*Official* Alienware Launch Discussion Thread

I have sent you a pm... Thanks for helping

 

I understand that and it's not rude, but here in the UK, Dell is the 2nd largest supplier of PCs in the country! It holds 12.5% of the total UK market share and last year sold over 313,000 units here! I know the US numbers are bigger, but if you bought a Bently or Aston Martin in the US would you accept 2nd tier service and component quality? From such premium brands? I think not!

Also, refurb parts are acceptable when repairing, but they are supposed to be refurbished as new, not just 'USED'...

 

There certainly are different levels of 'quality' engineers in India. One of my jobs in the US was to outsource 1st level support to India. Maybe why I find them so easy to deal with. My first call to AW from the UK related to a hardware config I was interested in for my new M18x. The guy actually said, 'never tried that, I'm sure I can find the parts, leave it with me. Next day he came back with the answers. He could just as easily say, 'we don't sell that config, thank you. goodbye'. Maybe I've just been lucky so far, I'm sure I will get a 'know-nothing' sooner or later

 

Still 8 days in pre-production for me. Still the factory HAVE STILL NOT told dell uk support what is happening with the LCD`s and this has been on going since last monday when i ordered. IMO i reckon its cos of this 350nit PLS and 400nit TN malarky. I think someone has ballsed up on the website and i dont think anyone really knows whats going on.

 

Brother Luis Pardo is looking into this "LCD" mis hap and trying to get the bottom of it. I tell you what tho,if its a major ballsup im wanting some major compensation. 8 Days in pre preoduction to find out you have to cancel cos some numpty ballsed up the web order config page. Id sack the bloody webadmin and get someone who hasnt done 2 weeks crash course in bloody HTML for DUMMIES.

 

+1
As if it wasn't enough that we pay over $1000USD extra for exactly the same spec base 18 model in the UK compared to the USA, then the 'delays' in production, and now this.
Eventually you stop making excuses for alienware. Yes great machines, but it's a real shame they've not managed the admin work very well at all.

 

What do you think, when we can buy M17 with Radeon HD 8970M?

 

If they are going to offer it, it will be in a few months. However, if the bios supports it (or someone makes their own bios mod), you can buy a base model and buy a Radeon HD 88970M to put in yourself, and it probably be cheaper than buying a 780M model.

 

I'm not even gonna grace that with a reply, as the quote below more than answers that one.........Well said Alien Thoughts.

That is a cracking example regarding Bentley's +rep! - Actually I live a stone's throw from where they are all made in Crewe, Cheshire and constantly get held up in traffic by a barrage of Bentley staff out test driving various Bentley's - they are more common than Ford's on some of Crewe's roads, gets right on my bloody nerves getting stuck behind 3 Bentleys all on trade plates LOL.

Anyway, I very much doubt that US Bentley owners would take 2nd class service as acceptable, just because Bentley are made in the UK. Alienware and Dell should adopt the same mentality that just because their products are bought and sold overseas does not automatically give them the right to offer a lower standard of service. They are both premium brands offering premium products, but I bet that UK Bentley customer care is a million times better for it's US clients than Dell's is for their UK clients.

Maybe that suggests that once Dell have off loaded their goods overseas, they don't give a crap.......where as the UK company does. Different priorities, I guess. Bentley are synonymous with luxury the world over, and have been trading on reputation for over 80 years. Dell have been selling computers for under 30 years and don't seem to give a crap about their customers outside of their immediate catchment area.......go figure. No wonder that they have experienced financial difficulties of late, given their attitude to their customers outside of the US.

When it comes down to it, Dell could take a leaf or two out of Bentley's guide on how to deal with overseas customers - they are just as important, if not more so, than your home turf customers. If you wanna be known as the 'ultimate' choice in whatever product, you have to have excellent backup all over the world - not just in your own country.

<<<< dismounts soap box <dismounts soap="" box.="" </dismounts>

 

Never. Nvidia locked down something like 95% of all Haswell laptops.

 

hello everyone. im sure this isnt the correct place to ask this but I have been lurking this thread for quite some time now and you guys know your stuff.

This is my first gaming pc(finally realized consoles suck) and i need a laptop for school also so im looking at the AW 14(100% this is what im buying) of course. The 2012 version would save me some $, about 200..maybe less when you realize the 2013 comes with a bigger HD and some other extras. I dont need the top of the line, but i would love Wow on ultra as well as firefall. If i can at least be on Med on most games(skyrim,COD,GTA) im fine.

On the settings for my baby would any i7 processor do the job? and is the GTX 765 really worth $150 over the GT 750?
im also thinking about the heat issues iv heard and that new vent looks sexy, as do the new cosmetic changes..

Anyways iv learned a lot from this website and this thread especially, thanks for the help

 

Bentleys have a much larger profit margin. ~ Nuff said.

If thats true i'll stop buying gaming laptops. I'll just buy ATi desktops as this is turning into a monopoly.

 

Maybe they are updating it?

 

I think you need to educate yourself on the idea of scale. Do you really think that Bentley sell as many cars as Dell sell computers? <sigh>

 

I think if your not to bothered about the graphics card then go for the GT 750m. The 765m is alot quicker than the GT 750m. Its 2 revisions further up.As for screen yet again depends. If you go for the 1366x768 then the gt 750m will blitz the games @ that screen res.IMO its worth the extra $150 definately, if going for the upgraded screen get the 765m.

The standard 4700MQ cpu is more than ample. And overheating??? One review said the machine was slightly hot, the other reviews said the opposite.Dont forget that with the 765m GTX its going to pump alot of heat and with the cpu being on the same fan to blow out the air, its going to see some temps.

 

Raw Numbers:
GT 650M ~ 2700P 3D Mark 11, almost Identical to the GT 750M
GTX 765M ~ 4300P 3D Mark 11

You can get percentages from that, but thats the raw numbers. Higher is better.

I think for Bentley it would be easier to manage Cars if they sell LESS and have a higher profit margin. Less to keep track of. More money per car to do so.

 

Stevie cant send you any more PM`s youve maxed out your storage box lol

 

Ach - too many people asking for my help to save 'em a few quid LOL - just cleared out a few

 

You are completely missing the point about luxury products and offering quality support worldwide. Alienware is the 'Bentley' of computers (supposedly) and as such, they should offer the same level of support and back up to each and every one of their customers, just as Bentley do worldwide. It has very little to do with profit margin per unit, as Dell shift a lot more units to maintain an overall profit margin - just like Bentley would sell less units but have a similar overall profit margin.

You are suggesting that because Dell have less profit margin per unit, but shift more units, that gives them the right to treat overseas customers shoddily - c'mon dude....wake up and smell the coffee....profit is profit at the end of the day...unit margin is not relevant.

 

going back and forth between buying the M18 with 770m SLI and hopefully having the machine paid off by next summer, or going all out and snagging the 780m SLI and being stuck with those for probably two years. Choices choices.

 

Hmmmm.....I'd pop or the 780m's personally. A single 770m is comparable to somewhere between a 680m and a 675mx

 

Its not available in the U.S. site either..... Looks like they have run out of parts possibly? Or are trying to get people that wanted the m17x R4 to buy the new Alienware 17.

 

Maybe that's a selling trick. If you see that it's not available you think that its so awesome that it ran out of stock. So as soon as its available again if you where thinking about getting it you will because you will want to get it before it gets "out of stock" again.

 

well I was thinking maybe just getting the 770m's right now because I could have the system paid off by next summer and could probably then afford to throw in 2 880m's and maybe an XM chip. Not sure how sound that is though lol

 

on my AW 14 if i go with the cheaper GT 750m can i upgrade to the GTX 765 later?

 

Probably not, consensus is that the AW 14's have their cards soldered to the motherboard.

 

I'm like 97% sure its soldered, however i would like to hear Luis confirm this.

 

Luis has already confirmed that it is soldered on the motherboard.

 

Can any of you UK guys confirm that the options for the Alienware 17 on the UK site have changed... There appears to be an option starting at £1299 now, w/ 765m GTX. Was this there at launch?

 

14 inch laptop to reduce space and height, so video card is integrated into the motherboard for majority of 14 inch gaming laptop or non gaming 15 inch laptops.

 

When Luis posted this about the new AW 14 instantly made me drool rawr!!!

14.0" FHD - IPS 1920x1080 Luminance 300/255 Contrast 700:1 Color Gamut 72%

Aww yeah baby 72% color gamut equates to 100% SRGB coverage plus anti glare and IPS. This is a dream come true if it is true because my former m14x r2 had such low color where it looks dull and cloudy and the glare did not help at all!

I'll definitely take the added 1.5lb to 2lb on the new AW14 for the better screen, lighting and warranty over something so anorexic aka thin light with mediocre 900p display and the possibility of overheating or throttling.

 

It's true. Nvidia locked them down because ATI got all 3 new consoles. I'd be surprised if you could show me more then one site that has Haswell with ATI. There won't really be any ATI laptops until next year.

 

Sorry forgot to quote

 

Sager and MythlogicPC offer the Haswell and ATI cards 8970m

 

I wouldn't be surprised if AMD made an appearance on the current gen refresh. I could imagine they would get rid of 765sli for 8970cf

 

Also don't forget, as opposed to the above examples, Dell & Alienware aren't even manufactured in the US - they are manufactured, assembled and shipped out from China! And anyway, it's generally a shorter distance to deliver to the UK than it is to the US from China! If anything, we should pay a little less than the US due to cheaper shipping... not $1000 more for the same model.

The way I see it, if a UK customer is willing to go out of his way and pay an extortionate amount for this 'Premium' machine, one could argue that they deserve an even better service than in the US!
Although, for the record, I believe the service should be comparable accross the board, not playing favorites!

 

+1 - I agree with all of that.

However, tax is always the thing that ruins it for us Brits!

 

Yeah, but even if you take a US build, add 20% to the dollar price tag, build the same machine in the UK, it's still grossly overpriced in comparison....

I've just build two exact Alienware 18's - one on the US site, one on the UK site. The UK build came to £3,723,98 and the US build came to $3,849. Add 20% to the US price ($3,849 + $769.80 = $4,618.80. Convert that back into GBP = £2,989.80

So that's a huge difference of £734.18 (or $1134.16) more for the exact same machine - that's including a 20% allowance for 'additional UK taxes'

Shocking.

 

Yeah I agree, but that makes up the big bulk of the difference.

That's just the way the UK works, as you know.

More often than not, if something is priced at $3000 USD, in the UK it will be £3000 GBP instead of the equivalent conversion of $3000. It's not just Alienware who do this, it seems to be the import standard. Almost any other PC, laptop, phone, gadget, tablet manufacturer does the same thing.

 

There's always the 'what the market will bear' in premium international products. We brits have been used to seeing the same numbers in £ as $. Exchange rate does not cause dell to keep revising the prices, they always win. The tax IS a big hit but the rest (IMO) is simply what dell think they can screw out of the market.

 

I'm sure there are costs associated with importing and higher taxes in the UK. Sure it sucks but reading this thread about you guys complaining is getting annoying. We get it you pay more. Do you want a cookie? Theres nothing we can do about it. You are obviously still willing to pay that amount so stop complaining.

From what i understand you pay more for gas there too. A lot more. Its just an expensive place to live.

 

Just added a comparison to my last post, but yeah....even so...just look at the figures above.

 

It's a discussion thread, if you failed to read the title. I suggest if you don't like reading it, go read another thread.

 

No wonder they charge the UK so much. They are hard to deal with

 

I'm only stating the obvious - if you are getting annoyed at reading a discussion thread, just because you don't like what is being discussed, the answer is simple. Stop reading it. It's rather pointless to berate other members for discussing something they feel worthy of discussion.

 

Actually i'm enjoying it now. I've provided some information in my Signature just for you to discuss.

 

Just thought some people would like to know; HIDevolution is now offering the new line of Alienwares: Alienware - Custom Built to Order Laptops - New Laptops

They do direct currency conversion, and will ship almost anywhere I think. So those in the UK could probably save a ton of money by canceling their orders and buying from them. Hovever in the US they add $100 to the price, but they have more storage and ram options.

 

Is anyone experiencing problems in the order status webpage??

Or it is just me

 

Canadian site seems to be working just fine...still sitting in production with a delivery date of 22/7/13.

 

Took me a while to reload it, however you are in the UK.