Post your positive experiance with the M15x and also with Alienware CSR/Tech Support

Hey guys


Been away for a couple of days, but I just ordered an M15x with X9000 processor, 4 gigs of ram and the 8800 gtx card. Now It seems the downclocking issues has been fixed but there are still a lot of things that the owners of a M15x is dissatisfied with.

So on the side note, lets try the opposite, post here any positive experiance wit h the M15x system itself or with Alienware CSR/Tech support.

So far, the CSR support is going good for me, I got the roswell group helping me so thats a plus. Hopefully if I'm lucky CSR will always be this good to me .... lol

 

It is natural to see a lot of negative experiences posted here. This is a forum whose primary purpose is to post issues and search for solutions. Of course I can't give you exact figures, but I'm sure that for every sad story you read here, there are plenty of happy, satisfied m15x owners.

Anyway, I'll go ahead and share my story with you (if you have't already read it a thousand times)

I received my system to find no physical flaws, and excellent gaming performance. I had no gap above the ethernet port, my name plate had my name on it, no dead pixels, no nero-related erros. the 8700 and T9300 give me upwards of 100 fps in Half Life 2 and other Steam games at max settings.

My problem was that under certain circumstances, such as an installer running, a game running, or even something downloading in the background, my keyboard's response rate would drop significantly, making it difficult to type. I dealt with CS over the phone for a number of hours. As I expected, we never really made any progress, but most of the operators I dealt with were pretty helpful, and seemed fairly competent.

More useful than phone support was email. Initially I described this problem to [email protected]. They told me to contact the specific m15x email adress and request a BIOS upgrade. (Since I have the 8700, mine shipped with x27, not x30). After sending an email to that adress, I got a response with critical issues team lead, Juan Carlos Nunez.

After working on the problem for a whole lot of hours, doing plenty of experiments, and 3 installations of Vista, I decided on Monday to send the thing in. I have been in constant contact via email (and once over the phone) with Mr. Nunez. He seems like a particularly knowledgable and competent individual, and he has given me his word that he will personally oversee the repairs, and ensure that my issue is resolved to my satisfaction.

First of all I'm happy because I feel that I am in good hands. Secondly I am happy because if this thing comes back and is not fixed to my satisfaction, I know exactly whom to speak with about it. I hope you read this as a mostly "positive" experience.

 

yeah thanks for your response ^^ gave you rep. We all need a little positive feedback

 

so far i have no problems also. the name on the name plate was also correct. there are no physical defects at all. Well the only physical defect is a little extra paint got on the speaker grill but i dont really mind about that. the paint is so thin its like a hair. So far game performance has been very good. The m15x has not gone past 83. So far the m15x has been performing perfectly.

i dont know anything about customer support since i never spoke to any of them. i dont have any problems yet so i did not need to speak to any of them.

 

I love the CS, firstn20!! Especially the Roswell Team. They really want to help.

In the past, I have called TS countless times. And they always did everything in their power to help me out. Often times, They've spent hours on the phone with me just to troubleshoot issues with my computer.

The only gripe I have is sometimes the lines are busy when I call in so I will have to wait. And sometimes they may treat you like you know jack about computers. It depends on who you get...

But, yea, recently Roswell have greatly helped me out. I got my m5550 credited and all my items credit very smoothly. Often times I would call in because I get worried about my order, but they have always been patient with me. And the emails are prompt and very helpful. These guys really know what they are doing.

Yesterday when I called in, I spoke to a Research & Development Team member and he told me that all of the Roswell Crew Members have at least 2+ of experience with technical support and customer support. And he told me that this is just a new thing that they are trying right now.

That's my take on the AW TS.

 

http://www.trustedreviews.com/notebooks/review/2008/04/24/Alienware-Area-51-m15x/p1 not really on topic, but it was positive

 

I have to say my system is working very well. I've had my system since mid Feb. Everything works great no scratches, no dead pixels, name plate correct. In the beginning I had issue with my lights not starting when I would start my system on battery. Well after talking to Roswell I got it sent in and they had to change the mobo. In the beginning I had the t7700 then the penryn was released. When my pc was in Houston I asked them how much it would cost to swap out the t7700 for the 9300 they said it wouldn't cost me anything I would just have to put a deposit down for the new cpu and when they got the old back to Miami it would be refunded back. Well I got my computer back shortly after boot it on battery everything is working and low and behold look at my cpu and it was the X9000! Couldn't believe it I guess someone just overlooked something and put it in the wrong cpu (not complaining though!) Sorry to go on but for me in the beginning it was horrible switched over to Roswell and everything is GREAT! Only problem I would say about my system is the screen wobbles and the touch controls (just like everyone else.)

Edit: O yeah b4 I forget I also had a problem with dvd drive only burning at 2.4x so they swapped that out for a new one (they also upgraded me to the lightscribe) and that one is working great!

 

I love my m15x. I will posting my review soon

 

My experience with the laptop has been rather positive. It has the power I need for all my games except 2 (WoW and Crysis), programs don't crash, and the battery lasts long enough for make to take notes in class all day when on super power saving settings.

'course it's not all good for me. I've seen about 3-4 blue screens (when switching from integrated to dedicated), and my CPU downclocks while raiding in WoW (more than likely due to my UI). Oh, and some of my paint has chipped, and I have a few "cuts" in the plastic around the monitor and on the side and back.

Overall really good though.

P.S. I'm ticked about how the X9000 came out like a week after I got mine. It's not that big of a deal, but for battery power reasons I would much rather have gotten that one.

 

lessa you could have had them swap it for you. don't think they'll do it now

 

no comment yet.. all i can say is support takes a long time... =D

 

Have you figured out why it does that? Does it affect your performance noticeably? I ask because this will be my machine when I am on travel or at the in-laws house. But generally, I will most likely be on my desktop.

Sorry for the thread jack, just ordered my laptop about 10 mins ago and saw this post and had me worried because its primary use will be for WoW

 

Well, I've had mine for almost 2 weeks now and have been pretty happy with the notebook. It's beautiful and attractively designed. I'll try to address some of the issues people have voiced on this forum from my experience so far...

There are some squeaks, most noticeably when you open and close the lid but it's really not as bad as most people make it out to be. It's just a factor of the type of plastic that they incorporated and I think it may also have to do with the laminating material used on the plastic but on the whole it's not something that's really bothering me at all. Primarily, it's noticeable when you open and close the lid and I never notice it when typing or resting my hands on the bottom notebook base. Now, I have an xps m1710 sitting next to it that it's replacing and so I compared the general and overall build. In general, the m1710 doesn't look nearly as pretty and attractive as the m15x, but it is definitely more solid and contains hardly any flex. I can't detect much of any flex when I open and close the lid. Then again, I don't necessarily think that flex in the m15x is anything to cry home about. The laminated clear coat on the m15x is beautiful and the m1710 has nothing similar to compare with. The silver coating on the m1710 base rubs off after extended use and I don't ever see that happening with the m15x but maybe someone could correct me who's had theirs longer. Either way, I'm relatively happy with the build of the m15x. Yes, it's creaky but not drastically so and still a relatively solid feeling notebook. It might have been sturdier with more magnesium alloy and less plastic but then again people need to keep in mind the size of the notebook. It's 15.4" and AW is probably rightly thinking that people purchasing the 15.4" are looking for maximum mobility in a gaming notebook. More metal and less plastic would significantly increase the weight past what is already a rather portly 15.4" incher. I can understand their design philosophy and I'm pretty happy with it.

I have a flawless screen. It's the LG, with zero dead pixels. It's actually so bright that I thought AW had switched to a LED screen because it reminded me of the display on the new macbook pro's. It had some slight washout but that was easily corrected with color settings in the nvidia control panel. I have very little to no light bleeding. It's a superb display.

The performance has been amazing and I'm happily enjoying Crysis at 1440x900 on high settings with the t9300. It can slow down a tad in a few places but performs very well.

The cam is not very good and decent at best, but then again I don't use mine very much so it's very much a non-issue. At least the notebook has one though, right?

Keyboard is very well designed, solid and tactile. Springy buttons and enjoyable to type on. I was having some of what people were describing as missed key registering when typing fast but I don't seem to be having any more of that so maybe it was an issue of getting used to typing on the keyboard?

No gap above the ethernet port and no cracks. The laptop arrived in pristine condition with not a scratch or scuff on it. The lcd has a very slight warp near the right base corner that is only noticeable when viewing the lcd opened 90 degrees from directly above. It's not the screen but the lcd back covering that also includes the alien head. It's more of a natural manufacturing and assembly anomaly and less a real defect.

I love the touch sensitive controls and wouldn't replace them for anything. Yes the volume can be a bit finicky but please guys, it's not that bad.

AlienFX is just awesome, period. I love playing with the lights.

Aesthetically, the m15x is beatiful to look at even if it doesn't feel quite as solid and sturdy as it could. Again though, I think this was not an oversight on AW's part and purposeful use of cheap plastic but more of an effort to try to keep the weight down since it's a 15.4" notebook and they rightly thought it would probably be much more mobile than a 17" full DTR. I'm still well within my 30 days but at the moment I don't have any intention of sending it back. In fact, I just ordered a smartbay battery and smartbay HD loader to put a 320gb drive in.

Oh, and I've had no downclocking with the x30 bios, with temp peaks around 86C (corrected) while playing Crysis.

 

Fully agree with you on all points groove.

Also, that temperature reading is probably in Celsius... 86F is impossibly low

 

My m15x experience has been positive. The only problem I've had is with DC, and that seems to have been fixed... now I'm totally happy w/ my machine.

CS has been good as well. Although I've never called them, they called me (after emailing them the DC issues) a few times to let me know that the new (at the time) bios was out. They offered to walk me through the bios flash process as well.

Thumbs up from me.

 

My m15x have been with me for quite some time now and i still love it even with all the negative threads they showed, even reading one of it make me feel A LOT lucky to have my system flawless. Except for the fact that my nameplate which is a number no comment on that.

Everything else; the hardware and software were function properly and without a problem!! As i keep on refer to NBR whenever i have problem and able fix it on my own (kinda make me proud of myself, WAHAHAHAHA). The heat issue is not that much of trouble to me as i use a cooler pad and my room got air-conditioned...

The touch-sensitive control are among the coolest feature i've ever seen and mine havent got any problem with it... come on! all you gotta do was just touch it and slide through and you can adjust your volume~~ how cool is that~~~

So the notebook creak, its not big deal, its not like it gonna make your m15x explode. Whats important are the INSIDE; DO NOT JUDGE THE BOOK BY ITS COVER. I dont mind it since im only setting my eyes on the sexy 8800GTX and the X9000

The M15x have boost my gaming experience to the level of high-end graphic~~~ YES, with the 8800GTX i was able to play games that i usually play on low or med to the highest possible setting ever!!! Its like i conquer the freaking world HUAHAHAHAHA!!! sniff... ohhh the glory of high-end graphic~~~

But what i like the most about my m15x is the lighting of course... since i really really like to play in the dark (its kinda set the mood of gaming) the lighting really helps me to coordinate my hand onto the keyboard as i PK other player without any problem~~

The smartbay is also a very welcoming addition since its store extra HDD which is cool!! I dont use the optical drive that much so my smartbay was always the HDD and i kinda dislike using external hdd where they are plug in from outside~~ unsafe~~~ but right now im very excited that i can upgrade my 320gb smartbay into the whooping 500gb!!.. but further detail investigation are required for the upgrade!!!!

Never tried the CS support though since all of my problem are solved by reading through NBR threads on alienware problem

 

no, please do comment on the nameplate issue! after hearing about another swiss guy getting his m15x without the nameplate at all, it would be a shame to find out AW is having trouble with simple stuff like nameplates...

 

Did you guys called in and ordered the nameplate with the m15x or online? I think they are both the same.

 

I have had a great experience with my M15x! I love it so much!

I contacted Support through their email on the website and they contacted me immediatly. I asked them to look at the gap in the case above the ethernet port.

The were very fast and had FedEx pick up my laptop the next day. It was overnighted to Alienware and was sent back the next day all fixed and shiny!

I am very impressed with all my experiences with them. They have treated me fairly and with respect.

I will be purchasing a lot more from them in the future.

 

Good to hear that dawnkeeper.

 

Is it me or this list alot smaller then the Complaints list. Just joking everyone. And congrats on those happy working system. Enjoy the heck out of them.

 

Had down/clocking, overheating, faulty touch controls, and crack above ether port with my first M15X. Alienware decided to replace it with a new unit which was done promptly after i returned the first one. Juan Carlos Nunez was very helpful keeping me updated and advising me how to install the latest Bios update when i got the replacement. Alienware Frank and Alienware Steve were also helpful. No complaints re the service.

 

sigh =( the tech support said they would email me in 1-2 hours regardless of the result(Good/bad).... and its been a day and still no email!

i don't think i'm asking for much either... i understand that they might have had something going on, or busy, or it takes time to test... but if you're going to tell me you'll email me the results in 2 hours time even if it's good or bad, then do it!

and my nameplate came with not my name! but my agent number

 

you can just call them up and they will send you a new nameplate. its easy to change too since the name plate is held on with some screws.

 

My nameplate was supposed to have my name and then my handle (Name, Handle), but it only had my name on it. *Shrugs* It's not that big of a deal.