Another busted m15x hinge.....add me to the list =(

Hello Everyone,

It's only been 2 weeks since I got the laptop....and my hinge busted....=/
I've only closed and opened the screen less than 20 times and it just snapped.
I'm pretty bummed as I thought the hinge problem might have been fixed. I called Alienware and they wanted me to send pics first before they do anything.

I just hope they can fix this and prevent this from happening again.
I spoke with a gentleman named, Ever. He seemed okay. Has anybody had major problems with technical support before? I hope they are legit.

If you want to see the damage. Here's the link to my Flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11537005@N04/sets/72157613994957396/

 

Ouch! Only 2 weeks and it broke already! Sad to hear that man! Hope Alienware will take care of that ASAP.

 

Ouch, dear god thats soo early...Whatever happened to this issue being fixed? Wow has this goes to show how the mighty has fallen.....

 

Ouch! I feel sorry for you too. Hope the CS can fix your hinge asap.

 

I thought they fixed the hinge cracking issue...

 

Looks like another Ripley. I haven't heard any Skullcap lids breaking.

But that is bad after two weeks. Hopefully the turn around will be quick fo you.

 

I dunno, I think my skullcap is going to snap soon. THere's a crack on the hinge already, and it's peeling up.

 

I feel for you man, but I don't understand why people keep gambling with the m15x hinges. It's rubbish.

 

But they're ing good laptops. I don't mind gambling with the hinge, i still have one of the best 15 inchers around, for performance/battery. You can't beat it.

 

why do people buy a $10 toaster and just toss it rather than complain about it?
that sir, regarding your statement, can have an effect with any purchase, from and company, for any item.
the odds are that most come here to let people know after they have found problems with an item. most people feel compelled to complain vice praise and this has extended into reviews of items. what are the ratios of good m15x units as compared to faulty ones? no one knows for certain since most content and happy owners rarely post about it.
how many people complain about a toaster they get from walmart? price of the object then should be no excuse for finding fault, but most wont complain about the toaster that cost $10 dollars. they would rather toss it and buy a new one. seems one sided to me.
while i am not offering AW a door out of the hinge issue, you may just want to look at things a bit different at times.

 

Hello Pbrguy,

I'm sorry to hear about your problem.

I would appreciate it if you could contact the Roswell Crew, and I will go ahead and submit the request to have your m15x sent back to the repair facility to get the problem fixed.

You can contact me at 1-866-767-9355 Monday - Friday 8am - 6pm.

Best regards.

 

well said .. {10 char}

 

Congratz, you are welcome to the team...i mean team who get disappointed by these pricks....

 

you should refine your sarcasm tactics.... :wink:

 

he/she reminds me of jellybeans....lol anyway dont start bashing because your's failed mine works perfect it was your choice(granted it shouldnt of failed and because it was a very expensive laptop) but still life sucks that all you need to know sometimes it sucks more

 

Yes, every notebook product line has problems, but when many users suffer the same exact fault in a chassis, then there's more going on than the random hand of fate breaking hinges. Every time another hinge breaks, why assure people that it's just a low percentage chance? I'm no troll, and I have nothing against Alienware, but it's time for you sir (or Miss) to stop downplaying this issue. I'm glad your hinge didn't crack, I genuinely mean that, but it's irresponsible to turn a blind eye to this. It's not about whether every hinge is going to break, it's about acknowledging that there is a design flaw, that leaves the door open for the hinge to break. It's just not a matter of random chance.

 

Just send it in and have it replaced with a new hinge. Everything should be fine.

 

It is not the hinge that is the problem it is the lid. Where the plastic meets the metal screws of the hinge. Really the lid need to reinforced a bit more. Maybe a bit more metal around the screen. Or how about a carbon fiber lid & chassis that would be awesome.

 

it appears as if you missunderstand the point.
AW has not turned a blind eye. they have admitted to it. they did so in a posting here in the forums.
but to be honest, your placing all the units that have not failed in the same basket as those that have.
so every time a plane crashes i should tell everybody not to fly? thay it is unsafe and planes crash all the time? meanwhile, millions of people are in the air or on the ground waiting to get from point a to point b. so i should just ignore all the safe landings in comparison to all the none safe ones?
and to let you know, i never called you a troll. you titled yourself that.

 

Same thing happened to me, I feel your pain I only had mine since October and the hinge cracked after less than 3 months. I have a scullcap by the way so looks like it happens with both. Be careful when sending yours in, make sure to ask if they have the parts in stock to fix it. Mine has been sitting there for over a month waiting for parts and I was told it could take up til another month before they get them in so I requested for them to send it back to me until the parts come in. They shouldnt have made me send it if it was just going to sit there. It's due to arrive back home to me tomorrow unfixed. So I've been without it all this time for no reason. Just a heads up! Sorry to hear this happened to you. Best wishes!

 

And i thought alien had the best quality with such prices.A lower end book wouldnt even break this fast.

 

Hey Everyone,

Thank you all for the input and the for all the support. I took a chance with this laptop because I just loved the concept and design. It was unfortunate that this has happened, but it can be fixed. Even people from alienware have responded to this thread in order to help out. I can't really complain. Thank you all again.

 

Ryu sounds like he works for AW in their marketing department.

And Mr. Moo, i'm really sick of your uninsightful posts. Man, you keep thinking AW is the best thing since sliced bread. Half the time your replies are ignorant at best.

Sorry, had to get that out of my system...

 

Why do people think more expensive things are more reliable?
You look at the car world, a Lambo, Porsche, Ferrari, ect. They will all require more maintenance and at a higher cost than say a Ford, Toyota, Honda, ect..

The higher advanced something is the less reliable it will be. And since higher Advanced things cost more money. One can conclude that higher price equal less reliable.

 

hehe, I would have used the analogy of a Corvette Z06 vs. Ferrari F430.

But to put this in perspective, this is Alienware's first attempt (or first proprietary contract) at their own design as opposed to adopting an Arima, Uniwill or a Clevo chassis. It's been suggested that they contracted Quanta, but recently the story is that the motherboard and internals for the M15x and M17x were designed by Asus and Alienware themselves designed the framework of the notebooks themselves.

Usually when a company introduces a product or an endeavor that they are new to, they are bound to run into more problems (or more reported problems) compared to systems designed by companies who have already "been there and done that." Perfect example, my uncle leased a Porsche Cayenne Turbo when it first came out. If some of you don't know, the Cayenne is basically Porsche's first attempt at an SUV. He ended up selling it back to the dealership because the suspension kept on lowering for no reason, and apparently the dealership reported three more similar incidents with other Cayenne models.

Nonetheless, the M15x is a great system, and was the first 15 inch notebook with a high end/256 bit GPU. Because of the M15x, we have the M860tu, the G50v and the GT627, so you have to give it up for Alienware for being a pioneer in this segment. But the M15x is still a first attempt by Alienware and is much more likely to defect at a higher problem per unit rate, compared to other systems.

 

This.

And this.

Because they don't expect it to last to begin with.

Lastly, this.



# Its a problem that could potentially happen to every owner of the M15x.

# The problem has been around for quite some times.

# The problem still exist according to more recent owner, although the number is still low.

# Its not $10.

# Its not easy to get repaired considering the amount time of the whole process.

# Its not a permanent fix either for those who got it repaired.

My advice will be, end user shall aware of this problem and do all the preventive measures available to them.

Other owners without the problem should stop being an ignorant/ not constructive/ attitude with your post, not only it spoil your professionalism, its actually misleading.

 

its why i didnt get it for collage i needed it to last ...the issues are there avoid them you dont drive of a cliff on purpose right?

 

Well you have to give m15x owners credit somewhere. They don't go into the OCZ or Sager/Clevo forums bashing the Sager NBs.

 

My uncle has just bought a bentley, you know the "botique" car which is HAND built. He's had nothing but problems with it, since he got it.

That's the problem with botique brands, they're unique, and they make people envious, much like ferrari and lamborghinis (excuse the spelling).

Everyone know's the old saying for a ferrari, "you have to have a on site mechanic all the time", because the high performance needs maintenance. Much goes the same for alienware I suppose. If you don't look after it, then it won't serve you as expected.

Sorry if none of that makes sense, just woke up.

 

Yet people keeps buying or dreaming for one.

Love it or hate it .

What I'm feeling bad about is the M15x is suppose to be a highly portable performance notebook yet it become a very vulnerable machine that you need to baby sit to.

 

this.

how? am i not within my rights to offer my view of a product i purchased that i have had no issues with? how am i misleading anyone when my unit has experienced no faults?

as far as the $10 toaster argument...
regardless of cost, if an item is faulty then follow thru and have it replaced or repaired. why is a $10 item then any different then a $1000 from this point? simply because consumers do not know that the $10 toaster company knows the item will not come back. so who is actually the stupid one in this? the consumer of course. they will continue to buy the toaster and lose the money rather then go thru the motions to excercise their rights for return/repair, and the company knows this. meanwhile, they pocket the first purchase price and then the second, then the third....etc....

 

You can't disregard the M15x. For it's current price, it deserves serious consideration along with the NP8660 for people in the market for a gaming 15.4".

AW now has two NBs with the M15x and M17 with current tech in it at a reasonable price.

Now if only AW could address the M17x, it should start at least close to the M17.

But back to the threads subject. I hope the OPs turn around is quick so he don't start having regrets about the NB.

 

Jah,
I understand your frusterations over the hindge issue. Buty that really is no reason to attack people onm the forum. Mr. Moo who owns an M17 is all over the forums trying to help other users with their issues. Yes there is a known issue with the M15. Aw has aknowlege this and are working to get it fixed. They are not sweeping under the rug. Heck they have even come on the forums to advise what needs to be done to help their customers. Stuff happens wether you buy a $500 or a $5000 computer. Atleat AW aknowleges the issues and trys to fix them. Not all companies do that. So one platform out of how many? Trust me you will get alot more with honey than you will with vinigar. I just went through an issue with HP and I was told to live with it.......So while I understand your frusterations, try to be cool as it will get you a lot further in the long run.

 

For me, it's not about who owns what. I look at the mobile gaming community as one entity, and you can find me posting in every forum where notebooks with high-end GPUs are being used and discussed. I hold no brand loyalties. I only want to help people get the proper price/performance ratio, and reliability out of their purchases.

This is less about bashing, and more about community awareness.

 

I just think the M15x owners are tired of people slamming on their NB. It's not other M15x owners doing it. It's people that don't even own the NB. So they're just fed up with their baby getting slamed.

 

Again, this.

The fact that you downplaying a very serious issue.

Like I said, if one is going to baby sit a high mobility gaming notebook due to its vulnerability, why not just get a M17 to begin with? That will bring less trouble and more performance. That totally kills the purpose of having a small form factor.

If one set up their minds on the M15x even knowing the issue, the community should provide helpful/constructive/known information on protecting it instead and not just "I've been using it for 876434789 months and its totally fine" "I've open/close my lid for 456785434 times and its totally fine" resulting in the "one" thinks "I'm 64856184th users out there and yes he's/she's right I would not be the 154624352th unlucky person".

Very true, but this doesn't mean they have the rights to downplaying a known/yet to be resolved issue. Its very important for the community to protect future possible owner of M15x so that they're mentally/physically ready when they make the purchase or pick up the M17/ any other newer release instead.

 

I don't think they're downplaying it. They're just greatly defending their NB. Something that they do have the right to do. They also have the right to defend AW just like Sager folks defend they're brand.

But AW gets more then their share of brand bashing. Not just in this forum but other forums as well. I think AW owners have had enough.

 

Maybe you're right about the appropriate term of description but I must emphasize, I'm no "[Insert a brand here] folks" and I don't "defend" a problem, I seek "solution" and provide "suggestion" if "solution" is not exist/ within the reach.

I'm interested to help people in "problem" and it don't specific to a certain "brand". Thus, no labeling.

Do I need to permanently remove my signature? So that people don't have the impression of, say my current notebook "Sager Fanboy" if you wish to avoid "labeling".

About the bashing, I guess that happen to every boutique brand, they got praised hard and bashed hard.

 

Removing your NB may not help either because to be in, you have to get in.

I'm just saying they're frustrated. They're NB has slammed hard. Many people have read the threads and still continue to buy the NB. And it seems like the current threads only talk about the hinge. It seems the HW is kickin' butt like AW wants it too.

Humans can never build anything perfect. Perfect things can't come from imperfect beings. So everything has a flaw somewhere. It's unfortunate that the m15x's is right there in our face.

But AW does have two awesome NBs in the m15x and M17.

 

Well back in Spring and summer of '08 the M15x was the only choice for a reasonably priced gaming notebook. If the M17 was out at the time I bought the M15X I would have gotten the M17. But at the time of my purchase the only reasonably good systems were the M17x (way too expensive & big) or the M15X. There were no other comparable system, The Sagers were not even out yet, or even talked about.

I am not downplaying the issue, it is a issue none the less. I suggest that every one with a M15x only closes their NB when needed and do it correctly. Two hands on the left and right upper corners and close evenly and gently.

At the moment with AW line up there is no real reason to buy a M15x over the M17, except for Nvidia loyalty, battery life and the form factor. I do think the M17 need the Nvidia chips(I am not a AMD/ATI fan). The M15X still has the most powerful GPU in the 15.4 inch range (only 15inch with a 9800GT).
The M15X has come a long way from early spring last year. Many of the hardware bugs and stuff have been fixed, such as Overheating, downcloking, ect.

Hopefully a new M15 will come out soon. The current is a M15X year old system.

 

couldnt of said it better my self +1

 

That statement of mine is trying to tell with the availability of M17, the choice is clear like you said for those who held no brand loyalties. I'm not trying to ask people to buy the M17 when the M17 is not even out yet.

I'm obviously not referring to every M15x users are downplaying the issue, some can be helpful while not the others.

The "transparency" is low for computer technology, we never know what will happen next in detail, its very frustrating at time. Maybe you're right, its been very quite. Though I'm less expecting for a new design anytime soon, I sure hope they get the M15x hinge fixed. Its almost a perfect machine.

 

Thread is getting out of hand...

 

This thread has gone on along enough, I hope everybody got what they wanted to say out of their system.