New M6500 Discussion Thread

Outside of not knowing if the hinges would line up, the dimensions are just different.

M6600: 416.7 x 270.5 x 33.1-37.4mm
M6500: 393 x 280.5 x 34.5-38.5mm

Would imagine the lid would look a bit goofy.

 

All, the contracted Dell tech came out today... I had monitor issues along with heat issues from the 3800m graphics card.... replaced monitor, graphics card and even the CPU... can't say enough good about service...

Thanks to all on the thread for posting issues... Dell does listen.

 

Welcome to the world of business tech support, it destroys consumer level tech support from Dell and is a very good reason to get a precision or latitude. It's not perfect sometimes, but no questions asked and receiving the part the next days is just awesome.

 

I agree that the on-site warranty service is excellent. I have been particularly impressed with the international support - they have been happy to organize service calls for me while traveling internationally, which has been a life saver.

But are you saying they replaced screen, graphics card, and CPU all in one call??? My experience has been very different. It feels to me (reading between the lines) like Dell is unwilling to send more parts than they are CONVINCED are necessary, because they don't trust their on-site staff to only install what's actually needed. So in my current battle with system freeze-ups, they first sent the graphics card (only). In the phone call with Dell to set that up, the tech basically told me the next step would be a motherboard, but that we had to try the graphics card first. When that didn't solve the problem, they scheduled another service call to replace the motherboard, and in that call they told me on the phone the CPU would be next, but that they would not send out a new CPU until all other avenues were exhausted. The tech came and installed the new motherboard, put in the WRONG service tag even when I was shouting "Don't press return!!! That's the wrong tag!!!", and it still got memory errors in hardware diagnostics, even after testing with new memory. So he booked yet another service call the next day to replace the CPU. A different tech from a different contractor showed up for that (yesterday), and said the wrong service tag thing was a real problem and he would order ANOTHER motherboard for yet another service call to fix the incorrect service tag issue!

I do agree that they have been very willing to schedule as many expensive international service calls as it takes to resolve the problem. But they have been anything BUT willing to send enough parts to make sure the tech can solve the problem in one visit. And when you replace the motherboard, you end up spending half a day calling software vendors for new license keys because they all think you moved your licensed software to a different system. Now I will apparently have to go through that AGAIN because of this service tag issue necessitating ANOTHER motherboard replacement.

If you got them to come make one visit to do graphics card, display and CPU all at once, I'm jealous as hell!

xPat

 

The bootable diagnostics you can download from support.dell.com are ok but not great. The Dell techs all use a different version called "ePSA", which is also bootable from a USB stick, but gives much more descriptive error messages.

Does anyone know where to download the program that creates an ePSA bootable USB stick? I googled it and found lots of pages detailing what the various error codes mean, but could not find the ePSA program itself. It blows my mind that Dell has really great hardware diagnostics for their techs but apparently has INTENTIONALLY chosen not to share them with their customers. If we had the better diagnostics, seems to me it might help AVOID expensive on-site service calls. Go figure...

Thanks,
xPat

 

I was joking a few posts back when I said I was catching up with Alex in terms of record service calls, but now it's coming true. Despite my objections, the tech who replaced my motherboard put the wrong service tag into the BIOS, and now they have scheduled yet ANOTHER service call tomorrow to replace the motherboard AGAIN.

This has consumed a week of my time, and I'm really at wit's end. If there is any good news, it is that my sense is that Dell understands I have been thru way too much hassle already, and I think I probably have room to negotiate as Alex did for a replacement m6700, or at least an m6600.

On one hand, the upgrade to a newer model seems like just compensation for what I've been thru (tomorrow will mark the 4th service call in the last 10 days, while another user here reported Dell bringing all the parts he needed in a single call. And because of the motherboard swaps invalidating all my software licenses, I'll spend yet another day on the phone to software vendors begging for new license keys. But as appealing as a new m6700 sounds, I hate to give up those 120 lines of display resolution.

Alex and others, what's your advice? Also, when you got the replacement system, did it come with a new warranty for X years from date of replacement, or did the warranty only go as long as your original system's warranty? It is transferrable? Assuming m6700s must sell on eBay for much more than m6500s, if they can't solve the problem with my system I'm almost tempted to push for a m6700 replacement, then sell it on eBay and use the money to buy TWO refurb m6500s from the outlet. A hot backup feels a lot safer to me than "Trust us - the new model is more reliable".

Any advice welcome.

xPat

 

Not only will it not take a newer generation of CPU, it will also not take a newer generation of video card like the 5010M, because the M6500 takes a Dell-proprietary non-standard shape of video card that none of the succeeding generations of video cards come in (the video cards for the M6600 and the M6700 are of the standard MXM shape). I found out the fact of the non-standard shape of video card the hard way when I bought a 5000M that had been in an M6500, for my HP 8740w, which uses the standard MXM shape. By the way, folks, I still have that 5000M for sale.

 

Yes.. the tech had a large box and it had everything... even replaced the plastic parts...

Rahasyavadi.... can't figure out how to PM you about the graphics card.. please contact me....

 

I seem to remember that you have to have made a particular number of posts already here to send or receive PM's. Maybe it is five or ten posts; just now, I have looked in vain trying to find out how many. Once you get enough posts done, you will see that the menu that appears when you click on my name in the header of one of my posts will show the option to PM me.

 

What a bummer. About a year ago I tried to get that 5000M - but DELL told me that this card never really hit market (or even existed) and they couldn't sell me one.

Well, right now a replacement for my M6500 is on it's way and will have a K5000M... this should be fast enough for next 12 month

Cheers,
Alex