Dell XPS M1330 Notebook

[joshmryan]

My Video card just exploded, and I am on 12, so maybe you guys shouldn't be trying to slow those fans down

[Lando]

Originally Posted by joshmryan

My Video card just exploded, and I am on 12, so maybe you guys shouldn't be trying to slow those fans down

Dell premium warranty for the next 3 years who cares how many video chips/motherboards I go through.
But the new bios a14 has been released, anyone know if it actually does anything?

[Iceman]

Originally Posted by Lando

But the new bios a14 has been released, anyone know if it actually does anything?

According to notebookreview forums it 'enhances' the wifi catcher but it does NOT have the 8gb support that was found in the removed A13 bios.

[NRGU]

where are these new models?! november has been and gone =(

[Daft_Munt]

I am so glad my CEO decided to buy one, not. The only joy is that it show live in cooler climates. The Targus dock is absolutly useless except as a USB dock and to keep the laptop elevated. The inbuilt WWAN with NextG shits on the Telstra software. Still trying to get the lappie to handle a pivot Samsumg 22" LCD, Nvidia drivers cannot handle 1680 x 1050 when rotated. Next Samsung software. Running XP.

[greenexile]

Are there any Dell experts that can offer some advice here:

This morning I was using my laptop on the couch as I have done many many times since I bought it and the LCD screen flashed pink. Then about 10 minutes later, all the 'white' colour of the LCD stayed pink. I went to the Dell troubleshooting website, shut the lappy down, hit Fn + Power to start it up again and performed the system test. The system test seemed to run fine, and then when I started the computer again the colour was all back to normal.

I've read that this is a problem with the GPU (related to the driver fixes you mention in the last page) but tbh I'm a bit suprised that I was able to fix it? Is this a problem that is likely to come back? Do I need to approach Dell now to see about replacing the GPU or doing something else?

Secretly when it first happened I saw it as an excuse to buy myself a new present - but really I cant afford another lappy, I need to get the most use out of this one. I dont like the sound of those super loud fan drivers either so what should I do?

[red_marine]

Originally Posted by greenexile

Are there any Dell experts that can offer some advice here:

This morning I was using my laptop on the couch as I have done many many times since I bought it and the LCD screen flashed pink. Then about 10 minutes later, all the 'white' colour of the LCD stayed pink. I went to the Dell troubleshooting website, shut the lappy down, hit Fn + Power to start it up again and performed the system test. The system test seemed to run fine, and then when I started the computer again the colour was all back to normal.

I've read that this is a problem with the GPU (related to the driver fixes you mention in the last page) but tbh I'm a bit suprised that I was able to fix it? Is this a problem that is likely to come back? Do I need to approach Dell now to see about replacing the GPU or doing something else?

Secretly when it first happened I saw it as an excuse to buy myself a new present - but really I cant afford another lappy, I need to get the most use out of this one. I dont like the sound of those super loud fan drivers either so what should I do?

just keep using it as is and if anything, if ur warranty is about to run out, gun it out as much as you can to try and make it consistently show up with funny colours on the screen, it will be replaced under warranty

if you have say....2 months of warranty remaining, just turn it on each morning, play games randomly and then turn it off every couple of hours, it increases the strain on the parts and will more likely cause it to fail

that's what i would do but obviously if you're unlucky enough to have it die a few days out of warranty, then tough, if your laptop is showing those symptoms though its not a matter of if anymore, its a matter of when

[greenexile]

Thanks for the reply. Do you have an idea of what it will cost to repair out of warranty?

EDIT: Assuming it does die for good while my warranty is still up, are they fixing it for other people who have had the problem?

[Iceman]

GPU issue will most likely be (is?) acknowledged as manufacturer defect and will be fixed out of warranty. I'd say that's your issue.

[red_marine]

cost to repair by dell out of warranty is around $550 including labour and call out fees for the techie

if you buy a motherboard urself on ebay it will cost around $200 shipped but you'd have to replace everything urself

there's a dell blog site that i can't remember the address of at the moment where they suggested dell would extend the warranty of all laptops to 3 years for this specific issue only, ie all other defects are only covered up to the warranty you paid, and up to 3 years for this GPU issue, however i haven't heard of this progressing, but it is posted by dell staff and is considered an official channel of communication

[sabretooth]

You mean this? http://en.community.dell.com/blogs/d...worldwide.aspx

I haven't noticed a GPU problem with mine, but what I have noticed is that it's extremely slow doing some things! I think it's time for a reinstall, at the least.

[greenexile]

Thanks all, OCAU is so helpful.

I called the tech support line this morning and he said it was clearly a problem with the graphics card. He said that my warranty had lapsed and I would need to pay for an extended warranty in order to fix the problem. Unfortunately he wasn't able to give me an idea of what that would cost and now I'm waiting for the right people to call me back.

Does anyone have an idea as to what it would cost to get this extended warranty? Is it cheaper than the $550 to replace the part? I paid roughly $1700 for the lappy 15'ish months ago, I'm not thrilled with the idea of paying $550 to replace one part. Any advice?

[Iceman]

Originally Posted by greenexile

I called the tech support line this morning and he said it was clearly a problem with the graphics card. He said that my warranty had lapsed and I would need to pay for an extended warranty in order to fix the problem.

When you speak to them again tell them that there is an extended warranty related specifically to the "nvidia gpu issue" as it's a known issue. If they claim they don't know anything about it, talk to a supervisor. Dell has extended the warranty by 12 mths for this issue.

[n00by]

i think i just had the same problem

im going overseas in two weeks

if i call dell and tell them will they send someone out next day (i have 3 years complete cover) and change the mobo/gfx card???

thanks guys

[yjs]

Got hit with the GPU overheat issue (vertical coloured lines, crash etc) a couple of days ago. Computer still running alright except for random crashes and some very hot CPU/GPU temps.

This just had to happen in my 2nd week of vac work out in the mines... I'm 200km west of Mackay, and Dell said they can send a technician out but I'm not so sure if he'll ever make it, lol.