Dell Case Management declines my request to a 7900 GS

UPDATE as of 1:40PM CDT My Request has been accepted, see the following email:


Jaimie,

The only customer who had any problems with the card are the ones who purchased the system when it first came out. There were some that were experiencing lockups and overheating issues (system running outside of specifications) the issues were resolved by replacing the card at which point the systems started running within the specifications and did not experience any overheating or lockups. Even though the system is running within the specifications I will make an exception and go ahead and replace the card with a 7900. You will need to download the latest drivers from our web site for the card.

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CSR,
I have read your reply and must say that I am quite disappointed in dell's warranty as I have purchased the accidental damage complete care warranty of 4yrs. I am insisting on this due to the fact that I have read from so many others users that they have experienced this problem. I have done my homework on this and know that that is NOT a safe temperature for any video card to be running at and will do internal damage to the card, I would rather see dell be proactive on a matter like this then re-active, as I do not want to have to have any downtime do to something that could have been prevented.

Thank you,

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Jaime,

Portable systems are not designed to be placed on your lap. They will get too hot and it is not recommended to use it on your lap even when you are not playing games. It is normal for the fans to run full when the card is being used for games. They are doing their job and keeping the system temperature within specifications. There is no problem with the card running at 85C it is actually designed to run up to 93C, at 93C it will throttle the card down to keep it from going over specification. The 7900 does run cooler but the 7800 is not running outside of specification so I will not be able to provide a replacement.

CSR
UID XXXXX
Case number XXXXXXXX


Many of the tools that Dell technicians use are online and available to you. You can download drivers, software updates, or search Dell's extensive Knowledge Base and FAQs. For online support 24/7, visit http://www.support.dell.com.

News: We?re now offering quick and easy chat support for our Desktop, Notebook, Printers, Electronics & Accessories and Server systems at http://www.dell.com/chatsupport . This can provide quick answers to questions and avoid phone hold times.


Original Message Follows:
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CSR,
Thank you for getting back so quickly to me, I really appreciate. While I understand that this is a video card with its own dedicated video memory I don't think that while playing games on full settings as my card is supposed to that it should be so hot that I can not have it on my lap. I checked the GPU temperature and the temps while idle are at about 45-50C but while gaming I have seen them as high as 85C (and the fan runs at full speed during most of my gaming time) I do not want my card overheating due to this, and I am not even overclocking my card this is with stock drivers nor do I intend to do this. I tried the exact same game with a buddy of mine's same PC exact same configuration except he has the 7900 GS and the fan did not stay on for long periods, was very minimal actually. In fact it was not even all that warm with everything to the max.

Thank you,
Jaimie XXXXX

-----Original Message-----
From: US_ACS_REL_Outstanding_Issues
[mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, July 05, 2006 4:54 PM
To: Dell Support Online


Jaimie,

Thank you for contacting Dell. I am at Dell Corporate Headquarters in Round Rock, TX. I received your web escalation and will be working your case to resolution.

Is the system locking up or shutting down? These cards will tend to run a little hotter then other cards but if it is not locking up or shutting down then it is running within specifications. The card and system have sensors that will shutdown the system before it gets hot enough to cause any damage.

CSR
UID XXXXX
Case number XXXXXXXX

Many of the tools that Dell technicians use are online and available to you.
You can download drivers, software updates, or search Dell's extensive Knowledge Base and FAQs. For online support 24/7, visit http://www.support.dell.com.

News: We?re now offering quick and easy chat support for our Desktop, Notebook, Printers, Electronics & Accessories and Server systems at http://www.dell.com/chatsupport . This can provide quick answers to questions and avoid phone hold times.


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Department: Hardware Warranty Support
Issue category: Other Hardware Warranty Support Issue
Name: Jaimie X
Email Address: X
Phone number: X
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Case/Reference/DPS Number: X
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Problem: I spoke with one of your agents on the date of 6/9/2006 and indicated to the user that I was having problems with my GeForce G0 7800 overheating, and you tech indicated the fact that it may just be a faulty card, so I had them send out a second card for replacement, it and was working fine, but now the overheating problems are coming back again.

To my further disappointment, the 7900gs is now available as an upgrade for the same price I paid for the 7800 upgrade. After reading about some people's experience with these two graphics cards it seems that the 7900gs does not exhibit the same overheating problem as the 7800. Since the replacement 7800 didn't solve my overheating problem, I would like it to be replaced with a 7900gs to permanently solve this problem. If this is not possible, then I would like to return the laptop as an overheating laptop is not what I paid for.

 

Well, they are right that a gaming machine isn't really intended for use in the lap. And while you didn't win your case here, at least they were responsive and were clear on their stance. I've had experiences where customer support is nothing but a vacuum.

 

I will continue to push until I win this case, I spent too much money for a overheated paperweight, not acceptable by dell!!

 

what temps do you get when you run it on an acceptable surface?

 

85C as well, maybe I will just call in and talk to a tech.

 

well...I just went from an X1400 to a 7800Go upgrade. While the GPU does run a little bit warmer it is not noticeable unless you OC your card. It sits quite comfortably on my lap during the day and when I game it will get warmer but why would you want to game on your lap? I have never seen the laptop get above 80 degrees. It seems that maybe you are more upset that they offered a better GPU than the fact that your laptop is hot.

 

If your notebook is still working, then it is not a paperweight... yet

Anyway, according to Dell, it doesn't really sound like anything is wrong w/ your notebook, and if you have "complete care" coverage for 4 years, you probably don't have anything to worry about. If having the notebook run at the mentioned temperatures really will cause damage to it, I'm sure the problems will start showing up before your coverage ends... & at the point, Dell would have to replace it. Good luck.

 

Update dell is honoring my request see first post for update!

 

Would you have returned your notebook for heat problems if the 7900gs was never offered? Were you experiencing slowdowns in games because you GPU reached its threashold (which would mean its actually overheating)? It seems like those are very reasonable temps for your GPU, as my 7800gtx gets even hotter than that, sometimes reaching 98C. I agree with Aivyn, I think you are just upset that a newer, faster card was offered.

 

Totally agree.

 

First of all, aside from who's right or wrong in this situation -

I want to thank Jaime for posting that e-mail! Now that CSR has made an "exception" for Jaime, Dell will be forced to make that same "exception" for everyone! That's kind of why he should have told you not to tell anyone about this if he wanted it to be an exception... but hey, who are we to complain?

I don't even own (or plan to own) a compatible laptop, but it's a heartening story to see someone get their way just through honest discussion and sympathetic customer service. Kind of puts Dell in a better light - and if I ever encounter a similar problem, it's definitely a case to which I'll be able to refer in order to bolster my argument!

I do think it's a reasonable request, though, come to think of it. Different people have different standards for acceptable heat - if his graphics card isn't meeting his standards of acceptable heat, then he should be entitled to have it "fixed" while he's under warranty. Dell's the loser in this, obviously, since they can't downgrade him to fix it (would also be unacceptable), and are forced to upgrade in order to meet his expectations... but as long as his standards are reasonable, I think it's Dell's responsibility, and I give them praise for living up to it.

 

I did not post this so that Dell will have to make an 'exception' for everyone as I don't fele that they should, however my purchase is fully warrantied and I have experienced overheating issues that I did not realize, my buddly look at it and said that I am actually achieving some artifacts and shadowing which are signs of a overheated card. So please I ask you to do this legitamitely not because you want the faster card as that is not the case with me.

 

Never said they should make exceptions for people with no case - I only said that now that they've made this exception for you, they have to make the same exception for everyone (at least, I don't THINK you're saying you're the only one who should be able to get an upgrade to a cooler card if your current one is over-heating ).