*** Official Alienware Notebook System Replacement Thread ***

My M18x R1, with the 2920XM and 780M SLI does a fine job...and pending what the next generation of MXM cards hold, may likely obliterate anything Alienware offers. 2920XM is no slouch, not even in the slightest, and will not be bottlenecking anything for a while longer. I had physics performance up in the 10.5-11K on 3dmark11 at 4.4Ghz and 2133 RAM, no extra voltage to either. I'm sure when equipped with a polaris MXM, it will absolute demolish whatever Alienware can produce. There is still a lot of life left in these machines

 

I don't love BGA I just don't fan boy up. I love MXM cards and socketed chips. Hence why I have my P870DM-G and my desktop.
I just don't fanboy up and pick one side and talk junk about the other. I speak truth pros and cons from both sides.
Which again I point out are pros and cons depending on an individual persons situation.
I meant no offense but you must admit you clearly are biased.
You guys can keep saying BGA is crap but really its just your opinion. There's plenty of people out there that say desktop components and build quality of Clevos are crap.
I just simply don't see the point of coming back to a forum for products you used to own to simply express your negative slant for the products and the company.
why not spend those same efforts on the forum for the products that you do like and feel passionately about and talk positive?
I have been looking for something to make me hate my Alienware 17R3 like I did my flawed 15R1. I havent been able to find any issues finally.
I spent a year complaining about the 15R1 throttling. Problems or flaws with this new system simply are not there like they were with the 15R1. It is totally solid and spec for spec would out perform the said 5 year old M18x.

Just saying BGA is crap doesn't make it crap. If it was crap it would fail. If it was crap it would under perform.
The AW systems do exactly what they are suppose to and also cater to the consumer market they are suppose to.
I personally feel its ok to express your opinion about the products. I have no problem with that but to sit and lurk and do nothing but constantly talk about how bad they are really is irresponsible when you have authority.

I'm not going to argue or go piece by piece through what you said simply because I'm too lazy and I work crazy hours lol.
Plus I just had surgery on my shoulder and am in a bit of pain.

But one thing I wanted to touch on was regarding the SLI comment. There is several times I have blown $1500 on SLI and it is a great technology but its not with out its occasional problems.
So its common knowledge that if possible its better to have that same amount of power in one single card.
So again when you buy a laptop with a warranty the warranty protects the system specs of the original purchase. Since the only benefit to SLI is the performance power dual cards produces not the fact that it has two video cards.
So if 5 years has passed and the power of the two cards you originally had can now be fulfilled by one single card they have honored their commitment by providing that card.
They are not obligated to give an upgrade to your specs as the warranty is not some future proof upgrade agreement. Tts a warranty protecting the hardware of the product you bought originally.
Now with that said if they were making an Alienware 18 currently with an Sli config they have been known to honor and argument for the top specs if you had the top specs of your 5 year old system at the time.
I have personally seen them do this countless times.
The warranty specifically states in that in the event where they are replacing a system, that they will replace the system with a "Device equivalent to or better than the Computer Device you originally purchased."
You can't say because its missing an eSata, express card slot, HDMI in etc that you deserve a video card 5 times more powerful.
The reason those features are gone is because those are no longer standards lol and for good reason.
For example those old systems did not have M.2 or Thunderbolt, USB 3, etc so that kinda equals itself out. And HDMI in... really? That was a total gimmick.
The only complaint one could have about this specific situation is the fact that there is not an 18" model any more. But again that hardly means one deserves GPU power that is way more powerful.
To say they should give him a refund after he has used it flawlessly for 5 years is a warped selfish thinking. He got his money's worth.
Had he had a system with an actual design flaw like the M15x or the recent AW15R1 then yes he should get a refund because he had a system that was flawed by design for 5 years.

My love for BGA has not blinded me because I dont love BGA. I love specific models of laptops BGA or not.
I love P870DM-G and I love the Alienware 17R3. When I go on trips I take the 17R3 because its slimmer, lighter, and fits in my backpack better.
I video edit on the go and produce audio on the go. Plus it can handle any game I need it to handle.
On occasion I game downstairs and dont want to lug my desktop down there so I use my P870DM-G simply because its more convenient.
It performs as expected, Its crazy powerful and portable. However its not with out its headaches too. Phoenix gave me some tips for my P870DM-G when I first got it and he warned me of the issues about it.
I finally got it running the way it is suppose to. When I first got it and it was on stock settings it was throttling. I had to change a bunch of BIOS settings just to get it going right. I had flashbacks from the AW15R1 lol, like Vietnam type flashbacks lol. Also my lord the keyboard on the P870DM-G really sucks. As does the lid on this thing.. The guts are the most off the chain bad ass laptop I have ever had. The build quality of the system body is one of the worst I have ever had.

Now with all that said I going to spend all day every day lurking the Clevo forums repeating all of my negative experiences? Spending my time constantly repeating about how much those things suck and how the warranty sucks and how the company itself is a joke etc etc? I could, it would get really annoying and I'm sure it would bring out people that agree with me and people that start passionately replying to defend their precious systems
No Im not going to do that. Its counter productive and slightly irrational as the Clevo system is a good system.
I would rather spend time helping people in a positive light. If someone asks I will tell them my honest opinion good and bad.

Anyways I feel we are kind of beating a dead horse. I never wanted to spend time going back and forth about this...
Lets just move on and be productive members of the community.

 

So after waiting over a week they now are saying my replacement got denied after escalation even though I have an email saying they approved the replacement 2 weeks ago. What a joke, they now want to repair it again or send some technician again.
Its been almost 2 months now. I will never ever buy a dell laptop again, the customer service is a joke. They ask for 2 business days and take 2 weeks only to deny what they've already approved??

 

Sorry, bro. That's really messed up, but it's not uncommon. They used to be really good. Unfortunately, customer service is also a joke for most of their competitors.

 

Are you in the states? Im telling ya BBB. Not small claims nothing crazy.
When you fill out a form on the BBB site it gets assigned to a rep at the BBB who then contacts Dell and there is a special team of people that handle that stuff so they can maintain their A+ rating.
They will resolve legitimate complaints properly. If you have documentation of the exchange they for sure will do it via this team.
Heck just asking for it they will prolbably do it. Things like out of warranty issues or exchanges for upgraded systems can be done through this team as well but take more effort and case pleading.
For example back in the M15x days it too was throttling and it was once again a system designed defect that could not be resolved by BIOS fixes etc. After months of proving it with the help of people on here and through efforts via BBB they exchanged my M15x for a M17XR3. Why? because I proved legitimately that there was a design flaw. It took several months and by the time they approved it I was tlaking directly with engineering who was actually sending me MXM other MXM cards (AMD5850) in efforts to try and research the issue. At the end the engineering team along with the team assigned from the BBB complaint captured the system and sent me the M17X.
They flat out admitted to me directly that they could not fully resolve the throttling with out redesigning the board and shortly after this discontinued the M15x all together.
Evetually almost two years later they relasted a BIOS bandaided the throttling.
Fast forward to this year...
I had the AW15R1 It has a similar throttling issue that seemingly wasnt being resolved. So I spent time again trying to prove it to tech support. Eventually I got fed up and said let me order a 15R2 or 17R3 and see if it throttles under the same or worse conditions. I ordered it and amazingly it did not throttle at all. So since I had both systems still I was able to make some videos show casing the issues I was referring to. Once again I contacted the BBB, got in touch with that same team. I told them what I did and how I finally had a system that wouldn't throttle and asked for a refund for my 1 year old system and for the 3 year warranty I bought after point of sale. Because I provided so much information they did not hesitate. All the BBB complaint does is direct you to a specialized team that is empowered to do more then tech support can do.

Also in case you also did not know the El Salvador call center is a Dell call center that handles both Alienware and Dell calls. They typically care less, have more restrictions as far as policies then the Costa Rica call center.
The Costa Rica call center is the original call center. They have tech support labs with systems that they can use hands on to help with calls and can also do more when it comes to exchanges etc. Often times the El Salvador reps will be more difficult and less trained so its always advisable to speak with Costa Rica when dealing with tech support.

On a side note for MrFox....
The M15x I was just referring to that was also plagued with throttling...
Socketed CPU and MXM cards. This was pre BGA.
I totally forgot about that when going back and forth with you about BGA.
That M15x was the original throttling defective computer. There is a huge thread on here somewhere about it 5150Joker was the one that pointed out its issues.
Was much like the 15R1.

 

This is really helpful thanks. I am in Canada, if this doesnt get resolved in the next week or two I will definitely use BBB. Its mid may and the same issue has been stemming since March...

 

2x a 780M cannot beat a single 980M gpu. it is not possible. Maybe overclocked in a purely by the numbers benchmark. But not in real life usage. SLI scaling is not 100%+100% but is i more around 160% of the performance IF the game even support it. Nowadays less and less games support SLI. On one of my desktops a second 970GTX card is sitting idle for months now thanks to the newer engines not even supporting SLI. Upgrading to newer cards costs more than that old laptop is even worth. I think it is even nuts to offer a refund for a 5year old system to begin with. Thats just like using a system for free for 5 years with a downpayment that you will receive back after using it. Like a deposit. After 5 years a replacement system with equal performance should be normal and he can get more than what he originally had.

Secondary features such as expresscard in, what the hell do you need express card in these days for and esata? You get TB3, USB3, USB-C, NVME etc in return.

 

1. Yes it can....example, 58FPS average on sleeping dogs on single 980M vs 72FPS average on 780M SLI, 54 FPS in hitman absolution single 980M vs 56 FPS average 780M SLI, 43 FPS average 980M single on Crysis 3 vs 47 FPS average on 780M SLI....Does SLI cause headaches? Yes, it sure does, and not every game supports it. But when it works, it works beautifully and gives a significant boost.

2. Expresscard can still be used for numerous expansions such as video capture, more USB ports, eGPU, etc...no it's not as fast as a thunderbolt/external PCIe but is still plenty useful.

3. eSata is a dedicated USB 2 port. Sometimes there is no ability to enable USB debug/USB 2.0 mode and this may cause compatability issues when installing from a non-optical media.

4. NVMe has been retrofitted into the M18x R2 and can be done on any intel 6,7,8 series chipsets (Sandy bridge and later)

5. USB 3.1 is not even significant, the speed gains are marginal at best over USB 3.0, and we haven't even saturated those yet.

 

Now test this with modern games. Because that is a huge difference. A 960 desktop card for example beats a 780 desktop card because of architectural differences.

But how could nvme be enabled on those older lsptops. Dont they use msata slots instead? Those arent directly hooked on the pci express bus arent they?

 

Retrofit the NVMe module into the BIOS, there are 2.5" NVMe SSDs. and conversion from M.2 to msata. see:
http://www.win-raid.com/t871f16-Gui...for-Intel-Chipset-systems-from-Series-up.html

 

that is just not true, a desktop 960 preforms about as well as a desktop gtx680/770 in the best case scenarios is faster than a 770,& the 770 was a rebadge/ tweek of the 680

gtx960 faster than 770
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/gpu_displays/msi_gtx960_gaming_review/12
gtx960 same as to 770
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/gpu_displays/msi_gtx960_gaming_review/16
960 not as good as 770
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/gpu_displays/msi_gtx960_gaming_review/15
about as good as a 760 here
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/gpu_displays/msi_gtx960_gaming_review/19
& in the first graph it is getting beaten by an oc'd gtx680
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/gpu_displays/msi_gtx960_gaming_review/7

 

£500 for a new GPU is alot cheaper than a £1500+ laptop

 

Sleeping dogs, Tomb Raider and Far Cry 3 are fairly old games.

Try something newer like Project cars and it becomes like this
http://www.techspot.com/review/1000-project-cars-benchmarks/page2.html

Or Doom 2015, The 960 beats the 780
http://www.techspot.com/review/1173-doom-benchmarks/page2.html

Games that benefit from the compression algorithms of Maxwell are all faster than the previous Kepler gpu's.

In the Witcher 3 the 960 is also faster than the 770 and closer to the 780 than the 770.
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/the_witcher_3_graphics_performance_review,5.html

In the Division the 960 is performing much better than the 770 as well. No 780 vanilla is benchmarked here unfortunately. The TI version is ofcourse faster.
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/the_division_pc_graphics_performance_benchmark_review,6.html

The notebook 780M is ofcourse nowhere near the performance of a desktop 780.

The laptop with the 980M that I have is around 1600euro. An MXM board in EUro's is around 850 euro. I rather buy a new laptop after 3 years than buying a new MXM board for more than half that price.

 

@rinneh you stated that the 960 desktop card out preforms a 780 desktop card

the links you have provided only proves your statement wrong except in two games out of eight

even nvidias own marketing department say it profoms worse
http://international.download.nvidi...shared/images/products/shared/lineup-full.png

hard OCP 1440p testing "We wanted to find out to which video card the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 swings closest to; the GeForce GTX 760 or GeForce GTX 770? The GTX 960 performs in-between these video cards, but where exactly does it fit? According to our testing it swings closer to the performance of the GeForce GTX 770. The GeForce GTX 960 seems to perform upwards of 20% faster than a GeForce GTX 760. In some instances it is dead even with the GTX 770 on performance, in others it is trailing it, but trailing it closely, within 10%"
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015..._gaming_high_resolution_review/9#.Vz2F17grJhE

 

well i guess its different things for different people, but to me one of the best parts about owning/building laptop or a desktop to me taking something stock & modding/upgrading/overclocking to suit what you want not making it faster/better than the OEM intended it to be.

sorry for getting so far off topic people

 

You are constantly quoting articles from the same era testing the same old games. Again Tomb Raider, BF4, Far Cry4 (which is exactly the same engine as 3). That is why i brought never games to the table. Things shifted. Tomb Raider is already 3 years old, BF4 is 3 years old and FC3/4 as well.

The situation that Maxwell started to perform better than the Kepler generation actually started the whole myth that Nvidia is crippling previous generations on a driver level while it is simpyl because of better compression algorithms on which games are build on now.

THe division simply doesnt have a 780 comparison, but the gap between the 770 and the 960 is huge. Only the Witcher 3 it is a bit slower but a lot better than the 770.. While the 770 is already also walking on its last legs because it is basically an overclocked 680. Imagine what will happen if you actually overclock a 960. The point is. a 780M x 2 is not faster than a single 980M in current gen games. The Maxwell architecture simply saw the performance gap grow with the releases of never games.

I would love upgrading my laptop. If I wouldnt be cheated by the companies releasing these upgrades. 850 euro for a GPU board that performs only about 60% of a 980TI 650 euro desktop card?

 

so you spend even more money?

a 1600eruo laptop + a 850 euro laptop gpu is less then buying two laptops at 1600 euro each

 

I gain other extra's too. New battery, new screen, new fans, new keyboard, new chassis etc . I love for example the chassis of the M15X but I would not buy it now even if it was not used. Its just old technology and in a lot of ways inferior. Now users are jsut lucky that Intel became lazy so the performance jumps arent great.

 

very true theirs not much difference in gaming performance cpu wise

New battery - meh to myself not important
new screen - ips/gsync/freesync would be nice but don't need it
new fans - i don't understand. Do you mean you don't clean ur heatsinks?
new keyboard - just a laptop keyboard... uck
new chassis - Haha plan on recaseing mine this/next year depends

 

I clean the fans ofcourse. But they are only good for an amount of operation hours.

Laptop keyboard, I am quite OCD when it comes to hygiene. I just want a fresh keyboard from time to time without shiny spots etc.

 

just clean the keybord regulary wipe it down after use/every over day & take it out & clean it when you clean the fans, just like with a desktop one you just clean it

if your coming close to the end of operational life on a fan in that short amount of time (3 years) i would be seriously worried (your years must be a lot longer than mine )

 

How much typing do you perform to get the shiny spots on keys? I haven't noticed this on my Alienwares, but I notice it at work on my HP and it drives me nuts. I try to avoid this as much as possible

 

The keys itself are okay most of the time. Its mostly the spacebar that has one shiny spot though most of the time.

But yeah I am a webdesigner/developer mainly. So I type a lot

I actually have 2 replacement keyboard for my alienware ready.

 

HAHAHAHA I do that too.
One reason Im looking forward to complete care.
On my old M15x and M17x it drove me nuts that the matte touchpad had a shiny spot that I could not remove.

 

Another on site technician two new vid cards heat sink and fans, same old issue. Just reported this to BBB now. We shall see what happens. I am not holding my breath though...

 

Alienware has also a policy where if they make 3 attempts to fix the same problem they have to do an exchange...
The BBB thing will fix it. A Dell rep that handles that stuff will contact you soon.
Its best to have any documentation needed. For example mine was fast because I could show case what was going on with videos etc.

 

hi.. im a newbie and ran into a thread from 2009 n was still valid!!! but i was looking for a command center for laptops not desktop.. so ..sigh... was so sad... =(... it was for a desktop version.
are there any new threads for "Laptop"..OLD legacy "m"17xR1 from 2008 ...Command Centers!!??? So desperate... i dont like being sad.. lol
i have 3 exact same laptops ..area 51 m9750 m17xR1's that id LOVE to have original command centers for or close to it? (I will make a separate usb just for command center!). and that are not for desktops... lol i keep downloading and uninstalling cuz there not eeven close to mine or theyre always for desktops!!!! And some who have said they do.. but they look kinda..... well.. suspicious.. like i shouldnt download from them..lol anybody have the command center for the "2008" area51 m17xR1 m9750 ????? or close to it??? Pleeaza?? pleeaza??!!!! Pretty Pleeaza!!???? thank you sooooo much! Sincerely, Sunshine thats Gloomy =-(...

oh.. i did.. they, this site, was great for help.. search through here alot!! but dell cant be of help .. say same thing..alot. lol
sorry i started first time post on the wrong subject.. thank you.. i will search out different posts on here for what im looking for.. Peace =-)

 

Hello Everyone, I hope, here I can get some answers to the problems I´ve been having:

I will start at the beginning:

I received my brand new Alienware 17 r3 on Monday august 15, I ordered the 6820hk processor, GTX 980m UHD 4k display and the 256gb SS drive and with windows 10 pro. On the very first power up I got the Alienware logo and then the screen went black and stayed there so I had to do a hard reboot, on the next boot It got to a few of the very first config screens and the it crashed again, needing another hard boot, on the third try the same happened so I called technical support. I was told to perform a diagnostic and after a few minutes everything passed ok, so I was told it might be a faulty installation and I was sent a Dell USB with the installation, and an email with a link to download and create a USB for a clean installation.

After performing a clean install, the system finally allowed me to access windows and everything seemed to be working, I started installing the hardware drivers one by one from chipset to the integrated graphics etc.. and it all went fine till I installed the Nvidia Drivers for my GPU, then the system crashed again mid install, again I had to reboot. finally on the second try the driver finished installing but a few moments later it again crashed now a BSOD and an automatic reset, this ware all the drivers from Dell, so I started trying out different drivers from the latest ones on the manufactures page, thinking this might solve the problem, it did not, only changed from hard crashed to bsod to black screen after loading screens. I did two more windows clean installations just to be sure and updated the bios to a new version that was available on the dell drivers page thinking this might solve the problem, but at last It did not.

The next day August 16 I called technical support again, I explained all what I had done and this time technical assistance remotely accessed my computer to run some test only to send me to an authorized repair center to have it further analyzed, I went there the next morning and to my surprise this was a very modest repair shop, and the attendees had never before seen an Alienware, I was reluctant to leave it there but, it did have dell certification, so I reproduced the problem, just accessing anything related to the gpu makes the system crash, the attendee told me they would run some tests and I would get a diagnosis the very same day. I received no such call, so a I called back and they told me they had not identified the source of the problem, but replacing the motherboard or the hard drive should fix it, I told them I would call dell to ask for a replacement since the system was brand new, and that I didn't authorize them to change any part, this was Wensday August 17.

I called Dell once again and told them everything that had happened so far and in response a new ticket was opened, and they said I would get a response in the next 7 days, I told them this was unacceptable and demanded to talk to a supervisor, again I had to explain everything done so far, and they told me in the next 24 hours I would be contacted with instructions to proceed with the replacement. the 24 hours went by and the next day August 18 I picked up my system from the repair shop, they still had no clue and told me they would send a report informing Dell of the problem in my pc, I called Dell once again and had to go through the whole process again telling them everything that had transpired only to be told that the ticket was still open and that the next day I would be contacted.

Friday came and went and just before closing hour I called once again only to be told exacly the same as before, finally today I write this in hope that someone might help me I don't know who to call I still hope this can be driver related and somehow I can still fix it, or at least get confirmation that I can get a replacement, I´m truly disappointed by this ordeal, to pay almost $3,000.00 usd for a laptop only to have to spend hours re-installing the OS, drivers, taking a brand new computer to a shady repair shop and calling an offsite call center for 5 days straight and get absolutely no reassurance or confirmation that anything is being done or at least some follow-up so I don't have to talk to a new rep and go over everything all over again, is really frustrating.

Thank you all in advance I hope someone here can point me in the right direction.

*forgive my poor English is a second language.

 

Here is an easy fix.

Call order support and tell them that you want to return the laptop, giving them the issues that you have encountered and that fixing , rather than replacing the laptop is not acceptable.

You are within the return policy , and you have solid facts that it is defective , they cannot say no.

fyi , soldered , aka BGA laptop will always require a motherboard replacement when there is an issue, even minor ones.

 

So I got the terrible news today...no graphics cards to fix my Alienware 18 due to "bad weather in the factory in Asia"....whatever that means. They want to replace my Alienware 18 with a AW17 R3....unacceptable. I told them I will wait for the "bad weather" to clear so I can get my 980M fixed.

 

Well they finally followed up on my request and my replacement is in production, they still have no ETA on the 10 series models at least in Mexico, so I will accept the replacement.

 

Good thing I did not have anything in my mouth or I make have choked reading that. What a pathetic offer. They may as well have offered you a Dell XPS laptop. That is quite the insult. They must think you are stupid.

Since they cannot fulfill the terms of the warranty contract, you should start pushing for a refund instead. If they want to make things right they need to give you back your money. Then you can use the money for something else.

 

I told them I would wait for the "weather situation in Asia" to clear, and that I will not be accepting a BGA machine. The rep I'm speaking to seems sympathetic, and he is escalating the case to his supervisor. I'm supposed to hear back by tomorrow

 

Wtf.. Asia?

 

That's what I was told over the phone. The factory in "Asia" is having bad weather and it has impacted Dell's supply chain. How much of this is true or not, I cannot say. Supposedly part will be in stock on 9/2/2016

 

I can say with 100% certainty that Dell still has access to 980M. That date is likely.

 

Getting a new replacement is always the best. 680msli is not better than 980m, no need to mention 580msli. Also, a five year old computer worth nothing, but if you sell a brand new aw17r3, you could always get like 2000. It is like using a high end computer for free for 5years. But anyway, his likely to get a aw18 replacement, and the rig should be 970msli, just exploit dell as much as you can lol

 

I'm going to file a BBB complaint this next week since I haven't been able to reach a resolution with Dell/Alienware. I have the machine in my signature, Alienware 17 R1 that I've had for about 2 to 3 years now and paid extra for Accidental Care/Next Day Support.

On 8/26 I called because my CPU was running pretty hot, HDMI port had stopped working, and I was starting to get artifacts. I spent about an hour and a half on the phone with a rep before they set up a service appointment to come out and have a guy replace two heat sinks, CPU/GPU paste, motherboard, and a few other items they deemed necessary.

Dell Technician shows up, spent about 3 to 4 hours replacing parts, and when he was finished, machine's lights were not on, no power button light, and worse artifacts. The minute he left, I called Dell/Alienware again and spent another hour and a half with tech support trying to figure out the problems.

They then set up another service ticket, replacing all the lights, LCD, another motherboard, and some other pieces. No idea why they didn't replace the graphics card at this point? Motherboard was on backorder, so TWO weeks later, same tech comes out, spent another 3 to 4 hours replacing parts (didn't replace the LCD). When he finished, he didn't realize some screws were longer than others, drills through the palmrest. So now, They have damaged my personal property. Keyboard isn't flush, and has bumps. My jaw has dropped.

I immediately contact Dell/Alienware and made them aware of the situation. I told them at this point, my system is now worse off than when I had initially contacted them and that I'm requesting a replacement. Ended up speaking to a supervisor (2 of them actually) and I was assured there would be no problem. I was suppose to receive a call within 48 to 72 hours. It never happend. Called in again, spoke to another supervisor, and he just responded with a decline for my request.

Its now September 29th. Its been over a month, I have spoken to 10 different reps (3 of which were alleged supervisors) and I have gotten nowhere. My computer is still damaged and not fully functioning, and It has a messed up palmrest, keyboard, graphics card, and who know what else was damaged internally by the different length screws. I feel that the only viable resolution at this point is a full system replacement. Am I out of line here?

 

Jesus....Dell/Alienware needs to get their **** in gear...the amount of horrid repair experiences by techs is just ludicrous. If the tech can't make the distinction that some screws are obviously longer then others and figure out what go where then they are probably in the wrong field.

Push for a replacement system, anything less at this point is a joke. Call Alienware between normal business hours...DON'T CALL DELL. Calmly explain all the problems and the damage and ask for a replacement system. Call them every day if you have to, although you shouldn't have to call more then once.

 

I'll keep this thread posted as things play out. Right now, the guy I spoke with who I thought was a supervisor apparently escalated this to a supervisor. I've noticed major deception amongst the people I have spoken with thus far. Its really sad that a big, 'reputable' company like this treats its customers this way. Sadly, it seems that their support has indeed suffered over the past decade.

UPDATE 10/4 - The 'supervisor' I was speaking with came back and declined the exchange, offering up the same resolution: Send another tech out or send to depot.

I was about to post my complaint on BBB and decided to give them another call. As per MogRules' suggestion, I called the ALIENWARE support number, not DELL. Kindly asked for a supervisor, explained my situation, and the new supervisor said he'd get back to me the next day. So, got the call back today and exchange got APPROVED. Good stuff so far. Will update when new information comes in.

 

Well, got some great news yesterday. System replacement specifics are below, with my current specs in my signature:

ALIENWARE 17 R3

Processor


Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6820HK (Quad-Core, 8MB Cache, Dynamically Overclocked up to 4.1GHz)

Memory

32GB Dual Channel DDR4 2133Mhz (16GBx2)

HDD

256GB PCIe SSD (Boot) + 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage)

Optical Drive

NA

Graphics


NVidia GeForce GTX 980M with 4gb

LCD

17.3 inch UHD (3840 x 2160) IGZO IPS Anti-Glare 400-nits Display

OS

Windows 10 Home 64bit English

Battery

8 Cell 92W Hour Battery

Wireless Card

Killer 1535 802.11ac 2x2 WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1

Overall, I'm very pleased with the exchange system and feel it was somewhat worth the trouble. Definitely a much better system and I feel they were generous in the variety of upgrades they provided.

 

Whatever happened with this?

 

Oh the part ended up coming through, but they only replaced 1 980M and forgot to install the second one altogether...so it was another month of waiting. I just got my system back last week. The service event was logged in late July.

 

OMG... that's really sad. You have my condolences.

 

It is what it is...just glad I have something sellable now. Strongly considering moving the Alienware 18 in favor of funds for a desktop

 

I'm going to be ordering a P870DM3 from @Ted@HIDevolution and @Donald@HIDevolution soon and I can hardly wait. I had spec'd out a very nice desktop build, but I decided to go another round with an Über-Beast because I hate being tethered to a desk so much. And, I also wanted to show my support for the world's last remaining truly high performance dual-GPU enthusiast notebook.

My P750ZM is wicked little monsterbook, but it just ain't cutting it as my main machine. It has been really fantastic as a backup option, but a 15-inch laptop is just too small. And, I miss SLI performance more than I ever thought I possible.

 

So I received the machine today. Looks brand new, and unused. Slight light bleed on the 4k screen at the lower left corner, but not really noticeable aside from the start up screen. The BIG surprise was to find an 8gb 980m vs the 4gb I thought I would be getting. WOW!

Now, all good. However, they installed the OS on the 1tb spindle drive and set the SSD as the data drive. Is there a way to clean install Windows 10 on the SSD and create the 1tb 2nd drive as a data drive? Any links would be appreciated (Already tired searching)

 

I really don't understand why they continue to do this, but this has been an off and on problem for Dell/Alienware for several years now. It happens randomly on their desktops and laptops. I'm guessing it's a matter or technical ignorance or simply not caring enough to pay proper attention to details.

Use Macrium Reflect (free edition will be fine) and clone the HDD to the SSD. That is not normally recommended, but if you want to keep the factory installation that's your only option. If the SSD performance is correct and there are no alignment issues you will be good to go. Then you can diskpart/clean and reformat the HDD for storage.

If cloning does not work well and they provided installation media, take out the HDD and use that to install to the SSD while the HDD is removed. (This is important to force the bootloader to use the SSD.) If they did not provide installation media, you can contact them to request it for free. There is a web site for North American customers to request that, but I do not have the link any more.

Otherwise, download a generic Windows ISO, create a USB installer and use your factory product key (if necessary, but it may automatically activate) for a clean install to the SSD, but still temporarily remove the HDD during setup.

 

Yeah, makes no sense to me either. They probably weren't paying attention. Thanks for the info, I'll try that out!

 

They do that every time I send my computer in for service. I even mark NO to re-install OS (my setup is very close to fresh install, almost always), and they do it anyway....flash a factory image to the HDD and wipe the SSD -_-