Dell Outlet M11x R2 Wish me luck!

After wanting a m11x since launch, and doing lots of research (including a lot on here) I finally bit the bullet and bought one. I Had been seriously looking since the black friday / cyber monday deals.

Took a chance with dell outlet on a "Scratch and Dent" R2. I am thinking the deal was too good to pass up. Worse case scenario, I can return it.

i7 Processor
4GB memory
Bluetooth
and surprisingly 256gb SSD!!!!!

This is where things get interesting. They had on with i7 and 4gb and 320gb for 949, and then they had one with i7 and 8gb and SSD and bluetooth for 1359. For some reason, this one with i7 and 4gb and bluetooth and SSD was only 1099. Add in a 15% coupon and it was $934 + tax! Amazing deal as long as it doesn't come in beat up. The SSD by itself is worth 500+ I think!

It will be interesting to see what the plaque says, and I am hoping since this has the newer black rubber finish it will look just fine. A few months ago I bought a scratch and dent XPS desktop and all it had wrong with it was a half inch scratch in the lower right-hand corner on one of the sides.

After seeing the review that was posted on a "refurb" one, hopefully Dell hasn't touched this one cause it's a scratch and dent.

I guess I will find out next week. Estimated Delivery is the 10th. Wish me luck!

 

Ouch... Just throw in 200 bux more, you could have gotten a brand new one like me with the same specs! -Excluding SSD-

I have had a refurb g51 before, to be honest refurbs are not bad at all, it is just that they are heavily dented/scratched & not in great or pleasing condition, they seem to work fine but often are missing various screws, hinges, the board it self is not configured right, problems with the keyboard being properly installed, sound/usb ports not working etc. But overall they do work well (never had any issues on my refurb g51 that i sold except for dead pixels often appearing on the refurb laptop screen) as they are heavily tested before being resold.

Bluetooth is only 20.00. Something i should have gotten lol.

The SSD is kind of over-rated & over-priced, lacks space, i myself went for the 500GB SATAII.

The SSD of 500GB costs 500.00 to upgrade but the one you (256GB) have is probably cheaper in price. But keep in mind, Dell/Alienware have a bad habit on overcharging on things like memory, so the actual price of SSD if bought from other retailers would be far cheaper.

Good luck with your purchase! =)

 

Retail price from Dell Home was over $1700 for this configuration. That is 45% more than what this one was, overpriced parts or not.

 

Yeah, I would have to disagree with what Ex3beatnik said about refurbs. Asus is not Dell, and I've never heard of anyone getting a Dell refurb in poor condition. Even people who bought the "scratch and dent" stock have usually commented on what good condition they were in. Remember, "scratch and dent" designation at Dell is ONLY cosmetic, so if your unit isn't 100% functional you can still have it serviced under the warranty.

I got a "certified refurbished" m11x R2 and have been more than satisfied with it. I noticed a few minor issues the first day, so I called Dell and they had a tech at my house with replacement parts 1 day later. One problem still wasn't fixed (high pitch processor whine @ idle) so I called again, and again they had a tech at my house within 24 hours to replace the motherboard, which fixed the problem.

With service like that, I honestly don't understand why anyone would pay more for a new unit.

 

Having a refurb is a bottleneck especially when it is your primary computer and you tend to use it for almost everything. In that case, a new unit is very important for me. Most people avoid purchasing units brand new at full price due to one of the following reasons: a) They can't afford it b) It is out of their budget. It is also a hassle to get things fixed repeatedly even if it is free. I have never experienced dell technical support under warranty so i would not be able to tell anyone whether it is good or not, however the way it worked with ASUS is you would have to ship the laptop back, i guess the good advantage with the dell warranty is that they actually send their techs down to your house for repairs. Aside from that, refurbs are refurbs, without a shout of a doubt, they are former machines that belonged to other people and were initially diagnosed with unknown problems (ranging from various faulty devices, dead pixels to improperly damaged ports) that dell does not reveal to the new buyer. In other words, the past history of a refurbished laptop is something you will never find out. Buying refurbished products is like gambling mixed with luck, you will either become that lucky person to get a hold of a good working laptop or you would be that unlucky person who receives a laptop filled with numerous hardware and software faults. Frankly, a new piece of equipment by far has a much less chance to get acquainted with technical problems that a typical refurbished machine would confront.

I would choose a new machine over a refurb anyday. But that's just me.

 

If you were buying a refurb of another computer I would be wary. However the m11x hasn't even been out a full year yet, and r2s have only been out for around 6 months.

Also it's not like Dell is known for having 100% of their new computers working out of the box. There are reports of hinge problems, dead batteries, etc. on brand new m11x machines right out of the box.

Not all refurbs are broken machines, could be returned from a customer who didn't like the machine for some reason. Realistically the only thing you lose out on a refurb m11x is the extra flair that Alienware bundles in. You get the same on-site warranty service as someone ordering new and save a nice chunk of change.