Running Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9.2 on a Macbook Pro with a solid-state "hard drive".

This condition existed under Mountain Lion, so we can't blame Mavericks for this.

My Mac and Outlook are awake at all times, while the display goes to sleep after five minutes.  It seems that when the computer is unattended and otherwise idle, the every-10-minute send-and-receive-all does not succeed in downloading messages waiting at the server, but instead creates an "inactivity timeout" in the error log.  As soon as other activities start getting performed, the next send-and-receive-all effectively downloads everything waiting at the server.  At first glance this sounds like a "so what?" situation.  The undesirable element occurs when the user is waiting for an e-mail while not sitting next to the computer, and would like the audible alert when a message arrives.

IMHO, this sounds like a hairline timing problem associated with "server delay"; i.e., how long Outlook will wait for a response from the server. If the computer is doing other things, it may slow down the time check just enough to let the server respond. On the other hand, if the computer is idle, the time check can run at full speed and beat the server to the punch.  I know this may not make sense, but keep in mind that this is just my opinion, which usually doesn't make sense anyway.

In Windows Outlook 2007, there is an easy-to-find slider adjustment for the server delay time.  There is no such convenience in Outlook for Mac 2011.

Is there a work-around for this?