I'm done with the m11x :(

I had my 4th hinge replacement on Tuesday. I was sick with food poisoning that day and my wife was the one who worked with the Dell tech. Being busy at work I didn't get a chance to check it out until last night.

Not really sure what the technician did (My wife says he only swapped the screen/lid out like usual), but all three boot environments are experiencing lock ups and crashes. I've got two Win 7 x64 boots for work and play, and a third boot that goes into Ubuntu.

Hardware tests come out clean, so I attempt to run an image backup thats been used before (and verifies OK) to clear out everything and just reinstall my work image. No go. I try a fresh install: no go. Ubuntu? Nope.

It's beyond me what the guy could have done, but it's apparent that he must have prematurely discharged his static all over something... or maybe slipped with his screwdriver or something.

TL;DR: I just don't have time to do much more than write a gripe about it. I'm going to go buy a different laptop and what would make me very happy is any advice on getting Dell to allow me to return the laptop due to any lemon policy or SOMETHING and get a full refund. I've had 5 different techs out trying to make this thing useful and I'm done.

If anyone can give me some tips I'd appreciate it. I am drafting a letter to the BBB and management of Dell in case I don't have good luck with my phone call.

 

don't know about a full refund, but why not encourage them to give you a new system since they've clearly had an effect on your current machine.

4 hinge replacements in how long? That just sounds so excessive. Fingers crossed my machine seems rock solid for now, and I'm going to baby the heck out of it. (although I know that might not help, but it can't hurt! - perhaps I have a new internal hinge design?)

Overall the build quality is great... and my Mac fan friends took one peak at it and oooh and aaaah was all they could do. They like the small package, the reasonable price, and the horsepower.

 

The system has only been out for a year I think, right? I received mine 3/21 last year.

It's highly excessive and thats why I'm no longer interested in another repair or replacement :\

It's a gigantic shame, because I really don't feel like there is a viable replacement on the market right now. Maybe the next revision will have some durability improvements.

 

I would consider seeing if they can give you a total replacement.. its seems a bit of an oddity.. but i have a very clean build and got it in Oct 2010. I have a perfectly flat keboard, solid OC ability and absolutely no issues.. it seems the same for a lot of people with newer builds as well.. my hinges sit just fine.. I'm very gentle with them though as I have had hinge issues on Dells as well as Asus models..

:eddit, but from your track record I can't blame you either.. at least they did try to do the repairs.. that says something..

 

You've a week and a half left on your warranty. Use it to press for a complete replacement, then sell the replacement nib if you don't want it. Apparently, units have begun shipping with the redesigned hinge. You can verify your replacement unit is so equipped prior to shipping.

I would be flabergasted if they issued a full refund after 54.5 weeks of ownership, but hey, what have you got to lose?

 

Not good to hear, I have had one hinge replacement 6-7 months ago. No problems what so ever. I would try to get a deal on the R2 because of your problems!

 

Sorry to say this but no way in hell are they going to give you a full refund. I had two POST fails and had to have my mobo replaced twice and they wouldnt give me a full refund. I also had a warping issue on the bar where the wlan lights and whatnot are when I first go the laptop. They fixed everything that was wrong. (Few other things.) I feel like I got a refurb unit when I bought it...

 

x2 on the refund situatuion. Push for a new laptop, and threaten them with the BBB letter, and say that you have it documented that you got sold a lemon of a product. Just mentioning the BBB should scare them...

 

On the 4th repair they're obligated to give you a brand new replacement. They dont mention it, but it's in the fine print of the warranty.

I know, I've done it myself. Got a new machine on the 4th repair. Go for that, don't give up yet

 

Yeah I'm going to push for the refund, but I'd be just as surprised to get it. I am definitely not going to settle for anything less than a new system ticket.

Would you guys suggest going with an R1 or R2? I don't do as much gaming on it as I used to having built a new Desktop recently, so it might be nice to have the extra cores for multitasking and such... what would you suggest?

R1 vs. R2.... fight!

 

Either a i7 R2 or stick with a R1. The R2 is better if you value driver updates. I don't care much for driver updates, so I don't mind the R1.

 

I really like being able to control when the R1 is or isn't using the GPU - even if it does require a reboot to fully turn it off.

This doesn't work in Ubuntu though as far as I have been able to determine, and I've had to just leave the GPU on otherwise I get some errors.... how does the R2 work with Ubuntu?

 

Optimus doesn't work with Ubuntu, it currently relies on some key, patented, MS WDDM components.

 

The build of this machine could do some improvements, I already have damaged hinges right now, but Dell is SUCH a pain in the ***.

 

Jeremyshaw, are you saying that Ubuntu can't load at all on the R2, or it just wont have the optimus functionality?

If its stuck using one or the other, that is fine - but if I can't even run Ubuntu that would be a negative.

 

it *should* be able to run ubuntu, however, I believe the nVidia GPU will be power on, but unuseable, at all times. Just like how winXP *should* be able to run on it.

 

It doesn't require a reboot to fully turn off.

 

I love my i5. Push for a new system. A refund will be futile.

 

There have been quite a few people who have presented the problem that I have noticed: On the R1, you can toggle the GPU to IGP, however your battery life wont be as good as if you shut the system down and restart it. It will be better, but not AS good.

Basically, with the 335 I get about 3-4 hours depending on use. If I toggle it off I'll get maybe 4-5 hours. If I shut down and restart I can get it to go up to 8 hours.

This is true of my wife's M11x as well, both are latest drivers and BIOS. Did I miss a fix somewhere along the way and maybe just didn't notice it? I haven't actually fussed over it since the first month or so of ownership.


Back onto the topic, It's been several days since I contacted Dell and sent my e-mail to the supervisor with my complaint without response, so I went ahead and sent in my BBB complaint that I had drafted over the weekend. I'll let you all know how THAT unfolds

 

I agree... I will be professional and persistent but I cannot fathom that I'll actually GET a refund. What I am hoping for is perhaps credit towards a system of my choosing, and maybe I can sit on that for a little bit until the next refresh comes out (R3, or that M14x that some one posted a picture of perhaps).

I really don't want to get stuck with a replacement that isn't from the new batch that has the hinge issue (supposedly) resolved, as then I'd end up with an on-site tech taking my system apart again. I'd much rather wait and just avoid that pothole completely.

A check in the mail WOULD be pretty amazing though, wouldn't it? lol

 

Well, as we all assumed Dell is not giving me a refund

However they ARE going to allow me to get "an equal or better" laptop. I made it very clear to them that the replacement would need to be capable of gaming.

If I have him send me an i7 M11x there is the chance of the old hinge... I really want to avoid that scenario.

The 15" XPS has a GT 540 with 2GB of RAM (). I'll do my own research, but could I hear some opinions if anyone has any? I'd really appreciate it.

If all else fails I may see if I can't just get a credit from them... the M14x would be worth waiting for if only for the spec bump.

Thanks for your help, guys.

 

Inevitably some people get good machines, some get bad. I'm on my 4th alienware right now and have never ever had a problem. My M11x is my pride and joy and will never leave my sight.

If you go for a 15" XPS you are giving up the very things you bought the M11 for - namely size and mobility. Stick with the M11x mate - seriously. You are far more likely to get a good model this next time around than a bad one, and there's nothing to say an XPS wouldn't give you every bit as many problems as the current M11 has.

 

Froogle that might be the best advice i've read on these forums.

I'll get them to bump me into an i7 or something and call it a day.

 

i7, no questions asked. The XPS 15 is slightly better at gaming, but it's also much heavier, and has far worse battery life in the process. And it's pretty unlikely that you will get a M11x that is JUST AS problematic as your current one,so I'd say to stick with AW.

 

Yeah, go for the new i7 680UM. Will prob be out on dells site soon!

 

Sooooo I talked to the Dell rep that's setting up the replacement for my R1.... It sounds like they will be sending me:

i7 640
8GB RAM
500GB HDD
Bluetooth

I'm not sure if I'll hold on to it... I'm probably going to sell it. The Dell price is listing it as $1150, How close do you suppose I could come to that for a brand-new, never used system with a 1 year warranty?

 

@Zlog

the best thing you could do is keep the i7 when you get it..

 

Wow, you got a great upgrade Nice job!

Keep it, though. All that power packed into a small package is priceless.

If you REALLY want to sell it (which I wouldn't), you could get under 1k on ebay, considering last time I checked (few weeks ago), that's what they were going for as "new".

You will regret it, though.

Going from an AW to a plain, inferior/boring laptop will make you kick yourself

I personally believe the M11X series to be one of the best laptop series of all time for laptops under 15".

 

If you don't need it for gaming, I'd try milk something decent instead - any of their Latitudes should be light years better than this. If the replacement is already on the way just sell that crap and then buy an actually good laptop (try Thinkpad X220 w/ SB CPU, 20hr battery and an IPS .

If going from AW to a Thinkpad will make you kick yourself then you should really really take a good look at yourself tbh.

P.S. Zlog, welcome to the 'm11x quitter club'.

 

Oh Unreal, I'm sure there was a time when you were thoroughly enjoying your M11x as much as I am...... What happened buddy?!

Zlog, great upgrade, fantastic little machine! Enjoy the hell out of it, it wil make you smile ^^ Don't listen to that grumpy old b4stard unreal25

 

As other's have pointed out ZLog, you got a great upgrade there. Keep it - you won't beat it.

 

I appreciate the feedback. I don't do a lot of gaming away from my desk now days. Especially after building myself an i7 / 580GTX desktop

A lot of you will probably cringe... but what I may do is buy an iPad2 or that new Samsung Tab that was just announced (the one thats thinner than iPad2) and bank the leftover towards the M11x R3 or something.

You think I could get $800-900 for it? That would be killer.

 

Wait about 15 minutes after switching to the Intel GPU & the Nvidia GPU will shut down fully. Battery life estimates will adjust after this & it will go back up.

In the older drivers, you could select the time-period & change it from 15 minutes to whatever you want(It was inside Windows Power options). But the newest drivers have that option removed for whatever reason.

 

I'd keep it, Unless you have absolutely NO use for the laptop (Which I'm sure you do) you shouldn't return it.

 

I'd keep it... you're gonna be much happier with the i7 and additional RAM.