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12/05/2010 12:45:15 PM · #1 |
Dell XPS M1710 $4,000 laptop purchased January 2008.
It won't even be paid off for another year!
I'm so glad I had everything recently backed up to my NAS!
I've done a low-level format, and the problem persists. The screen is full of tiny characters that look like dots in bands across the screen. In some screens, characters of certain colour are missing. I get the feeling it's a communication problem between the video card and the screen, or a missing colour. I'm running all the Dell diagnostics from the Dell hidden partition and it hasn't found any problems with anything.
My last laptop, also a Dell, completely lost the connection to the screen.
So, now I'm shopping for a new, non-Dell laptop, to be used for video editing, photo editing, and maybe some FPS gaming. My only desire is that it has a 17" or bigger screen.
Any suggestions? |
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12/05/2010 12:47:57 PM · #2 |
| So.. I'm posting from the wife & kids' PC and it's disgusting. The keyboard is filled with food, the mouse is coated with sticky goo, and the screen has gooey dried drip marks all over it... candy and snot? |
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12/05/2010 01:21:45 PM · #3 |
It's pretty easy to replace the screen, and there's going to be a connector somewhere at the top end of the system board near the screen that might have come loose.
Before you splash out on a new one you should pull the existing one apart first and see if it's something simple, trick is to find out how the keyboard comes off, after that it's usually pretty easy to work out the rest. |
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12/05/2010 02:08:18 PM · #4 |
Originally posted by Covert_Oddity:
It's pretty easy to replace the screen, and there's going to be a connector somewhere at the top end of the system board near the screen that might have come loose.
Before you splash out on a new one you should pull the existing one apart first and see if it's something simple, trick is to find out how the keyboard comes off, after that it's usually pretty easy to work out the rest. |
I don't want to screw with it. I'm going to call Dell tomorrow, and try to get an idea of cost of repair. If I manage to work my way up to a decision-maker, I may be able to wrangle myself a new, or heavily discounted laptop out of the deal, as I need an upgrade anyway, for editing HD videos. Though I'm not too hot on the idea of another Dell-quality laptop, the way my luck is going. |
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12/05/2010 03:03:10 PM · #5 |
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12/05/2010 03:12:59 PM · #6 |
The hard drive could probably be removed and used as an external drive.
I vote for MAC as well but that would mean changing software to MAC versions.
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12/05/2010 03:29:52 PM · #7 |
My philosophy on buying laptops is to buy the cheapest brand possible. Expect to get no more than 2-3 years out of it before it either breaks or is obsolete.
I've been caught out too many times in the past buying high-end laptops (Dell included) only to have the screen or hard drive fail on me after a few years. |
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12/05/2010 03:48:06 PM · #8 |
This guy had the same problem !
My solution on video.
I'm going to see if I can take the sucker apart and bake the video card in the oven. :-D
Message edited by author 2010-12-05 15:50:38. |
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12/05/2010 05:09:12 PM · #9 |
I didn't have the proper 'star' screwdriver to get the heat sink off of the video card, so I just left it on. It was a pain getting into to guts of the laptop.
I figure since the heat sink is still attached, I'll double the baking time to 20 minutes. It's in the oven now... |
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12/05/2010 05:13:16 PM · #10 |
| Mmm mmm... something sure smells good. |
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12/05/2010 05:58:47 PM · #11 |
200°C is equal to 392°F The conversion formula is °F = (9/5 °C) 32°
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12/05/2010 06:25:54 PM · #12 |
Didn't work :-(
Plus, the heat sink kinda fell apart in the oven.
Oh well. I'd never trust it to keep my work on, or to invest any time building up my suite of programs. Into the photo-prop bin with it.
I think I'll try an Asus G73JW, and adopt  JH's philosophy. Fuck Dell. Fuck them all. I'll buy in the middle of the curve for laptops. >:-( |
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12/05/2010 06:33:24 PM · #13 |
(very brief thread-jacking here)
Title remind me a scene from a movie (I think)... a guy next to a cb-radio, screaming at its microphone "My radio just died... can anyone hear me?"
(...end of thread-jack transmission) |
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12/05/2010 06:33:30 PM · #14 |
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12/05/2010 06:42:18 PM · #15 |
Originally posted by hahn23:
Try a mac. |
I'm far too comfortable, an invested via programs owned, with PCs. But I must admit, they are beautiful.
Here's a video advert for the Asus, pretty neat. |
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12/05/2010 06:51:32 PM · #16 |
Originally posted by Strikeslip:
Originally posted by hahn23:
Try a mac. |
I'm far too comfortable, an invested via programs owned, with PCs. But I must admit, they are beautiful.
Here's a video advert for the Asus, pretty neat. |
I like the 'Cool under fire' piece - 'Leading edge thermal design...' Could come in useful for when you decide to bake it. |
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12/05/2010 06:55:37 PM · #17 |
Originally posted by JH:
Originally posted by Strikeslip:
Originally posted by hahn23:
Try a mac. |
I'm far too comfortable, an invested via programs owned, with PCs. But I must admit, they are beautiful.
Here's a video advert for the Asus, pretty neat. |
I like the 'Cool under fire' piece - 'Leading edge thermal design...' Could come in useful for when you decide to bake it. |
Haha! You funny guy... I almost thought it might work. I'd recently baked my wife's cell phone which went through the washing machine and we had a little bit of success with that. My new general solution for anything electronic was going to be 20 minutes at 400 degrees F. :-D |
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12/05/2010 08:03:16 PM · #18 |
Originally posted by Strikeslip:
Originally posted by hahn23:
Try a mac. |
I'm far too comfortable, an invested via programs owned, with PCs. But I must admit, they are beautiful.
Here's a video advert for the Asus, pretty neat. |
i fix pc's for a living, and fix home user's pc's on the side, and i've seen two asus laptops, and they both were faulty. |
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12/05/2010 08:07:32 PM · #19 |
Originally posted by FourPointX:
Originally posted by Strikeslip:
Originally posted by hahn23:
Try a mac. |
I'm far too comfortable, an invested via programs owned, with PCs. But I must admit, they are beautiful.
Here's a video advert for the Asus, pretty neat. |
i fix pc's for a living, and fix home user's pc's on the side, and i've seen two asus laptops, and they both were faulty. |
Because you fix them for a living, I would hope the one you see are faulty. ?.?.? |
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12/06/2010 03:25:30 PM · #20 |
The Customer Service guy at Dell laughed at me when I told him I'd baked the video card. It's OK, I told him to feel free to laugh before I regaled him with my adventure. Anyway, it's a decent deal for a fix on it, but when it comes back the wife will get it, as I don't trust it anymore.
I bought an Asus G73JW-A1, which should arrive by FedEx tomorrow.
CPU = Intel Core i7-740QM (1.73GHz)
Memory = 8GB DDR3 1066MHz
Hard Drive = 1TB (500GX2) 7200RPM SATA II Hard Drive
Optical Blue-Ray Combo DVD+-RW, Dual Layer Light Scribe
Screen = 17.3" HD screen ( 1920 X 1080 )
Video Card = Nvidia 1.5GB GDDR5 VRAM Dedicated Video Card
OS = Win7 HomePrem 64bit |
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12/06/2010 04:57:55 PM · #21 |
Originally posted by Strikeslip:
Originally posted by hahn23:
Try a mac. |
I'm far too comfortable, an invested via programs owned, with PCs. But I must admit, they are beautiful.
Here's a video advert for the Asus, pretty neat. |
Ah, Photoshop - The Video Game! |
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12/06/2010 05:00:48 PM · #22 |
Originally posted by Strikeslip:
The Customer Service guy at Dell laughed at me when I told him I'd baked the video card. It's OK, I told him to feel free to laugh before I regaled him with my adventure. Anyway, it's a decent deal for a fix on it, but when it comes back the wife will get it, as I don't trust it anymore.
I bought an Asus G73JW-A1, which should arrive by FedEx tomorrow.
CPU = Intel Core i7-740QM (1.73GHz)
Memory = 8GB DDR3 1066MHz
Hard Drive = 1TB (500GX2) 7200RPM SATA II Hard Drive
Optical Blue-Ray Combo DVD+-RW, Dual Layer Light Scribe
Screen = 17.3" HD screen ( 1920 X 1080 )
Video Card = Nvidia 1.5GB GDDR5 VRAM Dedicated Video Card
OS = Win7 HomePrem 64bit |
Pretty nice spec's on this beast. I'm sure it'll serve you well and you'll be happy together. |
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