Should I be furious? Ordered M17X 10 days ago and now Alienware unveils M18X?

I know things move pretty fast with computers, but Alienware knew they had the M18X coming soon. I ordered the M17X because I wanted the most laptop out there, which it was.

Is there anything I can really do at this point? Laptop is already in production.

My M17X specs:

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lol, dude, its always going to be like that with technology, since every 6 months new stuff comes out that outdates the older. i did that with the r3, i bought an r2 from a fellow NBR'er and 2 days later the r3 came out. theres not much you can do. call up dell and see what they say about cancelling the order.

 

I understand, it just is a few days vs. 6 months. If it was 6 months down the line, I wouldn't care. Still waiting for it to arrive while they announce a new product is a bit different.

Maybe someone will be interested in buying mine for a discount, we will see.

 

We all knew that the m18x was coming 10 days ago. Hell, the speculation thread has been up for over a month lol.

Your fault for not researching it.

 

If you're going to be furious, be so with yourself. If you wanted to be so 'up to date', you should have checked forums like these to see if new, more powerful systems are just around the corner. We've known for quite a while now that the M18x would be released and it's been rumoured for months.

As for the M17x being 'the most laptop out there' (presume you mean the most powerful), no it isn't. There are numerous (non-Alienware, pre-M18x) laptops out there that beat it, with Crossfire 6970s or SLi 485Ms.

If you're set on getting an M18x, then you can return the M17x back to Dell when you get it for a refund (there's a 21 day returns period after you recieve it). They would normally charge a 15% restocking fee but if you re-order a new M18x at the same time they probably won't charge that fee.

 

You can always just return it within the 21 day period and order the m18x when it's for sale.

 

lol thread kinda backfired, but yeah, you seriously should have done some research before dropping 2G's on the M17x. There was news everywhere about the M18x coming out.

However, the M18x is not a replacement for the M17xR3. M18x is going to be significantly heavier and is a true "desktop replacement". The M17xR3 that you purchased is a performance laptop with much more portability. If your needs suited the M17x, there's no reason you should regret your purchase, unless the features of the M18x is what you were originally looking for when purchasing the M17xR3.

And this.

You're not stuck with you purchase until 21 days after it's delivered.

 

If you really want the M18X, just return the R3 when you get it and use that money you bought the R3 with and put it towards the M18X.

 

If you needed more than the M17x, you wouldn't have purchased it. So I'd say you got what you were looking for, even if a bigger, more expensive beast is out there.

Don't sweat it, man. You got a good machine headed your way, enjoy it, be satisfied, live life happy.

Flip Side: If you are not going to be satisfied with the M17x now, cancel your order. No waffling, no delay. If you know you're not going to be satisfied, then sticking with it is just a waste of your dollars.

Listen to your heart. Heheh.

 

Furious about having buyer remorse ? We all had that once in our life time at least.

Accusing alienware to release a new product as the cause of your buyer remorse ? Seriously ?

 

Well, unfortunately, technology doesn't wait for anybody to catch up

 

I just got my 17x R3 today and I couldn't be happier. So far runs Rift and DA2 with everything turned on very high and it smokes my old laptop. So far AW has redeemed themselves. I just didnt wanna have the headaches of another xfire/sli laptop. 18x would have been nice but I'm not sweating it one bit

 

You have the exact same specs as my one, it's an awesome machine, for me, even though I knew m18x was just round the corner, the fact that it came out 2 days before I get my m17x doesn't really bother me, considering it's got a couple of pro's and con's compared to the m17x as well, weight and battery life being the main difference. Sure the screen and dual gfx are bigger and better in an 18x, but right now there's barely anything the 6970m can't run in full settings on it's own.
Right now you won't notice the difference in majority of games, and by the time you DO notice the difference, a bigger and better laptop gonna be out, which will be beyond the m18x anyway.

All in all, be happy with your m17x, it's awesome. Mine arrives tomorrow and i'm so excited I check the clock every half a second to watch time pass by.

 

Sorry, I made a mistake, my order date was actually April 2nd and it didn't go into production until around the 10th. Was the speculation thread up when I ordered?

 

I like your advice, thank you.

 

Thank you, I will likely do this. Did not realize I had that course of action and I am glad there are helpful members here such as yourself!

 

Over 3g's but yes, I did research and did not know an M18X was coming when I did research at the end of March. Most threads here in the M18X forum show an April 12th start date, well after I ordered.

I agree with you, for some it won't matter. I'm looking for raw power though as I use it as more of a desktop replacement.

This is music to my ears Thank you.

 

I looked at your spec sheet, holy cow that's a nice build. Unless your really set on the m18x, you have ordered an extremely well built and selected machine and if I wasn't waiting for the 18, I would be loving that machine. It should kick some serious butt.

Comes down to what ya need. The 18 is gonna be a beast, but I am looking at 3 to 4k easy to get it decent. Plus while I appreciate cfx the single gpu of the m17 r3 is easier to deal with imo. The r3 is no slouch of a machine and it seems you didn't skimp on the extras. So you can send it back in your return window or be happy with a kick gaming machine.

 

I too think you should just return your order when it arrives. Get your cash back and re-order the M18x if thats what you want.

The only other thing I would suggest after looking at your R3 order....Man, SAVE YOURSELF SOME MONEY!!!!! - you dont need to buy 16gb ram from Dell or a SSD from Dell either.....these can be added later after you get your system and you will save a small fortune.

I would have a look about if I were you to check ram prices and SSD prices.....you can get 8gb HyperX 1600mhz (2x4gb sticks) for $99 from newegg.....so, $200 for replacing ALL your ram with HyperX stuff (I dont think the Dell stock ram is 1600mhz even though the R3 will use 1600mhz due to SandyBridge architecture. You could then sell the 4gb stock ram and save even more money! - I think the ram upgrade via Dell from stock costs another $360usd if im correct so you could save $160 right off the bat on ram alone. Sell your stock 4gigs and just add that to $160 to save even more....

SSD prices - well, just have a look.....$600usd for the SSD via Dell....again, can be bought cheaper and better probably - dont know the SSD prices in the states (im in the UK) but I imagine you could get a top end SSD for that amount and come out with a fair bit of $$$$$ change.....

Also, I wouldnt skimp on warranty either.....noticed you have 1 year....personally, I would go for more as its a big outlay and Dell warranty is very good in terms of "if anything breaks" - afterall, if your gpu dies after 12mths, would you wanna pay out for a new one or have Dell just stick another brand new one in for you? - Warranty is a no-brainer, get as much as you can afford. ALWAYS.

My two pennies..... - I know not everyone wants to do this kind of thing "after" buying - some just want it all ready to go out the box, so if thats you, fair enough.....just thought I would point out you COULD save a fair bit of cash by shopping for these things afterwards....

 

Not sure why so much of the hate, but I'd just call them and explain your situation and see what they say. Someone else said they were able to avoid the 15% restocking fee if they bought the M18x. Maybe you could request that as well.

I could understand with technology, you don't want people buying stuff and returning things for fun, but not everyone can follow every single forum or topic and I suppose I'm more on the side of the buyer and think Alienware should just cancel his order (it's not even shipped yet) or waive the 15% if he just refuses the package. It's unopened so they can resell I'd guess.

Restocking fees suck.

 

I ordered my M17x r3 on March 29th. I had a very brief pang as to the M18x comong out so soon after, but it was short lived. I have had crossfire and sli configs before from other companies and was not happy with them. The M17x r3 suits my needs perfectly. And it was a good deal more affordable.

You can return your purchase without a restocking fee if you call and are firm but pleasant. At one point I was going to return mine to due to a price dispute and they offered to waive the restocking fee. Mine arrived just 13 days after I orderd it so I hope your downtime is not too bad. I was very lucky. I love my M17x r3 so far. It is an awesome machine.

 

Why don't you just call Dell now and cancel your order? If your heart is set on getting a M18x don't wait until you get it. I think if you were to cancel your order now before you receive it they shouldn't charge you a restocking fee.

 

I canceled my M17X order while it was still in production, and there was no restocking fee at all. It was in production for over a month.

I think waiting until the end of May is best. The M18X will drop by then, and you can weigh your options. Who knows? Maybe the M17X may look tempting again if they upgrade what's available (like having a Nvidia 485M with 3D bundle or a better Radeon card). Prices may change a lot, too... so if you can hold out until the end of next month... I'd say it might be worth it.

 

If you want the biggest, you should return the M17x, but NOT get the M18. The Asus NX90Jq is still bigger than the M18.

Just saying is all...

 

Thas not a gaming system LOL - thats a pig's ear of a laptop...it might be bigger but it aint a patch on ANY large format Alienware notebook. End of story. And apart from the fact it looks like someone has welded a monitor to it when its open, why the heck would anyone want two trackpads.....it looks hideous.....some kind of frankenstein hybrid crap going on there.....not my cup of tea....

 

LOL @ the OP

Welcome to the world of computers

 

The M18x has been rumored upon/hinted it for a few months now.

That being said, you do have 14 days to return your M17xR3, and if you choose to keep it it's a great system. You aren't at all shafted, you just had funny timing in relation to when they announced the new system. Speaking of which, it isn't even out yet - it's coming next month.

 

I totally agree it's kind of ugly mainly due to the speakers sticking out like that. Once you are getting to that size of laptop you are better off getting a desktop or a all in one like an iMac. I could not imagine myself lugging around that Asus NX90Jq and I am not a small guy.

 

Indeed.

I ordered my R1 a few months before the R2 refresh, still, no regrets, it happens.

 

A couple people pm'd me telling me this and I didn't realize just how big of a markup Dell charged. I had no idea and didn't think it would make a difference.

When I order my M18X, I'll just get the smallest amount of ram and buy the rest I guess from NewEgg or whatever you guys recommend.

Not sure if I will do the same with the SSD as seems like a hassle to reinstall the OS and such. Does the Alienware come with a windows install disk or do they keep a recovery partition with the OS on it like Dell did with my XPS?

Can I do the same thing with videocards and purchase notebook cards through NewEgg or do I have to go through Dell?

 

I agree and thank you.

I did not know about a 15% restocking fee.

 

Yep, just awkward timing.

 

Well, it depends, i find it better to buy them from Dell with the system as if in case something happens you're covered by the warranty.
Sure you can probably have separate warranty on them from the reseller but i don't think the price will be better, as for the other case (low price) i bet it won't beat Dell's warranty and IMO would be a headake.
And there's the other case if the card you want to put in Dell doesn't sell it/support it for the system you want to install it, then in that case, again, you're on your own.

Also, most important, if Dell would give up repairing your system and decide to replace it you'll have to return it (complete) and i don't think you would want to give it away with the GPU you bought, or if you kept it(original GPU) as you have to get one no matter what,there's no saving there!

 

Guys, I'm trying to make this change and I have been on the phone now with Dell for 47 minutes.

They are trying to extort the 15% restocking fee from me. They also keep telling me I have no options... ?

 

I'm tempted to buy a ticket to India right now.

 

Ok, I don't understand this but I just fought with dell for almost an hour and finally a rep told me there would be no restocking fee?

I asked him to e-mail this but he said he wouldn't. So, I guess I'm taking him at his word and I'm hoping he told me the truth.

 

Agree totally 100% - get the gpu's from Dell - its a no brainer. The things you DONT want to buy from Dell (just cos they charge sooo much) are ram and SSD's...maybe a few other things if your comfortable upgrading yourself like blu ray drives can be had cheaper etc etc...

I guess its up to you at the end of the day....if you dont want the hassle of doing it yourself, there is nothing wrong with getting them from Dell...its just the price can be prohibitive and excessive compared to the price of getting the same (and sometimes better) parts elsewhere after your system has landed.

 

Stick to your guns and ask for emailed confirmation...thats what I would be doing right now if I were you.

 

Did you ask to talk with a superior/manager? You won't be able to blame him after they charge you in the end (as he won't be the one to do it).

 

I did, I talked with a manager who said he would not escalate me any further after I asked when he started being rude to me after I wouldn't accept paying the 15% fee for a laptop I had not received.

He said the laptop shipped, which I don't understand since I received no shipping confirmation. Additionally, I received a phone call from Dell saying my order would be delayed just a little while ago and e-mails saying the ship date would be the 28th at the earliest.

I mean, do people order $3400 laptops from them every second or something that they just don't care? I'm trying to order what is likely going to be an even more expensive laptop.

 

I e-mailed them as well after the phone call, I really don't think Dell would lie to me as that would be despicable.

 

I could see being mad if the m17x. R4 was being released, but the m18x is an entirely different beast that offers different specs/configurations the m17x doesn't even dwelve into. AND they're not even the same price. The m18x is quite a bit more.

 

Unfortunatley, yes.

You need to be firm but polite and INSIST on confirmation that you will not get charged a restocking fee. If the person you speak with wont agree to it, ask to speak to someone who WILL do this for you....

Keep going until you get to someone who can.

Thats the best advice I can give you on this....and remember, the people you talk to do this day in and day out so they really dont give two s**ts about you and your concerns but if you are persistent, you will get to someone who will do this for you.

 

What????? - are you even on the same page as us? - the guy just shells out alot of money for a brand new system only for a newer system to be released within days after his purchase....I would want the ability to change my mind too....maybe you wouldnt......

 

No, but that's ok.

 

I intent to be persistent especially considering my research here has shown I'm not the only one who has cancelled an M17X order for an M18X.

I e-mailed dell support also with a link to this thread to let them know. We'll see if they honor what their rep told me, I expect them to.

I also put the rep on speaker and told him I wanted a witness to hear what he said (hey, after fighting for an hour on the phone and being transferred all across the Asian continent it seemed like a wise precaution).

 

Responded @ title

 

That has to be the ugliest lappy ever.

As a matter of fact-YES.

 

Well it's unfortunate that they feel they can treat you like a commodity

Oh well, we will see what happens.

Probably best for me not to even accept delivery, right?

 

Maybe you can call US support and find one here who can help...Also, I wonder if calling Sales would help since the salesreps are paid commissions so if you will buy the M18x, he has more incentive to help...

That said, good lesson to learn. I'm been reading here for 4 months now and with how things go, will probably end up going with an Ivy bridge when all is said and done (me wanting lower prices)!

Wish there were better discounts for non-military.