AW reliability?

This is just my thought! I think AW is unreliable and has lots of problems cause it's built like a Dragster Race car. It gives you the puch but with cost. All these other intergrated video card laptops and celeron processors give you no trouble etc, battery life, issues besides windows. So i'm gonna stick with AW for life! Post what you guys think!

 

yea i agree lots of untamed power .

 

alienware probably owns all brands. Its a bit overpriced though.. its directed towards hardcore gamers. If u check out their laptops, its all over 1.5k for minimum config. I would buy thier desktops tho, some of them are at a reasonable price.

 

Um.... I really disagree with you on the unreliable aspect. I have had 0 problems with my AW. But yes they do have a lot of power. And one thing that makes them MORE reliable than notebooks with integrated hardware (imo at least) is that AWs are more futureproof in terms of being able to swap in different GPUs, cpus, etc. I will be using my AW a LOT longer than people will be using their run of the mill notebook... Just my $0.02.

 

....

I totally disagree.

My m15x has had 0 problems. What do you mean other laptops with integrated cards and celeron processors? I hope you do know Alienware is not the only company that sells laptops with Core 2 Duos and dedicated graphic cards??

What are you trying to say?

 

He's saying that all of the slower laptops out there are more reliable (which isn't necessarily true).

 

I'd say 90% of laptops offer Core 2 Duo CPUs and about 50% offer dedicated video card solutions. So is he trying to tell me that all of these are unreliable?

 

He's saying alienware's powerful but not reliable, other company's computers are reliable but not as powerful as alienware's.

 

I doubt that.

Most other boutique brands, mostly with Clevo notebooks, have the same performance... or better if we are talking about quad-core, SLI 8800M GTX (Clevo D901C)

 

I'm having difficulty grasping the point of this thread.

With bleeding edge hardware comes problems. This is true of all technology.

I would still rather have the better technology with some issues than have a more reliable DOS machine. (And I know many consider that an oxymoron.)

 

Dude, you are probably very UNinformed if you say Alienware owns all other brands.
I sugest you dig deeper on the matter, AW is nowhere near the best brand, neither in laptops or custom made desktops.
It just has an aggressive marketting campaign and a very well know reputation,overshadowed by the alien image.

When you pay 2-3k$ you expect TOP PERFORMANCE. And the best quality , it`s why you pay a premium in the first place. If a company sells you something that breaks, wiggles,downlocks,overheats and still markets it as the ultimate gaming machine, I say you should double check if you have too much money to waste.

 

I did not say that I permit them to sell me a $4000 paper weight. I said that not expecting at least some of the machines to have issues is ridiculous. Not expecting them to fix it, however, is even more ridiculous.

And on some of your points: The machine is not 5 year old or idiot proof: if you drop it, it may get scratched. If you use it in a 90 degree room, it will overheat. And the option opposing down clocking WHEN it overheats is called melted silicon, which benefits no one.

Thats not to say it should overheat. And its not to say that everyone who has problems with one is incompetent. But you have to remember, expecting it to be like a toughbook is like expecting a 1:24 scale diecast car to take the same punishment as a hess toy truck.

I chose to purchase an alienware computer. You chose Sager. If your machine had problems, would you want an "i told you so"? I think not. Nor do I expect one, and anyone who purchased a $3000- $7000 machine would share that sentiment.

 

As I said, there is a reason why people pay a premium when there are virtually IDENTICAL specced laptops out there. Bragging rights,better support(or so they thing) and more popularity.
Even 100 000 Ferrari`s break down. But they don`t break like a regular car.The details and quality should outweigh the price, if we live in a customer - respecting world.
If not, people will pay 5000$ for a super fast laptop(the equivalent of a 1500$ desktop) and if it breaks , they`ll just tell to themselves "Oh well, even Ferraris break" , instead of saying "I could`ve went the cheaper way , since THEY ALL break anyway and saved a lot of money for the SAME system".
That`s were the logic ends

 

First, we do not live in a "costumer respecting" world.

And there are not identical laptops available. When the m15x came out, where else could one get an 8800m in a 15 inch form factor? When the m9750 came out, where else could one get the same specs at that weight? The sager equivalent was bulkier and heavier.

And yes, where else can you get a system with that distinctive looks? No offense to your decesion, but the sager equivalent to my m9750 looks like a grey brick. I wanted the looks. If I can get the performance and looks, why settle for only one when the price difference is much smaller than you make it seem?

 

Well, if you paid 1000$ for the looks, I`m not even gonna say "I told you so" when it will break.
Cause all things eventually break, be it Sagers or Alienwares.
Let`s not get into a debate.
AW is reliable to a point. But from friends`s past experience, and what I`ve read on this forum , and the stories on the net, I`d really wonder if the looks is enough to throw another 1k$ and have to deal with their impersonal and weird type of support.

 

Eleron you made some good points. And yes all systems suffer from reliability issues.

Only thig I can add to this, is the sentiment that lower end system owners have towards "over priced" system owners. Please understand that I am not judging anyone or making a rude remark. It's human nature. It's like buying a fancy car. How many times have you walk past a very expensive vehicle and said "Talk about a ***** extension". But really have you ever stepped back and said wow I wonder how that car would feel when you drive it.
At the end of the day, all that really matters is that we are enjoying our purchase, and we aren't feeling the dredded Buyers Remorse.
Heck we are HARDCORE gamers wether it be on sager's, hp's, xps's or AW's. We are didfferent from the typical computer buyer in that fact that we demand a higher performance envelope. Some are happy with straight performance, other like a few bells and whistles. In the end the rest of friends think we are nuts anyways, for spending so much on TOY.

 

Chaos theory applied.

 

lol... Good movie lol.

 

You guys are all on crack.

Those who buy Alienware, just be happy you have it. Those who don't, be happy you don't have an Alienware. The point of this thread is not really clear, so we all have a mute point because we don't know what the eff it is we are discussing, let's just all be happy together, with or without an Alienware.

 

I just want to say that I hear mjl all the way here. I think that the debate he is having with eleron is a little off topic, but Eleron please do NOT try to sell us that Sager is the same computer.
Same overall hardware? Yes.
Same setup internally as far as layout? No.
Same build quality? Not even close.
While some people buy AWs based somewhat on the looks they also provide some of the best build quality out there neck and neck with VoodooPc. So eleron don't even try the whole:"My computer is as good as yours and I paid less" argument because we here all know better...

 

let me break it down for you guys
AW:
- newer technology
- better looking
- well-known trademark
Sager:
- better consumer service
- better build quality, no fix, no over heating, no cracking (current models)
- lower price
- GPU upgradeable

 

ROFL... wow. I really can tell that you haven't used both companies latest machines. >.<
First off, AW's GPUs ARE upgradeable.
Second, I have NO idea how you can say Sager's build quality is better.
Lastly, customer service is a hit and miss with any company, so to say that one is frankly better than another is just inane.

 

I am sorry to tell you that there are 2 guys I know in my school have 15x, and one of them was kind enough to let me touch it. although it was only 2 minutes long experience, I am confident to say the 5793 has better built quality. I will take a picture side by side if you want. secondly, can you upgrade your GPU to 8800m GTX? 8700m GT is pointless considering its lower performance. also you should really read what m15x's owners said about the AW CS, especially if you "don't keep up with the forums that often"

 

Alright I'll have my go at this since it seems that you guys are hit and miss on some points (no offense). Let me list my experience with Alienware

My AW's
M5550 - Took 14 months to get credit to put towards a new system. Basically I had a 3K computer that didn't work 100% for around 14 months, that sucks. And the build quality was alright, nothing special though. The GPU heated up to 98C before downclocking.

M9750 - This is the laptop that I purchased with my credit. The build quality is a lot better. However, the paint on the case chips off even though I am very delicate.

Friend's AW

M5500 - Well I'm actually handling this with my friend right now. For the past year and a half (he didn't know it), his GPU was heating up to 105C and his computer immediately down clocked. He didn't think anything out of the ordinary since he's not a computer whiz. All he knew is that his computer slowed down sometimes and that it was really hot. Bad build quality in my opinion.

Area 51 (15" laptop with 5200FXgo) - The motherboard kicked the bucket on this laptop. The build quality was actually good though, the laptop was SUPER sturdy and was very nicely put together.

In conclusion

Alienware used to be at the top of the game back in the day, but in my opinion they are just another company now. The build quality on all of their laptops is getting worse and worse in my opinion. And I am not a fan of their tech support at all. Personally I loved Dell tech support 100x more than AW's (dell TS and AW TS aren't the same).

I've heard NOTHING but good things from Xoticpc.com (reseller of Clevo) and I have used a few clevos and the build quality is great and they actually stay very cool. Personally I think Clevo computers are tested and built better from the ground up. The tech support on them is up to whoever your retailer is. If you buy a Clevo to xotic.

Hope my view shed some light on the situation.

Edit: Nirvana is right, if you haven't been here for awhile then you don't know half of the problems people have been having. For example. The M15x has had both a downclocking GPU (8800GTX) and a downclocking CPU (x9000 + some others). So now what are you going to say about AW build quality

Edit 2: Nirvana I'm going to have to disagree with you. Clevo had the 8800GTX in a 17" model first. It also took AW FOREVER to upgrade to the Core Duo when it came out.

 

I don't want to start a flame war, but talk about some serious Sager fanboy action from Nirvana going on here. While I'm sure that it's not against any rules to bash a company (having a rule for that would be stupid, but it should be kept reasonable), I don't think it's right to basically be saying "SAGER > AW, LOLOLOLOL" unless you have true first hand experience with Alienware, and not just their product. Also, don't judge a book by it's cover. The m15x is well built, and I believe it only has a plastic coating so that it can get it's shine, the rest should be an aluminum chassis right underneath the plastic. And yea, of course you can upgrade the GPU, unless you mean on the m9750, in which case no it can't be for obvious reasons.

 

Lessaj7, I am not a Sager fanboy, I have 5 laptops at home and they are from all different brands. I am just telling my opinions since I've used both systems. The best company goes to IBM IMO, neither sager or AW are close to them.

 

the m15x has some uniqe features and therefore the notebooks are far from equivalent.

- size
- integrated graphic & stealth mode
- Smartbay -> long runtime (which is an important important argument for many people who buy/bought the m15x)
- AlienFX
- HDMI

if I compare the m15x to a Clevo-based system with the same configuration the difference between the prices isn't that big like you might assume in the first moment. (especially when you consider that the m15x has the unique features I mentioned above).
In addition here in Germany there's unfortunatly no Reseller that has a comparable reputation like XoticPC. Therefore buying at AW seems a bit safer to me here.

But you are right about the service issues. When I buy a notebook which costs that much I expect high quality and good service. AW lacked some of both at the beginning but by now the situation has improved. I would still like to have a support like Dell offers it or a build quality like IBM. *g*
And when I write about build quality I just remember several reviews about notebooks which have been based on Clevo-barebones and most of them mentioned the mediocre built quality. (material, keyboard).

/edit
I understand your argumentation as I would never buy a MacBookPro because of the fact that you can get the same hardware components in a Dell XPS1530 for less money and you will receive a better support for it from Dell. You have to do without the fancy design etc. but in the end the XPS seems to be the better deal to me. In the case of the m15x I would say that the special features of it justify the price difference.


saint

 

I have no problems with my m15x, but if Dell offered a 15" with the same features (8800M GTX) I would have bought a Dell and not an Alienware. If Sager also had the same 15" laptop, I would have bought an AW.

Both brands are good in their own right, otherwise they wouldn't still be in business. Let's leave it at that.

 

This thread is getting out of hand so I'm going to close it. Even if I clean it up and leave a warning, the same thing is likely to happen again. Not taking that chance.