This is what Dell needs to do: LISTEN to it's customers!

While metal is nice, I honestly can't think of a system with a $799 starting price, that also has metal accents. Actually the HP Envy 13 was my first choice, but it also has a worse graphics chip, heavier, worse battery life, and 2x the price of the M11x. (Actually I wanted a VoodooPC ENVY but that's a different story).

The few things that I really wish for the M11x is for a better screen, customizable lighting for the alienhead on the back of the screen, and while we are at it, a carbon-fibre panel option. The screen is pretty terrible considering the price point of the machine, and it would be nice to see something exotic coming form a boutique brand. Us Alienware customers don't pay top dollar for our PC's for nothing.

 

Local expression...
"Socarse los pantalones"

Meaning, to tighten your pants, belts, etc... and start working for real, no bs.

 

Also knows as by the brits as pulling your finger out.

 

Wow! I sure hope Dell does NOT destroy the AW image simply for the sake of profits! I love the aluminum case, and the weight is not an issue.

Dell should find other ways to cut costs without impacting the imagery and theme that made Alienware so popular, to the point where Dell bought them.


Well, look at it this way. If Dell takes away from Alienware all that made Alienware what it is, someone can always start a new company that will build boutique systems. Heck, I wager in this forum alone there are a number of people business and tech minded who could pull it off.

So who's up for the next successful boutique systems maker?

 

its happened in the aftermarket parts section with BitFenix from former employees from cool master making their own company.

 

Well when I bought a laptop from Dell years ago(Inspiron 6400) I never had any issues and I therefore found it save to buy a m17x R1 system from Dell, only to find out that my system never gave me a stable run when playing games of surfing the internet (you all know why lock ups, stuttering, latency etc.). Anyway Dell did act very quickly and came to my house and repaired the machine and each time something went wrong. It could be defect hardware that did not work(even though it was suppose to replace my former hardware). I still remember how I and the technician would be rather shocked when the brand new MB had been installed and the m17X would not start up. Anyway three motherboards and graphic cards later I had a machine who would go into BSOD again and again randomly and all the issues was still present... I then asked my self this question "Is that good hardware quality?". I now asked for a replacement and that has taken me like since the 9th of April to get and it has not yet arrived but has been shipped out. Besides the decision to give me a replacement came from the famous Michael Dell mailbox as I never got anywhere with the local reps. My point is this if Dell acts so slowly when a machine needs to be replaced and if Dell keeps on making(ya I know Nvidia) R1 systems(bad quality) then I think Dell will lose customers. I myself have been considering Sager too or even Novatech machines. If my replacement will not work and run stable then I am done with AW as I bought my system in January and have not been able to have a stable system yet. Granted Dell has been nice and given me a few upgrades and I am grateful for that. But what I need is QUALITY and FAST customer service, especially the last as I need to be sure that I will have a new laptop to work on if it breaks down. Just my humble opinion after a few months in shock

 

we can call it pwned computers

 

Are you saying with these words that the R2 system is having flaws too?

 

Fully agreed with the title.

 

I like it! Now we need to come up with a cool theme lol...

 

dude, your getting a pwned!!!!

 

hahaha that slogan works...so what theme? I'm thinking 007/espionagish, since sci-fi and military have been taken already...

 

Hey we say that in Denmark too(in danish of course)

 

how about green gaming, laptop chassis made from recycled aluminum cans.all raw materials for any plastic parts made from g cycled products.

 

LOL the laptops should be something like this TYPE-N01 is weirdest laptop ever - Geekologie

 

Only thing I ask is 5870 x-fire, RGB 16:10 screen, BIOS unlocked, and 3HDDs able to run two in RAID 0.

 

The only thing I ask for is a system that works, quick customer service, no more worthless bios upgrades like the A04 for the R1 system and so called "latency fixes" and that they do not change it into plastic

 

Only thing I ask for at this very minute is news on the CF5870's! or CF5970's

 

CF5970?? really? That is way too fast. I better google it.

 

One can hope Dell comes out with something sweet

 

They already are.

Dell will not get rid of the AW name as they already got rid of the iconic XPS lines in order to not compete with their new brand. SUre there are studio XPS and whatnot, but they are a far cry from the real XPS laptops of old.

Something for you to think about, when you're one of the largest computer OEMs on the market you are going to see the highest amount of complaints. Think about microsoft, they make decent products but get the most complaints and bashing because they have the largest share and are on top. Same goes for dell in many aspects. I have owned my dell vostro (a budget bottom of the barrel business notebook) which is a black inspiron 1720. I have had zero issues with it minus the nvidia GPU, which as we all know isnt a dell issue rather nvidia doing poor QC, and I still use it even though I have my m17x beast of a workstation.

As for your concerns I wont say anything about the other since they are part of the speculation that dell will lower quality (and to be honest every OEM has so I wont be surprised if dell does the same), but the shipping time complaint well that I have a beef with. I would like you to order a dell and a lenovo laptop at the same time, heck even order the lenovo a few days in advance and I bet you the dell will cm in well before the lenovo. My m17x stated it wouldnt ship until the 24th of this month and I have been a proud owner and user since the 15th. I even have the brand new 5870 system that literally just came out and should cause a shipping delay. So 10-11 days after completing my order Im using my workstation, and under the circumstances thats pretty nice. Now my first dell was shipped and at my door in ~3 days from completing the online order, but then again it wasn't a boutique brand like AW.

 

Yea I get that there are complaints on the rise, the more you sell.. but the fact that not much has been done to address this or it is handled poorly is my main cause for concern. This has been proven time and time, especially in places like Australia where dell has no physical presence (at least as of right now) and where customer service can be hastling.

By the by, my sister ordered a Lenovo netbook. 1 week and she got it. Although Netbooks may differ in time, my point is there are large pressing concerns, and the fact that Dell has repeatedly done little to rectify our lack of faith in them. Perhaps they have done a little, but not like other companies do.

All I can point to is a company like Apple (as much as it pains me to say), who despite some problems are fairly swift to deal with the problem (in the case of my 2 friends who within 1 month, ordered a laptop, got them sent out to them, they then discovered they had problems, apple then sent them out replacement computers, and they're very happy).

These are pressing concerns, that we all worry about. The least Dell could do is publically let us know why something is happening. I respect that this cannot happen everytime, but the lack of communication can be slightly.. irritating to put it mildly.

Dell communication on a more regular/accurate basis with their customers, can make a large difference to us, and I'm sure others can agree with me, that this is the FIRST step to becoming the company Dell was destined to be, and frankly should be.

 

Well I am not saying that Dell sucks here but the time they use to replace a defect laptop could certainly be shorten a little. And also their customer service running their escalation cases could also cut the time down a little as this is critical. So when NVIDIA does not fubar then I believe that Dell/AW are able to deliver a good product. Also whether Dell or Lenovo has the fastest delivering time is not important as I would never buy a Lenovo computer. All I (as well as others) need here is to get a service that will make sure that the laptop works on delivery and that the reaction is swift and fair if my newly purchased laptop against all odds should break down and that is no matter whether we talk about replacements, repair or new Bios updates. However, I did get a very quick response when Dell tried to repair my defect m17x R1 system so thumbs up for that Dell

Also I agree with the point about how Dell is suppose to communicate with their customers as jubbing is pointing out.

 

You tread on a shaky ground here
The reason why microsoft is on top is not because they have good products, but because at a certain point in the software evolution they had little to none competition and were able to monopolize the market. So now, most of the software developers aim towards windoze certifications in the first place. One important point of that monopoly is the Directx and the gaming segment.
The moment Linux can have the same video drivers support and some sort of engine with 100% Directx compatibility - millions will abandon windows.
Being in IT for almost 15 years and using Windows and Linux for both business and home computing, I'd personally switch to Linux if not for the gaming part (and a few pro apps).
Current distros are lightning fast, features rich, fully compatible with most Office apps and much more versatile in customization, eye candy, etc.

Back to AW. Dell has plenty of competitors (luckily for us) and is forced to adjust or be banished.

 

+1 to whoever fully understands what I write lol.

 

I guess I should have clarified, they have some decent products out now. As for linux, pre windows 7 and vista to a lesser extent I would agree in that Id take linux if not for the lack of gaming support. But now with windows 7 I have no real need for linux most of the time. While Im upset that 7 is a watered down windows and going more towards the route apple goes with thier toy OS's, it is still a great OS for just about everything so I am content at the moment.

 

Indeed. As I mentioned earlier, if Dell wants to "corporatize" the AW brand, someone can do a startup and bring back the idea...

 

To bring some counterweight to the table... Dell also realised some succeses taking over Alienware.

They completely solved the cooling problem.
The design is alot better (maybe not more beautifull or wow) in terms of screwless design and such.
They made it more affordable (which is also a bad thing in a way)

If they can solve all the reliability problems Dell really made the best laptop ever. They also need to work on there support problems but they do realise that there is work in that area.

 

I actually like the aesthetics of the new AW design compared to the old one.

 

So do i but i imagine if they did the old design with this build quality some people would be really happy.

 

i think alienware just listened to us and released the CF5870!!!!

 

Lol yea that and my rant on Communication/Timings.

 

Now all they need to do is add US3.0 to there Laptop

 

My only complaint with my m11x was a fan that made buzzing sounds whenever the laptop is tilted. However dell handled it quickly and they replaced my fan with no issue. Only other thing I can ask for is a lcd cover thats has a rubbery coating, the current one scratches way too easily.

Despite the plastic construction of the laptop its still very solid, and I feel like the quality of my lcd is damn good. It's a ton better and brighter than the screen in my xps m1710.

Theres not a single laptop that satisfied my needs as well as the m11x and I was ecstatic when it started at $799. Based off what I read on these forums I just feel like some people are never satisfied. Lots of people were complaining about the cpu in the m11x, but I don't have a single complaint about it. Of course if you end up going up to a i-series core you'll get a lot less battery life. To me it's not worth it, people were expecting the m11x to be a desktop replacement, thats just not it's purpose.

If you guys feel like dell quality and construction is going to hell, the solution is easy go elsewhere. With every company you win some you lose some, but I've got a feeling that you guys are all still here because despite dell's problems you feel like your still winning more than your losing.