alienware = mystified.

I just got a Dell Inspiron 9300 for college (college that may not still be standing). I'm thoroughly pleased with it. Mine set me back about $1800 with a 40% coupon from Dell (they show up every so often), but that included the handling fees, tax, and a 3 year warranty with accidental damage protection. So the actual laptop was a few hundred less. My roommate has an alienware...really bad decision for college though...he probably won't get more than a half hour of battery life. Worth checking it out.

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Original post by skillfreak Without exploding all over this screen, who here has been unpleased with Alienware computers? Just purchased a 7700 notebook. I'm returning the darn(..) thing for a ~500 restocking fee rather than hanging on to this pos. Do not buy Alienware computers. Or in my case, notebooks. If you want flawless performance, look elsewhere. So. Notebooks? What companies are worth the paper they are printed on?

I've had a few friends who opted for Alienware notebooks. Worst. Decisions. Ever.

I have an Compaq Presario R3000z. I've had it for ehh... I think a little less than a year. Its still working perfectly, I have never had any trouble with it. My dad also owns a Compaq Presario, it also works well and we have never had any problems with it. So I guess you would say my experience with Compaq has been a good one.

What's so bad about Alienware notebooks?

All I knew was that you paid roughly twice the price it'd cost anywhere else, but didn't know it was actually a bad product... Any more details please? :)

I also have an Inspiration 9300 and love it. Mine was only $1700 (total charged, including S&H, tax, etc.)

I saved about $100 by buying the RAM at Newegg and installing it myself, though. I checked in the Dell warranty and as long as the RAM isn't the cause of the problem, I'm good. (I also kept the old ram and will put it back in the system if I ever have to send it in for repair.) Dell also has a slot to easily access the SODIMM ports; I just undid one small phillips screw, popped out the old 256MB of RAM, and put in the new 2x512MB Kingston ram. It was easy to do and saved me a lot of money.

I also had a $750 off Dell notebooks over $2000 coupon; I found it here. I saw them popping up at least once a month before I bought my notebook; if you wait for the right time you should see one.

Here's the specs:
Pentium M 1.86GHz (Dothan, 533MHz FSB, 2MB L2 cache)
17" WUXGA screen (1920x1200) - great, the upgrade is definitely worth it.
2x512MB Kingston DDR2 Dual Channel, 533MHz
NVidia Go6800 256MB PCIe graphics
60GB 5400RPM HDD
CDRW/DVD combo drive
Intel Pro Wireless 2200 b/g
9 cell Li-Ion battery and a spare

It got 2905 on PCMark 2005, which is nowhere near the top end desktops, but still a very respectable score, and much better than my desktop could do. It plays Morrowind at max settings and 1600x1200 very fast. It also kept up a great framerate in .kkreiger. I know that's sort of a waste of its power, but I expect it to play Oblivion well once that comes out.

Soon after I got it, I burned a Windows XP cd using Dell's included utility (they don't include the CD, just a program to burn a single copy of the CD), wiped the hard drive, and did a fresh install of Windows, leaving space for Linux. The CD installed all the useful/necessary drivers without any of the extra apps shipped in a default install.

The integrated wireless is also much better than other wireless products I've used; it gets strong connections where my PDA or PCMCIA card get weak or no connections. (I haven't managed to get the Fn+F2 wireless switch to work with Linux yet, though.)

It is pretty big and heavy with all this nice hardware inside and it doesn't fit in the generic laptop protective cases I could find, thanks to the 17" screen. That doesn't really bug me, though.

Overall, it's an awesome system, especially for the price, and it's worked great for me so far.

ok. well here are the details.
A) you expect perfection.

B)
1) Laptop arrives a week and 2 days later than estimated by Alienware. This is with 2day shipping they agreed to pay. I don't know about you guys, but when you eat breathe and sleep computers, and purchase from those you expect to be the best ($3500) you expect it on time. They paid the 2day, I assume they must agree.

2) It arrives, I open the lid, pull off all the awe-inspiring protective adhesive sheets. Fire it up... BAM! Bright red dead pixel off to the top left corner of where your fraghair would be.
" Um. Are you kidding? ... Unnn frikkin real. Welll... lemme just get some war3 and bf on here to see if i really notice. Load and run. Well i guess i don't... I'M OUT OF MY MIND... THAT IS THE BIGGEST PIXEL I'VE EVER SEEN. You could have a stare-off with the thing."

3) Call Alienware. Uh, what quadrant, yadda yadda. Ok. We will 2day it back to us and 2day it back to you. It will be here for a MAX of 3 business days.

4) I get the shipping labels, i drop off.. I get it back a week and 2 days later again. Figures. Why? Because they renege on the 2day back to me, I get fedex saver. I call them, (note, this call happens just after they upload the package info to fedex - Fedex doesn't come for another 6 hours)
Me: "You said 2 day... it is in the notes. Fill me in"
Them**: "Umm.. hmm.. it IS in the notes. But due to our security policy, we cannot change the shipping data."
-- So they won't change it because they are incompetent. Just as long as i understand, SIR.

5) I go back to school. I don't know about the rest of the world, but things move on.

6) It arrives Monday (this last monday) (Keep in mind, I ordered it on the 27 of July) I truck back home. Open the box and what

7) I have scratches all over lid of the case, and on the inside glass panel nearest the lcd hindge. ...

Relax... they are just major f'in scratches... can't expect to much.. lets see if the pixel is gone.

8) Power up. BOOOM!!!! The pixel moved! Where? Quadrant 9 (bottom right equally divided quadrant of your screen), just outside of we will replace your pos.

9) Call alienware (i think i've talked to everyone over there at least once, and i swear to god, the foreigners keep changing their names and i'm sure they know the weather in LA incase they need to carry on a culturally similar conv.)

10) "I don't want this pos. It is in worse condition now than when i got it. I have not even received it 'new'." "It's like buying a Ferrari and someone keyed the door panel and put a bullet hole in the windshield."

11) You ordered on the 27 of july. You cannot return due to 30 day cancellation policy. First i flip out.. I haven't even HAD THE BOX for 20 minutes! You have either been building a piece of junk, fixing a pos, or fedex'in around. Something didn't add up. Go online and read it for myself. Its bs, its from the date received.

12) Call back. "Is this based on a previous issue." "NO" NOTE: Always say no. Because then you fight an uphill battle vs. starting fresh. They defend what is in there, even if they have 0 clue what it means.

13) You have to pay a 15% restocking fee to cancel.
Quick algebra: 3500*.15 = 525

Things college students can do with 525.
> buy two semesters of college books (ish, i know)
> Motorcycle
> Scuba trip

So they would like me to pay 15% for their incompetence.

So you already know what i'm doing.

Frankly, I don't even know how Alienware could have performed quality check on my system, when there are scratches all over the case. You dont' have to hunt for them.
So what about the monitor?

I have other minor gripes with the system, but these are the majors. My ac converter makes noise whenever anything happens on my screen as though it isn't grounded or something.

The only thing i got from them that i am content with is the func pad (cause func is badass) and the backpack.

eof.
-- edit --
specs:
60gig scsi 5400 rpm
1gig ram
3.4 desktop pentium 4
6800 ultra (go)
integrated wireless
And all that other jazz that is standard with the 7700 series.

and yes. Worst. Decision. Ever. + -$500

Wierd -- my Alienware Area-51m was a beast, and I treated it like shit. Its still holding strong, but is pretty beat up. I never had any issues.

Guy I work for has a Pentium4 based alienware laptop.
It's nice in that it has a 1600x1200 display (15") but definitly not nice in that:

it's graphics are rubbish
it gets incredibly hot
it's ugly
it's huge for a 15"
it's very heavy (at a guess 4kg+)
it's unreliable
it lasts half an hour on battery
and recently, it's powersupply blew up. And I don't mean stopped working, it litterally went bang with a flash of light and a large puff of smoke. Leaving a nice schorch mark in his coffee table.


I'd HIGHLY recommend the laptop I use:

Asus Z71V 15.4" widescreen laptop (sometimes called Z7100)

Not quite as small as other 15.4"s I've used, but lighter.
pentium M 1.6 - 2.3ghz, (I got 1.86)
upto 2gig ram (I got 1gig), dual channel, 533mhz,
1680x1050 resolution 15.4" widescreen (not the best colours, but it's good overall, and has a surprisingly fast responce time)
geforce 6600 Go 128mb, I would have prefered a x700, but thats me. Gets 2100 in 3Dmark 05 with proper drivers. From what I can tell it's an early MXM pci-express card, so it may in theory be upgradable. It can definitly be removed in one peice from the pci-e slot.
8x dual layer DVD drive (+/- RW according to nero)
I have a 60gig 7200rpm hdd, can also do SATA drives.
802.11a wifi. Very good keyboard, good (but sensitive) touch pad, etc.
Lots of nice little touches, like the ambient light sensor, 3D audio, it can play CDs without turning on, 5x usb, mmc/ms reader, etc.

Best thing was it was damn cheap. I was looking at a lesser spec'd Toshiba, which was $4500nz, this one cost me $2500nz (I think it's about $1600us now for the spec I got.. not sure).



I like it a lot, been extremly useful while I've been overseas. I can even play CS:S at native res* when I'm not (or should be) working :)

* with some settings turned down ;)

Any laptop that only lasts half an hour is worthless as a laptop IMO.

I know Dell cop a bit of flak about their desktop PC's, but the laptops they make are fantastic (at least in Australia anyway). I have recommended them to many friends, and they have all turned up on time, in great shape, and the things can take a real pounding. My dad has had one for 3 years and the thing still chugs away, no problems even without a single format (even though that’s more of a windows thing).

I super duper highly and strongly recommend IBM laptops. I was an intern sys admin at a company in seattle for a while and had to return a percentage of laptops which had a bad mobo which didn't always recognize the second ram slot, so I had quite a few RMA's to do. It happens, no big deal. The customer service was awesome though.
1. I spoke to an american who spoke english
2. I quickly told them the problem without them trying to diagnos it for me
3. The send an empty box with overnight shipping.
4. Box arrives next morning and I ship the laptop off. They receive it.
5. Next day I have the repaired laptop (replaced faulty mobo for free).

I probably sent in 8 laptops and IBM performed perfectly 8 out of 8 times.

I agree: don't ever buy alienware's overpriced comps.

I'm looking to buy either an Inspiron 9300 or an XPS Gen 2 from Dell.

They're both hellishly expensive, but my dad's business gets fantastic deals from Dell, so he's going to get it with a lot of money off (with any luck).

As for Alienware, they're stupidly overpriced - even more so than Dell, and that's saying something.

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Original post by visage Wierd -- my Alienware Area-51m was a beast, and I treated it like shit. Its still holding strong, but is pretty beat up. I never had any issues.

Ditto. I love mine.

I did have a previous model, something in the 5000 series - the model before they had the swappable gpus. Had no problems with it but a faulty drive, which they sent me a new one and i sent them the old.
The machine still works great, no dead pixels and bright green. =) back when they had those kickin

I'm just extremely unhappy for the reasons i've uttered above. You want so much to love it... and you just can't. I got caught in the cross fire between the first time i received the system, and the second. If i had just canceled the order the moment i got it, when i had the shot pixel in a zone that requires fixing I would not have had to pay the $500 restocking fee. But because they 'fixed it' by moving the pixel into a different zone, the lcd is within acceptable bounds and now to cancel means restocking fee. As to say I would not have been charged restocking due to receiving a faulty product.
blah.

--edit--
I appreicate all the replies on other systems and related support on those systems when-if failure occured. Def educating at the very least. Thx again.

How about threatening them with a law suit because they sent you a scratched laptop? Demand they replace it. Chances are, they won't replace the casing, but just the entire laptop.

I learned that never giving up or telling them simply I'll let my lawyer handle it works in 95% of the cases. Of course, I don't even have a lawyer, but the negative publicity they might get from such a case scares them.

Toolmaker

Quote:

Original post by skillfreak ok. well here are the details. A) you expect perfection. B) 1) Laptop arrives a week and 2 days later than estimated by Alienware. This is with 2day shipping they agreed to pay. I don't know about you guys, but when you eat breathe and sleep computers, and purchase from those you expect to be the best ($3500) you expect it on time. They paid the 2day, I assume they must agree. 2) It arrives, I open the lid, pull off all the awe-inspiring protective adhesive sheets. Fire it up... BAM! Bright red dead pixel off to the top left corner of where your fraghair would be. " Um. Are you kidding? ... Unnn frikkin real. Welll... lemme just get some war3 and bf on here to see if i really notice. Load and run. Well i guess i don't... I'M OUT OF MY MIND... THAT IS THE BIGGEST PIXEL I'VE EVER SEEN. You could have a stare-off with the thing." 3) Call Alienware. Uh, what quadrant, yadda yadda. Ok. We will 2day it back to us and 2day it back to you. It will be here for a MAX of 3 business days. 4) I get the shipping labels, i drop off.. I get it back a week and 2 days later again. Figures. Why? Because they renege on the 2day back to me, I get fedex saver. I call them, (note, this call happens just after they upload the package info to fedex - Fedex doesn't come for another 6 hours) Me: "You said 2 day... it is in the notes. Fill me in" Them**: "Umm.. hmm.. it IS in the notes. But due to our security policy, we cannot change the shipping data." -- So they won't change it because they are incompetent. Just as long as i understand, SIR. 5) I go back to school. I don't know about the rest of the world, but things move on. 6) It arrives Monday (this last monday) (Keep in mind, I ordered it on the 27 of July) I truck back home. Open the box and what 7) I have scratches all over lid of the case, and on the inside glass panel nearest the lcd hindge. ... Relax... they are just major f'in scratches... can't expect to much.. lets see if the pixel is gone. 8) Power up. BOOOM!!!! The pixel moved! Where? Quadrant 9 (bottom right equally divided quadrant of your screen), just outside of we will replace your pos. 9) Call alienware (i think i've talked to everyone over there at least once, and i swear to god, the foreigners keep changing their names and i'm sure they know the weather in LA incase they need to carry on a culturally similar conv.) 10) "I don't want this pos. It is in worse condition now than when i got it. I have not even received it 'new'." "It's like buying a Ferrari and someone keyed the door panel and put a bullet hole in the windshield." 11) You ordered on the 27 of july. You cannot return due to 30 day cancellation policy. First i flip out.. I haven't even HAD THE BOX for 20 minutes! You have either been building a piece of junk, fixing a pos, or fedex'in around. Something didn't add up. Go online and read it for myself. Its bs, its from the date received. 12) Call back. "Is this based on a previous issue." "NO" NOTE: Always say no. Because then you fight an uphill battle vs. starting fresh. They defend what is in there, even if they have 0 clue what it means. 13) You have to pay a 15% restocking fee to cancel. Quick algebra: 3500*.15 = 525 Things college students can do with 525. > buy two semesters of college books (ish, i know) > Motorcycle > Scuba trip So they would like me to pay 15% for their incompetence. So you already know what i'm doing. Frankly, I don't even know how Alienware could have performed quality check on my system, when there are scratches all over the case. You dont' have to hunt for them. So what about the monitor? I have other minor gripes with the system, but these are the majors. My ac converter makes noise whenever anything happens on my screen as though it isn't grounded or something. The only thing i got from them that i am content with is the func pad (cause func is badass) and the backpack. eof. -- edit -- specs: 60gig scsi 5400 rpm 1gig ram 3.4 desktop pentium 4 6800 ultra (go) integrated wireless And all that other jazz that is standard with the 7700 series. and yes. Worst. Decision. Ever. + -$500

Seriously, report them to the Attorney General. My dad did that around 6 years back when the place he got his computer wasn’t honoring the warranty.

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Seriously, report them to the Attorney General.

Seconded. Report them to whoever you have to report them to. Take them to a civil tribunal or whatever you can do in the US. Demand a full refund, not a replacement, a refund, then take your money and buy your laptop from someone else.