Read: My *experience* with Alienware (Feb 2008 - Now) (Good/Bad)

Ok guys this is from the beginning; when I purchased the m15x and how I got a refund a year later.

I was one of the first ones to order the M15x when it came out. I ordered mine in Feb ’08 and received it in March ’08. Now before I had even received the laptop there were talks on the forum that there was no lighting around the lid. So people called AW and asked about this. Everyone received different answers, some said that the lighting was optional, or available as an upgrade, or there wasn’t supposed to be any lighting at all, etc… So finally I called AW and asked to speak to a supervisor and after talking with 3 or 4 supervisors I was told that there was a patch which enabled the lighting around the lid. So I called AW support and had them send me the patch to my email, which I posted here.

So I received my laptop and installed the patch, and the lighting was working fine. I did notice the screeching noise made by the hinge and the screen wobble, but it didn’t matter much to me. Couple of months pass by the screeching noise got louder and screen wobbled more and more. There was also an issue with the plastic on the side. Finally in the following months, the hinge broke. So on Oct. 9th 2008 I called Alienware and sent in my system for repairs. I was told that my system would be repaired and sent back within a week. It took them more than one week; I received my system on November 14th, 2008, almost 5 weeks after.

On December 24th 2008 the hinge busted again. So on January 19th 2009 I sent in my laptop again for repairs. I received it back almost a month later on February 18, 2009. When I turned on my laptop, the fan made a really loud noise. And the noise was loud in both normal and stealth mode. I also noticed one of the screws missing from the chassis. The rim of the laptop still had a gap which was not fixed.

After contacting with BBB and Alienware I was offered a replacement unit, which I denied because the build quality was terrible for the m15x. I knew the issue would resurface and I would have to face the same downtime for the repair. I asked Alienware to give me a credit so I could order a different laptop. They accepted this offer.

Eventually I was given full credit on Alienware.ca . I had the option of either buying an m15x, m17x or M17. I decided to wait until they released M17 with 4870s. Since there was no set date for the release of 4870s Alienware gave me my full refund because the credit was too large for them to hold on to. So I checked my Visa and I was credited around $3800.

Alienware also offered me 5% off on my next purchase if I decided to go with Alienware again.

I would like to thank Mr. Ortega who kept me updated with the status of the case, and helped me with this issue.

Even though this was a long process, the customer support I got from Mr. Ortega was great and he’s the reason I have decided to go with Alienware again with the M17x

And once I receive my M17x I will try to make videos of the game play and the unit itself.

I made these videos a year ago for the m15x. I made these to help out other buyers who wanted to get a closer look at the look and performance of the m15x:
m15x laptop, games on m15x, COD4 on m15x, Crysis on m15x, m15x + 24" Monitor, Grid on m15x

 

good new thank you very much for your info

 

nice that your issue was resolved with professionalism.
update us when you get the new unit.

thx.

 

I have contacted him for my new unit, just waiting for his reply

 

I wish I could get a refund for my unit, even though its working fine, i would love to buy an M17x lol. GRRR hahah

 

glad to hear they were good to you! The m15x certainly has its issues I think you'll be happy with the m17x from what I can tell it should be the best built AW ever with that anodized aluminium likely one of the best built machines period.

 

Yup, I think people are still receiving m15xs with hinge problem, I don't know if Alienware used the same vendor for m17xs chassis

 

Ricky_S,

Thank you for sharing your experiences with all of us here in the forums, it is always great to hear from our customers.