m14x came in "bad" state

Well, I bought this laptop and it took 18 days to deliver(it's fast, as they said it'll take about 25) (I live in India)
I had ordered 4 upgrades.
The i7 2720QM, 8GB RAM, Soundblaster, 3 year warranty.

Now, it delivered 4 days back and I realized it has the stock i7 2630QM, no soundblaster(there's no trace of the word "blast" in the C:, nor in the device manager, it has sound drivers of realtek), and the battery lights on the bottom don't work (do I have to change some settings for that?)

For the processor, the guy said it has been a HUGE misunderstanding/communication gap between the manufacturer and the shop. They're obviously ready to replace it. The only problem is, they'll take 40 days to give me the new one

I'm confused now. Whether to take a refund or to wait 40 days. And about the other 2 problems as well, since it might actually be more than a "communication gap")

And if I do give it back, then isn't that wrong on their part, I mean, shouldn't they offer me something as a "sorry" ? An alienware mouse or something? Should I press them about this?
By the way, the reason I did go for the upgrade of processor was the difference in RAM speeds(1600 and 1333) and because they were offering it at a lower price than what the Dell site offers ( I have no idea why, maybe THIS led to them giving me the stock processor) The upgradation charge was Rs. 5300, while on Dell site it's about Rs. 9000.

 

Unless you really need the 2720, I think you should press for a refund of the 150$ and a bag or mouse for your troubles.

 

and even a 2630qm can handle 1600mhz memories.

 

Also for Xi Fi, ask them if they can just ship you a disc for it. When you get XiFi, it usually comes with a disc so Im assuming they can just send you the disc.

 

And the battery lights are fine? :/ I'm not sure. I don't really have much idea.

Officially, it doesn't. It says so on the intel website. (I'm not into overclocking and stuff)

 

Sounds fine. Thanks. Will consider it.

 

All you have to do for the RAM is go into bios, and hit an option that makes the RAM run at 1600mhz. It makes no difference than if you had the 2720 running at 1600mhz.

For battery lights, youre probably hitting them wrong as the button is extremely hard to press and stupid. You just have to hit that one corner really hard with your nail and it should go.

 

Well, I guess I was being paranoid without a reason :/

I thought the battery lights were supposed to remain on forever Heh
They worked perfectly on just pressing a bit Thanks a TON!!

And hey, since you're helping me so much, help me in 1 more thing. When I close the lid for sometime(say 3-4 minutes), the display turns off or something, the laptop's still on(pressing Fn+AlienFX turns on/off the lights, and my internet data card is also active) but the display doesn't turn on!
It's not in standby, else it would turn up on hitting the space bar. But nothing works. Fn+F1 doesn't. Moving the mouse doesn't. "Esc" doesn't. It just remains off. Then I have to finally press the Power button, shut down, and restart it. Is this normal?
I've already changed the power setting and "closing the lid" is supposed to "do nothing" on batteries as well as on power.
Is there something I need to change on the Command Center?
PS-Closing the lid for a few seconds and reopening brings it back alive. Closing the lid for a few minutes and reopening brings it back dead.

 

Im not sure, you may need to recover windows. Mine just auto goes to sleep and resumes on open

 

For the SoundBlaster, usually you will have to install it manually, like I do, but the manual installation will be quite confusing.

 

I agree...go for the stock processor and get the refund...also since you payed so much for this laptop....I am sure this in India would have costed you a bomb ...as compared to one here.....For others to understand....could you please convert the price..you paid and put it up here in $.

Dont let DELL get back to you with just a Sorry ...you deserve to be treated better dude....not everyone can wait 40 days for a replacement.......so i would suggest...fight out your case... and escalate it till..you get things on your terms...but ofcourse maybe asking for a free alienware is just a bit unreasonable LOL

 

Well, so the Soundblaster and Battery lights issue is sorted out.
I guess I'll stay with the stock processor since all of you're saying so.
I wish the Hawk guy would reply here. Since he told me to upgrade looking at the tiny puny cost of upgrading. And others agreed.
By the way, cost is $2341

 

Can someone help on the waking up issue too, please?
Basically, I had an Acer previously. And I used to download stuff at night for better speeds. So I would just close the lid and the laptop would keep running. I would wake up the next day and the laptop would not be sleeping/hibernating/on standby. It would be running like normal.

In this, if I close the lid for a few minutes. Something happens. The screen refuses to turn on. Pressing any buttons or anything has no use. The laptop's still on since the FX lights can be controlled. But the screen is off. The only way is to shut down the thing by pressing the power button.

 

Control Panel -> Hardware & Sound -> Power Options -> Choose when to turn off display -> Plugged in: "Never"

That might do it.

 

Thanks /Drakk_, but like I said, the options have already been changed. All settings are perfect :| Still this is becoming a nuisance.
And even if the display WOULD turn off for some reason... How do I turn it back on?

Edit- There's something more
I keep getting bluescreens of death. Usually while some installation is going on. I get it at least once a day. Is it okay?

Edit2- Since I actually have the option of getting it exchanged, I'd like to clear everything up before I make up my mind. In all windows except the desktop, some 4 mm of screen is left black on the top. the mouse pointer can go there but it's just black. Is it a glitch or is it normal? (It's irritating 'cause usually I used to be a lazy bum and take my mouse to the far right top to close a window, now I have to actually see where the mouse is going rather than just doing it blindly )

 

I hate to say it, but you are just having WAY too many problems, return it it! I would hate to wait the 40 Days, but I would ask if maybe you can get a free upgrade on something... Hard Drive... RAM... something! For the money you paid, and the shotty craftsmanship on that machine, and the long wait for a replacement... they owe you something!

 

Kill the process toaster.exe from task manager and prevent it from activating on startup.

 

Thanks everyone!
I already returned it

 

smart, alienware's quality isnt what is use to be sorry to hear about this. maybe try a sager if u dont want to use them again.

 

I wouldn't recommend a Sager...since hez from India and he'll get 0 support and if he has to send it for repairs...he'll end up shipping it via Fedex which is like 180$....I would suggest you stick on with alienware...else try Asus...thr service back in India is good but my two cents stick with alienware and give them hell...so that you get what you deserve ...after all you sent 2k+$ on a machine that costed us 1k$ less

 

Hi i am also from India and i bought a MBP with 6750m instead of the m14x. Where did you get the 2720QM m14x from? The options i got were either a 2630QM with 1.5GB GT 555m and 900p for around Rs.84000 "$1840" or a 2820QM with 3GB GT 555m and 900p for around Rs.119000 "$2600". This was from an Dell agent.

The price of $2341 is really good i was thinking about the 2820QM m14x myself but since MBP with 6750m seemed to have a better balance of fun and work bought that instead.

 

I say refund the whole laptop. I am might bais since my order with them went bad (no one seems to know what's going on and overall I don't feel they are trying to help me at all). So I refund the laptop and will never deal with them.