Buying Alienware Laptop is like buying a Lemon used car look at what happened to us.

After opening our laptop to upgrade the hard drive this is what we have found and it will leave most of us sick to the stomach.

This is the reason why we are no longer supporting Alienware product. If you think your problems are bad you should see what they do inside your computer that will leave u sick in the stomach. Now this is the quality control i paid for to Alienware that cost me $100 AU.

Look at this example found inside my m15x:

In the picture below you will find dodgy sticky tape around electrical wire. Cant they afford electrical tape? How dodgy is this from Alienware? Does anyone know what this wire do and what is it supposed to be connected to? You could also see the black, grey and white connection seals werent even connected to cover the soda joints.


More dodgy work by Alienware they rounded all the screws so we cant undo the screw and as a consequence they are forcing us to return the laptop to them just to upgrade the hard drive so they could make more money out of us. To make matters worse the sata cage looked used and second hand because there are scratches all over them.



This is the worse business practise i have ever seen by any company by a long shot.

To make matters worse they refused to warrant our laptop because we installed the new bios X32RC1 they sent us.

Here is the email we got from them.

The BIOS was supplied as is and we can not accept liability for a slow down in performance as a result of it being installed, as you did specifically request this and undertook this installation by yourself. In saying this, I will however supply you with the original revision BIOS that may bring the performance back up again. I am 100% positive you were provided the correct revision BIOS labelled X32_RC1.


Kind Regards,

Adam Hicks

Systems Admin & Technical Support
Alienware Australia

Phone: 1300 794 003 (AU)
Phone: 0800 550 625 (NZ)

I also paid another $100 for them to tune my Laptop and to ensure all the software supplied are working correctly.

The Blu Ray software refused to play any brand or movies dvd or blu ray.

Cant play games the movies in games will stutter so bad you would think lag spike has attack you.

Updated: found the invoice where they charged me $99 bucks for Alienware Inspection

 

I am really sorry about this man.
Somebody with legal knowledge or connections should get their arses sued.
I have read more m15x horror stories this month than in a lifetime.

Again , I am truly sorry...

 

wow that looks like there using painters tape

 

Is anyone else with Alienware Laptop having same or similar problems?

 

It feels like a left a used car lot in my brand new car that has dodgy warranty items and to be frank i dont know how long my car is going to last.

I just got ^*&&# at a used car lot.

 

I also have the same tape on that wire. If that was the only problem (or a real problem, for what it matters), then I would be a happy owner.

 

Sorry to sound fussy but it looked dodgy

 

Kinda lame but I've seen worse recently checked out a ford focus that had its wiring tied with duct tape instead of electrical, and it was coming undone!

The biggest problem here is the screw cause I want to upgrade my ram when I get mine and if I can't I will be pissed! best of luck with your problems april!

 

RAM will be fine. No screws (appart from the ones on the lid).
Regarding the screws... what if it was the guys in Austin computers?

 

I have the same wire with the same tape. I didn't think anything of it but the screw that is messed up.

 

i dont have that tape, but i do have a nice clear plastic cover covering the blue wire tip

 

Wonder if Alienware-James is going to pull out the old routine again here:

"I do apologize for your inconvenience, let's talk on nbr's private messaging feature.."

Jesus H. Christ.
Why aren't you people suing Alienware??

 

I don't know. I hope someone sues them cause they need a kick in the ass.

 

After a 30 second Google search:

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=lawsuits+alienware&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

 

Wow man this sucks . We all as "customers" really have to do something about this because Alienware doesn't seem to care.

 

I really think you should return that system if you still can.. or more problems will appear.

I didn't know you can pay them extra to tune your system? WTH, isn't it supposed to be tuned when you first buy it??

 

wow, look a dedicate custommer site ..
http://alienware.pissedconsumer.com/
I think that says A LOT...
Why do people even buy AW any more? just hoping they'll get a "good unit" ...
Jesus...

 

lol this post really made me lol..

have u ever looked inside a computer before... like seriously... im sorry but complaining about scratched coated internal steal cages? ... sticky tape? scrached screws (they are not fully rounded just over dremmeled abit)

the type of sticky tape used.. come on... its prob covering up a item u didnt opt for maby turbo mem? or some such.. and pulmbers take will fall off under heat boxing tape will sweat but not peel off.. but still come on sticky tape complaints thats abit insain for me.
oh please.

as regard to software... sounds like you are having some driver issues.. seek aid!

its clear u guys are hungry for a controversy .. but this is just out of hand

Be happy they dont solder components together like other company's and regard to the screws get a dremmle! its 2008! its what most assembly lines use be understanding of the workers! they are not that badly rounded just a mistake on a over zelouse dremmle screw driver users.

 

Heath, did you not look at the pictures? The screws on the HDD cage are ****ED up. You can't open that **** man.

 

i went to Austin COmputers today and Allan Tan had to fix it for me they are also pissed at Alienware because they are scared of losing customers like us. We spend a lot of money at that shop and they are so embarrassed about it to say the least.

Seriesly we spent almost $6000 for it and Alienware charged us tuning up and all sort of stuff it's not right to get a computer in a state like this.

 

They are tightened with a moterised screwdriver... they look like they are still functional to me.. just very tight put your back in to it .. seriously ... we are talking about nuts and bolts. i find this absurd.

 

I suppose it's not your money so you could afford to make fun of me but it's my $6000 and i want it right just like my $6000 that went into their pocket without hick ups.

My money went from my account to their pocket without hickups so why should i have to put up with things like that?

BTW Austin Computers had to use a drill to drill it out so what you are saying is incorrect they screws were not easy at all to undo. IF the screws were functioning why would i waste my time talking about it here?

 

what games are giving you video stutter its prob a codec pack or video playing software u have installed thats messing with the games movie play back.. i had a sim issue with both crysis and bioshock last year..

your performance issues sound completely software based and i doubt its the bios.. in regard to the build quality i see no reason to complain and i would not mix the the issue of "how tight the screws are" to what you can do to fix your performance issues... this will make you content and happy faster in all due respect.

Good luck i hope you work out what software is causing your lag mabye even respawn if u want a fast fix?.. dont take my word for it but im no expert .

 

Heathkidd, are you getting m15x soon? I would like to hear your opinion of it.

 

Exactly, you seem to be quick to dismiss people's issues, get an m15x and then argue on the awesome QC AW systems have, ok?

 

If a motorised screw driver used properly would leave those kind of screw heads behind then no one would use them.

WTF I can't believe I'm argueing the fact whether or not there is a problem with those screws.. of course there is! You shouldn't have to put your back into what they claim is an easily upgradeable and 'fix at home' machine. That's what's absurd to me.

 

I have counted over 20 users alone on the AW forum with m15x sent back to repairs.
Seriousely now, buy a new system and send it back after a week or so? how the hell can they legaly do this?

 

He obviously never spent $6000 on a computer like m15x - it's easy to sit at home on your computer and dismiss people's pain and heart ach.

 

Sweet jesus, 6k? I maxed out all the reasonable stuff for the m15x on their site and still only came out to 5k ish along with stuff that isn't necessary--like their notebook sleeve, for example. That just seems a bit excessive imo, but whatever. It's your money.

My astonishment/skepticism aside, I digress. Mostly what I am curious about is what you mean when you say they charged you for tuning, and what you mean by that

 

look at Alienware website they charge $99 bucks to tune your system if you click on that option. They have changed their website since 6 weeks ago i dont know if those charges still optional.

It was on the order form from Alienware let me find the invoice and i'll send the photo of it.

 

He's also in Australia IIRC, so they always pay more.

 

here is the photo of they charge $99 Alienware Inspection
http://img75.imageshack.us/img75/851/007ks8.jpg

 

I doesn't say they charged you for it. It says you have it and had you payed for it is valued at $99.99.

 

going by what you've said i didnt get charged for everything else too hey?

Just to be fair - on teh other hand - even if i didnt get charged for it i certainly didnt get the Alienware kind of inspection i would have liked - a professional one!

 

actually, none of the other items on the invoice have "values" listed next to them. Normally, when the language "A $99.99 value" is listed, it means that you did not pay for it, it was included at no cost to you, and they want you to know the value of that perk... infomercials do it all the time.

 

Not to forget i forgot to mention i never got my name plate either.

In conclusion: I never received what i paid for. Didnt get the kind of service one would expect from a reputable company such as Alienware, even if i did get the inspection valued at $99 for free, it wasn't the kind of inspection one would expect for what you paid for overall.

I know i bought a new laptop but when you opened teh computer up it looked all used and the sata cage were scratche so bad it looked used. If i spent almost $6000 for a new laptop one would expect brand new parts inside the computer.

To make matters worse i dont even have the rights like American customers to voice my dismay on their forum.

 

I didn't say it was any kind of value ( you should not be charge for them to make sure that they ship you a working system with no flaws) I simply stated you were not charged.

 

That's because the whole purchase was dodgy from the start.

This whole experience of owning the most powerful and awesome laptop has been a very bad one. I dont feel special at all for buying this laptop. I feel used and abused, I feel ripped off.

You know when you spend this sort of money on the most powerful laptop at the time you want to feel proud and not ashamed. It certainly hasn't been a proud experience.

 

The dodgy thing about this is there are no itemised price only 1 single price of $5600
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/8606/010qj5.jpg

 

yeah, unfortunately, I think you shouldn't have bought it from a local shop.

 

wait, a local shop? i didn't think alienware had a physical store/presence anywhere

 

Just wondering, i'm not 100% sure about this. In the pictures of the screws you showed, did that happen to the screwheads after you tried to remove them? Or was it that the screwheads were damaged from factory? If it is that they were like that from the factory then it is completely unacceptable! However if they only got damaged when you tried to remove them because they were too tight then it may have been you used the wrong kind of tool to remove them!

 

he didn't get the computer from the factory. he bought it from a local computer store... I suspect either they did that, or he did not knowing what he was doing. I doubt that it happened on the AW assembly line.

 

Austin computer? ain't they the one who put customer's laptop on display counter? http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=248893&highlight=austin

 

Exactly. Who knows what else they did to that thing before selling it to him.

 

That's exactly what jumped to mind when you said that it wasn't bought from AW directly...

 

That $100 extra AlienInspection is done by Austin Computers, not Alienware (check Austin Computers's site).

 

Alienware DOES NOT RESELL their computers through other computers. period.

Go to ebay Alienware store. Alienware resells their computers themselves.

 

That's where the trouble began.

Lesson learnt.

I will never buy without test driving or seeing it right infront of my eyes next time. I want to be able to walk into a shop and select the particular laptop i want to own. NOT pay and hope you'll get what you paid for.

I think the trouble bagan with Austin Computers they were dodgy from the start, they put our computer on display after they received our computer from Alienware. It was supposed to be in a box packed by Alienware. The whole thing has been a night mare and I highly recommend Alienware disassociate themselves from Austin Computers all together.

The screw head were like that when we opened the laptop to upgrade the drive. We looked at it and couldn't even attempt to unscrew the screws because they were so badly damaged and rounded off. TO make matters worse after we finally taken the screws out, Austin Computers sold us a freaking dodgy Hard Drive that failed to be detected by 3 of our computers as well as their computers. However they are giving us a new hard drive on Monday grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I really hate Austin Computers and I will now never buy from them or Alienware again.

We cancelled the Order from them as well and going to Tang Computers to get our new desktop gaming rig.

The only good thing that came out of all of this is that their employees installed all sorts of games on it such as COD4 and Unreal Tournament 3 that has the CD Key in the registry. So we kept the CD key from the registry for COD4 then reformatted the Hard Drive and reinstall Vista on it. Of course the bastard never left the COD4 dvd in it we cant stand Unreal Engine games anyway like UT3 its so lame and kiddy.

 

They're not associated with Alienware, though. As dhoang said, Alienware does not have any authorized resellers except for the eBay store they themselves run through their website (which is separate from ordering on the website of itself)

Unfortunately, anyone can buy products from a company and sell it themselves hoping to turn a profit
Some are just less scrupulous than others, which is very tragic for the consumers who suffer.