Buying an alienware for 1st time

I'm new to alienware and been toying with the idea for years, but I'm in a position to afford one (well specced) and have a few questions I was hoping to get answers to.

First problem is I am in Europe (not UK and not easy to get there) and don't want an AZERTY keyboard, so ordering here is out of the question. I'm going back to Australia soon so can order one there or get one from the US. Obviously international warranty is an issue as I'll be coming back to Europe.

Is international warranty an issue from Australia or if I order from the US? I'm a bit nervous of a DOA since it will be awkward to deal with from another country.

Second question is if I order from australia you don't get to select the colour of the light; granted I'll probably have it off most of the time, but is there a stock colour or can it be changed in the software?

Last question is on after market hard drive change; is it easy to change the drive to an SSD? I just want an M4 256gb and find there prices excessive, plus not sure on the brand used.

Thanks for any help you can give

 

I'm not sure about international warranty from Australia to Europe.

The light colour doesn't matter, you can change that in Command Centre which is the software pre-installed onto the system to change colours and performance settings.

I'm not sure which Alienware you're talking about, but I'm presuming it's a laptop... It is easy to upgrade to an SSD, the M4 is one of the best from other threads on here, I plan on getting one in a few months.
Just clone the stock drive with Acronis or use AlienRespawn (if Respawn works) and then put in the new SSD and then put the image onto the new drive... I think, or just do a clean install and download the necessary drivers from Dell and your Graphics manufacturer.

I believe the stock HDD is Seagate...

When in Aus, I highly recommend calling and haggling on the phone, the can usually cut the price or will add extra's.

Good luck with your purchase

 

Alien FX allows you to change the lighting if thats what you mean and changing the ssd ive seen youtube clips of it done but im not sure if all hds work.

 

Thanks for the feedback and tips, and yes I do mean laptop, specifically the m14x.

I've read a share of bad reviews on the alienware but one complaint I saw was noise, do they generate much noise when just surfing?

Thanks again.

 

Honestly not at all, its so quite system at normal usage.

 

Only if doing crazy stuff... My M15X only ever goes full blast when rendering in Maya as the CPU gets maxed out.

The other issue is the glossy screen, but it's not too bad for me... Plus you can buy matte screen protectors online if you feel the need.
I did for my M11X as I lug it around every day.

 

When running some intense structural analysis simulations, my M11x gets pretty loud.....like leave the room and go study somewhere else loud.... Plus it raises the ambient temperature a few degrees. Otherwise it's fine

 

You can transfer the warranty from country to country with no problem as long as Dell services that particular country.

Plenty of US resellers such as HIDevolution sell Alienware's outside the US and all they have to do is fill out a warranty transfer form readily available online. I've never read about anyone being declined warranty coverage because the person moved to a different country and I frequent the forums almost daily for 2 years.

I purchased mine outside of Canada on two occasions and received coverage here with zero issues.

As for the lights, you can change it to any colour you desire using the preloaded software.

 

Yes as it's been stated, you should get international warranty coverage. My R2 fans are noisy on full load, but on idle it is fine. And with AlienFX in Command Center, that is where you can change the lighting or set it up with games.

 

For the SSD change there are tutorials on the forum and youtube. As for brands, tend to stick to a few you know for a fact you are comfortable with.

 

If you clone your HDD to SSD, chances are good you will have issues with the SSD not performing as well as it can. Better to do a clean Windows install to get the best results with SSD. My Crucial M4 ran slow with a cloned installation. I tried it two times and after I did a clean install the read/write performance was substantially improved. Windows 7 also recognizes an SSD and installs itself in a manner that is optimized for the SSD.

 

Ah, good to know when I go about it myself in a few months when my funds are a bit better.

I had a vague idea, but a clean install sounds best.

 

Thanks for all the tips, I had a look at some of the videos and it doesn't look too bad changing the ssd so I'll definitely do a post market install. I presume changing the stock drive means you don't have to muck about changing raid settings?

I think having read pricing and talking to a sales rep I won't save that much by ordering from the US, the only issue now is waiting for the R2 version to hit the Australian store. I guess that won't be for a few weeks at least. Anyone have a roughidea on how long it takes?

Thanks again for the helpful responses.

 

Ah, the R3 is currently out at JB Hi-Fi in Australia, usually selling the i7 8GB version.
The R2 went long ago from Australian shopfronts.
And with there to be no R4, the R3's at the store's will be going shortly.

This also goe's with the Australian Alienware/Dell website as they've taken it down from the main page, still there, but not sure for how long.
i5 version is $1,300 online.

For delivery from the Australian website it took 9 days for delivery for me.

 

So i found a manufacture refurbished alienware m18x for $2500 at the dell store over here.

This laptop has:

Intel Core i7 2860QM Quad Core 2.5GHz (3.6ghz with Turbo Boost)
Dual 1.5GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M SLI Enabled
16 GB Dual Channel DDR3 1600MHz
Dual 500 GB SATA II Hard Drives
Killer Wireless-N
1 Year warranty.

and other I assume is already with alienware (bluetooth, etc.)

Is that a good price/buy?

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...e-us-canada-upgrade-new-system-purchases.html

If you are from the US or canadia try that link, if not I think you can still do a little better if you shop around. I got mine (see sig below) for around 3 yeah its 500 dollars more but its alot more bang for your buck in the long run.

 

How do I find laptops there? And it's around $2350 without tax. I'm kind of on a budget. >_>

 

That link if you read it is to contact Mr Mora he as a senior sales rep and can give you a very good quote.

 

A good quote? Is there really that much of a different between the SLI 560 vs SLI 580?

 

That email address is wrong? I can't send a email to that email address because it comes back as invalid.

 

Try [email protected]

 

Yes there is a huge difference. The 580's are about three times better than the 560's if not more.

 

I would wait a few days, they are releasing new graphics cards soon cpu's soon for the same price