M17x R2 question

Is this a good set up for a gaming laptop?

Intel Core i5-520M Processor (2.4GHz, 4 Threads,3M cache, turbo Boost up to 2.93GHz)

4 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1066 MHz (2 DIMMS)

320 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)

single 1 GB ATI Radeon HD 5870

17 inch UltraSharp WUXGA (1920x1200)

Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium

 

Spoiler

It is a decent gaming setup, depends on the price

 

well its actually a free replacement for the setup in my sig, which is obviously a good upgrade but just checking if its a good setup for todays standards

 

Well it mostly is, but I'd push for a dual GPU setup (Crossfire) since you had SLi and also an extreme CPU. My 0,2c

 

I did but the single card they are giving me atleast what ive been told and what theyve told me is better than my SLI set up. and the extreme CPU was a useless argument as well with them

 

You are entitled to a better processor than the i5. You had an extreme cpu in your old machine, and giving you only a i5 is AN UTTER SHAME! Demand an i7, and do not give in. Push for the gpus aswell.

Escalate it, and do not give in!

I have had the same hell with them when they did not want to replace my bleeding screen. Look in my previous threads (I removed the pictures because of the nbr upload limit)

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/565809-screen-defective.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/571156-screen-bad-enough-replaced.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/571390-request-m17x-owners-ccfl-screens.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/573924-getting-screen-replaced.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/575109-finally-my-screen-has-been-replaced.html

Dell were "singing" their old song "there is nothing we can do etc". I got a lot of help here on nbr, with photos of similar screens + encouragement to not give up. I escalated it, pushed them hard, and finally they replaced it. To my surprise they even replaced my ccfl with a RGB led.

You shall not give in and let them give you something with less spec than what you are entitled to (the i5 is a shame!). Do not give up, and push them hard. You will eventually get a fair spec. As seen in my case, pushing made them give in.

Best regards,
Simplified

 

demand a better CPU & SLI dude

i got my replacement with spec in signature
had a x7900 & 9800gtx sli m1730

 

Was trying but they're being persistent on the i5 being better than my x9000...

 

It's up to you,fella. Personally i won't go for that setup.
Yes, it may be better (than your system and not by far) now but comparing with what's on the market ATM and looking back when you bought the system and what was on the market back then i think it's not a fair offer.
Maybe a refund will suit you better? IDk

 

Im still trying to get an upgrade to the i7, thats the biggest concern to me, the graphic card thing would just be a bonus at this point. but no i dont plan on just giving in

 

and really im not wanting the highest end system, the most demanding game i play is counter strike source, until BF3 comes out then im really just wanting a computer that can run that on any setting

 

You can later find a good priced 920xm, the good cards with warranty are not so easy to come by (with heatsink and CF ribbon).

 

They are giving you the base config of m17x r2 (apart from the 1200p screen). The LEAST you could ask for is the i7 620m. Extreme cpu downgraded to i5 is a rip off. Even your HDDs are getting downgraded from 500 GB RAID 0 to 320gb, and your ultimate windows is getting downgraded to home premium. What the heck is this? they are ripping you off hard.

Get angry with them, escalate it.

 

the 500 gig was my own upgrade i used to have a 320 gig at first so thats fine and vista gave me a lot of problems and I was being persistent and talked to 5 different reps about the cpu but i just got an email saying they sent me one with an i5 i dont know what this crap is but its... well crap

 

Im not asking if this is the best out there because it obviously isnt but is it atleast a decent cpu for gaming? and will it most likely be able to run BF3, not at max of course but at a decent rate like medium? its paired with a 1 GB ATI Radeon HD 5870 and 4 gigs of DDR3 1066MHz (2 DIMMS). and a 17 inch UltraSharp WUXGA (1920x1200) RGB LED Display

 

depends on the price that you are going to get with that package, and what laptop is that

 

its an alienware m17x and its a free replacement

 

why they are giving you an old thing? demand a new one!

 

well its a replacement for whats in my sig, so I cant really demand a brand new system

 

Well if BF3 is just like BFBC2, then it will benefit from more cores so an i7 would be a better option to achieving higher frame rates.

 

ok but dell wouldnt allow me to get an i7 they were being stubborn, disconnected a few chats with me, and actually just went ahead and sent me the one with the i5 so im just wondering if that computer is good for gaming today and would work with BF3

 

well you actually can, thats how people get new laptops in the aw forums!

the replacement needs to give the same performance and the same price, if the latter is lower you get a higher performance notebook.

demand a m17x R3, I would also ask a moderator to move this to the AW forums, they would advise you better there, since few get out of there

 

is there a way i can still do this? seeing as they already shipped out the r2 with the specs ive given you?

 

I'm assuming they shipped out the R2 because he had WUXGA and the R3 max resolution is 1920x1080. Also R2 prices are dropping. I would definitely ask for an i7 as the X9000 was the best thing shipped on the M1730, so ask for like a 740QM or 840QM. See if you can refuse the shipment.

 

talk to them, its plainly abusive

 

seriously i paid about $4500 for the system I have now, owned it for about 3 years and over the 3 years ive contacted them about 18 times and had someone come down about 10 times to replace parts and its been a nightmare. now they are trying to pawn off a sad excuse of a computer to me saying that its a much better system then shipping it off to me after they said they would contact me before hand with any last questions about the system configuration and to see if im satisfied with it. Doesnt seem like they care very much about their customers over in india.dell inc

 

Man 10 times, usually after like 3-4 fixes for the same general problem you can start asking for a new unit. Maybe support in India is different, that sucks.

 

refuse the delivery, demand something better, with that money you can get a m18x fairly easy

 

yeah i had the gpu replaced about 4 times and I bought the biggest most expensive everything covered warranty and they refused a system replacement until we refused to allow them to send someone down to replace parts again and now each rep we talked to tried to give us a terrible system and this was the best one offered and they decided to just ship it going against their word of contacting me before hand also with what you said earlier id be happy with a i7 620m cpu if anything

 

Yeah but the funny thing is I brought up that I spent that kinda money on it and the agent told me that money isnt a factor because prices of systems drop every day and I let him know it was a factor then when I bought it and I should be entitled to an equivalent system even if its not that exact price and he told me he was going to get his manager and just disconnected from me without a call back.

 

thats too much abuse

 

so does the i5 even compare to the x9000? because from what ive read on these forums and others is that the x9000 beats the i5 in gaming performance

 

Just slightly weaker. It is funny they still carry i5-520M's around. That was a first generation Arrandale. Most Arrandales now a day being produced is the i5-560M and the i5-580M for the i5's which gets a slightly higher clock speed bump.

 

As an update they are giving us ultimate windows 7, a second graphics card and a i7920xm cpu

 

As an update they are giving us ultimate windows 7, a second graphics card and a i7920xm cpu

 

Congrats!
At last you got a fair spec

 

See buddy I told you, it wouldn't have been fair otherwise.
Congrats

 

I just recieved the system and they are going to upgrade those parts by sending someone down but I must say, do they not care about their refurbished products? I got this thing and the exterior is all scratched up, paint chipped off, bunch of hair and dust in the vents, lots of hair in between the keyboard keys, and some strange brown stain on the side thats either coffee or vomit, also the palm rest is popped up on the rightside a bit and the breaker pad things for the monitor are indented in. just a foul looking system.

Edit: oh and also the WUXGA 1920x1200 display they said I would recieve was a lie. I have a monitor with a top display of 1440x900

 

The r2 is still in production in europe, so they will be able to fix you a new one. Demand a new one with the same spec (920xm + crossfire etc).

The system you got seems really disgusting, you sould expect it to be in mint condition!

 

Just think of the 4k you initially paid!!!

Sorry but this is too much.
New R2's won't even come with a Dual CCFL 1920x1200 in EU anymore.

Call them asap, ask for a manager, and explain everything, you should not be treated like this!

I think a M18x is your best bet

 

yeah seriously this is really just foul, im going to request a new r2 and if they cant do that then I feel i deserve a very good r3 for all of the trouble over the years and all the lies and crap ive been put through with this replacement


the m18x with the specs that equal what I have now and what they promised me on this m17x r2 is a $1000 cheaper than what I originally paid for my m1730 so yeah I def. should be entitled to one

 

Dell does not repair/service their laptops. They contract the work out to a company named Genco.

Operating in reverse: Genco buys Dell computer refurbishing business

Dell Sells Tennessee Remanufacturing Operation to GENCO | Dell

GENCO Supply Chain Solutions : Third Party Logistics Provider

From my experience Genco does a horrible job refurbishing Dell/AW computers. I also had them send me a R2 with scratches and problems. Luckily I had my original system in perfect condition and just took(with prior authorization) the 940xm, blu-ray rw, intel 6300, rgb led screen(latest version) and placed them in my original system for the perfect unit with no gaps or blemishes and sent their junk back to them.

I think you have a good chance of getting an R3 or a maxed out R2, at this point.


If your confident in replacing the parts yourself I would dismantle the entire system to make sure it's put together properly and have Dell/AW send you a new lcd cover/lid, new keyboard, new palm rest, new indicator panel, 2nd 5870M gpu w/crossfire cable & new upper case magnesium chassis.

 

well I have onsite service where they will do that for me but at this point im giving this back and demanding a brand new computer

 

Update: Dell refuses to replace with a new computer and they are conisdering not replacing this nasty piece of crap machine because they said "weve already recieved a replacement system and are not required to send another" even though what they sent us was a downgrade from the poor excuse they said they were sending us.


word of advice do not buy dell or alienware, you will get screwed over and over again

 

Man, that sucks!
How about you take a look here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...placement-systems-warranty-repair-issues.html

i'm sure you'll get some good advice from people that went thru simmilar issues with Dell.

My 0.2c : File a complaint! read the thread above there's tons of good info in there!
Also I hope you still have warranty so they'll fix at least everything that's left out of what you received. can't believe the pile of garbage you received for a former 4k system.

 

That is unfair!

They litterally gave you a pile of crap! Escalate it to a senior executive and demand a better system. Do not give up until they give a fair replacement to you. Get angry with them, you paid 4k+ for your computer, and there is no way they have got the rights to give you that crap.

 

I also have on-site service but refuse to let them touch my R2 or M18x because in the past they have trashed one of my R2's.

They are correct. Once they replace your computer they are not bound by the replacement agreement clause in your warranty.
If you keep at it they probably will replace your unit again, unless they flag your account.

The other option is to have them send you all the parts I mentioned in a previous post, if your comfortable doing the work or you can have an on-site do it. You really can make out good on this.
Here are 2 very good videos that show how to do this yourself.

The parts you need are NEW indicator panel, palm rest, keyboard, screen lid/cover, ac adapter & battery, speakers, all 3 fans, Upper magnesium case/chassis. With all these parts that they will send you , you will basically have a new machine. If you have gpu problems you can get them to send you both cards and crossfire cable & motherboard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j20wn96uac0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyFAdmozp04

 

Update on terrible system: touchpad light has burnt out... way to go dell making sure this is a quality product!

 

I had a dual gpu 1730 and they gave me a dual gpu M17x. They also gave me a better cpu. just keep at them, they always try to cheap out in the beginning.

EDIT and they gave me new TWICE as replacements....

 

The touchpad is a simple fix....it's called the palm rest assembly. They can overnight that part to you.

So what's going on with your exchange?....or are you just going to order the parts you need?