R3 build quality issues

Hey folks, just got my Core i7 (Sandy Bridge) R3 a few days ago. So far so good (outside of having my mouse freeze up the POST screen when plugged into one of the non-powered USB ports... whoops).

However, couple build quality issues:

- Narrow open gap at top of screen between screen and casing.

- Warped keyboard (not major, but noticeable and annoying).

- Significant screen light bleed from bottom left of LCD panel.

I've seen both of these issues listed elsewhere in the forums and they seem to be warranty-able. Does anyone else with an R3 have these same problems and plan to get them fixed?

I've read a lot of stories of R2 and R1 owners getting multiple replacement screens with the same gap at the top, so I'm trying to decide if I should wait a few months for Dell to sort out the build quality or just take a stab at it now.

I do love this little thing though. Not quite as powerful as my current laptop (Asus G51J-A1), but i'm happy that i'm able to run Crysis smoothly at Medium settings when hooked up to a 23" 1920x1080p Samsung LED monitor. I'm sure it'll run higher graphics settings when on the M11x's own screen.

 

I just have a slight hump in the bottom left at the palm rest. They are sending me a replacement because it's making the keyboard touch the screen.

I figured if I spent over $1k it should be near flawless.

 

As you stated, both R1 & R2 have this problem, and it continues with the R3. Same with the keyboard. Nothing will happen if you wait, because it's obvious by now that Dell isn't fixing these build quality issues.

 

Since it is Dell we are talking about here, demand a replacement. You should not be dealing with Q&A issues with a brand new laptop.

 

Yeah I'm a little frustrated to say the least especially after reading threads well over a year old that detail the same problem. I'm planning on calling Dell customer service since I've had it less than 2 weeks.

Has anyone had a replacement screen that didn't have a gap at the top? Or even an original screen without the gap? Seeing how many people have posted about it, it makes me feel like there isn't a lot of hope of getting a flawless M11x.

 

my first R1 had no gap at the top of the screen (but it had a dead pixel)

my 2nd R1 does have a gap, but the screen is much better quality this time and im fine with the pros and cons

 

I have no gaps, and the screen looks fine. The keyboard was a few millimeters raised, but I just pushed it down firmly and it clicked and now it's completely flat.

I did it myself and didn't bother calling Dell because it seems to be luck what you will get. The replacement may or may not have the same issue. It's not like they will make sure it doesn't before they ship it out.

Try to push the keyboard down gently. If it doesn't work, you could try to call them, or open it and fix it yourself. As far as the screen goes, well, it's also luck unfortunately.

 

Made up my mind to get on the replacement roulette wheel here. Have tried calling Dell all day but their customer care department's systems are down.

Btw, my R3's case right now is black. I'm wondering if people had better luck with the red cases and if they fit any better. I honestly could deal with the other issues as long as the gap at the top of the LCD was gone.

 

Anyone in here have a Cosmic Red R3? If so, how's the build quality?

 

Red one is great. I have it and have no complaints. The quality is just like the other M11x's.

 

My black doesn't have any of the problems listed.

 

No warps or light leaks on mine. I don't see an obvious gap anywhere, but the screen doesn't seem to designed to be perfectly sealed as other laptops I've owned; how big is the gap at the top?

 

The color dye they use has no effect on build quality lol.

 

I have the Red one too, no complaints here It's 99% prefect, there is this one flaw that bugs me its the W key on the keyboard its kinda tilting to the left and its kinda bugging me, but other than that its perfect. no biggies

 

Tilting? You mean the key is not level with the rest of the keyboard or that it is not centered?

If it isn't level, you probably have the common keyboard wave which is an easy fix.

 

But the Red ones are faster

 

See the pics below. If it was just an empty gap I'd be okay with it, but you can see the plastic framing inside the bezel to hold the screen. Just looks cheap for how much I spent on this.

 

Close the lid and push in on the edge (apply pressure along the length of the lid edge). This will eliminate that gap. Its been an issue since 11xR1. My R1 had the same and I applied a bit of pressure (LID CLOSED) and its fine. Not the best solution but it should work.

 

Tried that and didn't seem to have any effect. You mean just close the lid then press firmly on the top of the lid where the gap is, right?

Called Dell back today, first call got disconnected after they forwarded me to a dead end. 2nd call went through but the department that would handle the exchange was closed (after having their computers down all day yesterday). I'm starting to get frustrated between the build quality and the 5 calls i've made over two days to try to get this problem resolved. Never had problems like this with my Asus gaming notebook at all. It's a shame they don't make a dedicated gaming computer in an 11.6" form factor.

 

Yeah. He meant to push down on the rim above the gap to snap it in to place.

 

Yea the key is not level with the rest of the keyboard whats the simple fix?

 

Ok, I've had this laptop for less than a week and already have problems. 1st problem was my front right grill light had a messed up led when i first booted the laptop. 2nd problem is my keyboard was a bit wavy and it's touching the screen. 3rd problem is the lcd screen has a bit more gap on the right side than the left side between the screen and the keyboard. Lastly my nephew was playing with his soft light ball and accidentally hit the back of the screen and all of a sudden my screen doesn't work at all. It softly rolled and hit it. I forced press the power button to completely turn it off and wait 10 sec then booted it up and still doesn't work. I say the build of my laptop lcd screen was cheap one and i can't believe i have waited over 2 weeks for this laptop to delivered and now it doesn't work at all. I mean i like how sturdy the build is on the outside but dell needs to thoroughly check the system inside and out and the details of the laptop before they ship it.

 

Don't wait before calling this in. You have 21 days from date of invoice. Call support and have it sorted out - request a new one, have a warranty call, whatever... just call. Dont delay.

 

Oh yeah will do, but its late now and will call them first thing in the morning. This really sucks that i didn't back up my stuff before this ever happened, and now i'm gonna have to do everything from scratch and download my games and programs all over. sigh ...

 

Just plug it in to a monitor and copy all you stuff to an external HD... after all its only the laptop monitor thats not working... right?

 

Yeah i just found that out it was just the back-lit of my lcd screen is not working, but it works through hdmi. Also i tried calling and they are closed on Sundays for the alienware tech support. I didn't know that. This sucks!!!

 

I had a gap like that on both of the R2s I had. I went through three screens on my first one before I got a replacement machine, which also had that gap. It seems like a pretty common issue and it's too bad Dell hasn't fixed it.

 

My r1 (bought it March of last year) has not had a single problem. No hinge issues, no screen bleed, no keyboard problems. In fact, I'm using it as my main system since the M15X is still packed away in storage while I was activated for a year and a half. (Still too lazy to go into the 'storage cave' and dig it out. )

The M11X has been the second best computer purchase I've ever made; The first has been the m5500 back in 2005.

 

Omg they want me to send my laptop in for repairs. wth am i gonna do for 2 weeks of wait while they fix it. Talk about WORTH the WAIT my A**... but all im saying is that i aint paying even a penny extra if something is wrong because this laptop didnt even last a month or so.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/579062-m11x-r3-keyboard-fix.html

your welcome

 

Demand a new replacement or on site repair if they say no demand a refund asap!

 

yeah oh and the other thing is there is alot of different number to call them and you know whats funny that when i was looking up my service tag on dell website it said that my service tag is an out of the U.S region... Weird... The ppl i have talked to don't really sound like they are in the U.S.. they sound more like indian person or whatever...

 

im on the phone with them right now.

 

Wow they wanna make pay for a new lcd screen of $285.00. i know i didnt get an extended waranty but still messed up. this is a total rip off of what i paid for.

 

May i ask what type of warranty did you get when you purchased your system...

 

Not sure if it helps, but I saw there was debris under my R2 screen as soon as I opened the box up and a replacement system was sent with very little fuss. I just had the cheapest basic 1 year warranty. If you are within your 21 days of purchase, seriously just ask for a supervisor or something. They won't refuse you a replacement, especially if you threaten to just return it, like benchmade42 mentioned.

 

yes i received this system last week monday on the 9th. Is that within the 21 days of purchase or is it on the day that i first ordered it which it was the day that the new m11x r3 was released. i have spoken to an alienware rep they said that they can't do such demand on a new replacement. It's like they are asking more from me to satisfy them, when really they should be satisfying the customers by not giving us option to pay more to fix something that was absolutely new and only lasted for less than a week. Its funny that they said to me that the screen is not soft ball proof and i said to them well if its not soft ball proof why didn't you guys post that on your website before ppl order this type of product. I told them out of all other laptops i have own this m11x r3 is by far the worst product with weak lcd screen. i have had an old Toshiba its about 4 years old and its been been hit with a balll alot of times when my nephews was playing around with thier bouncy ball in the house. and so far no black screen no cracks and no nothing. And now that i got this m11x r3 there is seriously something wrong with the build of my lcd screen that even if a child was to tap it once it will malfunction. I was a bit embarrass about this laptop now because i thought i wouldn't have problems with it til this lil incident.

 

Are you telling us that Dell is asking you to pay $285 to replace the screen? WTH is going on? You bought a brand new r3 with issues and you have 1yr on site warranty that they are suppose to cover it or give you a new replacement.

Where are you from btw? Are you from U.S.A or another country?

 

if a kids softball hit the screen and killed the backlight and he actually told dell that, then they are obviously not going to replace under warranty. his warranty would be just as invalid if he dropped it. it didnt come that way and was damaged by a third party. dell wont fix it.

the entire situation sucks really. the only thing i can think of is there is something sticking out on the inside of the cover that hit the back lite when it flexed. this would be a design flaw imho.

 

Oh! KiLlaStrémé07, that really sucks; I guess I missed your other post. Yeah I would *not* have mentioned what happened, would have just said it wasn't working for some unknown reason. I think that since you just got it, you should have been able to get a replacement.

Are there any other problems that you could report? Keyboard wonky, system crashes, etc? If you call and report some other non-screen related issue you may still be able to get a replacement.

 

Yea i know i should have never mention that. but yea i did have another problem the keyboard touching screen and the right side on my grill lights has different colors and not a solid color. this is so wrong that this highly expensive laptop lcd screen broke from a lil hit and that i can't get a replacement or anything within my 21 day invoice.

Im in the U.S. in anchorage alaska.

 

Did you make your purchase with a credit card? If so, there's a chance that you may have accidental insurance coverage, I believe some credit cards offer this.

 

No i used a visa debit card..

 

i even send them photos of how the back panel looks like and still they are charging me $285 for a new lcd. they are giving me another option to pay $236 to up my warranty for only 1 year and im thinking thats a better option instead of a 1 time repair of $285. But still, this is a new laptop and only lasted for less than a week and wondering why was the lcd screen downgrade from the previous version of m11x... now from what i have read that the old lcd screen had a much better resolution than the new one. but correct me if im wrong about this, its what i have read on on different forums.

 

The warrant is a better option for sure; at least if something else happens you'll be covered. I had the R2 and the screen is a better on my R3, it's just brighter overall. But from what I've read they are using the exact same panels, and those just vary in general; it's kind of like a screen lottery.

 

Yeah, i think so too that the upgrade warranty is a better option. I should have done that from the begging. I guess i wasn't thinking, but these system have known issues from old models to new models. I know things aren't built perfectly in this world. But they need to learn from their mistakes and correct these issues in the future. Also they should try using gloves to build these systems. I know these are hand-made but just seeing someones finger prints on the heat-sink is bothersome to see. I mean I could think of alot of things to do with it like, frame them, and all sorts of stuff.. lmao.. But I'm not that type of person who do such a thing...

 

Hello all,
I have read the m11x woes in this thread and several others from other boards. It's really disappointing to see what could be a uniquely awesome product from a flagship PC builder turn into a headache due to several pretty glaring flaws with pretty high occurrence rates.

I ordered and received my m11x R3 recently and it has been a pretty bad experience almost from the get go. I'd like to share my issues and get some comments from you as there seem to be some seasoned m11x veterans here.

I ordered a pretty heavily upgraded m11x R3 with a total tag of around $2000. At first when I received the system, I believed all was well. I was delighted with the build quality from everything that I could see. Knowing there were possible issues, I thoroughly looked over the system. Eventually (within a couple days) I noticed that there was some pretty serious keyboard unevenness especially on the left side of the keyboard. The left shift key appeared to be sinking down into the keyboard at an angle, while the left control key was protruding up, clearly above the little rubber pad that is designed to touch the screen and keep it off the keyboard. There was an awfully annoying ridge between those keys.

Not satisfied with this, especially on a $2K system, I called Dell and had them send a tech with a new keyboard. The tech arrived with the new part and installed it. The tech was a nice guy and was clearly quick at replacing the part, and this is a minor complaint, but he did nick the bottom of my case with his screwdriver down to the metal and left a visible chip on the bottom plate. Once the keyboard was installed, I thoroughly inspected it. It didn't take much to notice that the Y key was horribly crooked, angled up out of the keyboard and also twisted. The comma key was also slightly angled. I had the tech put in an order for a second replacement keyboard.

The second keyboard arrived and looked fine. The tech installed it and left. Inspecting it later, the "wave" was clearly present, that is, the left side of the keyboard elevated visibly more than the right side.

Now, let me say here that overall I really like this system. It is very fast and capable and it seems like there is nothing available in this size class that has the same speed, features, options, and style. That is why it pains me so much to consider getting rid of this thing.

With the keyboard wave, I would be willing to overlook this. That is, until I realized what many of you appear to have experienced, and that is that even on the right side of the keyboard where the keyboard is not raised, the keys contact the screen. It starts with the obvious grid of grease marks where the keys are hitting the screen. I use a soft cleaning cloth and spray designed to clean LCDs, and even now, two or three weeks after receiving the system, I can see small permanent scratches on the screen that the keys have caused. This is not acceptable. How bad is this going to get? It seems like this will get really bad really fast if it's appearing already.

Thinking back to watching the tech install the original replacement keyboard and seeing some of the fix guides, comments, and screenshots online, I think that this may be an non-fixable design flaw that Alienware has not resolved even as of the release of the R3. While I don't design PCs, I happen to be a professional design engineer with some years of electronics experience and some time dealing with mechanical designs. In my eyes, there are two major issues--first, there is a cable (the LCD cable, I think) under the left side of the keyboard which is clearly thicker than the height of the channel it rests in, meaning that anything laid on top of it will necessarily be uneven (i.e. the keyboard). This causes the "wave" and the left side of the keyboard to be raised well above the surface of the case.

Secondly, even if completely flat (which is the exception rather than the rule as far as I can tell from reading the forums) the keyboard looks like it is designed to be almost even with the frame of the laptop. If you look at other premium or well-designed computers, such as the 13" Macbook Pro or the HP Envy 14, the keyboard base is deeply recessed in relation to the screen so that there is no chance of of the keyboard making contact with the screen. This is not so with the m11x in my opinion. There appears to be almost no safety margin between the top of the keyboard and the screen. In order to prevent this contact, the screen needs to be set down into the body of the laptop by a distance that allows for some error in manufacturing tolerances of the keyboard and frame.

My guess is that this problem was caused by one of three things--either 1) lack of mechanical computer simulation that would have revealed the contact before production, 2) lack of communication between sections of the design teams in terms of component dimensions or 3) manufacturing tolerances that exceeded the margin given in the design (i.e. the keyboards were allowed to be built higher than the side of the frame), or a combination of the three.

At the end of the day, it seems that most of us with any revision of this system have a laptop that will eventually scratch its screen into oblivion through nothing more than normal use. What to do? Rely on Dell for a fix that probably isn't even possible? Try to get a replacement system that will probably exhibit the exact same issues? Get a screen protector to protect the system from itself? Or demand a refund and wash our hands of the headaches?

 

Get your money back if you still can basafran. I returned mine back for a full refund

 

If it bothers you that much go to home depot buy a set of those stick on fuzzy chair leg protectors or get a full refund.

 

I've faced the same issue (keyboard touching screen) so I had a tech come to fix it. He came to the same conclusions as you did, Basafran. The LCD cable does seem to be too thick so it makes the keyboard jut out. Also, he pointed out that the heat sink is not rested firmly and that this problem could have been avoided if Dell had one more screw there. Furthermore, he tried to fix the hinge issue (they seem lopsided just a bit), but he was unsuccessful. They are still a little out of line.

I'm really disappointed with this build problem. This machine has so far been great for gaming. I guess the only way to protect the screen from keyboard scratches is to use that white mesh the laptop came with all the time.