The "Why you shouldn't buy the M15x" thread [OUTDATED] [FIRST GEN MODEL]

Is the op's first post true? All those pictures and nightmare stories? I was looking at an m15x to replace the m1530 i got from dell...

 

All my post is true... but take it carefully. It's a collection of what's wrong (or was wrong and now fixed) and a compilation of reports regarding the hinges of the laptop breaking. So, it's lot's of "horror stories" all gathered together into only one place.

I'm sure you will be able to find several positive reviews gathered around the forum.

Now, if you are looking for computers to replace the M1530, maybe have a look around on Clevo forum as well, as a new laptop was just released with identical/better specs than the M15x. Also, I guess that several new laptops will be released in the near future.

 

I have an m15x (for about two months now) and I love it, or at least I did until I found out that most security devices wont work with it. I bought a kensington combosaver combination lock for my laptop after having read "compatible with 99% of notebooks". Apparently my machine is part of the 1%. Here is the damage done:




It may not look like much, but a few visible scratches and protrusions on $4000 machine make a difference. I followed the directions on the lock only to be let down by the damaging of my laptop. I am saddened to say the least...does anyone have any suggestions for locks that actually work with the m15x? Please email me at [email protected]

 

Hey Milc and update for you:

I got a full refund today but i am going to buy the m17x with the refund.

I still want the Alienware but i just don't want a lemon.

 

remember to order it online and never set foot in austin computers again.

 

I ordered this brand new m17x directly from Alienware Head Office.

Not going to make that same mistake again.

Austin computer has lost me as their customer for good - till the day I die for as long as I live I will never set foot in their shop again. It's a shame I spent over $20,000 there in the past 5 years.

They can fish for customers at other pond because the fish at this pond has left.

 

Milcs, are you keeping your original post updated? I saw a couple new threads about the m15x falling apart...

 

glad to hear you got a full refund tyronne and good luck with the m17x

 

Hey guys, I see things are still heading down the road we all predicted. Hey milcs this post is still a good avenue for new buyers keep it up.

 

Hey Newfie, how's your MBP holding up? I'm about 2 steps shy of buying one when the supposed new revision is released this month or next. Was the transition very difficult?

 

Hey Groove,

No the transition was super easy. If you read the transition guide on the Mac OSX forum it should go pretty smooth. Besides for my engineering software, I barely boot into Vista through bootcamp.

Some things I find easier on the PC , mostly dealing with Itunes as opposed to dealing with WMP. I actually prefer Windows Media Player. And fli4Mac is extremely slow at loading WMV files.

For serious gaming I have my home rig for that, but over all I am quite happy with my MBP. And like you I am so awaiting the new refresh, and hopefully a more potent GPU.

 

bumping this so ppl see it before making a stupid mistake

 

Newfie, good to hear. I'm looking forward to the new mbp and OSX experience. The gpu will probably be nothing near the 8800mGTX, but a small bump above the 8600mGT is really all I need. Hell, I'm so backed up with games that I'm just now getting around to playing. For example, I just finished HL2, episode 2 last night. Anyway, hopefully they announce something tomorrow at the Apple event but I doubt it.

After that, this little m15x is going on ebay.

 

My M15X is now victim to the hinge pulling apart. I have e-mailed alienware in hopes they can do something about it.

 

oh no,not another one. sorry to hear that.

 

hey groove, what's wrong with your m15x? I thought you were happy with it?

 

Wow, they just won't stop breaking :\

BIG deal killer for me... Alienware can forget about having my money!

 

He signed up february 2008 though, no? Is that also when you got your m15x? If so, then it would be the first generation batch. This doesn't mean that the newer batch is hinge break-proof but Alienware CS has kept referring to a "new batch".

 

Yeah I ordered in 2/29/08. Received it after the first bios upgrade was available.

 

Maybe they'll replace the chassis? Hopefully with a fresh "new batch" one and not with a recycled one like they have a couple times.

 

That is what I am hoping to get after spending over $3,000.

 

It's fine, I just don't game on it as much as I anticipated. I also much prefer OSX to Windows, so I'm planning on getting the new macbook pro's when they are released. The gpu should be able to play most of the games that I would be interested in playing. I mean, the only things I've been unhappy with on my m15x are that fact that it's overpriced and has poor build quality. Other than that though I suppose I've been one of the lucky few to not having any major complications or complaints. I have an xbox 360 for the games that I can't play on my computer. More than likely, I would not be purchasing Alienware again as I don't consider their products to be worth the price, though I haven't had a particularly nasty or unpleasant experience like some on this forum. The lights are nice but the novelty wears off rather quickly...

 

lol i feel the same, the m15x is just so hard to sell. i want the new macbook. there really is not much point to pc gaming, with the consoles now. sure a mouse is great but to what extent?

ALIENWARE has outright refused to send me a replacement laptop. they where so rude when i called "sir alienware does not offer a replacement program" they offered i mail it in again and they will repair it based on if technical support find its nessacary. its really sad actually.

 

You are "victim" number 14.
Would you be able to post some pictures so that we could add to our (vast) collection?

I think AW reps should let us know what's the deal with this hinge issue.

Lot's of people are trying to keep their hopes up by mentioning a "new batch", but in all honesty, there hasn't been any official confirmation from AW on this. The only thing people are putting hope on is on a CS, over the phone, saying "Yes, yes... They are much better now!". And, I'm sorry to say, but you should not take anything these CS say, literally... they don't seem to have much grasp of knowledge.

The only real fact that we have now is that THIS IS A MAJOR problem, that happens VERY often and tends to happen around 6 months of usage.

I was accused of trolling when I started a new topic on this issue... We now have 14 cases. If this is not a major issue, then I really don't know any better.

 

as milcs has stated,it is all hear say about a new chassis. nothing has been confirmed by AW and all it takes is 1 chinese whisper to start and everyone is talking about the newer generation chassis.

in all honesty the only reason i keep posting on the AW forum is to help out new members and give advice if i can to everyone that needs it.
so please,until we hear an official notification from AW that there has been a release of a new stronger chassis can we give it a rest.
all people are doing are giving false hopes to new buyers.
i totally understand it is only a small number (14) so far compaired to the number of units that so far have been sold but everything has to start somewhere.
it is not my intention to sway anyone away from AW but it would be totally unfair for us to come back here in 6 months and say them imortal words of "i told you so".

over to you AW

 

I will take pictures of it later in the day, as soon as I can find my camera. =/

I am also awaiting a reply from customer services, or Alienware-James

 

I think pc gaming is very much evolving away from bleeding edge technology showcasing ala Doom 3, HL2, Crysis, etc.. and becoming more of a platform for the masses who don't mind playing less graphically intense games. The user input is more friendly to sophisticated titles where you need more than a few buttons such as RTS, MMORPG, etc... I don't think pc gaming is going anywhere, but I don't feel the need to be constantly buying the latest and greatest graphics hardware out there. It's much easier to just buy it for the xbox 360 if my pc can't play it. I think many of the popular pc titles in the future will be less demanding so having the best video card will not be such an influencing variable. I still enjoy gaming on my pc but there's all types of stuff I can enjoy without buying games that were released in 2008. Hell, I still need to play NWN2, and just got around to finishing HL2: episode 2. Stalker coming out with their 3rd expansion? I haven't even played the first one...

Anyway, I really consider myself to be able to give an objective opinion about the m15x at this point considering I'm getting rid of it soon. I'll have to say that I DO think AW charges way too much for their machines. I also think the build quality sucks on their latest computers. I think it's lame to not allow users to access support files and software updates without an account and i think it's equally lame to not allow transferable warranty. Even though I haven't had anything break, I think we have enough stories in here to raise some big questions about AW's QA process.

 

cause its Alienware!!!
Thank you god (we dont forget Dell who bought alienware)
thank you Dell

 

Here are the pictures:

 

Thanks for the pictures.

I'll post them on the 1st post. Good luck on solving that issue.

Sadly, AW representatives on the forum still didn't give us an answer on any new chassis or anythin on AW's side to prevent this happening to new owners.

And here is a question: Why do people think that most of the hinges broken happen on the right side???
Hint: GPU's exhaust just underneath...

 

15 isn't a "small number" especially in a forum which are, at max., 200 m15x users (i doubt there are more that 100 m15x in this forum), that is an incredible mark of 7,5% for a brand that praises its quality build.

And it doesn't seem to be isolated hinge fails. It seems the plastic can't handle long time use. I doubt it is only because of gpu heating, i think it is directly related to the creaking when opening the lid.

I would risk say: if you still have heavy creaking when opening the lid, beware, cracking is coming.

 

it's not because of GPU heat... mine is on the CPU side.

 

Them i remain with my statement, it is related to the creacking when opening the lid.

 

I don't think anyone's taking what CS says literally. I even mentioned myself, "This doesn't mean that the newer batch is hinge break-proof." Not to mention, I continually put "new batch" in quotes for a reason. It is, without a doubt, the m15x's most prominent problem. However, I don't believe either side can accurately gauge one another. I wouldn't say it's "false hope" exactly, since there are other people out there who haven't had the issue (both new and old generation m15x). Unless we can ring up numbers from every m15x consumer or until AW says anything official we can't really play either side. The point is to be fair and give people both sides of the issue. Its problems are obvious enough (it's the thing that most prospective users open up with the most, after all). Why not let them know the other side of the spectrum?

I do feel for all the people who have had this issue, or any major issue. I hope I'll never run into such issues myself. Yet, I say only time will tell, as per usual.

Mystik's issue is rather interesting actually. The GPU heat effects were a pretty convincing argument, yet Mystik's GPU is on the other side and still gets the right hinge broken? What about all of you m15x users who haven't had the problem, do you still hear the creaking? Could Azaln be right? Need some feedback from survivors of the early m15x.

 

Well, there are a couple of owners that had the crack on the CPU's side as well.
I am still convinced this is a mix of several things, one of them being the heat stress. The CPU also gets pretty warm and the air coming from the exhaust underneath the hinge can easily go up to 60ºC or more. I guess it's all a matter of time, luck, etc...

As Ennea says, there are plenty of people that did not (yet) had this same problem. Maybe because they have been lucky, maybe because they don't put as much stress on the hinges (by opening and closing the lid very often), maybe because theirs components do not warm up a lot, maybe because they don't use the laptops for intensive things... Who knows!?

The fact is... 15 users reporting exactly reproducible problems (this is... hinges breaking after around 6 months because of the very poor hinge design) is enough to grant it as a recurrent problem of the m15x. It's like the Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death problem, or something like that... Poor workmanship, rushing off of systems and voilá. You end up with a design failure that will lead (in a shorter or longer time) to the hinges breaking.

And that's my view of this... And that's why I think that Alienware should clear this out and completely re-design the hinges to avoid any problems like this arising. For their own sake and for the sake of their costumers... I think they do deserve that from them.

But, most importantly, they deserve to have a clear answer from Alienware. So... Did Alienware do something to remedy this problem or not?

ps: I think that with the new GPU drivers, lower temps and all... this problem will take longer to appear. But if nothing besides that was done, I'm convinced they will still continue to come up.

 

One question I have is has anyone played a game and touch the hinge area and check to see if it hot while playing a game? Or even take a temperature reading at the hinge area? I think this would give Alienware and other users more info on the M15X.

 

I've been emailing and calling customer support. They will be sending the pre-paid shipping label. With my phone calls I've tried to get a refund negotiated considering I would not want this to happen again. Also, I have only paid for $397.98 of it with the Titanium Account. The CS agent denied it and kept on saying how it will never happen again. Do I believe that entirely? No.

Alienware-James or Frank, please message me. I would appreciate immediate help on getting me close to a refund.

 

Interesting. He actually said never again? Too bad it's not an official "never" yet...

 

Yes, the never again was an exact quote from what he told me. I questioned if it did occur again, he said that it won't happen

 

Honestly I hate to be the negative nancy but the truth is that AW doesn't give a **** about what most of you guys say and honestly they probably will never fix the hinge issue.

Maybe in a few months they will but I haven't seen any "official" posts from James about the new chassis which we all know he could make because he has about numerous other topics.

 

The hinge breaks because of the flexing and not because of the heat. As you open and close the lid, the two panels that make up the LCD flex and rub together. Over time, the plastics that fasten to the LCD hinges weaken and break.

Gabe

 

Well... them if you are having some creacking start praying.

 

the m7700 had much more serious problems, did AW fix them? No, they can only give you a replacement at best.

 

From the amount the sold it still sounds unlikely that the problem is so widespread that it would ever issue a recall.

You know what they say " The squeeky wheel gets the grease". So ultimately the people who complain the most will be likely the only ones who get it resolved.

I also read in one of the computer mags that someone had quite a few issues with thiers and the magazine stepped into help. They had to ask for several several several suprivisors until the laptop was eventually replced if I recall correctly.

 

Well, you need to take in mind that this isn't a problem "ready to see" and "happening on the go". It's more a gamble long term problem: it may happen or not.

Also, the cracking can be a slight, barely noticeably to a full pull out. So, yes, hardly AW will fix it or there will be a recall of it.

So we should start: get 3 Years Warranty on buying a AW campaign.

 

No if it happens to you. I would get on the throw a s*** fit bandwagon =)

Not being sarcastic either if it happened to me I would be on the phone with alienware until they agred to send me an upgraded one even if it took me 12 hours as oppsed to 10101101010 - 2 hour phone calls.

 

Howdy! Thank goodness for this forum Only 3 nights ago i was on the final stage of my online purchase. Thankfully i discovered the information here.

I am not a computer geek in any sense...but i do appreciate speed and power. Speed and power is the #2 reason i am looking at the M15X. Number 1 reason is for the hotswap battery. My business is based from the power of the computer and its mobile endurance. And, of course, the cool lighting is a bonus

From doing alot of reading here (admitedy...not ALL 60 pages of this thread) I have not read any "final report" that AW has/has not fixed this issue. As far as reported hinge problems, what is the shortest period (from puchase to breakage) that the failure has occured? What is the Longest? Any idea of what the total reported number of failed units compared to the number sold?

I plan to call AW sales on monday and start asking questions. Maybe I'll post keypoints of the conversation afterwards.

 

There is no sure value for either. Firstly, there is a new chassis rumor spread by Alienware CS themselves, however Alienware has no officially approved of this (important to take note of this whole sentence). Second, there is a wide range of users that have either experienced the tragedy or not. I believe users like whizzo and exiled have had their m15x's since around May or earlier and have not experienced it at all. I myself as well as a few others who got theirs around the time this "new batch" rumor came have have remained faithful. We're 3 months, going on 4 months of our journey and have no experienced a single notice of hinge breaking. Lastly, will it stay this way? We can only hope. We're pretty much the lab rats for now, or rather every m15x user not just new or old, since Alienware isn't officially backing this "new batch" business.

I take very good care of my m15x. So, I intend to keep the community updated as far as its well being goes. As for you though, I'd recommend it, as it is a total beast (I'm a pretty serious gamer and I'm nothing short of pleased) and the smart bay compatibility is such an amazing selling point for this laptop. Basically, should you decide to go with the m15x, just realize that the risk is still there and it is not totally dissolved but it's not guaranteed either. This is where we currently stand, waiting for something to happen or not happen.

 

Is this problem related to just 1 case style, or does it affect both the Ripley and SC cases?
If i do buy from AW...it will include the 3 yr coverage!

 

hmmm... i don't think we've had a skullcap hinge crack yet, but that might be only because these haven't been sold long enough.