New m15x came today... [Complaints beware!]

Heya guys,
You know I've ALWAYS been a huge fan of Alienware right? I've not had many problems with my previous desktop (except for Vista driver issues but that seems to have halted for the moment). I ordered a m15x a few weeks ago (even though everyone said not to) but long story short I'm quite disappointed that for $3,000 this is the build quality I received.

Alienware/Dell problems/complaints that still persist:

1. Screen noise when opening/closing.
2. Screen shakes back and forth when opening.
3. Track pad is horrible and sometimes unresponsive to your touch even after adjustments were set.
4. Touch buttons don't even work on mine even, and pressing that hard on them almost makes you feel like your going to crack or dent your $3,000 investment.
5. The chassis material for this laptop is a joke. It just doesn't feel up to par with today's notebooks, perhaps an aluminum or something would do much better.
6. Ok, perhaps I'm too use to my old Sony SZ charger or even my new Macbook Pro charger- but what is the deal with this extremely huge/heavy charger?! Embarrassing.

NON-Alienware/Dell problems/complaints during my experience:

1. When installing WoW, Internet Explorer crashed around 14 times interrupting the installation process and required me to retry the installation.
2. Vista completely froze 4 times, resulting in a complete reboot.
3. My WIFI isn't allowing the laptop to connect to the internet with anything other than limited access for some reason. I find this odd considering my desktop, both Macbooks, iPhone, and PS3 are all connected successfully via WIFI.

Positive notes about the m15x:

1. The lighting system is beautiful as always.
2. The laptop chassis looks visually sweet, I won't denie that. But the quality of the material used is what throws it off.
3. The HD screen rocks! Except for the wobbling and noises when opening/closing the screen. The resolution though is simply amazing- best I've ever seen.

Conclusion:
After around 5 hours of screwing with my new m15x I'm quite disappointed that for $3,050.00 this is what I received. I immediately called 1-800-Alienware and demanded a refund and one had been started. Customer service was a little hard to understand but was very sincere and gave me what I wanted-no questions asked. They will send me a return label but sadly I have to pay a 15% restocking fee due to the crappy build of their system. I'm OK with that I guess because I'd rather get rid of it now then hate my purchase later on down the road or attempt to even convince myself that I would carry around this 7-8 lber that is cheaply designed. Overall, I feel quite stupid considering I read all these complaints before but I just expected that perhaps I would be lucky and receive a good built one.

Please don't flame this topic, I LOVE Alienware and especially Dell but unfortunately I think this series (m15x) needs a complete redesign. Until then I recommend either waiting or buying the newest laptop that has better build quality. I can say this because I honestly thought this was it- this was going to be my baby, but I'm just so disappointed today. Oh well, I still have my desktop.

 

Wow, sorry to hear of your problems with the m15x.

Have you considered the new M17x?

 

@Rob41: I have actually, have you received yours yet? How is the build quality?

 

To fix the track pad you should have gotten 2 stickers..one thats blank and one with alienware written in there alien font. those improve it a ton.

 

@N1kkon: The only sticker in my binder is an Alienware logo (the alien head). No wonder the track pad sucks so bad. Grr.

 

Sorry to hear about your bad experience with the m15x. I have had mine for almost a year and have nothing but good things to say about it. I love the way it looks and it is performing as good or better than I had anticipated. I play WoW on it and have been pleased with the results.

I will say that you must handle this lappy with care. The two times that I have let my son borrow it, the laptop came back with a scratch and a chipped area! I baby my laptops. They pretty much go every where I go and I handle them with extreme caution. One thing that always get's me perturbed is when people are pointing at the screen and have to actually touch it! What is up with that? I always tell them not to do that as the oils on our fingers is bad for the screen.

Anyway I hope that you have better luck with your next purchase s

 

Damn.... 15% of $3k just to try it out for a few days???

 

@Blazetrek50: Thanks so much. I love my Alienware desktop and love playing WoW on it but sadly until they release another 15 inch laptop that is slightly better built this one will have to be returned. I'll either grab the new Alienware m17x, get the new 15 inch Macbook Pro (NVIDIA GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT with 512MB) since I only play WoW and the rest is papers and research, or will get a Dell but am not sure which one... ugh choices.

 

@sleey0: Aye I'm pissed. A previous customer who worships the ground those people walk on and slapped with a 15% restocking fee to unbox it and let them know of the problems the system has and the best they can tell me is they can either attempt to fix those problems or send it back for a partial refund (excluding the 15% restocking fee). I find it just ridiculous especially since their parts are obviously overpriced already. But whatever, the more I think about it the more I'll just get the 15 inch Macbook Pro since all I do is play WoW... If that's how they want to treat their customers so be it.

 

Well, don't get the 1730 - it's on the way out (notice that it isn't advertised hardly at all on Dell's website). AW is now Dell's premium gaming brand.

I had a sxps 16 that was nice, but I would wait for a refresh.

That leaves you with the M17x or the mbp.... These aren't even in the same class so I am not sure how you go about choosing

 

Well I only play WoW (and I'm still in lower regions, I have 5 level 20's that I'm slowly working on with my horrid schedule). The rest of my computer usage is research since I'm pre-medicine (this also included papers, case studies, etc.). And my WoW experience on it won't even be that much (a few hours a week when I'm away from my desktop). I'm just not sure how I feel about carrying around a 12 lber all around campus when I have a ton of other books to carry as well you know? Thoughts? Ideas? I actually gave my 13 inch Macbook to my mom for her final semester of her BSN Nursing program because I thought the m15x would replace that but now I'm on the search again. I prefer OSX over Windows for the moment (until 7 comes out).

 

I don't like macs AT ALL. But that's just me

 

I love both OSX and Windows (except Vista lol). I think I'm going with the 15 inch MBP, going to debate a bit more until my money is refunded and Alienware takes this back... Thanks guys.

 

Wow, thats what those stickers are for? Put them on the trackpad to improve it? lol, I never would have thought of that. Do they leave residue if you decide to take them off?



But yeah, I got my m15x like a week ago, and its working perfectly for me, the only similar problem I have is the screen squeaking when I open it. That isnt a deal breaker for me, considering I spend like .005% of the total time used closing/opening it.

As for the material, I really dont think its bad.. maybe thats because its my first notebook.. idk, but I think its sexy.

The only thing I have a complaint with is that when I received it there was some kind of blemish on the screen, its not a dead pixel, it just looks like a dark smudge. It's probably an inch wide, and when I first opened the box and saw it for the first time... I was like "Oh wow, thats kinda crappy," but the excitement of a new notebook overpowered that really fast. Now a few days later I see that blemish more and more, and I'm thinking about sending it back in to get that fixed/replacement.




If I do decide to send it in? What do I do with the harddrive? Just do a system restore to how it was sent to me? I don't want to be sending them all of my saved firefox passwords and stuff lol.

 

It's beautiful don't get me wrong. But I think the material should be better. I'm disappointed mine didn't even come with those stickers your talking about. I've even tore the boxes down 3 times searching for them thinking perhaps I could play with it and change my mind but nope not even in there and I don't have an external mouse to use at this time sadly. I was hoping some Alienware rep that trolls these forums would attempt to lower that 15% restocking fee since I've not even owned my system for a whole day and called to get a return label after just a few hours after Fedex dropped it off...

You can always go to Tools>Clear Private Data>Saved Passwords, etc. I would keep it the way it is to be honest, get rid of the cookies/saved passwords/auto signs, etc.

 

The guys are just now getting the first M17x's to be delivered. So far they have nothing but good things to say. Accept some have said the reflections on the very shiny screen are intense with room lighting on.

Unfortunately, I just got my M17 a couple months ago so I'll have to wait for the next platform to be released.

 

dla, did you look in the binder. I believe some owners said they were in the binder. Like in a sleeve or in the last page.

 

Mine were in the binder, at the bottom of the sleeve.

 

Aye I looked through the binder and they are not there. Regardless I've made my mind up and it's going back... and I'm keeping the name plate as well for $400 dollars of restocking fees. XD

 

Don't be suprised if they charge you for the "missing" nameplate...
I doubt it because they'll just chuck it anyway, but you never know.

 

Why don't you just tell them you want to replace the M15X with the M17X and then they will waiver the "re-stocking" fee because you will place another order with them? They did that with me when I exchanged the Sentia M3450 for my M5550i. This way you will save yourself $400.

 

sounds like a good idea, keep the nameplate anyways cause it's cool

 

Yeah, for $400 I'd keep the nameplate, manuals, hat, etc...

 

I know this post is a little old but I wanted to update everyone that I filed the dispute with CITI (my credit card) and before 24 hours were up Alienware had credited the entire amount back to my credit card. Recall that they stated they were going to charge me the restocking fee but it looks like my credit card company took care of that. I'm just happy I didn't pay them nearly $500 to touch that piece of junk m15x! Thanks CITI!

PS- I didn't keep anything, they sent me a checklist after I received my RMA and the nameplate was one of the items that had to be in the return package otherwise I would have been charged for it. Oh well...

 

Nah... When you do a chargeback it is nearly impossible for the seller to get any money as long as you returned the item.

Credit cards usually suck but this is one area where they got your back BIG time!

Anyway, glad you got it resolved...

 

Hi dla_kemper,
Take a look at my "M17X Initial Review" thread. The build quality on the M17X is exceptional, and you'll find that it's comprable to most Dells or better (got to love the magnesium).

Gabe

 

Awesome will do!

 

I love my m15x despite its issues but yeah the chassis being cheap plastic with cracking and creaking sucks the m17 and m17x though are tanks. The power brick isn't that bad especially considering the excellent battery life

 

I'll buy from Alienware again when the m15x is redone and Dell makes it. Ugh I'd much rather deal with their customer service than Alienware's.

 

Yeah that was pretty much the deal a year ago when I ordered mine, but I ordered way before those problems were known. You should have researched.