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XPS 710... another motherboard bites the dust
I've owned a dozen or so different Dell computers over the past 15 or so years.
Without question, the XPS 710 (at least the one I bought almost 3 years ago at a premium PC price) is the only one I've had that lived up to the reputation that so many IT-types ascribe to Dell. Basically, it was junk.... nothing more. Over the past three years, I've had to reload my operating system and all installed software on 3 different occasions (e.g. lost hard drives), have had two motherboards and power supplies fail, replaced fans, the raid system never worked, and am now waiting on an 'exchange PC.' Of course, every time a part can stopped functioning, I couldn't simply replace the junk parts with real and proven parts (e.g. a power supply and a motherboard with proven reliability) because the Dell parts are proprietary. I've lost days to this PC. I think it actually cost me more in a business sense, in time lost, than it costs me as an investment in a 'reliable' state-of-the-art computer system.
Interestingly enough, the 'exchange PC' solution which is ongoing is the 'last resort' for Dell since they no longer make the junk motherboard upon which this machine was built. Moreover, the expensive one-day service that is a must-have warranty for a product as unreliable as the XPS 710, turns out to be a '21 day turnaround (that work days) for the 'exchange PC.' I refer to solution as the 'exchange PC' since Dell is unwilling to share any details on the specs of the PC. My machine failed again last week and Dell didn't have the manpower to build one over the past 7 days. So, I'm simply supposed to go without a PC for 21 days in anticipation of the wonderful replacement for the lemon I've used for three years. And, no matter what system they send, I'm less satisfied than I would have been had they simply told me what type of system they would build after they hired enough help or allocated the task to a Dell employee who would make fixing my seemingly irrelevant problem a priority.
In the end, before becoming the chagrined owner of an XPS 710, I never really understood why my higher tech-oriented friends always put Dell down. Now, I fully understand. At this point, even if Dell sends a great PC, how can I can I put the time and frustration of the previous one behind me? Will I ever buy a Dell again?
The Alienware was a good solution, until Dell bought that. Now, I worry that Dell will turn it into the same set of problems it has build into its desktop line. Why not make a PC with parts that Dell customers can replace when they need to get the machine up and running quickly? It's just way too much down time to expect customer to accept without a solution. I would have been fine with a PC from the outlet store shipped sooner, so I could get access to my hard drive back quicker.
Note to Dell…. the length of computer down time matters to people who purchase the one-day service warranty. In our minds, we’re not paying for a 21-day solution. If that’s what you are selling, that’s what you should call it. That way you don’t establish expectations that lead to unsatisfied customers. Moreover, the last thing we want to hear is that the 21 day solution is in the ‘fine print’ of the warranty contract that we purchased. That’s good for covering your legal problems, but it won’t help you retain customers and the later is more important to your business success than is the former. Ask someone in Customer Care, but not today. Why?
Today, after talking with a Dell XPS customer rep, I was transferred to the Dell Customer Care group (it's not open on Saturdays, so I got a recorded message), I fully understand that I expect way too much from Dell.
Seriously, how would a customer service tech possibly know the Customer Care office hours? Thanks for the transfer, but they don't work on Saturdays. Please make a note of it—and, of course, I have your name, but have been polite enough to not post it. I’ll pass it on to Customer Care when they come back to work.
dtischerd
48 Posts
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March 31st, 2010 10:00
yea and my tech is clueless i asked for a case that can accept atleast dual 8800gtx vid cards and later on to handle the new fermi 840 cards..she told me that the Aurora can handle dual cards..ugh..like i said CLUELESS!!!
dtischerd
48 Posts
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March 31st, 2010 11:00
all this is easing my mind..soo i guess i'll accept the Aurora,but my next pc i'm building myself!
dtischerd
48 Posts
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March 31st, 2010 11:00
According to Alienware.com the standard Aurora can take dual GTX 260's which isn't all that bad of a card either...even takes a single GTX 295..now were talkin!..lol
RobertYork
57 Posts
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March 31st, 2010 11:00
I think if you push for the fastest single card you can, you'll still have plenty of room for a sound card or something else. And the benchmarks show a 295 is within 10% of a 480 on most games, FPS wise. Just may not have some of the fancy DX11 options, and the 480 performs better on DX11 games.
Really, for the 400 series, nVidia quit trying to just get more FPS, and went for higher quality rendering, so in many cases, they don't show faster FPS. Companies will have to change how they benchmark cards to take in account visual quality. Honestly, in most cases, the ATI 5970s perform much better and support DX11, but there's a debate about driver quality and other such things. I generally tend to go ATI of late, but I bit the bullet and went with nVidia. I'd like the option of trying the 3D glasses option in the future, and plan on upgrading to the 400 series someday.
RobertYork
57 Posts
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March 31st, 2010 11:00
It can also take dual 5870s (equivalent performance wise to dual 285s or even one 480), or a 295, which is actually a single card that has two 285s running in SLI on one board. Two separate 285s might be slightly better due to better heat dissipation and what not, but a lot of benchmarks I've seen mark it as a wash in most cases.
And two 295s don't sound like they work well together.
dtischerd
48 Posts
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March 31st, 2010 12:00
in all honesty i would be happy with a MotherBoard exchange perferrably the 720 upgrade kit as i love my current 710 case and would ensure future upgrade possibilities..again i point you all to this thread.
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showthread.php?t=291905
with the pull out Lian Li Motherboard tray the mod would be fairly easy and would accept any current and future high end Motherboards.
heres another different thread although done a bit differently,but has the same results.
http://www.overclock.net/water-cooling/537747-dell-xps-710-btx-atx-liquid.html
warren71
85 Posts
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March 31st, 2010 12:00
To be honest wouldnt it be better to sell your new replacements then pay additional to build your own system as most pc parts have a 3year warranty on them anyway
gymrat2k
2 Posts
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March 31st, 2010 12:00
Nice to hear some are nearing a solution to their XPS 710-problems.
Monday 29th I called back again to hear how much further the search for a replacement motherboard had come. No nearer a replacement. Pressing the issue I was told that they could see two motherboards "in stock". The reason for me not getting one after two weeks of waiting perhaps was "because they are booked/used by other people ahead of me in line for a replacement motherboard".
Also, I couldn't escalate the problem further up in the hierarchy (his boss) because the Swedish phone support company I was dealing with was outsorced from Dell. I then used "mail to support" function on the homepage, and was two days later (just now) called up by an support person (from India). Same answer from him:
A support technician will call me up when he has gotten the motherboard to book a date for the replacement. They were unable to specify a date when this could be. But I think the date for "the next phase" in my support chain (whatever that might be?) slipped through: April 18th (a month and two days from support first acknowledging the problem). I like conspiracy theories and will think of the date as "the escalation point" ;)
Again, pointing to this message board they iterated that different regions handles replacements differently. Just because US customers were issued new systems, Dell Sweden/Europe wouldn't necessarily handle it the same way.
RobertYork
57 Posts
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March 31st, 2010 13:00
I'd thought about that for at least the video cards, once the 400s come out. Just not sure what the best way to swap them would be. I don't trust eBay much, and since I've never used it, not sure if anyone would trust me as a seller of two 'Brand new unboxed never been used, honest!'. Getting one 480 would probably be the same cost, too.
dtischerd
48 Posts
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March 31st, 2010 13:00
that is a good point..1 that i seriously have been thinking about doing..i guess it depends on what i get in the Aurora system..ive already been picking out parts on Newegg..lol
dtischerd
48 Posts
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March 31st, 2010 14:00
yea that can be a problem..ive bought several things from ebay,but never sold anything..theirs always Craigslist..lol.
gkhunter
16 Posts
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April 6th, 2010 22:00
Hey guys... still trying to process a refund here. Dell transferred the money to my paid off (and long-ago closed) account at DFS.
I'm so surprised that I had to spend two hours on the phone trying to sort this out.
I've booked 2 hours every two weeks for follow up. Its Dell. Lots of transfers. Nobody who wants to solve problems... or nobody they trust to do so.
I wonder if this will make it to 60 days before it is resolved.
My new self-built PC is working great! It's amazing what great PC parts can do.
Not_happy_joe
15 Posts
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April 7th, 2010 05:00
Well, I'm out of here for now, just received the new Alienware Aurora to replace the XPS710 that has been nothing but trouble for the last 4 years under warranty.
Even though Dell followed through and replaced the pc at no charge, I learned an important lesson here.
1.) DON'T BUY DELL, they have no concept of customer service.
2.) There too big to care, your just a number.
3.) Next day service took 1 month (during that time I did a next day air build to get me back up and running)
4.) India support beloings in India
5.) Proprietary components, so when Dell can't provide next day service, you can't go some where else.
Thanks to gkhunter and everyone for their posts.
I'm outa here!
jnantz
32 Posts
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April 7th, 2010 09:00
Well I think that about sums it up. /clap
dtischerd
48 Posts
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April 7th, 2010 11:00
well finally i got an order number and it will prolly be shipped on the 9th ..so i'll prolly get it on the12th..soo here are the specs..not too shabby,but not that great either.