77 Minutes With Dell’s Tech Support

7:35:44 PM System System
Thanks for choosing chat for your technical support needs. A chat agent will be with you shortly. Just so you know, you can also visit our website at support.dell.com to get technical help.
7:37:44 PM System System
Thanks so much for your patience. Chat agents are eager to help you with your troubleshooting needs, so stay on line and the next available representative will assist you.
7:38:24 PM System System
You are now being connected to an agent. Thank you for using Dell Chat
7:38:24 PM System System
Connected with Shahid_162163
7:38:29 PM Agent Shahid_162163
Thank you for contacting Dell Technical Support. My name is Shahid and my rep. ID number is 162163. How may I help you today?
7:40:24 PM Customer Bill O
Hi… I have a Dell 3007WFP monitor with a maximum resolution of 2500×1600. When I first got the monitor, I connected it to my Mac Mini but wasn’t able to do more than 1280×800 (half the monitor’s maximum). I passed that off as just being a Mac problem and, indeed, the display was capable of 2500×1600 with other systems. [more]
7:42:04 PM Customer Bill O
Last week I received a Gateway dc5850 with integrated Radeon 3100 graphics. It too couldn’t do more than 1280×800 on the Dell monitor but it had no problem with 1600×1200 on a Samsung 204B. I’m a little uneasy now with a second system, this time a PC, not being compatible with the display (or vice versa).
7:43:39 PM Agent Shahid_162163
Thank you for the information.
7:43:59 PM Agent Shahid_162163
I’ll be glad to assist you.
7:44:09 PM Agent Shahid_162163
Please allow me 2 to 3 minutes to pull up your account information. In the meantime, may I have your phone number(s) to update our records?
7:44:25 PM Customer Bill O
xxx-xxx-xxxx
7:44:56 PM Customer Bill O
And it’s Bill OBrien. Normally there’s an apostrophe between the O and the B but it looks like your system doesn’t allow it.
7:47:45 PM Agent Shahid_162163
thank you for staying connected.
7:48:15 PM Agent Shahid_162163
Bill, may I know what cable do you use to connect the monitor to the computer.
7:48:33 PM Customer Bill O
The one that came with the monitor.
7:49:10 PM Agent Shahid_162163
what I would like to know is, what color is the connector of the cable?
7:49:20 PM Agent Shahid_162163
is it a blue one or a white one?
7:49:38 PM Customer Bill O
White. The monitor only has a DVI-D connector on it.
7:54:55 PM Agent Shahid_162163
is the graphics card capable of Dual DVI out
7:56:03 PM Customer Bill O
I honestly don’t know about the Mac Mini but the HP dc5850 is and has a maximum resolution of 1600×1200 –however, it’s picking up a maximum 1280×800 from the monitor.
7:57:05 PM Agent Shahid_162163
what I would like to know is, what are the specifications of the ATI video card?
7:57:44 PM Customer Bill O
What specifications are you looking for? It is not a card, it is integrated graphics on the motherboard.
8:00:15 PM Agent Shahid_162163
in that case Bill, it explains why we have a 1280×800 resolution, that is the maximum that an integrated card can offer
8:00:51 PM Customer Bill O
No, the integrated graphics, as I previously stated, has a maximum 1600×1200 resolution.
8:01:10 PM Agent Shahid_162163
you will need to have a graphics card that has a DVI out configuration to support the maximum resolution of the monitor.
8:01:42 PM Customer Bill O
Did you read what I just wrote about the maximum resolution?
8:04:16 PM Agent Shahid_162163
I did read that Bill, I would like to know the integrated video card, how did you confirm the resolution specifications of that integrated card?
8:05:34 PM Customer Bill O
1. That’s what Hewlett Packard specifies. 2. As I previously stated, I connected it to a 20-inch Samsung 204B LCD monitor and it displayed at 1600×1200.
8:07:16 PM Agent Shahid_162163
now the resolution would also depend on the configuration of the monitor. let me get this clarified please, does the samsung monitor have any other port apart from the DVD port?
8:07:36 PM Agent Shahid_162163
I mean the DVI port.
8:08:46 PM Customer Bill O
I know what you meant, I typed the same thing earlier but caught it. Yes, it has a VGA port (Blue) but the connection was to its DVI port (white) using the same cable that I use for the Dell monitor.
8:09:31 PM Agent Shahid_162163
Now, that answers my questions. thank you for all the information Bill.
8:09:56 PM Customer Bill O
Yes, but does it solve my problem?
8:10:36 PM Agent Shahid_162163
I understand, Bill. let me explain this to you.
8:11:40 PM Agent Shahid_162163
if you happen to connect two unlike connectors, like a VGA to the tower and a DVI to the monitor, the frequency has to be converted before the image can be displayed and in that conversion, certain amount of resolution is lost.
8:12:07 PM Customer Bill O
I haven’t done that.
8:13:26 PM Agent Shahid_162163
to connect the samsung monitor to the computer, did you use a VGA cable or a DVI cable or a mixed one?
8:14:16 PM Customer Bill O
As I said, I used the DVI ports on both devices with same DVI cable that was supplied with the Dell monitor.
8:14:56 PM Agent Shahid_162163
does the integrated video card have a DVI port?
8:15:28 PM Customer Bill O
Yes, that’s what I just said!!!!!
8:16:46 PM Agent Shahid_162163
that means, the integrated video card has a DVI port?
8:17:46 PM Customer Bill O
Normally, if the motherboard (it is not a card) has a DVI port on it then the motherboard has a DVI port, yes?
8:19:01 PM Agent Shahid_162163
that is strange because an integrated graphics will only have a VGA port.
8:20:06 PM Customer Bill O
I’m sorry, but you’re mistaken. I have systems using integrated graphics that have VGA, DVI and HDMI ports. You need to read up a bit.
8:23:07 PM Agent Shahid_162163
Bill, I must say I am amazed because I never heard of any such thing. I am sorry if something like that does exist and I do not know about it. I also checked with my specialist here and according to him, it may be a case only with a server.
8:23:59 PM Customer Bill O
Again, not true. These are consumer systems.
8:24:47 PM Agent Shahid_162163
in that case Bill, I must admit I have never come across an integrated graphics which has all the three ports.
8:26:34 PM Customer Bill O
Then I guess you have insufficient knowledge to help solve my problem. Configurations such as that have been available for at least a year. Is there anyone else who might be able to turn this thus far wasted 50 minutes into something useful?
8:28:27 PM Agent Shahid_162163
please give me a minute here while I check with my specialist on this particular issue.
8:28:37 PM Agent Shahid_162163
I once again apologize for this .
8:40:13 PM Agent Shahid_162163
thank you so much for staying connected, Bill.
8:40:28 PM Agent Shahid_162163
I do apologize for taking so much of your time.
8:42:25 PM Customer Bill O
So is there some way to solve the problem?
8:42:38 PM Agent Shahid_162163
just checked with my specialist here and this monitor is certainly capable of the 2560*1600 resolution with the video cards that have the capability of pixel shading.
8:43:27 PM Agent Shahid_162163
being a DELL hardware warranty support I may not have the required knowledge to handle a computer of a different make altogether.
8:44:10 PM Customer Bill O
What you’re saying is that if I buy a Dell monitor you can’t support it unles I also buy a Dell computer? That’s not reasonable.
8:44:13 PM Agent Shahid_162163
I can assure you that it will give you the require resolution on a video card but in this case I am afraid my knowledge is limited.
8:45:09 PM Agent Shahid_162163
I did not mean that Bill. what I am coming at is, we do have an advanced resolution team who has a vast knowledge about third party hardware as well.
8:45:44 PM Customer Bill O
Are they not accessible?
8:46:18 PM Agent Shahid_162163
in this case, I would say that they would be the best people to help you.
8:46:30 PM Customer Bill O
So how do I reach them?
8:48:08 PM Agent Shahid_162163
888-257-6372 is their direct number.
8:48:19 PM Agent Shahid_162163
they are a department called “DELL on Call”.
8:48:53 PM Customer Bill O
Is that part of warranty service or is it a pay per incident/call service.
8:51:39 PM Agent Shahid_162163
they are a paid service but first they will check the situation and do accordingly.
8:52:25 PM Customer Bill O
That’s not encouraging, but thank you for the information. Have a good day.
8:52:54 PM Agent Shahid_162163
thank you for choosing DELL.