Dell Precision M3800 Owner's Review

Thanks for the screenshot. It's really not as bad as I imagined it to be. I'm looking at it on a 1280x800 13" screen and I can see the icons just fine (downloaded the picture and viewed it full screen). I can imagine it gets way better with a 15" screen at the proper resolution.

 

I noticed someone in this thread talking about mSata etc.
I'm the happy new owner of a tricked out M3800

Took me a while to make windows 8.1 behave correctly - but it's there now.

In the meantime I put in two samsung 840s (one full 2.5 inch, the other mSata)

But the confusion started with the mSata screws. There was a screw missing (no screws came in the box) and the only screw that fit was one of the T5 torx screws from the outside cover.

since there were 10 of those and I wanted the system up and running I used one of those T5 screws.

This is where the fun began. I called Dell asking to buy a replacement set of screws.

They don't sell them


They offered to send me some -but oddly were unable to tell me exactly which screws they were.

The person I was dealing with read out a few item numbers - but in every case I was able to confirm (via Google) that this part number related to another item.

Finally this gets bumped up to a supervisor - upon which I get an email that a screw collection is on the way...

It arrived two days - guess what

It does NOT contain any of the appropriate screws. NONE of the screws supplied are the T5 case assembly screws.

Does anybody happen to know what thread count/pitch/length those screws are - so I can go buy it elsewhere?

Thanks guys

Nick

 

Hello,

I have the coil whine issue too.
Dell changed 2 times my mainboard. The orginal MB was a green colored board. The other boards are blue and the last one was refurbished and not worked.
Now i am waiting for a new board again.
Both of the cards H/W revision number was A00

Has anyone noticed the replaced boards color and revision number?

I think the coil whine issue is on blue A00 boards. I want to know your experiences.

Any suggestion or comment?

 

Hello again,


I have a problem with my Dell 3800

My main board changed for several times.

They deassambled my notebook 4-5 times and one of the screws of the bottom part that holds the case has been eroded. We couldn't put it back again. I want to find a replacement and i don't know the size of it.
Any idea of size? Where can i find it?

 

So far, none of the users here have reported to get the coil whine solved by getting motherboard replaced. Coil whine is existent on the newest i7-4712HQ motherboard, which suggests it's on every revision.

 

Usually they're M2x3, such as this set available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Team-Associat...F8&qid=1405518190&sr=8-1&keywords=msata+screw.

But did you try any of the screws you received from Dell in the actual mSATA slot rather than trying to use them purely to backfill your base cover screw? Also, if you have any old laptops around, you may be able to cannibalize them. I had a friend in a similar situation and one of the screws holding the keyboard down in his old Dell laptop fit the mSATA hole perfectly.

 

Try McMaster-Carr. They're not the cheapest but they're visual search is the best. I use it all the time at work.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Exactly. I am not nor have I ever looked for sympathy, rather, I am looking for a solution done through Dell rather than through individuals who maybe well connected. To think that Dell cannot solve the problem if you didn't exist is troubling. Should I need to seek "inside" help? No. Dell should have a process for handling problems, and when that process fails, Dell should have an alternative plan. I should not have to rely on your help JP - as gracious as it is. This is not your responsibility, nor should you have to waste your time. This is Dell's responsibility and Dell should resolve it.

For the record I never asked for someone to help me resolve the problem. I asked if someone had contact information. I eventually got the contact information through a lengthy process but this is how Dell wants it, otherwise they would have a corporate head office number as a matter of public record. If this tool you have available exists...why hasn;t Dell offered it to me or something equivalent is the better question.

I am confident at some point someone up the chain at Dell will solve the problem - if not, there are obligations and laws that will supersede Dell's desire NOT to solve the problem Will this take a little time? Sure. But at this point, so much time has already passed I might as well take it to the end. I will not accept Dell stealing my money. I have returned my machine, I have met every obligation for refund according to my contract, I have even received written confirmation from Dell on this. Now all that is needed is someone at Dell to execute.

Thanks again, but I am not seeking sympathy, what I am doing is seeing what it takes to solve a problem with Dell, so anyone who wants to see what it takes, can. And then can ask themselves, is Dell an organization I wish to purchase from. If it can happen to me ..it may happen to anyone. The good and the bad need to be told.

 

I am a Dell employee, not just someone who's well-connected. Granted, I'm not in the appropriate department for your type of issue, but all Dell employees have access to an internal resource that I believe can help you.

Agreed, but given that the normal processes seem to be leaving you up a creek at the moment, I figured you might appreciate a paddle, even if it's not from the "right" group within Dell.

Umm, I beg to differ. Here are excerpts from the two earlier posts of yours that caused me to PM you:

^ Sure sounds like asking for help to me....

The tool I'm referring to is a mechanism for any Dell employee to submit a "Help a Customer" form. It is expressly intended to be used when a customer's issue has failed to be resolved through normal channels, and that form goes directly to top-level support reps who will respond within 1 business day. "Someone at Dell" is executing here. You're just turning it down because in your view it's not the right someone. That is of course your privilege, and you're right that I shouldn't have to spend my time resolving an issue that's rightfully someone else's responsibility, but since I would rather spend 5 minutes contributing to customer satisfaction (or at least minimized dissatisfaction) than keep those 5 minutes to myself and continue watching someone struggle, I reached out to you. Hell, by now I've spent more time trying to convince you to accept help than it would have taken me to actually help you.

Ah, so you're performing a public service out of altruism in the interest of raising awareness at this point. Well as noble as that sounds, I don't think anyone would consider it shocking or even news that a company with 100,000 employees sometimes, despite its best efforts, fails to provide the level of customer service that it should. I also don't think anyone who reads your trials and tribulations here is going to consider your experience the norm when dealing with Dell -- to say nothing of the fact that your saga is buried 280+ pages deep in a thread that will pretty much only be seen by M3800 or XPS 15 owners or prospective owners, which makes me wonder how much exposure you really expect your posts to get. The bottom line is that every company that's large enough and has been around long enough has racked up some customer service horror stories -- and everyone basically expects that. But if you want to soldier on in the name of adding one more story to the annals, that's your choice I suppose.

 

there weren't any screws in the Dell mSATA set...because
it wasn't a Dell mSATA drive.

I got the mSATA drive on Amazon because it cost a good $250 less than through Dell. (I bought this AFTER the laptop arrived and boy am I glad I did). And the mSATA card drive didn't come with any screws