on eBay, it's great that Dell is willing to do all this work for you, unless you have transferred the warranty.
If the noise you heard was that loud, I really doubt it was the hard drive. I'm betting it was the CPU fan or video card fan. If it's the CPU fan, it's possible the heatsink isn't properly attached and/or the thermal paste between CPU and heatsink needs to be replaced. Under those circumstances, the CPU fan would have to run at highest speed (and sound like a 747) to keep the system from overheating and frying.
It's also possible that a corrupted video card driver is causing the problem. When video drivers get messed up, that can sometimes cause either or both fans to go at top speed.
Did you uninstall the old video card driver before installing the new card and new driver? If Windows is trying to load both (or wrong) video driver that would cause major problems too.
Alexander11
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March 21st, 2013 20:00
I have a 1 year full Dell warranty that came with my computer..
The technician who came to my house verified it was the hard drive.
The video card and motherboard were both replaced numerous times within a month.
Dell's support worked for hours with drivers for my computer.
rdunnill
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March 22nd, 2013 12:00
I have a collection of PCs, including five Dells, and I can't believe that all those parts were defective.
More likely is that the technicians are inexperienced.
Alexander11
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March 22nd, 2013 13:00
I believe that it's just this product line that is defective. I asked them if I could get it replaced with a different computer (valued at a similar or cheaper price), however all they could offer is a full system replacement again. However, the replacement computer would come with a downgraded graphics card (GT 620 rather than the Radeon HD 7570 that I have now). This is very frustrating.
rdunnill
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March 22nd, 2013 13:00
I know there are some troubles with Windows 8 Secure Boot, but apart from that, the XPS 8500 gets good reviews. It uses the same chassis as the XPS 7100, and I've assembled a rock-solid custom around an XPS 7100 using an Asus P67 mainboard and Seasonic quiet power supply.
The video card is a minor component and the 7570 is insufficient for gaming, so you might consider taking the replacement computer, selling the video card on eBay, and putting the proceeds towards a mid-range gaming card like the Sapphire 7770.
Alexander11
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March 22nd, 2013 13:00
I'm running Windows 7
There are many bad reviews on it too. I payed a fortune for this computer, I really don't want to be paying more money upgrading it.
I don't play any games. I just want to get this computer off of my shoulders. Dell obviously is not aware about the "lemon laws" in the United States.