alienware support/exchanges? m17xr3

I bought my m17x back in November of 2010, is has the dual gpu cards, 720 processor plus whatever else was current at the purchase date. In February my dvd drive stopped showing up on "My Computer" and on my devices. Since I use it for work I didn't call it in until May. They sent me a box to send it to the repair depot but FedEx doesnt do pickups in my area. I had to wait until I was on vacation and they sent a tech to look at it on the 1st of July. He replaced the DVD drive and it still did not work, it now had red lines going across the screen and was in VGA resolution. He had me send it to the depot to get fixed and I just got it back last week.

They told me they replaced the battery, motherboard and DVD drive. The DVD drive still doesnt work and when I try to turn it on it gets stuck on the alien head boot screen, pressing f12 or f2 doesnt load the boot or bios screen. I am fed up with this computer but they won't even entertain a exchange?? To top it all off the screen is all scuffed up, the rubber pad on the right of the mouse is pushed into the case and the screen was rubbing/scratching on the keys when I got it back.

I called dell support back after receiving the computer from the depot and they told me a technician would call me by 10am today but I have not heard anything. I am about to call dell again but I'm not sure what else they will do besides asking me to send my computer back to the depot, which means I wont have it for another 2-3 weeks.

I expected a quick resolution from a seemingly simple problem, I bought an alienware because I expected better service then a regular dell but I had better support when I had my xps1730. Sorry for the rant but I am severely disappointed.

 

The best advice I can give you is provide pictures/videos showing the damage. Then email this stuff to the nicest supervisor you can find.

 

+1

I had to do the same thing and I sent the emails to the rep. Once I did that I was processed another exchange.

 

Thanks, sounds like good advice. I haven't received any email response from the first dell tech I talked with and all other communications was by phone, I'll ask for a supervisor when I call if I don't get anywhere.

 

Just got the parts in from dell, they sent a WUXGA screen part number

0DHMC "ASSY.LCD.17WXGA.SMGR2.M17X10"

Is this better or worse then the RGB LED screen that it currently has? Going to send it to the tech today hope its fixed by friday.

 

The RGB screen has been discontinued. That will be a standard screen. No way around that unfortunately.

 

Got it back, I have to wiggle the plug in the back to get it to switch from battery to A/C when I plug it in, half the time it says its not supported, they sent me a new adapter but it didn't do squat. They want me to send the computer out to replace the motherboard for the third time but I keep ending up with a different issue every time it is up for repair so I think I might have to live with this one.

 

If they keep failing, you might be able to get a m18x as a replacement.

Though I hear that thing's a behemoth in terms of weight.

They did downgrade your moniter, and constantly had problems after sending it in for repairs. You should fight for a free upgrade.

 

Your screen got downgraded. Get them to replace it again or get an upgrade to another machine

 

They told me that since its almost a year old, Nov 2010 ship date, that I might qualify for a refurb system. They sent the request to dispatch for approval so I have my fingers crossed. Sucks too because I paid for the complete care warranty.

 

If they offer you a R3, demand the 580m or 6990 minimum. It's only fair for a dual card system.
If you get a m18x somehow, the minimum u should take is dual 6970's.

 

The tech is putting in for a r3 replacement, a 2gb single video and a 2720 processor and 2x 750gbs in raid 0. Said the video card will equal performance on a single screen, which is what I run.

 

They called me at 6am but I remember the dell rep saying 8gb ram 1.5tb etc. I looked up the service tag from the replacement R3 and it has;

44XM6 MODULE GRAPHICS ATI GRAPHICS CARD...
DFKR8 MODULE PROCESSOR I7-2630QM, 2.0, V
K005R MODULE 6GB, 1333MHZ, DDR3
KJ02T MODULE..., HARD DRIVE..., 320, 5.4, P11, 4KE, ML320
VX5CJ MODULE..., LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY..., 17.3FHD,

Vs my r2 config of;

K1NFP LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY 17WUXGA, RED/GREEN/BLUE
RV546 Card, Graphics, Hard Drive, 5870, Parker, Mobile Pci
C8245 Card, Graphics, Hard Drive, 5870, Parker, Mid-Life
F073F Dual In-Line Memory Module, 2GB1333MHZ, 256X64,
W5Y3D Hard Drive, 320, P11, 7.2K, 2.5, WD MX-250M
X830D Dual In-Line Memory Module, 4GB1333MHZ, 512X64,
W1JGG Processor, I7-740QM, 1.73, 6MB, Clarksfield, B1


I am concerned that the video cards performance/ system performance will be less then the original system, and that they are giving me a problem system since I only have 53 days of warranty left on this.

 

That will not do, explain to them you have seen several people on the forum receive the m18x for a replacement. Which there has been. If he refuses tell them you will email Cop: resolution Dept. and escalate the complaint. You really should get a duel GPU since thats what you had, and those spec's are min..

 

I had emailed the resolution dept, I didnt get a response back. I just sent them another email and here is part of it. I am really disappointed in their support. I bought an alienware because I expected better support from them vs my m1730 which was frying video cards and motherboards left and right. I bought this computer in Nov of 2010 and it stopped charging etc. in April or May of 2011. I've been without the computer for a month while it was at the depot, the two technicians couldnt fix it so I was stuck with it for another month not to mention I had to pay postage to send it to the third technician, who apparently never sent the spare parts back since I got a call from dell asking where the screen, motherboard and palmrest are.


***At the beginning of the exchange process, Steven called me at 6 in the morning saying he found a comparable system with equal or better specifications. He told me it had a 1.5TB hard drive, a 2720 i7 processor and 8gb of ram and I agreed to the exchange. He gave me no other information but that. He left me no way to contact him about the exchange so I had to look up the dispatch number on the Dell site and find the tracking number, then I had to go to the fedex site to find the purchase order number which I found to be the exchange laptop's service tag number.

The specs I found listed for the exchange computer are not equal to the old R2 system I was exchanging nor match the specs I was given over the phone.

I bought the M17X R2 specifically for its dual GPU capability and am disappointed that the replacement system has essentially downgraded my video cards, my original RGB/LED screen and traded the original aluminum case for the inferior R3 plastic case. I am left with only 56 days in my warranty and have no faith in the replacement system either performing as well as the original system or running problem free for the remainder of the warranty period. I paid $3000+ in addition to the more expensive warranty to avoid any hassles like this and I still have not received the replacement system which was shipped on the second of September.***

 

I think you worded it that perfectly and will get it resolved very soon. They will call you with in 24 hours of receiving the email., when sent to michealdell. Keep us posted.

 

I got an email from one of the reps asking for my phone number which was in the original email, sent it and am waiting for a call back.

Got the replacement system in today and its in good shape, the screen resolution is low at only 1920x1080, so small compared to this ones 1920x1200.

 

The 1200p RGB screen is no longer an option on the M17x. The R3's either get a 900p screen or a 1080p screen.

 

Hey I don't mean to thread jack but I would hate even more to make ANOTHER thread on this topic so I hope it's okay that I post my experience here:

Same replacement story as everyone else for the most part. Here's the specs on my R2:

i7 720
1200p RGB LED
4GB DDR3 1333
500GB 7200RPM
Crossfire 5870
Blu Ray combo drive


The rep when he agreed to a replacement assured me that it would be a like-for like system, going so far as to verify that I'd get dual graphics cards since that was a hot topic for me.

Of course, here's my email on what I'll receive in a few days. (Just found out today)

MOD, DVDRW/BD-ROM, HLDS, BARE, ANW
- MOD, DIMM, 8GB, 1333MHZ, DDR3, 4X2G
- MOD, Card, GRAPHICS, BLACKCOMB, ATI GRAPHICS CARD (6990)
- MOD, Card, NTWK, 6300, ANW
- MOD, PRC, SNB, I7-2820QM, 2.3, V
- MOD, BATTERY, PRIMARY, 93WHR, 9C, SIMPLO
- MOD, LCD, 17.3FHD, WLED, LVDS, AG, L


Here's my reply:

Thanks for sending me those specs, but my worst fears are true! One of the things I was worried about and the reason I was pushing so hard for the specs is because when we talked everything was going to be like-for-like but the R3 is way inferior! By the way I don't want to pain you with this if I don't have to so if this isn't really your department feel free to refer me and I can talk to whoever I need to. I'll explain what I mean though:

The M17x R2 has an aluminum case and really good build quality, the R3 is plastic and feels really cheap, it's definitely not as good as the R2 in this regard.

The R2 that I have was really crucial because of the RGB LED screen, especially that it's 1920x1200. The R3 is only 1080p WLED Of course I know that Alienware doesn't make any comparable screen now (not really interested in 3D) so it's sort of a bummer that anything but another R2 will be a big downgrade in this regard.

The R2 has dual graphics cards. This is the biggest thing, specifically crossfire ATI cards. This was an absolute must when I got my R2 and I paid a hefty sum for them. I use a BOINC app for bitcoin mining and it doesn't run very well on Nvidia GPUs, but it runs really well in crossfire. I appreciate that the 6990m is the fastest single GPU from AMD right now but the fact that there's only one and that I couldn't upgrade to a second with the R3 is a real problem.

The CPU I'm not too worried about because it's never been a problem as far as performance, and I don't see any information about hard drives in there, though to be honest I don't even care if it comes with one at all haha.

I've looked over the store and the config of the R3 is about a $2200 system, I paid like $3500 for mine! Of course I understand that'd be asking a lot for another $3500 system after a year but I was still disappointed mainly about the single GPU.

Anyways I have done a ton of research on this and I just don't think that the R3 is a comparable system. An M18x is the closest thing I could find because it has dual GPUs (crossfire, not SLI) and it isn't made out of plastic, although the screen is just a downgrade I'll have to live with. Which is a huge bummer because that's my favorite part of this R2!

Anyways let me know if I need to talk to anyone else about this or if you can help me, thanks a ton man!

I'll update with the reply. I really really like this rep though, he's super cool and we play League of Legends together, maybe that'll help

 

Grrr, I have received this email twice already! I included my number in the original email, and I sent a response with my number and work hours, got this email message again and sent the information for the second time. I am guessing an automated response....

Still no response yet and I have called that number twice and still have not recieved a call back, I didnt realize it was this much of a hassle to talk to a real person.

The exchange system's processing power exceeds the old system but the gpu does not, which is the main reason I bought the R2 which was to run multiple high resolution screens with a portable computer. I bench marked the card and it does not match the stock 5870's power even though I oc'd it to 800/1100. I am still playing with drivers but it looks like it won't match the power according to benchmarks I have come across online.


Dear ********,

This is with reference to the email that reached our corporate office. We appreciate you taking the time to bring this issue to our attention. Please provide a phone number and the best time to reach you.

I am looking forward to a response from you at the earliest.


Regards,
Suneel Prasad
Dell | Executive Customer Support Team
Phone +1 800 624 9897, Extn: 72-83898
My work schedule is 9:00 am - 6:00 pm CST Monday to Friday.

 

Alaskan, i know you're trying to get as much computer from them as you possibly can...

My analysis:
The i7 2630 is vastly superior to the i7 740
The 6990m is comparable to the cf 5870 without heat or power issues according to

AMD Radeon HD 6990M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

You lose on the screen
you lose on bitmining with the single card


Good luck with dealing with Support...for all the hassle that you have endured, i really hope that they give you the m18x

 

Talk to them about getting a M18X. You have 2 major selling points that cannot be overlooked.
1. You have a dual GPU system. They need to supply a replacement equal to that.
2. You bought the M17X R2 for it's aluminum casing. The R3 doesn't have that. Only the M18X has that.

Tell them you are willing to accept the M18X with a downgraded screen (1080P No RGB) with dual 6970's for your trouble. I would recommend keeping the basic CPU, RAM and hard drive options they offer. This will ensure that you get a comparable system without asking for too much.

If they don't offer you an M18X, do not accept anything. Tell them you want to escalate this issue and file a complaint with the BBB. Explain that the system they are trying to give you is not an equal replacement. Many users from this site have reported quick responses from Dell's resolution team once a BBB complaint has been received.

Be strong and don't give in. It normally takes a considerable amount of patience and effort, but you will get an M18X if you push the issue.

 

Talked with another rep today, she called me on the way to work and offered to switch the video card to a 580m which seems fair to me. She also mentioned she may be able to get me a different system with dual gpu's but it might not be an alienware model. I didn't realize dell made other laptops with dual gpu's. As for changing the video card, I'll probably just keep the system as is unless a different system is offered. I don't think the risk of another tech damaging the system is worth it with only 50 days of warranty left. Since its almost tax time and I'll probably just buy a different system.