Alienware 17 Pre-order Configuration Questions and Order Status Discussion - Part 5

Just seems odd mine got cancelled with me having ordered a few days prior to yours, I got my laptop bag within 6 days of ordering which is pretty awesome (Vindicator 17), really do hope I get it this time, and what they told me regarding a model change is true, as I don't want to be without a decent system for another few weeks, the laptop I'm currently on struggles to run anything that's coming out lately, and I've persisted with it long enough now lol

 

I hope you get yours soon too! My bag (vindicator slim) arrived from Ireland within 6 days too. This is my first proper gaming rig (excluding consoles), so I really cannot wait to play all the games I have acquired (whilst using a HP ultrabook).

 

It's possible they were out of the specific configuration you ordered. It depends on the region of which you're located in - you can't get the same thing in Australia that you can get in the United States. I'm assuming they base availability on the demand in the region, as these systems are all "built to order."

My replacement was built and shipped within a week. Sometimes you just get lucky.

 

I'm hoping I have some similar luck like you have with your replacement, I'm from the UK btw.

 

There is a sense in the 3rd summer guarantee? It is worth overpaying for it? Or 1 year will suffice? I hope the Alienware laptop quickly won't break.

 

Extending the warranty is worth it.

 

I extended mine for a total of 4yrs, never ever pay for a gaming rig without at least a 2 yr warranty

 

Display 120Hz WLED FHD TrueLife w/3D Bundle opaque or glossy? I don't love patches of light on the display.

 

After doing my research before purchasing, this is the conclusion I came to. Purchased 3 years cover, if something was to go wrong, at least I will not be forking out more money.

 

It has a gloss finish, but there's almost no glare, unless you're in direct sunlight or something. It's really nice.

It will cut your battery life by about 50%.

 

Thanks for answers.

 

Whether it is worth overpaying for the 3D display? Or to take the standard display and to pay in addition for the processor + the videocard.

 

I am still awaiting mine to be delivered, but after months on deciding whether to build a desktop, or go for an Alienware, it only makes sense to buy everything all at once. Otherwise you will be buying parts and installing them yourself in the future. Personally i'd say save up, and buy the specs you want. Although the 120hz screen is not easy to buy separately and to install, and from other user reviews, it really is worth the extra cost.

 

god this wait is killing me walsh western's tracking service is terrible isnt it, i havent a clue where my rig is at all!

 

You got that right! still says departed manufacturing facility, and the eta still says Fri 17th

 

my EDD is the 22nd, but it left the manufacturing facility last thursday. it might suprise you and come 2moro??

 

Well spoke to an american today regarding my order, alot more helpful than the chap I spoke to last week (language barrier issues) they advised me that the last order was cancelled due to the 120hz 3D screen being unavailable, but said this shouldn't be an issue on the new order, and should receive it within the next 3 weeks which takes me up to my EDD of 3rd Feb.

Still not seeing the option of 3D on the alienware.co.uk site for the AW17 at the minute, so there is an obvious stock issue there at the moment.

 

I've been looking at buying an Alienware 17. Just a quick question though, which parts are upgradable and how easy is it to do it. I'm thinking about buying the standard model with the 780m and putting an SSD and better CPU in at a later date. Also can you sli?

 

You can't SLI. That is only the Alienware 18. You can upgrade pretty much everything else, including the CPU and GPU. It does not void the warranty, but new parts are not covered.

 

I like the idea that parts are upgradeable, which gives a bit of extra life for the future or extra boost for performance, and thst he warranty isn't void like most things.

How long have people had to wait roughly for their machines to be delivered from the day of ordering?

Mine is currently still in pre production atm, EDD 3rd February, which gives them 11 working days in which to build and deliver to me. However I got a reply regarding my order today saying demand had exceeded supply again, and have a funny feeling this order will also get cancelled.

 

The Estimated Delivery Date is just that - estimated. It usually accounts for extra time, so you can expect to receive the system on or before that date.

The EDD for the system in my signature was 1/23/14 and it arrived about 10 days early.

 

unfortunately we can't promise that the machine will make it there on a certain date. That's why we provide Estimated Delivery Dates. We try to meet them all the time but sometimes we do get issues and have small delays. Hopefully this will not be your case.

 

I really hope that there isn't an issue with this current order, the advisor I spoke to the other day said there wont be an issue with the current order, but then I receive a reply to an email I sent a little while ago and it said "that due to popularity of the product, our demand has exceeded supply. Our factory is working with our suppliers as efficient as possible to provide you more promptness in delivery" which is what I was told when my last order was cancelled, thankfully the order that was replaced for me is still currently there and active... so fingers crossed this time, I was told that my concern had been taken care of with this order though, so that's always a bonus too I suppose, unless someone was telling fibs.

 

Hey everyone just bought my AW 17 for web development, and graphic design, and gaming. Just order the base model @ $1499 I believe. I do live in the us I purchased con 1/15/14 with an EDD Of 2/1/14. Do any of you guys and gals know why so long away. Its just a base model with nothing added. I do believe there hand built I just cant wait to play on my first Alien Ware

 

That's only an estimated date. It will arrive before that. All systems are built to order.

 

OK cool so since I did not opt for any of the upgrade tech it should take take that long for assembly since all parts are likely on hand. Well hopefully Monday I see a change to shipping. Also is there a thread for unboxing.

 

There are many videos on youtube with the title "alienware unbox"

 

Yea but there pretty horrible.

 

Do you think mine base model will come from China or maybe its being built here in the States.

 

Do you think mine base model will come from China or maybe its being built here in the States.

 

They're built in China, shipped to the States for testing and Windows installation, then to regional distribution centers, and finally to you.

Pretty much everything is outsourced these days.

 

Wasn't aware of that, cheers.

 

Oh OK so no wonder the process takes so long. I just want to finish some work and play some State Of Decay and Don't Starve.

 

Good news, mine moved into Production today, really excited now, next couple of weeks better fly by now!

 

That's good. It shouldn't take anymore than 7-10 business days, unless a part is out of stock.

 

Does anyone know how reliable the smart selection shipping is with Dell.

 

Haha, That wait! Hope you aren't doing what I did, which was check practically every 10 minutes to see if had updated!

 

Yea unfortunately I am lol, its annoying when it hasn't changed but the excitement when I moves to the next status is great lol

 

I checked every morning on the status until it finally said shipped, then 2 days later it came.

 

Finally it shipped! Cannot wait now, at least I know this order hasn't been cancelled lol

 

Curious, will the Alienware phone reps work with you on custom configurations, or are you really limited to the 8 basic configurations?

 

Hi everyone. I've been wanting to buy a gaming laptop for quite some time, but never actually went ahead with it.

I know the desktop vs laptop arguments, but in my situation a desktop is not an option unfortunately.

The particular laptop i'm looking at is the mid-range m17x r5 from dell with the following specs:

Processor: 4th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-4700MQ processor (6MB Cache, up to 3.4GHz)
Memory: 16GB DDR3L at 1600MHz (2 x 8G)
Video Card: AMD Radeon™ R9 M290X with 4GB GDDR5
Display: 17.3" WLED FHD (1920 x 1080) Anti-Glare Display

The Hard Drive is where I'm a little stuck. I'm not overly technical or knowledgeable when it comes to computer hardware, so I figure I'd turn to you guys, the experts.

I'm given 3 options from the manufacturer: 1 - 1TB 5400RPM SATA 6Gb/s + 80GB mSATA SSD Caching 2 - 2TB RAID 0 (2x1TB 5400RPM) + 80GB mSATA SSD Caching 3 - 256GB mSATA SSD Boot + 1TB 5400RPM SATA 6Gb/s

The price variation between these 3 options is quite small. Which would be the best option. Or would it be better to buy the cheapest, and purchase a SSD (I don't need alot of storage space) from somewhere and replace the manufacturer hard drive with it? What would you do?

When buying from a manufacturer like dell, would you get the smallest memory option (16GB DDR3L at 1600MHz (2 x 8G)), then add to it in the future if you ever need to?

Also, I know the AMD R9 M290X is relatively new, what do people think of this video card? The only other card that I can consider in my price range from Dells offering is the Nvidia GeForce GTX 765M. I've compared the video cards on a number of websites, and it seems like the AMD much better (the Nvidia 780m is too much $ for me).

Thanks so much!

 

1. for HDD options I'd go with the cheapest one if you're a bit tight on the $$$.

2. I am also considering the R9 M290X as an option (also because the 780M is a bit pricey) but there's hardly anyone here that has given their experience with it - granted it is new so I am hoping there will be people out there ready to take a bullet in the name of consumer advice. I have well over a month to decide and get information before I order so if people buy this particular model and share their experience that would be good. The only thing that's turning me off is the lack of driver support.

 

I ordered a system with the M290X card today. I skipped the 780M because I needed to money to get the 256 Gig SSD & 1 TB HDD setup and the M290X will outperform the 765M and 770M slightly. I'll let everyone know when the system arrives somewhere around the 20th of Feb.

 

cool, i would like to see how the GPU handles itself from your experience because while i like the idea of the 780m - it too is out of my price range so what you share about the GPU will be invaluable.

 

I've been a guinea pig before, glad to do it again.

I have the R9-290 desktop card (Sapphire Battlefield 4 Edition to be exact) and really like it so I'm looking forward to seeing how it does in a new laptop.

 

what's the expected arrival date for the laptop?

EDIT: Nevermind, saw your post in the other thread

 

Just ordered a Alienware 17 with a 10% discount by actually talking to a human on the phone......worth the call!!!

Very happy!!!!

4th Generation Intel Core i7-4900MQ Processor (Overlocked, 8MB Cache, up to 4.0GHz w/ Turbo Boost)
17.3 inch (439.42 mm) WLED FHD (1920 x 1080) Anti-Glare Display
16GB Dual Channel DDR3L at 1600MHz
1TB 5400RPM SATA 6Gb/s + 80GB mSATA SSD Caching
Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BD-ROM, DVDRW, CD-RW)
NVIDIAGeForce GTX 780M with 4GB GDDR5
Broadcom 4352 802.11 ac 2x2 and Bluetooth 4.0 1 driver
English Windows 7 SP1 Home Premium (64 BIT)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I ordered a new system for myself as well. Just a temporary machine until I get my desktop built. I was going to order an Alienware 14, but I decided I did not want to have soldered components, so I went with a base AW 17 for less money and I think I'll be happy with it, for a while... Ordered everything off of eBay. The system was factory sealed in the original brown box, so I'm assuming it's all good.

 

Sweet nice deal, as you say you can always upgrade it later enjoy it now with out all the cost.