Dell goes down the tubes?

[zahratustra]

I was using Dell computers for over 10 years and was very happy with their products. I loved the expandibility, achitecture and reliability. Up until now....

Two weeks ago I have bought their XPS 630i for a touch under $2000 and haven't had a single day of uniterrupted use from this system yet! First it kept having blue screen "machine_check.exception" crashes which Dell tech support eventually decided was due to faulty graphic card. I was send a new replacement card and all was good for a few hours.
Next I have tryed to add a second internal HD and discovered that only SATA 0 (system drive), 1 and 2 (CD/DVD drives) were working. Nothing above those ports was recognised be the system....
I have than decided to have a look at Vista (system comes with XP Pro and Vista Ultimate). I have installed OS and drivers from Dell's resources CD only to suffer a repeated series of "driver IRQL not less or equal" crashes and, finally, my audio card stopped being recognised by the system alltogether.
Now I am waiting for a Dell technician to come along and replace motherboard in my machine. I was offered a replacement machine but it would have taken minimum of 21 days.....

EDIT:
The good news is that I have ordered 500 gigs HD from Amazon US and, since it hadn't arrived for over 3 weeks, I have complained to Amazon and had my order re-issued. New HD arrived in couple of days and, on the very next day, the HD which I have ordered originally was also delivered.... So, unless Amazon is abble to sort out this biurocratic mess (and I haven't heard from them for over a week), I have two 500 gigs HDs for the price of one!

 

[Bartacus]

I have problems with comprehensing your post, but as I understand it you want to say that your latest system sucks. From what I can make out of your post, I'd say that you were just unlucky.

 

[zahratustra]

LOL that's just about the extend of this Bartacus

 

[Dhruin]

I'm actually the other way 'round. I religiously avoided Dell (for various reasons) but when I decided earlier this year to give up my desktop and just go with a notebook, I couldn't find anything better than a Dell XPS1530.

Colour me hugely impressed. The purchasing system worked flawlessly and the 1530 has been fantastic.

 

[magerette]

Always had great experiences with my Dells over the years--last one is my current 2-year old rig, an XPS600. When I had trouble with my 9 month old graphics card they sent me a new one and someone to install it gratis, so I can't complain. On the other hand, I've never had to deal with Vista.

 

[txa1265]

Besides Apple, Dell has most consistently impressed me - and I have owned 10 dells in the last ~8 years. Only my new HP Mini-Note joins those two in terms of build quality ... my latest Dell XPS1730 is quite nice.

 

[xSamhainx]

i have several Dells, and theyve all been faithful, strong machines, only one strange BSOD that i tend to get now and then on my newest one, but only like twice a year so I dont really sweat it. That being my 8400 which Ive had for around four years now, and im still gaming on it, of course w/ some ram and video card changes.

My only real problems w/ Dell are the proprietary nature of their assembly. From their mod-unfriendly cases, all the way down to their fans, they lock you into using only their stuff. There are knock-off Dell parts, like the mo-powerful power supply i got to accomodate my new card, but youve got to track them down.

and case modification is a nightmare!

So other than having to stick to their RAM sticks and what not, I dont have a problem w/ them. My 3.4 ghz 8400 is still going strong, and i dont see me getting a new pc anytime soon.

geez, I hope i just didnt jinx it!

 

[Alrik Fassbauer]

I never bothered with Dell, because they were always Intel-only.

And I am AMD-only.

No way.

 

[Dhruin]

AMD only? I like AMD but I look at the best offering at the time. Intel was definitely a better choice this purchase for me.

 

[Bartacus]

AMD only? I like AMD but I look at the best offering at the time. Intel was definitely a better choice this purchase for me.

Same here Dhruin. Plus I don't like ATI -> more of an nvidia fan.

 

[Stanza]

I've used lots of Dells over the years. Technically, I've had few problems, aside from not being able to get a real sound card to work in my oldest system -- it would inexplicably hardlock when using anything other than the SoundMax on the motherboard.

What I hate about Dells are the cases. Cheap, flimsy plastic that loosly clips together, rattles and vibrates, and sometimes won't even hold together. The high-end XPS is so horrible it litterally has pieces of the case fall off if I touch it. I've used plastic tie-downs, twist ties, and even pulled out the drill and screws to fix the worst of it. I've sworn off ever buying Dells again because the cases are so incredibly cheap.

I did violate that oath to get a laptop for work, and haven't had any problems with that. Guess Dell can't get away with making laptops as flimsy as their desktops.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Well since we're all throwing opinions around... I've never owned a Dell but I have a friend that works with computers and he can't stand them. Had numerous issues with them, but of course since he's in the profession it might be a case of over-exposure.

I have had two very solid AMD computers, and three very solid Intel computers. I would have to go with AMD however in terms of speed, but I'm currently using an Intel chip since, as Dhruin said, it was the best value at the time.

I also prefer ATI video cards, although again, I'm currently using an Nvidia 8800 because it was the best for value and performance at the time. The main complaint I have against Nvidia is that they display colors oddly. An ATI card you can pop in and it immediately looks beautiful. This Nvidia card I have requires you to do some serious tweaking of the brightness, contrast, gamma, and color intensity to get a nice picture. Without the ability to adjust those things the card would be unusable. Plus it has to "load up" the color profile every time the computer is switched on, so until it works the screen looks funky. Every time I download new drivers I have to go through the whole tweaking issue again, as for some reason the settings will not stay consistent from driver to driver. The performance of the card outweighs the inconvenience, but still a bad design imho.

 

[Corwin]

I'm currently using a custom built Dell Inspiron 1720 Laptop running Vista Home and it's working wonderfully, once I re-formattted it to get rid of all the Dell pre-installed software that was clogging up the performance!!

 

[fatBastard()]

I was actually thinking about getting one of their new Studio Hybrid machines for my living room use (recipes for when I cook, streaming of music to the stereo also while I cook and all the little things not gaming related).

 

[zakhal]

I have always bought custom no-brand pcs and never had any problems. I forget brands and just buy what gives the best bang. In hardware I usually aim for silency first and efficiency second. It usually costs som extra but its worth it when the only sound coming from your powerhouse pc is a soft breeze.

 

[Rills]

0x09C error: MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION
This is a hardware issue: an unrecoverable hardware error has occurred. The parameters have different meanings depending on what type of CPU you have but, while diagnostic, rarely lead to a clear solution. Most commonly it results from overheating, from failed hardware (RAM, CPU, hardware bus, power supply, etc.), or from pushing hardware beyond its capabilities (e.g., overclocking a CPU).

0XD1 error: IRQL NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

These are due to two things: Faulty drivers or buggy software.

Every time your system crashes Windows will write a minidump file and store it in your minidump folder. They provide information as to the specific cause of your BSOD.

How to find your minidumps:

My Computer > C Drive > Windows Folder > Minidump Folder > Minidump Files. It is the files that are neede to be read.

* I don't know if RPG Watch allows you to attach said files but if they do attach your most recent 5 to your next post and I will read them for you. If you can provide you with some other options in order to analyze and fix your issues.

 

[zahratustra]

Thanks Rills. I appreciate your help but since I will be having my motherboard replaced I will take you up on your offer if I will be having any problems with new motherboard in place ok?

What I can tell you is that my Driver IRQL not less or equal crashes are all of
0x000000D1 nvtgs.sys - address BA6AE4C0 base at BA69C000, datestamp 472236eb variety

 

[Rills]

That driver nvgts.sys is an Nvidia SATA performance driver.

 

[zahratustra]

It makes sense since my machine recognises only SATA 0, 1 and 2..... Could you recommed some other set of SATA drivers by any chance?

 

[Rills]

Since you are putting in a new motherboard I would do an indepth research and see what others are saying about Nvidia's SATA drivers for your particular mobo.