Dell Precision M3800 Owner's Review

LOL Yes thats probably what will happen. The newest reorder has a date of 3/6/15 on it so I think it will cancel without an issue as it is not yet In Production just in Order Processing. That and I have now blocked my Credit Card for orders from them to prevent future reorder problems. Of course I am stuck with a useless power dongle and laptop lock designed specifically for this model but I figure the $50 lost is worth it. Good luck ...

 

It's crazy that you are having these issues. I must have ordered JUST at the right time, because mine came exactly when they said it would, and everything has been all good so far.

I ordered on January 26th and received it early last week. About the only issue that I had was that Dell never let me know that they had shipped the machine. It was still listed as: "In Production" and then I come home to a FedEX note on my door last Monday. I wasn't too happy about that, but it was minor and at least I received my machine on time.

 

Your M3800 is the brand new right? Is it fine? Have the coil whine problem or the wifi problem? Thank you!

 

Yes it is brand new, and I am not having any issues with it at all so far. Other than a few touchpad quirks (which is not a defect of my machine) everything is working perfectly. No coil whine, no wifi issues.

 

Alright so for a while now I've decided to just write off the coil whine issue but it's actually started to affect my ability to record audio on my desktop computer. Basically, the whine affects EVERY component on the same power circuit, which is an unfortunate quality of the room I'm in. This means I can hear it coming from my desktop's power supply and even gets into my audio recordings from my SM-57 microphone via XLR to USB audio interface. If I unplug the m3800's AC adapter either from the power strip or the laptop itself the noise goes away. What the heck! Is my only option to avoid this to run a really long and ugly extension cord from another room?

I honestly wasn't minding the noise TOO much when it was just that. Now it's a real problem in my workflow. Has anyone else experienced this? Think it's my power adapter?

I've already had my motherboard replaced once so I'm skeptical that scheduling a second would fix it. Plus testimonies from this thread and others would suggest the same...

 

Interesting. Have you tried a really high-quality surge protector, or perhaps a UPS? If you plug the M3800 into one of these, the filters in these devices may help eliminate the line noise. It's a bit of a shot in the dark, but might be worth a try.

Oh, and yes, absolutely, my guess is it's really your adapter that's the problem here.

 

To be honest, I'm not sure what exactly constitutes a high quality surge protector, but my guess is I don't use one. I definitely don't have a UPS, so this is one area I could improve.

Before I completely give up, I'll see if I can get dell to replace my power adapter. Hopefully it is indeed the culprit. I can hear an electrical noise coming from the brick itself.

Update: I've called Dell support and they want to send another tech to my house to try a different AC adapter and do another A/C power slot and motherboard replacement if necessary. Problem is, I start a new job on Wednesday and will likely be away from the house during business hours when Dell can visit.

Aside from that, this is my last attempt at fixing this issue. If it does not work, I'll have no choice but to ebay the machine and go another route. I hope it does not come to that...

 

My power adapter also makes a noticeable buzzing noise. It would be interesting to hear whether the new adapter improves things.

 

Is anybody running Windows 8.1 having issues with USB devices that can charge from a computer not being recognized? I have no issue connecting any device that does not charge off of a USB port (e.g. USB drive, external CD drive, hard drive, etc...), but if I connect an iPad for example, it will just constantly disconnect and reconnect to the M3800. I know that this is an issue with Windows 8.1 and not the M3800 specifically, but I have tried every setting, update, and registry hack that I could find on the internet, and the problem still persists.

Has anyone been able to figure this issue out? It's driving me mad right now.

 

From what I hear this seems to be a problem that's specific to Apple devices, associated with them attempting to draw more current than the spec allows. Do you have this issue with all USB ports? Do you have iTunes installed (which comes with drivers for Apple devices)?