Dell Precision M3800 Owner's Review

It takes a lot longer to get a replacement system than a parts swap -- even without the delays currently plaguing these systems. Granted the result will most likely be better with a system exchange, but for people who have already waited a long time to receive theirs, they may not be willing or even able to wait longer for another one.

 

Thank you for your help.
I have checked the tightness of the cables/connectors once, very carefully, but I will do it again.
I do have a question about the Intel RS driver; when Dell's page examines the 3800, it produces in its list two versions to try - one is version 12.8.7.1000 A01 under SATA, and one is 12.7.1.1000 A00 under Storage. I think I might have had 12.7.1 installed, but I am not sure; I just decided to run the install of 12.8.7.1000 because it would end quickly if I already had it. Well, it ended quickly, but it said install complete. But it did not install anything, in fact it uninstalled the existing driver as far as I can tell! IfI try and run Intel RS from the Start menu, it says IAStorUI does not exist. I tried running the install again, rebooting, no luck

Should I be running the 12.7.1 version? Actually, everything seems to run fine without anything, do I Need it? I am quite confused <g>. Thanks!

 

Interesting, that duplicate listing doesn't appear in the list of 8.1 drivers.... If you want to see for certain what (if any) version of RST is installed, open Device Manager, expand "IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers", double-click the Intel option there, and click the Driver tab. Note that if your system is in Smart Response mode, the Intel adapter will be shown under something like Storage/SCSI/RAID Controllers (can't remember the exact name).

As for which version is correct, Intel's site has a version 12.9 that shows as compatible with Windows 7, 8, and 8.1.

 

Quick update for anyone who's been following all of the issues I've been having with my M3800. I chatted with Dell online and they agreed that the motherboard was probably bad, and as the screen had at least 9 dead pixels on it they said they would just send me a replacement laptop (new) instead of having someone repair it. Kudos to Dell for sending me a new laptop, and for it getting here in just a couple of days.

Unfortunately, I *think* there is a foreign object underneath the glass on the replacement laptop's screen. It's black, about the size of four pixels (maybe more), and is just to the upper left of the center of the screen, which means that it's impossible to miss and very annoying.

Cell phone pic: http://imageshack.com/a/img856/9636/rwaw.jpg

Macro pics:
http://imageshack.com/a/img819/549/ieyu.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img560/4233/iv5a.jpg

The pics were taken at minimum brightness, which means it stands out even more when the brightness is turned up.

A cursory glance reveals seven other dots (either dead pixels, or smaller foreign objects) scattered across the screen

More bad news: when I boot up Windows, it says something about a USB device (or hub, perhaps) failing to install, and Device Manager shows this:



I'm about ready to call it quits on the M3800, although I don't know if Dell will let me return for a refund since I think it's been more than 21 days now since I placed my initial order.

 

Is that Windows 7? If so you probably need to install the Intel USB 3.0 driver, since Windows 7 doesn't have native support for USB 3.0. If it's 8.1, I can post my Device Manager output (from an XPS 15, but should be essentially identical except for NFC) if you want to compare. The Unknown Device may be related to that, or it could be something else. Open up its properties, go to the Details tab, select "Hardware IDs", and let me know what 4-character sequences appear after VEN_ and DEV_. That would help identify that device as well.

And just to be sure, you've disconnected all USB devices just to rule out an issue with an external device, correct?

 

You were right, the USB controller needed the "Intel USB 3.0 eXtensible Host Controller Driver" driver, which isn't on the M3800 drivers page for some stupid reason, but can be found here:

ftp://ftp.dell.com/published/Pages/precision-m3800-workstation.html

Then the other device needed the "ST Microelectronics Free Fall Data Protection" driver, which also isn't on the M3800 drivers page, but can be found here:

Driver Details | Dell US

I don't know what I'm going to do about the screen, though...

 

Thanks for the reply! Under IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers, the INtel entry is Intel 8 Series SATA AHCI Controller -8C03. The driver tab says date 7/25/13, version 9.4.0.1023. I have on other laptops a "Storage Controllers" node there, which this 3800 does not. Sounds like no Rapid Storage, correct?

So should I try to Intel 12.9 version of RS, or just leave as is? I am not sure of the advantage or if it is required, but things *seem* to be working well so far...

 

I believe that's the version included with Windows these days, and you should definitely update since SSD TRIM support was only added in 9.6, which is definitely something you want to have. If you want, you could just go to the Intel site and download the Rapid Storage "F6 Floppy driver" (get the one called Rapid Storage RAID even if you're not running RAID), which would allow you to install just the driver through Device Manager rather than dealing with the whole GUI setup. On the other hand if you're running a hard drive + SSD cache unit setup, you'll want the full GUI so you can configure Smart Response.

 

I got $200 off but that was because of several delays the first time I ordered, having said that I am waiting for the unit...which I am hoping does not have the same delays as the first time. I was going to go with the Lenovo X1 Carbon (I know completely different unit for totally different use) but thats just as expensive, a dual core, maximum of 8GB RAM, and in Canada a pathetic i5-4300U is the top option) so went back to Dell. Wonder if I should have waited for the new Series 9 from Samsung but again, its likely to be around $2000 and only offer a dual core and less quality chip....cant anyone make a good problem free laptop anymore?? Im disappointed with all of this trash being pushed out to people for big $$$ because from what I can tell...very few manufacturers are doing a good job these days.

 

Well, I tried installing the RST from Intel's site, that too said it installed successfully but it did not. I checked the logs carefully this time, it's a 1603 error. Others have reported this, it seems to be something that crops up based on the version of the Chipset software you have or install, not sure about that. I tried CCleaner as some said fixing registry problems fixes it, but no luck. I did check, TRIM is enabled, since I am not using RAID maybe I should just go without? Unless I missed something, the only place I saw someone said they fixed the 1603 was uninstalling all the Intel software, and then reinstalling it. I don't really want to try that as that rarely seems to fix anything and takes a lot of time.