Dell Precision M4600 Workstation: Core i5 2520M, 15.6" 1920x1080 LED, 2GB DDR3, ATi FirePro M5950, 320GB HDD, WiFi N, 9-Cell, Win 7 Pro $660 + Free Shipping

Does this even have a webcam? It seems to only have a mic.

Order placed with minimum 2GB RAM and a few upgrades (backlit keyboard, 1080p, bluetooth, etc.).

Any suggestions on RAM from NewEgg or Frys? Sorry no MicroCenter near me.

8GB or 16GB? I'll be using Windows 7 Professional (64 bit).

Quote from whozee : Order placed with minimum 2GB RAM and a few upgrades (backlit keyboard, 1080p, bluetooth, etc.). Any suggestions on RAM from NewEgg or Frys? Sorry no MicroCenter near me. 8GB or 16GB? I'll be using Windows 7 Professional (64 bit).

I think 8gb is plenty. Unless you do photoshop or something?

Almost everything is upgradeable in a sense, except you cant do DIY IPS.
a SB i7 qm is mere 150-200 on ebay and allow you to use 4 dimm slot for 32gb ram.

and Almost all i5 and i7 SB/IVB are socketed and upgradeable within same generation.

Quote from thaidavid : Does this even have a webcam? It seems to only have a mic.

Hmmm, good point, as in the TechSpec:
Optional, integrated, light sensitive HD video webcam

Going through the customization, it mentions:
To enable videoconferencing through your system, select the integrated webcam with digital microphone
But, there's no option for integrated webcam.

It would appear that on the M4600, the integrated webcam is no longer an option. Asking the online chat sales rep about this, they suggested going with the M4700 if an integrated webcam was required.

Quote from k-y : Hmmm, good point, as in the TechSpec: Optional, integrated, light sensitive HD video webcam Going through the customization, it mentions: To enable videoconferencing through your system, select the integrated webcam with digital microphone But, there's no option for integrated webcam. It would appear that on the M4600, the integrated webcam is no longer an option. Asking the online chat sales rep about this, they suggested going with the M4700 if an integrated webcam was required.

Yeah I cancelled my order after I found out that there was no webcam.. Why have a mic with no webcam?! haha it's so cheap nowadays just to have it on there.

Quote from thaidavid : Yeah I cancelled my order after I found out that there was no webcam.. Why have a mic with no webcam?! haha it's so cheap nowadays just to have it on there.

To be fair, this is/was intended for business and not personal use. If you work for a high security company, they won't allow you to use laptops or cell phones with web cam/cameras on them.

Quote from dmcccdmn : To be fair, this is/was intended for business and not personal use. If you work for a high security company, they won't allow you to use laptops or cell phones with web cam/cameras on them.

That's true. But I think they did offer a webcam option if you look here

[url]http://www.cnet.com/laptops/dell-precision-m4600/4505-3121_7-34854542.html[/url

But they probably dont have anymore in stock, just like the cd tray vs slot

Quote from poormanq45 : Explain the downhile portion please. Did the tech not show up, make things worse, what? Something is missing here.

here's my letter to Dell with a short summary of the case.

Dear Dell Inc,

I have tried for 5 months to resolve this issue with the purchase on December 15th, 2011.

On January 11th, 2012, I initially contacted DELL support where the technician diagnosed that the screen and video card are faulty (see attached chat log). Because the warranty covers in-home service and I am currently outside of the U.S., the technician asked me to transfer the warranty to be serviced by a local contractor.

On January 20th, my warranty was transferred as advised by your technician, and I contacted the local contractor. The local contractor failed to return my emails, and the phone was disconnected. They are obviously out of business.

Over the next few weeks, I contacted the U.S. technician multiple times via emails, tried to file a new warranty, and even emailed the Outstanding Issues department, and all inquires went unanswered. When I called again, they informed me that the warranty is not valid for U.S. service, since it was transferred (at their request).

I also stated that I am willing to mail the laptop (at my expense) for service and forego the in-home service, but that request was denied.

I received a defective product and made numerous attempts to correct the issue, but Dell service continued to ignore me, so I filed a claim with American Express.

On March 16th, I received a letter from American Express with a resolution. Dell Service department requested that I return the product to the below address for a refund.
DELL ARRC NASHVILLE RMA# 153322834
415 NEW SANFORD RD
LA VERGNE TN 37086-4184

I shipped the laptop (tracking 9406203699300018356141), but the package was refused (moved, no forwarding address) on March 28th.

On March 29th, I contacted American Express again and they reopened the case.

On May 4th, I received a letter from American Express stating they have credited my account because Dell failed to respond.
-----

Above was in response to a letter I received in June. My call logs recorded about 4 hours of talk time with different service departments, and I had about 30 emails and chatlogs that I attached to the letter. Eventually I was contacted by a real person from executive level customer service, who arranged for a pre-paid label to return the laptop (which had been sitting in the first shipping box for 2 months at this point). I was sent from department to department, then thrown in limbo where no one wanted to be responsible, and they didn't share any information either since billing department was after me.

This is a plug for Amex - they really did well on this one, even gave me a $50 statement credit to cover my shipping expenses and trouble.

All of this information is personal experience, and of course it varies from case to case. I've had good experience with Dell before, and this was my 4th PC from them over the last 7 years... but it will be my last.

Quote from snapple : here's my letter to Dell with a short summary of the case. Dear Dell Inc, I have tried for 5 months to resolve this issue with the purchase on December 15th, 2011. On January 11th, 2012, I initially contacted DELL support where the technician diagnosed that the screen and video card are faulty (see attached chat log). Because the warranty covers in-home service and I am currently outside of the U.S., the technician asked me to transfer the warranty to be serviced by a local contractor. On January 20th, my warranty was transferred as advised by your technician, and I contacted the local contractor. The local contractor failed to return my emails, and the phone was disconnected. They are obviously out of business. Over the next few weeks, I contacted the U.S. technician multiple times via emails, tried to file a new warranty, and even emailed the Outstanding Issues department, and all inquires went unanswered. When I called again, they informed me that the warranty is not valid for U.S. service, since it was transferred (at their request). I also stated that I am willing to mail the laptop (at my expense) for service and forego the in-home service, but that request was denied. I received a defective product and made numerous attempts to correct the issue, but Dell service continued to ignore me, so I filed a claim with American Express. On March 16th, I received a letter from American Express with a resolution. Dell Service department requested that I return the product to the below address for a refund. DELL ARRC NASHVILLE RMA# 153322834 415 NEW SANFORD RD LA VERGNE TN 37086-4184 I shipped the laptop (tracking 9406203699300018356141), but the package was refused (moved, no forwarding address) on March 28th. On March 29th, I contacted American Express again and they reopened the case. On May 4th, I received a letter from American Express stating they have credited my account because Dell failed to respond. ----- Above was in response to a letter I received in June. My call logs recorded about 4 hours of talk time with different service departments, and I had about 30 emails and chatlogs that I attached to the letter. Eventually I was contacted by a real person from executive level customer service, who arranged for a pre-paid label to return the laptop (which had been sitting in the first shipping box for 2 months at this point). I was sent from department to department, then thrown in limbo where no one wanted to be responsible, and they didn't share any information either since billing department was after me. This is a plug for Amex - they really did well on this one, even gave me a $50 statement credit to cover my shipping expenses and trouble. All of this information is personal experience, and of course it varies from case to case. I've had good experience with Dell before, and this was my 4th PC from them over the last 7 years... but it will be my last.

If you bought the system in the USA and then took it outside, that would cause issues.

An international transfer can take up to 15 business days.

I assure that had you bought the system in your country with your country tag that it would have been much smoother.

Deal is dead... too bad was on the fence.

Quote from poormanq45 : If you bought the system in the USA and then took it outside, that would cause issues. An international transfer can take up to 15 business days. I assure that had you bought the system in your country with your country tag that it would have been much smoother.

Didn't have any problems with the transfer, as my timeline shows, it was completed in 9 days. The problem was Dell customer service insisting that I transfer the service even though I was willing to ship the laptop (I have an APO address). I followed their instructions because I assumed at least their business service knew what they were doing, and the included warranty is a global warranty, as stated in the terms.

Also, transferring the warranty is the same as purchasing it in a different country, because the country tag changes for that particular machine. This is why I had a problem with contacting the U.S. technical service again, because once I transferred the warranty, my tag was no longer valid for U.S. service, making it convenient to ignore my requests (and continuing to point me to the contact information on their website to a contractor that was no longer in business).

Quote from snapple : Didn't have any problems with the transfer, as my timeline shows, it was completed in 9 days. The problem was Dell customer service insisting that I transfer the service even though I was willing to ship the laptop (I have an APO address). I followed their instructions because I assumed at least their business service knew what they were doing, and the included warranty is a global warranty, as stated in the terms. Also, transferring the warranty is the same as purchasing it in a different country, because the country tag changes for that particular machine. This is why I had a problem with contacting the U.S. technical service again, because once I transferred the warranty, my tag was no longer valid for U.S. service, making it convenient to ignore my requests (and continuing to point me to the contact information on their website to a contractor that was no longer in business).

It sounds like it was just a major ball drop in this case.

i can tell you that there actually is no return to depot service available for a precision system. Even in special cases, that isn't an option.

Just cancelled the order after noticed that it does not have a webcam and how heavy it is.