Advice on getting the nVidia replacement for m1530?

Hey everyone, I had a chat recently with a Dell rep and he said that basically the only way to get any sort of warranty (in Canada) is to show definitive signs of malfunction on the GPU. Recently the left side of my computer has been incredibly hot, and annoying to lay my wrists on the palm rest areas (ironic, I know). Anyway he told me to do the FN + power button combination to boot up and it would run the diagnostic test to determine if anything was wrong. I'd assume that if the screen goes black due to GPU failure this would not show any sort of diagnostics screen at the boot up.

Anyway, has anyone come across this kind of suggestion to get a replacement? I don't want to send my computer in for fixing up with my HDD still in it, and I'm assuming they won't let me send it in without doing that first since it might void the warranty. Basically I'm only willing to send it in if I can definitely get a replacement video card (just the nVidia 128mb). Thanks for any advice.

 

Since you mention sending it in I'm guessing you don't have on-site repair. I believe (could be wrong, especially with how much Dell has changed over the last year) you do NOT have to send your HDD. You can remove it prior to sending it off. Your stated reason is simple, "I am not sending my HDD due to sensitive data and I do not believe I should have to wipe the drive in order for this to be serviced properly. You are replacing the motherboard, not the HDD".

Also, just between Dell customers, that Dell Diag isn't going to report anything related to what you are experiencing. I know this as I have a dead GPU core on a 8800M GTX SLI card and the Diag says its fine.

Here is what I would tell them - "I use HWMonitor to monitor my temperatures and 95c and higher is just way too hot. I really need this fixed. I can't even have it resting on my lap for more than a few minutes. I also am seeing artifacting on screen which is a good indication that the GPU is overheating. Dell's own Lionel Menchaca mentioned this is a tell-tale sympton in his blog post regarding the extension of warranty for the Nvidia chipsets which have been posted as having a manufacturing defect. The XPS M1530 was among them."

This should get you going in the right direction. Also, when you ship off your machine, be sure to note its exterior condition closely. When it is returned, check EVERYTHING.

 

My m1330 is also overheating, with GPU temp constantly at 85°C under light use, and hitting 100°C under stress. I called Dell and they are sending me a box so that I could ship this laptop to them for a checkup. I am sending it with the hard drive, since I don't have anything important on it (I use external HDD for private stuff). I hope they will replace the motherboard and the GPU. After I receive it back, I will do the GPU copper mod and CPU undervolting.

 

believe that Dell Canada only has return-to-depot warranty service, probably not enough technicians to cover in-home NBD repaic

 

Not true, i live in toronto and i have next business day at home service. I have to say that that was a pretty ignorant assumption. There are around 6 million people that live in the greater toronto area, and toronto itself is much larger than all but 3 american cities. Surely you couldnt think that out of that many people there wouldnt be enough technicians?

 

Its available but not included with the standard warranty you have to pay extra

 

Thanks, guys. I'm definitely gonna try doing what you mentioned BatBoy, as I didn't bother with on site repair, I just needed a laptop just in time for school (in a diff city). Anyway does anyone know if the outsourcing only occurs at the later hours? Or is it all day? I'm hoping to deal with a more competent technician since if the GPU gets fried and the diagnostics doesn't even work, they're just wasting my time.

Again thanks a lot, hoping to take some pictures to show others what the diagnostics screen looks like and maybe help out that way.

 

Yes Canada, has next business day service. Of course you pay through the nose for it. In the US the in home warranty service is fairly priced and actually is included in some configurations. In Canada, in home service is never included, you have to specifically select it.

For my 1340, it would have cost me $400 to add 3 year next business day onsite. That's about 33% of the cost of the entire notebook.

In Canada, it's a rip off, and I wouldn't recommend anyone getting it at the price Dell is charging. Plus, Depot service here is really good, same-day pickup and fast returns.

 

Strange, they must have been raising prices steadily since i got my laptop. When i bought NBD it was $250 total for 3 years.

 

Well I called in again and it seems like they're really holding the replacement cards close and not willing to give it out, even though nVidia paid for it. Anyway, does anyone know if taking out the HDD myself would void the warranty? If not, I could just take the HDD out and send it like that. Another solution I thought of was to save everything to an external HDD and just wipe the HDD, which is just a huge hassle but whatever.

On another note, I find the outsourcing unreliable as I got hung up on the last time I called and no call back. Anywhere else has better customer service?

 

think taking out HDD requires just 2 screws, and the HDD slides/can be pulled out...

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/xpsM1530/en/SM/hdd.htm#wp1109848

EDIT: 4 screws... don't believe it voids warranty

 

Hate to say it bud, but welcome to my current world... LOL

 

@BatBoy: Lol, and getting another XPS, yeeeee. Actually, I'm finding that when the heat is kinda high in general, my wireless gets cut off, anyone finding that? Or am I just paranoid and looking for it to blame some more.

@paper_wastage: thanks for linking me, and I also doubt they'll bother with the warranty. Such a shame having to wait weeks on end to get my computer back and not even getting a better nvidia card. The only thing I can get it seems is a new heatsink.

Damn customer support. Well, thanks anyways guys.

Any suggestions on comps that inherently have lower GPU temperatures? Oddly enough my cousin's sony SR has GPU temps in the 30s and 40s Celsius.