*Dell-Alienware & AW Legacy Replacement Systems-Warranty Repair Issues*

^ ^ ^ ^ I agree with Alienwolf on that one. The corporate email should get your case escalated if they don't take care of your issues.

 

Hahaha, I mentioned sending off a message at the beginning of my post, correct? The person I sent it off to was actually [email protected]. Figured I'd go from the top.

The on-site technician has been a huge help. He's been checking my parts over for quality assurance. So he'll be helping with the scrutinization. He knows more about it than I do -laughs-

Hell, it's not even the hinge issue that's got me irritated. It's that to replace the hinge, my motherboard will have to be replaced also, due to a faulty clip on it. And the fact that my machine is not even three months old and half of it will be refurbished.

 

When I sent in my m17X for repairs I was worried that they were going to replace the barebones(lcd, case, keyboard, motherboard, gpus, etc) when I sent it in for motherboard and gpu problems, with used parts. I was certain I would get junk back. The rep on my case said they were new parts, so I had some wiggle room if it came back in bad shape.
I have to say, aside from the screen having a dead pixel and tiny scratch, the case was brand new and the keyboard felt sturdier than mine did new. The gpu issues were not resolved and it was in the process of frying itself into oblivion, so it got sent back again for a refund but that was after a 4month plus process.
I am personally wary in future purchases from Dell/Alienware for the reason you are irritated. If it is under warranty then the customer should be accomodated. Wait until it's out of warranty to hand out discounted refurbished parts or high-priced new ones, whichever the customer can afford.
That's just my 2cents. Keep at them until you are satisfied, and good luck.

 

Heh. The phone tech said they were shipping out new parts. The on-site tech who has been helping me checked and found that the phone tech lied. Refurbished.

I kinda can't send mine in - online summer classes. So this means either they send out SMOKIN' good refurbished - or new if the refurbs look like hell - or else I fuss until I get a new machine.

I honestly don't want a refund - I want a working m11x, pure and simple.

 

As you can tell from my other posts, I am quite picky myself. But like you say, you pay for something and if it messes up to no fault of your own, it should be fixed. But, at the same time, I understand that if they fix it right, even if the part is refurb, it is ok with me. Case in point-they gave me an awesome upgrade for my system and the upgrade was a refurb. But bc of all the upgrades, I was plenty happy with it. Still has the warranty-which can be extended 4 years. So if I have any issues, it'll just be inconvenient, that's all. They will make it right, they are good at that, just takes em a while sometimes. If it breaks, just call em again. You'll have to go through the whole process again, as I and several others here have, but in the end it'll be worth it and they'll make it right-ish. Good luck....

 

Pretty much waiting on the tech to call me to tell me if the parts are good or not now...

 

Still in the hunt for the 5870 xt cards. Gave me a i-7 820 .If they downgraded that to i-7 720 and ungraded the card from 4870 to 5870 I assume that is not much of a change in proformance

 

Just keep in mind if you keep asking them to change parts your going to be waiting a long time before you actually get a computer back, for some stupid reason every time a new build is changed they scrap the old one and start on a completely new one.

 

I know they did that to me when they canceled the first build .Have to give it a try have been without pc for a while week or 2 extra if I get what I want will be ok. Question to be honest have been very have with Alienware support in Costa Rica and would like to send then a thank you .Would sending a e-mail to Mike Dell do them any good .

 

my replacement shipped today, and it will be here tomm. ohh yea btw we got wade and bosh... go heat

 

Good to hear Dan hopefully this one will work for you! And Hamilcar it would probably get discarded, your best bet is you should get an email asking for feedback to both an outside agency and your reps manager soon if you haven't already got it, those are your best bet.

 

Hey Dirty very very COOL!

 

I had a post of all my problems listed in a separate post, but Batboy asked that I put everything here from now on.

Original Post:
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I purchased an Alienware M17X back in December 2009 right around Christmas time. From the day I received this laptop it has given me problems. I have made 7 calls to Dell Support about my issue, and am no closer to a resolution today as I was back in December. I have asked to speak with a supervisor during my last 3 calls, and all refused to allow me to talk to one.

My issue is that the laptop will just randomly freeze, and have to be forced into a hard reboot. It dosn't matter what I am doing at the time, gaming, web surfing, sitting on the desktop, etc. Sometimes it will work for 5 minutes and freeze up, sometimes it will freeze as soon as it loads windows, sometimes it will take 20 minutes, and sometimes it won't freeze at all, however this is rare.

I have changed the BIOS twice, re-installed Windows 7 twice, updated video card drivers, disabled/re-enabled Hybrid Graphics multiple times. Nothing makes a difference.

This is obviously a hardware issue.

Every time I call into support, they want me to do the same exact thing as the last person... I am tired of formatting and re-installing Windows, and I am tired of dealing with the very poor support.
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07/05/2010: Started posting my problem on Dell Forums and here. Finally received some help from the forum mod and got hooked up with a Tech the next day.

07/06/2010: 8th tech Support call about my laptop was placed this morning. Laptop was locked up at the Bios Loading screen. They finally agreed to replace the MOBO, and told me a tech would be out the next day between 9 and 5.

07/07/2010: Received automated phone call advising no one would be out to service my laptop and they had no expected reshedule time. I called Dell who finally determined that a Tech would again be sent out between 9 and 5 on the 8th. They also told me the Tech would call to let me know when he was coming no later then 12.

07/08/2010: As of 1:30 this afternoon, I have not received a phone call or a visit from the tech. Fedex says the MOBO is sitting at the local facility waiting to be picked up. Called tech support, who advised they could give me no additional information. They did provide me the phone number for the company who sends the tech out. I called them, who told me they had no idea when someone would be out, but that it would probably not be today. I advised them that I was told a 24 - 48 hour response and they said I would have to take that up with Dell.

There has to be someone at Dell willing to help me with this computer. Return it as a dud give me my money back and I will just avoid Dell from now on. Replace it with a working laptop and I would be happy also, but 7 months with a laptop that does not function is rediculous.

 

Okay here we go again Sorry seen to many of these poor cases. Ask them to repair your machine and after three failed strikes(if failed of course) you should ask for a refund or a replacement(then you have been fair and just and nothing more can be asked of you as a consumer). If the technician will not show up within a reasonable time/fix your machine within a reasonable time then call Dell and ask them to hurry up and if this does not work then send a mail for [email protected] and explain it all very carefully in a polite matter(polite is the keyword here ). Hope this will help out

 

I second what Dwarf King said, they will assign someone to make sure it gets taken care of. Dwarf King helped me through my case and even though it wasn't pretty dealing with Dell I got a brand new well spec'd R2 out of it.

 

Thanks guys. This has def been the worst computer related experience I have had. All I want is what I paid for to work, but for now a very expensive paper weight is what I have.

 

Wow the guy sounds like us not to long ago
Follow what Dwarf King said and all will turn out ok..
Your on the right path Keep us posted..

 

When you get a chance post your spec's as we can advise what you should get for a replacement if you go that route

 

So I've been updating in the stutter issue topic but figure I might as well ask this here since I really didn't get much of a response there...

Had the tech out for the second time in the last week to deal with repairs to attempt to fix the stutter, first time they sent 1 gtx280 and this time they sent a mobo and both 280s. The issue was still there after the mobo/gpu replacements so the tech called his Dell line while he was here and they gave me two options, send it off to the depot and they can attempt to fix it or replacement. I took the replacement. The person he talked to said it would have same specs as what I have now and that's all the info I know. I was given a new service request number but not sure what I can do with that.

Anyways my questions are: Will I be made aware what specs they are offering me since the request was put in this way or am I getting stuck with a clone R1 of what I have now and will have no clue till it shows up? Is there a way to find out the specs if I were to call?

I *really* don't want to just get a clone of what I have now and end up still having the issue since it more then likely will, in which case I would have to start all over again going through the same bs with the reps. I need this thing for my online college classes and for my job so I really can't be dealing with this again and would just like to get an R2 to do away with this issue once and for all. I know it can have its own problems but at least it is still supported more then the R1s. This is getting awfully frustrating and I am starting to regret buying this just for the portability rather then building my own desktop, and for the cost could have had a really nice one.

 

@ Rockwell B1:

06/24/2010 I have the same issues with my current system (10 months old and still under warranty) called Dell/Alienware to find a solution. They sent out a tech who replaced both GPU's only to find that the problem still existed (freezes, lockup's, BSOD's, artifacts, and PSU issues). The tech, then requested new GPU's, motherboard, touchstrip, battery, and PSU only to find that the problem still existed???? He patched through to Dell and brought up the same scenario that you mentioned "depot or replacement" I am also an online student graphic design/game art design and that I need my PC for my academic courses. The replacement system offered was said to be a refurbished R1? I said FU, I want a new system or R2!! The Dell rep escalated my case and I had the opportunity to actually talk to a "resolution expert" about my 10 month problematic system of an R1 and how the defective machine is affecting my online classes. The res expert understood my delimma and offered a R2 with i7 720 or 820, 4870 CFX, 1920 x 1200p RGB LED and 640GB HDD, everything else stock. I explained to the rep that my current defective system contained a QX9300, 280 SLI, and everything else in my sig. The rep then told me that he had to research my system specs to configure an R2 replacement that either matched my system or contain better specs. After consistent emails, phone calls and demands (no threats!) I was promised a R2 i7 920XM, 5870 CFX, 1920 x 1200p RGB LED, 640GB HDD 2x320, Intel Ultimate WIFI 6300, everything else same as in my sig. 06/28/2010 The first replacement that arrived a few days later contained a brutal cosmetically damaged R1 C2D @ 2.4GHZ, Single GTX 280M, 1920 x 900 LCD, DVD reader, etc. I got pissed and wrote an email explaining what I just recieved and the rep got back to me explaining that the first replacement was a mistake and that he would initialize a second replacement free of defects containing the specs that he and I agreed upon. 06/30/2010 I recieved an email stating that the "new" R2 replacement has been processed and that it should arrive within 10 days. I just checked order status and the system is shipped and should arrive 07/09/2010. I will post my findings upon arrival. Rockwell B1 If I were you I would get back on the phone and explain to the rep that you want to escalate your case and speak to a "resolution expert" explaining that a identical replacement system is obsurd and that the same problems will continue to exist leaving only a R2 replacement since the R1 has been taken off of the website!! I hope that this helps and I will post my new specs and system condition upon arrival.

ps. sorry for the long read everyone!!

 

Added a sig, now that it lets me, with my current system specs.

 

Yep for me 3 service calls and nonresolution got me my new system.

Ok got final answer from Dell started with 4 gb t9800 and 280 in sli 320 gb hhd. Getting 4gb mem i-7 820 and 4870 in cross fire and 320 gb HDD . I really pushed for the 5870 in Crossfire. Also it seems most have gotten upgraded on memory and HDD . I was originally given 6gb mem 500gb hdd but a 1440 screen with I-7 720 . On new system and processor were upgraded to i-7 820 and screen to 1920 -1200 rgb but mem down graded to 4gm and hdd to 320.
Due to what I saw on this site I expected the 5870 in crossire .
Mad at myself for offering to downgrade my memory an Hdd to get the 5870 in crossfire.
Would a e-mail to Micheal Dell help.

One how much faster will my new system be than my old system.

Why is the R-2 considered to be so much better than the R-1.

I do not play FPS, I play Roleplaying games like Dragon Age Origins and RTS's like Dawn of War 2 and The Total War games. Is my system better for these games than lets say a 5870 crossfire paired with a I-7 720 or a I-5 540.
Dont get me wrong very happy when I compare my problems to some of the stories I have heard here . And do feel like dell upgraded my system but guess feel could do better . And I know I am being a baby and once my system comes here will be very pumped.

Thanks for all the help .You guys have been very helpfull and nice to know some others have felt my pain.

 

I think you ended up getting very good specs Hamilcar congrats! As for emailing again to ask for a change, I personally wouldn't. At the rate your going asking for changes you'll never have a computer in your hands lol. As long as you get a stable R2 it should be quite a bit faster than the old one, I know just on the cpu level I got about the same exact swap as you and I saw between a 20-50% better performance on CPU benchmarks. The GPU's as is are better by a lot than the 280's and once the drivers are dialed in a bit better they will blow the 280's away. There are a lot of reasons the R2 is better than the R1 other than specs. One of the big reasons is the elimination of the problematic chipset. Also for some reason the high configurations seem to wig out a lot more in the R1 than the R2. I also speculated earlier on that the Nvidia GPU's may have been part of the problem, if you look there are only ATi GPU's in the R2, not a single Nvidia has ever been offered in them. I could go on, but I won't those are a few of the big reasons.

 

Sorry made a thread, never thought to just post in here:

So on July 5th I had a tech come in to replace my motherboard due to a USB port breaking. The tech replaced the mobo and somehow broke the hinge to my LCD screen. So I called Dell and they sent out another tech to replace the LCD (since the hinge and LCD are one part). Today that tech screwed up something and now the M17x won't boot. That tech called dell and they are sending me a new one in about a week.

Do you think they will send me out a R1 or a R2? Should I call and ask for a R2?

I just want to know what my options are since if they are going to send it off maybe I have a chance to upgrade kinda.


Thanks,
Geby.

Just called them to explain I don't want them to ship out a refurbished replacement, and that I've been having problems with the current one I have, whats going to make a replacement any better. I talked to a couple different departments. Basically one department said is that I can call in on Monday July 12th, and talk to them before it ships out, and the other department said wait till I receive the new (refurbished) model and call in and report any problems. They said the issues with stuttering were solved by the bios and other software updates and Dell says its taking care of.

 

Geby, the stuttering issue is has not been taken care of because its just a faulty design flaw with the nvidia chipsets. They made a update for it that took care of the issue for a small few, but this was more of a fluke then a fix since the wide majority of R1 owners still had the issue and have since gotten R2 replacements. You have to push for the R2 otherwise you will more then likely still have the issue with an R1 replacement. I'm going to be calling tomorrow to try and make sure I don't get an R1, especially a refurbished one since mine is still under warranty for two years and refurb parts/replacements do not make me happy at all when something is under warranty still.

 

I only had complete care and warranty for one year, Its up on July 14th 2010. I just paid to get it extended for 2 more years cost me $950 and some change. I better get a R2, or at least 100% resolution for this issue or else, I'll have to ask for a refund on the warranty extension and just bear with the issues at hand.

 

Geby seems with the complete care if it got dropped would have been better

 

07/08/2010 Update Number 2 for the day..

Tech showed up at 6pm tonight, better late then never, and brought the new MOBO.

After a very long replacement, he fired up the system. Guess what? It did not post. He rebooted, and guess what? It did not post again. 3rd time was a charm and it posted and he went into bios. First thing he did was to disable hybrid graphics. My reply was that it was not a solution but a bandaid. He told me the chances of it running smoothly with hybrid graphics enabled were slim to none. lol

Once in Windows, it stuttered badly during graphics tests. The tech noted that it was stuttering, and also made a comment about the screen being extremely dark. I told him that it had been like that since I received it, and that only turning the brightness to its max setting, and thereby washing out all of the color, could u actually see anything. The tech advised that it should not be stuttering nor should the screen be that dark.

We also noticed the battery was not charging. Another problem that I had not paid much attention to, because the computer is mostly unusable anyway.

During all of this the computer hung in windows and had to be hard rebooted yet again.

He advised me to call Dell again and seek further assistance. His exact words were "You need an R2".

I don't have the energy to deal with them tonight so i will pick it back up tomorrow.

 

Had them do the same thing on the hybrid, said same thing also. I said then it cannt run as it was sold. They agreed

 

OK. My system has been OK for the most part. But, yesterday, out of nowhere, BOOM!!!! Black screen! What's up with that? Bout to get sick of this hogwash. Just how problematic are these $3000 computers? Using the nVidia 217.21 drivers. Hybrid mode SUCKS!!! Everything is soooooo sssllllloooooooowwww when on battery. Anyone else seeing these kind of problems? It will throttle back and then to get it back to full speed, I have to plug it in an restart wWindows. WHY!!!!!????????? Killing me.

 

If you mean the 257.21 drivers I can tell you from my experience that they are horrible and I ended up going back to the most recent ones on Dell's site (197.84). The 257 drivers have many issues and if you got to nvidia's forums there are many many complaints about it and lots of people wondering why they were released at all when there were lots of people still reporting issues from the testing phase.

 

Guys you have to realize something about the whole Hybrid mode it was designed to run 100% with Win Vista ONLY. I'm not sure exactly what causes the problem but when coupled with any other OS the GPU/chipset go nutz and don't function right if you have Hybrid enabled. It sucks but the only choice anyone has that wants Hybrid on an R1 is to run Windows Vista on it. Dissident738 I would definitely get on the phone with Dellienware, tell them what the technician said to you and that due to that you've lost faith in the R1 line and won't accept anything but an R2 due to the comments of a representative of the company . I think you may be surprised that when you can directly blame the need for an R2 on something legit done by a company rep they do it pretty quick.
Pmassey yours sounds like it may be hybrid mode related, like I said before the Hybrid running in anything but Vista can really screw things up. Turn it off and try it that way for a while.

 

Yes I meant 257.21. Thanks for the correction.

And. I have hybrid disabled and the integrated graphics disabled in the BIOS. Happened a few times on my old system also. I will go back to Dells drivers and check em out for a few days and see if that helps. Just getting old!!!

 

Now they want to take the computer and send it to their shop. They told me to wait about 4 days for the box, and then approximately 2 weeks for the computer to be repaired. Lovely! I mean it has been 7 months, what is another month!

 

So I had to call about the 4870s running low gps in my system. I got a great rep that said since my original r1 had 280s, I should get 5870s. Awesome! So when the tech installed them Wednesday he had 2 doa 5870s. He called for replacements and another tech came yesterday, with only the secondary 5870. He called to get primary yesterday but it didn't ship. Just when I think they are going to redeem themselves they pull this crap!

 

GetFound .Where was that Rep you were talking to I had 280sli and they gave me 4870s .

 

From being on this site it seems like if you push hard enough you enventually get a brand new R-2. Is this the case does Dell normally give you a refurbished R-1 . Does Dell ever say no and never send replacement. From being on this site it seems all R-1's have problems . Is this not the case. Are the large the majority of people are having no issues .Also are ther more returns on these laptops because the person that buys a 3,000 is a lot more pickie than the normal person. Does Dell monitor this site . Is big brother watching us

 

This thread was started by a Dell mod.

 

Look no one here is a Dell Rep. And there are many reasons for all the returns on the forum
First almost everyone here is having a problem or is a heavy gamer pushing the system past what it was intended to do. The R1's do have a problem with the hybrid system anf the gpu's its well talked about on the forum. Sometimes it helps to disable the hybrids sometimes not.
Alienware makes wonderful High end gaming systems, but you are always going to have some fail and some design flaws. That said then you have the people adding to the problem who buy to just send it back to get the latest and the ones that don't know what they are doing and screw things up. If you are having problems then work with the rep get advice from here and in the end and seems like too long to the end Dell will make things right or refund, I have seen it in every single case for everyone. But please stop bashing and ranting how bad alienware is I dont realy want to hear it as that is what I bought and support it here by trying to help others..just some thought

 

Spot on. I love my R1 when it is fucntioning correctly. But I get what he is say too. You pay a lot and problem after problem eeps popping up. AAll in all, I love my computer.

 

Glade to hear it. And everyone here will get everything fixed..Dane and Dwarf King always say when you don't seem to get anywhere email [email protected] explain everything you have been thru and that you only want what is fair a working system that you paid for. They will put a Rep from Corp on it and things will be resolved in a couple of weeks..

 

I personally loved my R1 til everything went down hill, there was some great ideas with the R1 just sometimes the execution isn't the best. The best recommendation of steps I can give you is to 1-give the tech rep a chance to fix it, don't expect an R2, just expect a working computer 2-if they can't fix it, or refuse to try, or refuse to call a problem what it is...a problem then email the [email protected] and explain it to them 3-give them a chance, and by a chance I mean give them a few weeks if it takes that, again don't expect a new R2 only a fully functional computer. If they offer an R2, or can't get you an R1 that works then great! I have yet to see a single person in here not get a fair resolution, so they will take care of you, it may not be easy but they will take care of you. I know that Dwarf King, Alienwolf, and quite a few other people helped me even though I felt like I wouldn't ever get treated fairly, but I did. If you need any help from us just shoot us a message!

 

My R1 looks pretty? Does that count as a compliment Can't say much else since it does not work.

 

Wow what a turnaround! They called me saying they are sending this unit:

1 224-8241 M17x10 - Black Metallic
1 313-8570 Slot-Loading Blu-ray Burner
1 313-8796 AlienFX Color, Plasma Purple
1 313-8944 5.1 Channel Audio
1 317-3654 Intel Core i5 520M 2.4GHz-2.93GHz TM,ANB
1 317-3664 6GB DDR3
1 320-8856 17, WUXGA 1920 x 1200 RGB LED,1200p,ANB
1 320-8987 ATI RADEON, 5870,XT,MLK, ANWNB
1 330-5063 Standard Nameplate
1 330-6350 AUTO-UPDATES,CRIT,AW
1 330-8812 Alienware M17x 150W A/C Adapter
1 342-0666 250GB 7,200RPM SATA-II HDD,ANWNB
1 410-1883 ADOBE READER 9.0,MLANG,I/S/X NB
1 410-2461 MCAFEE PEARL MUI,30DAY,W/O,CNB
1 420-6436 PC-RESTORE, DIM/INSP
1 420-9691 DATASAFE LOCAL BACKUP 2.0 BASIC
1 421-1304 CyberLink PowerDVD SW, ANWNB
1 421-1305 Nero Media Burning SW, ANWNB
1 421-1360 Steam with Portal
1 421-1400 WIN 7 HOME PREM, 64, ENG,AW NB
1 421-1573 Alienhead 3D
1 421-1591 Alienhead 3D
1 421-2261 Alienware Command Center, M17x,ANWNB
1 421-2611 AlienGUIse + Breed Theme
1 430-0628 BLUETOOTH 2.1
1 430-3688 DELL WIRELESS 1520 WIRELESS-N,ANWNB

^150w power adapter?

But while on the phone I talked to them saying that I paid for a video card and processor upgrade, and would like to have them upgraded on this new unit.

Is a single 5870 comparable to dual 260gtx in SLI?
Is the i5 520M better than the T9600 oc'd to 3.3ghz?

The person I talked to was VERY professional and totally sympathized and was persistent to help me out. He canceled the order and said he was going to send me a e-mail with another configuration. I even offered to pay some extra cost to get the system to where I want it, he declined and said they were there to make ME happy. WOW! I'm going to assume its mainly due to me spending $950 on a extension of my complete care and warranty.

Thanks guys, will keep you informed.

In all honesty, if you beg for a R2, or hint that you want one for your R1 only after a couple of issues your going to go thru a long process. Im sure there are fully functional R1's out there with owners just trying to scam and say there are issues to just benefit from other peoples issues. Also you have to have some patience.

 

The 150w adaptor is coming because of the configuration, until you get an i7-920xm and/or dual GPU's the 150w is all you need. If you originally had the 240w just do what I did, bring it up that it was originally the 240w, and ask if you can keep the one you have. They told me just to keep both, BAM!, you have two adaptors for free! As far as the config of the hardware, the T9600 equivelant is the i5-540m or better the 520 is slightly lower performing, the gpu equivelant of the 260m sli is the 4870's in crossfire or better(has to be dual as you had dual cards). Technically a single 5870 performs very close to dual 260's, but push for dual cards.

 

Originally Posted by alienwolf
Look no one here is a Dell Rep. And there are many reasons for all the returns on the forum
First almost everyone here is having a problem or is a heavy gamer pushing the system past what it was intended to do. The R1's do have a problem with the hybrid system anf the gpu's its well talked about on the forum. Sometimes it helps to disable the hybrids sometimes not.
Alienware makes wonderful High end gaming systems, but you are always going to have some fail and some design flaws. That said then you have the people adding to the problem who buy to just send it back to get the latest and the ones that don't know what they are doing and screw things up. If you are having problems then work with the rep get advice from here and in the end and seems like too long to the end Dell will make things right or refund, I have seen it in every single case for everyone. But please stop bashing and ranting how bad alienware is I dont realy want to hear it as that is what I bought and support it here by trying to help others..just some thought

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Ok if I came off like I was bashing Dell/Alienware did not mean to at all .At the end of the day very happy I bought my xps 1730 with 8700 in SLI cards An no I do not think any of you guys are Dell spys.I was wondering if they came here to do research seems like a great place for a company to get the mood of their customers . I have been helped alot by everyone here.
I just think that the sometimes when you look at a Problem forum you can get down on a company. I have seen people say that everone with a R-1 has been upgrade to a R-2. This seems unlikly to me as I can not see the return rate on any system being 100 percent.
Plus I do feel that some do try to play the system and keep getting free upgrades. And I do feel that as a bunch we can be hyper aware of the problems with the pc . i am sure as a bunch the guys on this forum can me a pain to deal with
I bet many have worked to get systems return that normal people would just say minor problem I can deal with it. And even though wanted 5870 xt and tried to get it did not think Dell had to give it to me was very happy with the build of my replacement . Alienware Costa Rica has been Great to deal with and would not hesitate to recomend an ALienware to anyone. With my new MX17 R-2 coming in perfect working condition knock on wood I will not have to hear from my Girlfriend how her 600 dollor laptop is better than my 3,000 System .

 

This is the new unit they offered now. I look at is worse than the first configuration:

SYSTEM COLOR Space Black - Anodized Aluminum
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ i5 540M 2.53GHz (3.06GHz Turbo Mode, 3MB Cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
SECURITY SOFTWARE McAfee SecurityCenter, 30-Day Trial
LCD PANEL 17-inch WideXGA+ 1440 x 900 (900p)
MEMORY 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
HARD DRIVE 250GB 7,200RPM SATA-II HDD
VIDEO CARD Dual 1GB ATI Radeon™ Mobility HD 4870 in CrossfireX™
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE Slot-Load Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
WIRELESS CARDS Wireless 1520 802.11n Half Mini-Card
SOUND OPTIONS Internal High-Definition 5.1 Surround Sound Audio
WARRANTY AND SERVICE 1 Year Basic Service Plan
PERSONALIZED PLATE Standard Nameplate (Alienware M17x)
ALIENFX COLOR Plasma Purple
OS CUSTOMIZATION Alienhead 3D
FACTORY INSTALLED GAMES Steam and Portal™ Factory Installed
AUTOMATIC UPDATES Automatic Updates: Critical Updates Only
BLUETOOTH Internal Wireless Bluetooth® 2.1 with EDR

Still not what I was expecting, Here is what I'm aiming for:

Intel® Core™ i7 620M 2.66 GHz (3.33GHz Turbo Mode, 4MB Cache)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
17-inch WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 RGB LED (1200p)
4GB Memory (2x 2GB DDR3)
250GB 7,200RPM SATA-II HDD
CrossfireX™ 1GB ATI Radeon™ Mobility HD 5870
Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
Intel® Ultimate N WiFi Link 6300 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO Technology
Internal High-Definition 5.1 Surround Sound Audio
Space Black - Anodized Aluminum


Basically just want to get rid of the Blu-ray burner and the 6gb ram and get a better processor and graphics cards.

 

Geby-You can want that, you can very nicely request it, but unfortunately if they don't offer it or say ok to it there isn't much you can do. Honestly, I don't understand why you're not happy with that config as it's actually better than your old system. The T9600 is a bit slower than the 540, and the sli 260's perform a little worse than the 4870's, you're getting an UPGRADE. You're also getting a ram upgrade from what I saw, everything is equal or better performance. You're also getting a lot faster turn around on getting a new system than most of us have. They don't go off of purchase price, they go off of performance. Just my two cents on what you're expecting. As I mentioned before, don't expect anything better unless it's offered, only expect equivelant performance and a functional computer.

 

From the first configuration they gave me, it had the lowest line of processor, and the single ati card. I don't need the extra ram they are offering me, nor the blu-ray burner. 4GB and a Blu-ray reader are fine.

Second configuration, they downgraded the monitor to 900p and downgraded to just a DVD burner. While upgrading the processor and graphics.

My goal is to just get in between there. Their first configuration is around 2800. The configuration I'm wanting is 2949. So I'm not asking for much. Considering again $950 was just spent on an extension of their product.

 

I hear where you're coming from Geby, I wanted to change my 8gb of ram to the RGBLED screen, but they wouldn't let me. I don't think asking is going to hurt anyone at all, just don't take it past bringing it up or asking or you may set yourself back by looking unrealistic to them. If you want the best chance I would word it exactly this way "I'm very happy that the GPU was changed, but based on real world benchmarks feel that the i7-620m is a more direct replacement due to the clock speed. I also wanted to keep the bluray and RGBLED like the first replacement, can that be done please?" wording like that got me just about everything I wanted, without being rude or unrealistic.