The good and the bad

Got my M17X in today.
The bad:

It was a refurb so I didn't expect it to act perfectly but holy cow...this thing is one headache after another. Long story short I've fresh installed Windows 7 three times in the past two days, and cleared out / reinstalled every driver the thing had about 6-7 times apiece.

Found some totally bum drivers that didn't work at all, found some that worked like a charm.


I gotta tell you though, the difficulty to get to 260m gtx's to work in anything resembling stable fashion was a frikkin' headache, and now I've got latency spikes during gaming and video / music watching. Sigh.



The good:
-Called up dell and requested a replacement. They're currently building me a brand spankin' new one.

-Solid construction, I really like the metal chassis. Don't feel like I could go back to plastic.


Mixed emotions so far. We'll see how I feel once I get my new one and if this latency will go away. Little frustrating to be playing games on two great cards and have them be stuttery like I'm playing it on some oldschool lappy.

 

Oh, and just for the record, I tried the latency fix and not only did it not work, but it caused serious errors in mid-drive installations and created a memory dump. Then I had to do a full restore lol.

 

So you got a brand new one for the price of a refurb?

 

sounds like you got a deal if you are getting a new one then. kinda wish mine would mess up so i could get the 5870 in it. or at least try and talk them into it

 

I sure did. Well, once it gets here I did.

To be fair though, this particular alienware is jacked all kinds of messed up, and I spent over two hours with customer service both over the phone and in remote control of my computer and they couldn't fix it either.


But yes, I lucked the heck out, but I didn't argue for any upgrades or anything I said all I wanted was a comp that works.

 

So what are the specs of the replacement?

 

Same as current. 2.8 core 2 duo, 4gb ram, sli 260m gtx. etc etc.

Not an rgbled, or any of that, no solid state drive just a 7200rpm.

 

Sounds like you're getting a replacement refurb, because I'm pretty sure they don't make R1's as replacements anymore.

 

Yea, R1's have all sorts of problems. Check out the DPC Latency, Stuttering and Lockups thread.

 

I had a R1 w/280s and a R1 w/4870s. I never had any issues with either. As a matter of fact the only M17x I've had issues with is the R2 and that's why I don't currently have one in my possession.

 

How can you tell if its a refurbished version?

Wouldn't it look brand new?

 

It must be mention, on you order, if is refurbished it has to be writing!!!

 

It doesn't say anywhere that I'm getting a refurb machine. Matter of fact it states currently that the replacement unit is "in production."

 

when you get a refurb from dell, it's got a "refurb" sticker on the bottom somewhere...

 

Yeah the little green one. When the replacement system gets here (I'd hope sometime in the next week or so, already been in production 5 or 6 days thus far and they told me 15 days max) I'll look and see if there's refurb anywhere.

 

Edit to post: Sorry about that guys, couldn't find my original post.


Well, as of last we all spoke I had ordered a refurb M17X and gotten a solid deal on it. Only problem was it acted all borky when I got it. After spending 6 solid hours with customer service on the phone, they finally decided "Oh your computer is broken" (well no joke, I told them that to begin with) so they'd send me a new one to replace it. Great news right? "Fifteen days max" is what they told me, and I'd have a brand new one for the price of a refurb. Very happy with that. Right?

Wrong.

My initial purchase was 4/24. My complaint / customer service process was approximately 4/29 give or take a day.

My initial replacement order was queue'd "In Production" until 6/3. At which point in time it was cancelled. I recieved a call on 6/5 that said "There was a problem with your replacement system order so we had to redo the order."

Okay, you told me fifteen business days max and we're at probably 25 business days as of 6/3. Now I'm told on 6/5 that my system will be done "within seven business days max" and sent to me. I'm already furious at this point.

I log on yesterday to find that they've cancelled the other order that they prepared for me (the one that was started on 6/5) and they've started up yet ANOTHER order.

The first computer was exactly the same as mine. The second computer had a hard drive and ram upgrade. The third computer is the same as mine but with a blu-ray player.

WTH is the matter with these people? Why has it taken two months to not get me the computer that I paid for and was promised to me? I thought Alienware was supposed to be the tops.

Meanwhile I have a system that stutters and jumps, that's command center doesn't work (period, end of sentence, no matter which version I install), that's touch buttons go out randomly and need a full restart to work, and who's function button just SOMETIMES figures it's going to do it's job.

This is so much more of a headache than any computer I've ever had before.

 

Update: Got my replacement today. Boy, oh boy dell is incompetent.

The replacement is a refurb, not a new like promised.

The replacement only has ONE 260m gtx, versus my current which is SLI.

The replacement came with a battery that is 100% dead....as in won't hold a charge, needs to be thrown away.


Sigh.

 

they must be in such a rush to get these things out ^^^^^ that is happening shocking that is...

 

im actually really shocked that they gave u a refurb instead of a new one considering that they promised you a new one...

 

I am too, and I'm shocked that it took two months to get me a refurb that only had one graphics card and a battery that is 100% totally gone.

 

Maybe you should send one of those emails to [email protected]. I think that's the address. Supposedly they respond very quickly and give good results.

 

Who is that? I have not heard of sending an email to them but I would be happy to if it would get this problem resolved.

 

That is one of the email addresses received by the executive escalation team. If you send an email to any of the email addresses that could be considered as going to Michael Dell, the founder of the company (like [email protected] or [email protected] etc...), that team is who actually answers it. Just remember, you can't go much higher than the person that answers that email, so politeness matters. You can be firm in your needs, but be polite. If you upset them, you have no one else within Dell to go to.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if you get a new R2 from emailing that address with a very stern and thorough message. The R1 has known problems that they couldn't fix. That's one reason there is an R2.

 

thanks, I got in touch with a manager at dell and she is supposed to speak with her manager to fix it, but I may go ahead and send an email anyways. I'm really tired of spending hours on the phone dealing with this.

I may wait to see what the manager can come up with though...they may be able to handle the issue without further convoluting it by me contacting multiple people.

 

Using that email should be a last resort, when nothing else seems to be working, not an additional option. If it gets abused to the point that people are contacting it without using the normal processes, they will end up making it less effective.

 

Precisely my take on it. I'm going to give this lady the "24-48" hours she needs first and see what happens.

 

As an update, 24-48 hours has now turned into five days without resolution.

I got a call from her yesterday and she said "I'm glad to let you know we have approved return of your system, so you can send it back to me and we'll refund your money, and you can then buy another computer."

Wth? That is NOT what I asked for. I have absolutely no intention of doing that. I'm giving her until tonight to fix this or I'm emailing that address you guys gave me.

 

I had a tech come out on May 26th to replace the bottom cover (due to a cracked secondary video card vent grill when it shipped) & ended up damaging enough parts that they're going to have to send a "hero kit" (motherboard, CPU, RAM, video card, heatsinks plus another screen, keyboard & touchpad). After fighting with them for a replacement system & getting shot down for the last 2 weeks, I was told today that some of the alienware parts for my service are on backorder until at least the 18th.

Granted, that is only Friday, but with their current situation of new & refurb backordered parts over the past 4 months, you would probably be better off to return your system for the already approved refund & buy another one, versus waiting an unknown length of time for repairs.

 

I'm not interested in repair. I want the whole system replaced, as was promised to me two months ago. Thanks for the input though, it just solidifies my opinion that a repair isn't gonna cut it.

Edit: btw was truly thanking you, not being sarcastic

 

No worries.

Good luck.

 

Still have not heard back from the manager at Alienware, so I sent off my email to [email protected] a few minutes ago.

Hopefully this will be resolved. I would hate to have to swear off Alienware/Dell for something like this...I have had generally good results with them but this is just insane at this point.

 

Are you crazy? You just got the best possible resolution when they offered you a refund. Take your money run and reorder a "New" system. Most people arn't so lucky and get stuck with a lemon. The return process is extremely fast. Refurbs are hit and miss as many have seen trial by fire if you get my drift. Some pretty good discounts being offered on new systems right now. You probably got a good deal on your refurb but so much time has passed that prices have also fallen.

 

No, I want what was promised to me and I want to be treated as if I matter, not deal with excuses from language-barrier customer reps. Maybe it's just me but when I give someone money for an item, I expect to recieve the item as promised, whether it's from my next door neighbor or from Dell.

 

Your purchase with Dell is frusterated because the unit is beyond reasonable repair. Dell is well within its terms and conditions, well within normal business procedure, and well within legal remedy to return your money. Perhaps this is not what you want to hear but they are following standard business operating procedures. In the event of a frusterated contract either party has a responsibility to mitigate.

 

Your purchase with Dell is frusterated because the unit is beyond reasonable repair. Dell is well within its terms and conditions, well within normal business procedure, and well within legal remedy to return your money. Perhaps this is not what you want to hear but they are following standard business operating procedures. They have mitigated by returning your money and have no further responsibility.

 

sorry for posting twice my browser got stuck.

 

Sorry, but I don't agree. Maybe if you'd been strung along for over two months, spent tens of hours on the phone with people who don't care nor attempt to resolve your problem, and then been told finally "sorry, just bring it back" you'd understand. Perhaps you have unlimited resources at your disposal which would make returning a computer and purchasing a new one a great idea -- I, do not. We're going to have to agree to disagree.

I feel like when you shell out the cash for a "top end" system you should be treated accordingly. "Alienware premium customer service" has yielded no better results than Dell's standard service ever did.

 

Ask to talk to the district manager. If you present your case well to him than perhaps you will get the matter resolved to your liking. I think what they are thinking is that you could return this and buy a similar model, similar spec, for the same price. They probably think they are doing you a favour. If you tell them that you can only spend X dollars and can they help you find a similar system I am sure they will and than some. Don't critisize the language barrier as the vast majority of Dell employees speak english as a second language and that will get you no where. The squeeky wheel gets the oil. Talk to people who can make decisions and those are usually some sort of district manager or sales manager.

 

Trust me, I've never insulted or demeaned any of the Dell employees I've spoken to -- I'm just frustrated with constant, constant language barrier issues that crop up with their customer service. Some of the reps are like talking to answering machines.