Dell Precision M3800 Owner's Review

Hello guys,

I have a strange problem . I am using external monitor - Dell Ultrasharp U2414H connected via HDMI . When laptop is turned on - after some time of usage (about cca 10minutes) - external monitor will go black for 2 seconds. Then everything works fine. This is very annoying for me , and I am trying to find cause . I believe it could be related to nvidia optimus somehow. Both drivers - for intel HD and nvidia K1100m are the latest and official from support.dell.com . I am using Windows 8.1 Pro with latest updates. Any suggestions will be welcomed here.

Thank you in advance.,

David

 

I see this on my XPS 15 using a Dell 20" display, also attached via HDMI, though it doesn't happen anywhere near every 10 minutes; I see it maybe once or twice per day. My U2410 attached via DisplayPort does not exhibit this issue, and I haven't bothered to attach it via HDMI to see whether that creates the problem because my 20" display doesn't support DisplayPort, so that would prevent me from using the two displays simultaneously. However, your U2414H DOES support DisplayPort, and in fact it even has DisplayPort pass-through, so even if you were currently using another display via DisplayPort, you could daisy-chain them together. If possible I'd recommend seeing whether the problem still exists in that setup. If that fixes it, there are still several possible culprits (drivers, GPU firmware, the clock chip for the HDMI connector, some weird incompatibility between one of those and certain Dell displays, etc), but at least you'd have it fixed. If you still see the problem on DisplayPort, then it sounds like you've already updated what you can, so other than maybe swapping out the HDMI cable to see if that at reduces the frequency of the blackouts, I'm not sure what else to suggest.

 

Has anyone had any issues with the enter key being a little bit more stubborn than the rest? I can press it down to the point of hearing it click but it sometimes requires a more forceful push to activate. Is this normal or should I utilize the next-business-day warranty? No other key behaves this way.

Thanks!

 

Is there a cheaper option for a M3800 power supply? I need a 2nd for the office to lighten the load/avoid forgetting but don't really want to spend $90.

Thanks!

 

So found this post about using an old Dell 130w with the 7.4->4.5mm adapter.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...5-haswell-owner-s-lounge-527.html#post9644543

Can anyone recommend a reliable supplier of last gen 130w adapters? Amazon has plenty for ~$30 but looks like hit or miss that you get a fake which fails quickly.

THanks!

 

The 90W work with the adapter, though charge slowly. I use these on aircraft as they do not blow the seat circuit breakers. I ignore the warnings by Dell that they will not work.

For curiosity I checked AliExpress and they are surprising not cheaper than Amazon.

 

Rakuten.com had this 4.5mm adapter for about $6 and I ordered it when I had a $5 point balance so it cost me about $1 out of pocket. Also on ebay you can probably buy the new 130W for less. I think I paid about $70 for my spare.

 

My m3800 laptop is constantly toggling between recognizing the power supply (original one supplied with the unit) and switching to battery.. When I jiggle the cord it will recognize the power supply again but this doesn't last for long. I often get the message that the power adapter is not recognized.

Is this likely to be internal on the laptop. Or is it likely the power supply?

thanks,
Erin C-H

 

I'm going to guess the laptop (fortunately the DC power connector is its own little part, not part of a much larger component), but it's easy to test if you have either someone else with an M3800/XPS 15 whose power supply you can borrow, or else any Dell AC adapter plus the dongle currently being discussed here.

 

I saw the adapter but now I need to find a reliable seller of the Ac adapter.

Amazon has literally dozens of "dell" 130w ac adapters w/7.4mm plug for $25-35. Problem is every listing has dozens of sellers promising the same genuine item and reviews are split between "mine is genuine and works great" and "mine is fake and blew up in 1 month". Reviews are all on the item not the seller...

I don't trust ebay at all. About 90% of my experiences have been bad. Sure I get money back eventually but at that point may as well drop $90 +tax with dell.