Could I replace my motherboard on my XPS L702X?

Hey everyone,
So I ordered a Dell XPS 17 L702x with an Intel i7-2670QM processor, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M 3GB graphics with Optimus, and 8 GB of RAM. As with most of the other people with 702's found out we got screwed out of our 4 DIMM slots and only have 2. So I have read just about everything I can find on this problem and have yet to find a fix. Dell won't replace my laptop or MOBO or do anything. I had to call in to CS to get my order to go through 3 different times and spoke with at least 7 people including a supervisor and I asked them all if I had the 4 DIMM's and they said yes. When Dell contacted me today on the phone they told me that they had no record of me ever talking to anyone except for the night before and that since I didn't record the phone conversations I was SOL. So I looked into other options such as soldering on the 2 DIMM slots, well no one can get them at all thanks to Dell, and I also looked into just replacing my MOBO. That seems to be the only option to get my 4 DIMM slots, but I have no idea which MOBO to get and I have no clue if it will work with my laptops other parts. Will someone please advise me on how to do this, which MOBO to get, how to replace it and if it will work right and if not what other parts I need to exchange to make everything work right. Also if there is another way to get my other 2 DIMM slots then by all means tell me please.
Any help at all is welcome. Thank you so much.
--Derek

 

I feel your pain. I argued for days with Dell over this, every other rep would tell me I had 4 slots, and wanted to know how I knew I didn't (DUH, I looked fools!). In the end I gave up because I liked the system overall and didn't really need 16GB for my uses, I just wanted the future-proofing. At the time 8GB sticks were over $800 each. Now they are $40-$50!

The ONLY way to get 4 DIMMS is to get the 3D-screen system, which means no Optimus, more heat, less battery life, no quick sync, etc. However, if you need more RAM, 8GB sticks are pretty cheap now and are confirmed to work in the l702x with no problems.

 

That's what I have gathered so far from what dell told me but I find it hard to believe that i cannot change out my MOBO since it is the only problem. They have told me that the 3d MOBO and the regular 3g MOBO are completely different and I can't believe that either. I may be completely wrong about that also, but i really think it is just a way for dell to slip out of replacing anything. Granted my computer works fairly well and I can upgrade to 16 GB of RAM for fairly cheap now that the prices have dropped, but it still pisses me off that dell didn't do what they told me they would and they gave me a computer that isn't what its supposed to me. I am not trying to be rude, I am just venting, it really irks me that when confronted they tell me they have no record of me ever calling them when if i hadn't I still wouldn't have a computer. Looking back I should have never called and either built my own laptop or bought one from somewhere else. Anyway, is there really no MOBO that is made for my computer that has 4 DIMM slots that will work with my other hardware? If no then what will i have to change? I can't afford to buy a new one but I see MOBO's on eBay that are for XPS L702x with 4 DIMM slots that say nothing about 3d. If i did go with using a 3d board what will I have to change?

 

It highlights the problem that the Sales and customer service reps do not really know what thiey are talking about when it comes to technical questions,

You should still have the option of return for refund in the first 21 days don't you ?

 

I wish i still had the 21 day return policy, it ran up last month, I didn't know I had to check my laptop out to make sure it was assembled correctly though. I will from now on out though. If i had any other options I would go for them but i don't. So I am really hoping I can change out my MOBO or that there is some other option to get my 4 DIMM slots

 

Acutally, it is true, the 3D 555m board and the non-3D 555m board ARE different. On the 3D board, the monitor output is hardwired to the video card, where on the non-3D it is wired to the Intel graphics to allow Optimus to work. Physically different modes, which is why you can't just swap then either. if you see a 4-slot board listed, it either is missing the 2 clips like all non-3D ones (software will still report 4 slots there as electrically it is capable), or it is a 3D board. To use the 3D board you would need the 3D screen and emitter (and perhaps the monitor cable). The parts can be swapped as the chassis are identical. But like I said, you lose Optimus, which means more heat/power consumption so less battery life (about 1/2) and more fan noise. Up to you though.

There is NO 4-slot non-3D option, period. One person back at the very beginning last year claimed to get one, but this was never proved out to my recollection. And based on what I have learned since, it never could have existed.

 

OK, so if I did want to go with the 3d option and just change everything out, I am always plugged in, how much do you think it would run?

 

Several hundred $$ I'd say. But I don't know for sure what the market value on the mobo and screen and emitter is.

 

Hey Derek,

This thread will provide some relevant information about the DIMM slots.
Re: Dell L702x RAM Slots issue !!! - Laptop General Hardware Forum - Laptop - Dell Community

Mourin@Dell

 

Mourin @ Dell

I have read all of that thread. The problem is that Dell blatantly lied to me when I was ordering over the phone and when I confronted them about it I was told that they had no record of me ever calling in to Dell which is ANOTHER LIE. I had to call in 3 separate times and spoke with at the very least 7 different people, one of which was a supervisor, and I asked each of them if my laptop would come with 4 DIMM slots and they all checked my specs and said yes, not once did they tell me I needed the 3D screen. So I don't know why you're telling me to look at that post when it offer no more relevant information except for Dell telling everyone there that they already have their money and they are past the 21 days and to screw off. I will be damned if I or anyone in my family ever buys another Dell laptop, so you can kiss all the money 15+spend every year on your computers goodbye. We have been faithful customers since the company started and have never had a problem up until this point. It is sad that I trusted my laptop would be built the way it was supposed to be and when I found it wasn't Dell pretty much says our bad and gives me the middle finger. It wouldn't bother me so bad if Dell would agree to exchange my system for one with equal or better specs and the 4 DIMM slots but when I spoke with them just trying to figure out why I was lied to they told me there is no record of my call and to shove off. This is ridiculous, I just don't understand how they can get away with this.

 

Derek,

I understand why you are upset, I apologize. I am getting in touch with our escalations team and will let you know if I can help in any way.

Thanks,
Mourin@Dell

 

I had similar arguments with Dell, as they too promised me I would get 4 slots with my system. AND they told me there would never be a 1080p non-3D screen, which is what I really wanted. So I ordered the 900p figuring I'd at lest get the 4 RAM slots and perhaps swap the screen myself someday.

In my case, the 3D system was NOT one I wanted (I need battery life at times). Plus I had specifically asked for a 1080p screen that wasn't 3D and was told it would never exist. Guess what showed up as an option not 5 days after I took delivery? By the time Dell stopped giving me the 4-slot run-around, I was past the 21 days and they told me to shove off basically. Except I'd only had the system for 14 days...you see, one of the sneaky tricks Dell plays (they probably aren't the only one mind you) is that the 21-day counter starts from the day they invoice you, which in my case was 6 days before they even shipped! THAT is something I've often said ought to be illegal. But it seems this is industry standard.

Well I escalated things and got them to authorize a return and I reordered the system in my sig. I gave up on the 4-slot thing since Dell clearly hadn't trained their reps very well.

The sad thing about all of this? Dell is still one of the best customer service tech companies to deal with...at least when you scream enough they do what they are obligated to do in the first place...

 

I can't believe that they are one of the best, that being said I've never really had to deal with CS much cause we never have had many problems that we can't fix and when we did dell always hooked us up. Here's my thing though, since it obviously was their fault should i not be allowed to exchange it for the 3d version or an alien ware of equal specs? When i spoke with the complaints guy he was very nice until I said well since it was falsely advertised to me I would like to exchange it and he told me there had never been any record of me calling dell and speaking to anyone, which is insane cause the whole thing was put on hold because the credit card I used canceled the order cause they thought someone had stolen my card. If i hadn't called in i still wouldn't have a laptop. I had to call in 3 separate time and finally I got someone who knew what needed to be done and fixed it. He said unless you recorded the conversation I can't help you, needless to say I will record them from now on out.
I can't believe they gave you that kind of a runaround too. That's insane, and if i knew how to escalate this anymore I would. I am holding out and hoping that Mourin can help because I honestly don't know what to do next. I can honestly say that if dell doesn't live up to their word though no one in my family will buy from them again, we are all already appalled at how they are treating me over something this trivial. I mean really? And i didn't know that their 21 day return policy started when they sent the invoice.... I think I was probably around day 13 or 14 myself when my computer finally arrived.

Mourin, if there is anything you can do to help me get this worked out then I would greatly appreciate it. And i appreciate everyone talking to me and helping me, I feel like a part of the community.

 

They will make it right in the end, that's the difference. Finding the right people to talk to is the trick. We seem to have more alleged Dell reps on these forums now (used to just be Dell-Bill_B who has been great), that's a good sign.

Ever dealt with OCZ's CS? HP's? Beyond horrible. CS in general these days is completely lacking, and I'm not talking about just the tech industry. Big companies seem to have forgotten that repeat business and word-of-mouth is what brings them more money, not one-time sales due to screw-you-over-CS (or at least jump-through-10-hoops-at-once-while-rubbing-tummy-and-patting-head CS).

 

I agree with you CS is just complete for the most part now days. I have just got done trying to get U-verse installed at my house, the only other option was dial up and now I'm trying to get charter to run cable 1.1 miles to my neighborhood which I highly doubt will happen. Anyway U-verse is here and available at my house but there is water in one of the lines at their VRAD and my local engineer doesn't feel like fixing it. I had to deal with them for a month and they kept guaranteeing me it would be installed yada yada, well it isn't and then i had even more problems getting my order canceled even though the engineer wouldn't approve it they still told me it would get installed and i didn't need to cancel.. it was ridiculous and i guess I just gave up too easily with Dell because I got so stressed out with AT&T but i really have no clue what to do, I would appreciate any help you could give me and maybe you can point me in the right place to talk to the right people to get this fixed, I don't even know what number to call. I really don't even know what to say cause I figure they will pull the same crap on me the other CSR did and I really don't like to cause problems so i usually keep quiet but i am ready to blow up now....

 

So i just checked my email and i had a email asking me to take a survey of my dell CS support. They must be high, I told them straight out what happened and marked extremely dissatisfied on everything. I mean really they must be crazy by giving me the finger and then asking me to do a survey. I have been thinking about this really hard and if Dell doesn't do something soon to fix this issue I think i am going to write Popular Science since they post articles about companies screwing people over and they get it fixed to the customers satisfaction. That might get Dell to wake up, although I doubt it. I am very angry about this....

 

I had a l701x and was told it had optimus but of course it didnt so i rang dell up and they sent me a l702x with a 2630 and a 555m! So they're not always bad. But i was also annoyed at how they cut out two dimm slots just to get people to buy the 3d model.

 

Yea, its really a load of crap. There are plenty of people who don't want a 3d screen, myself included, but do need those 4 slots. And then they could care less about fixing their problem. It is so annoying

 

After fighting an unholy war with Dell, I convinced them to send me the 4 DIMM slot motherboard. Sure enough, I just get 8 beeps, and the display does not turn on. I thought I had finally won, but apparently they will be calling me back tomorrow to most likely offer me a 3D replacement system. I refuse to give up my touch screen display with Windows 8 looming in my future. I will attempt to convince them to give me a gift of recompense. They did that for me when there was a misunderstanding about me having a TV tuner in my last system, so hopefully they offer something. I'll let you know what happens.

 

Thanks Zirynx, I figured it was a long shot anyway. Keep me updated and let me know what happens. I have been waiting on Mourin to help me and she told me she contacted the escalations department but when i messaged her I asked her if she had heard anything from them and she told me not yet. I am about to either start having phone war with Dell or go speak to my attorney and see if he can get them to do the right thing and exchange this laptop that is missing 2 of the Dimm slots for one with 4 Dimm slots. Hell at this point of they tempted me with a nice alienware 17 with a blu ray burner and specs similar to or better than mine and it only had 2 Dimm slots I would be extremely tempted to go with that option, I saw one just like that on the outlet site. Even though I need the dimm slots for I would accept that just because they would be trying to make it right. I know this highly unlikely. The only reason i say alienware is because I want nothing to do with that damn 3d Crapola and don't want it on my laptop the more i research it. Anyway, I will keep everyone informed how my battle goes but i have a feeling they are going to keep giving me the finger, that's okay though me and my family are more than willing to find a different computer provider of dell doesn't want to fix their mistake. Sorry for ranting and I want to thank everyone for all their help

 

Sorry about the typos. My phone likes to replace Dimm with the word dimmers.....

 

Update: Dell's escalation team called back today and offered a 3D replacement. I told them I was not going to sacrifice my touch screen and Optimus for a 3D model. I told her my issue was about my computer being up to speed and asked if they could just send me a couple 8 GB sticks of RAM instead. She said that she couldn't because XPS doesn't sell them. I thought it was a long shot, but I said, "How about you just give me a 256GB SSD, since I know you carry those." She said, "Absolutely sir, if you are sure that will work in your computer with one 500 GB 7200 RPM HD and one 256 GB SSD." So they will be sending back a 2 DIMM slot motherboard tomorrow with a 256 GB SSD. I recommend giving this a try and then using the massive savings to buy 2 x 8GB RAM (which has been verified to work in our model, even though Dell denies it). Just make sure to let them know how much you feel they lied to you and make sure you get to talk to the escalation team. I'll verify that everything goes swimmingly.

(Note about trying to get Alienware hardware or an Alienware replacement: good luck. They are not the same department, so it would be incredibly difficult if possible at all. I was able to get an XPS replacement from my Studio only because Studio was discontinued.)

Other note: Newegg's Shell Shocker deal today is "G.SKILL 16GB (2 x 8G) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Laptop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-16GBSQ" for $79.99. I ordered it and am hoping there will be no compatibility issues.

 

That's awesome how they offered you the 3d XPS. I don't have a touch screen unfortunately because when i ordered mine it wasn't avalilable. I wouldn't have given up a touch screen either under those circumstances, and i really don't want a 3d laptop or screen. And i know its a long shot on the alienware, I just figure they can do something to fix their mess up. The only reason i really want the 4 slots is cause I do a lot of video editing and the programs i use eat up all my ram, I was have a copy of windows ultimate and i was eventually going to put 32 GB of ram in it when I knew it would work. It just really irks me how they could give a less about their customers and even though the problem was their fault they don't want to do diddly about it. Anyways, let me know how the Ram works out and keep me updated

 

Well, they put the old, 2-DIMM slot motherboard back in, and I installed 16GB (2 x 8GB) RAM with no problem. They sent me the 256GB Samsung 810 (also known as 470) SSD, and the technician who came to my house said he doesn't think they expect me to send back one of my 500GB HDD's, so that's exciting. I'll probably get an enclosure for the extra one and put Windows 8 on it, just for kicks. On another note, one of the rubber feet fell off of my battery, and they replaced my battery because of it.

I did a clean install of Windows 7 Professional on the SSD, and it runs like a dream. My Windows Experience Index is up to 6.9, limited by the graphics card, so I guess that's as high as it's ever going to get. All-in-all, I'm satisfied. Dell will always help you out if you refuse to back down.