Questions.

So today I ordered my first Alienware. I have known of them for a long time, and wanted one for a long time. My last two laptops were Macs, and they were great. (Really) But as I prepare to start classes more centered to obtaining a degree in Computer Science, I decided it was time to get a Laptop PC because, well, there's just more stuff out there for Windows, and I didn't really feel like dropping 2600 on a 15 inch MacBook Pro just to install Windows on it as well. A few years ago a friend of mind bought an awesome Alienware laptop, and they forgot to install one of the cooling fans, needless to say it was a horrible experience. I didn't let that deter me, and I have been reading many reviews and visiting several forums, doing research, and eventually decided that if I was going to spend almost three thousand dollars on a laptop anyways, it might as well be an awesome laptop PC, right? But enough of my long stories...

I have also noticed that many users here, while for the most part happy with their machines, have many problems as well. I was wondering if this is because the machine is so technologically advanced that it is just prone to problems? I hate to say it but I've been spoiled with my Macs, I've had 1 real problem in the 6 years I have used them... So I'm just a little anxious... I'm not too concerned if it has absurd benches and whatnot, I just wanted an extreme laptop that can handle lots of crap, including awesome games. I also figured that the dual GPU's would last a while and still function rather well.

Should I expect some snags and snafu's when my laptop arrives? Or is that only more common with the owners who like to tweak and max everything out? I'm very happy with my purchase, I just want to be prepared

 

It varies man, i own a Area 51 M7700 and my cf 5870 should be here tomorrow. At the time the 7700 crushed any laptop by a long shot, but there came problems with it. In the first year (towards the end) my GPU broke and Alienware kept sending my broke refurbed ones that broke within the week. Needless to say i ended up buying a 7900 gtx and i still have it. With any new technology there will be tweaks in the system and updates that need to be created in order for this technological advanced machine to work properly. It's a machine that is not designed for a beginner PC person, being that the newest technology is almost always in the Alienwares first, resulting in problems. As long as you atleast have a 2 year warranty, you'll be good. My system is almost 6 years old and can still play modern games for the most part. Its worth it, IMO

 

Well, the people who post on forums are generally the people who have issues.
I'd say less than 5% of alienware owners are active forum members in any range of communities and I'd say 75% of that 5% are satisfied so while it may look like there's a whole bunch of issues, those issues are generally few and far between.

 

I recently bought an M11x, loved it so much and the way it handles windows 7 that i sold my 15 inch Unibody Macbook pro and ordered a M15X. Once i receive ill definitely post up a review

 

Allot of truth in this post.

The people who do have problems are a very small percentage of alienware owners, and also not everyone who owns an alienware is a member on this site.

Also for example, if a couple of ferrari's broke down or somthing people would think that all ferrari's are unreliable even though there was only a couple instances of it.

or if one glock kabooms people will start thinking they are gernades not handguns.

The only problem that i see about my m17xr2 is maybe the weight but i can hack it. Otherwise i have had no problems and it has performed admirably

 

i just got my R2 yesterday and i have had nothing but FUN with it. i wouldn't worry to much. i would imagine that all of the problems are with a small portion of the machines and most likely you will have a problem free experience. coming from a mac, this will be like opening your eyes for the First time.....=)

 

I really wouldn't worry about any snags. Even if you decide to really tweak your system, there's so much documentation on these forums that you'd be in great condition as a result.

 

Thanks guys.

Several years ago I built my own PC for gaming, it was so awesome running WoW and HL2 with everything full!

Unfortunately I became addicted to WoW and had to quit before it ruined my life more than it already had, and to do that I had to sell my PC, lol. It wouldn't really run on my old G4 PowerBook and even though the first few weeks were tough I made it through

I'm extremely excited, I only wish it didn't take about a month to arrive

I still love Macs too though I'm currently using a rather new 13 inch MBP... at least it runs SC2 on low... so I can get my fix

I wouldn't really consider myself a beginner to computers, but it has been a while since I used a windows system, and to top it off 7 seems like they've changed many things, hopefully for the better. I'll never forget the very first time I booted up my custom rig... it crashed after 15 mins xD... Then I managed to sort the kinks out. Anyways glad to know there's many knowledgeable and helpful people out here, I know how important it is to find a neat community of like minded people who can help out if/when problems arise.

I ordered the R2 (the one with the i5 & i7?): with the i7 720QM, 4GB 1333 Ram (for now), cf5870, and the 1200p LED RGB screen. I only got a basic HD because I figured I can upgrade later. I also got the 1 year premium service plan, and I plan to upgrade that as well, I just didn't have the cash to get it all at once. I know it's probably more expensive but I *think* I have a year to decide if I want to upgrade or not, so I should be good.