considering returning my m15x.

Chaz,
i was a Alienware fanboy. But the downclocking, touch control issues and cracks on my M15X has caused me to rethink if i should buy another Alienware lappy in the future. Although my first 2 laptops from Alienware were great. i may put this M15X on Ebay and start over with a Sager.

 

ouch... how bad is the underclocking really? is performance halved? 3/4? 4/5? It really cant be that bad can it? and again I ask you guys who has reapplied thermal paste? and to which components? because that could be your problem right there...

 

Yeah, but you can't change the keyboard's color with the Dell XPS M1730. The M1730 is not a competitor to the m15x. You'll have to wait for the m17x to make any comparisons.

One way or another, if you don't like a product then get a different one . . . to each his own, I'm a big proponent of that. There is no one machine that' best.

 

People don't buy notebooks so they can change the color they keyboard lights up, as long as it's backlit it's great for most people. Besides, everything else on the notebook lights up and changes colors. Chaz, you've had a M1730 review unit, right? How would you compare the size between the notebooks (the m15x and the M1730)? I know the 2" thick M1730 sounds huge, but is it in person?

 

so after 3 hours of testing i just cant take it anymore. im going for the dell. however i saw the discount i can just order online, i really want to thank you for this. however are you sure i wont get caught? they dont ask? im going to return the alienware tommrow, assuming i get a break on the restocking fee. im ordering the dell. but do you think i should i order the xps before i get my money back? i cant wait too long to order another laptop i am computerless.

 

If you can, I'd order it now. Dell will probably take a while to make your notebook, but they usually build ship systems a few days after you order them (mine came 6 or 7 days after I ordered if you want an estimate). Before you spend the $4k, the M1730 isn't perfect. Users have had a lot of problems with it (check the M1730 owner's lounge) and a lot of people don't really consider it portable since it's 11-12 pounds and 2" thick.

 

When i used that discount she never checked to see if I actually attended UCF. She just gave me the 12% and gave me an additional 4% with the $599 discount. She never made me do some authentication process to prove I am a student here.

Also - What i think chaz meant when he said the m1730 isn't a competitor to the m15x is that they're just two different systems. One has the BEST power a notebook has seen but limited portability, and the other has good functions with great portability. For me, when I sat down and actually thought about my purchase.... I just felt going with the trustworthy dell xps m1730 was the best way to go. It has THE BEST options notebooks can possibly have at the moment. Two 8800gtx's, 2.8ghz penryn that IS OVERCLOCKABLE in the bios, backlit keyboard, colors that change automatically to the beat of music or various actions in games (if someone shoots you in cod4 the lights turn red).... I'm not really going to be bringing a gaming notebook to school... I just wanted something I could bring to a friends house now and then... and honestly you CAN STILL do that with the m1730. Yes it's bigger.. yes the power brick is big... but at least you don't have to worry at night about it setting your desk on fire!

But yes - if you're going to order you might want to do it quickly. I don't know how long the $599 discount is lasting on the m1730. Talk to a sales rep that will give you the 12% and the 599 discount. They also are running a promo right now where you get a free G9 laser mouse with your order. I'm not sure how long those deals last. The 12% discount will always last at www.dell.com/ucf so you wont have to worry about the 12%

 

Also here's a great link to a lightshow on the m1730. It looks awesome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgQWzRWjAJ4

 

I believe the m15x is capable of syncing to music and changing the lighting. It would be in the form of a bios update, and even on the AW site it says the command station will evolve over time with more options.

 

you have been a great help sir. +1 rep. i only wish i never bothered with the m15x. and even if i get charged a restocking fee the student discount will balence things out.

 

Yea, I know at the moment the m15x doesn't have the feature to sync to music + games but you can change the lights on the m15x keyboard to 12 diff colors and you can make it pulse.

 

hehe no problem alienware/user - I was in the same position as you... well kind of. I never received my m15x but after reading about all of the heating issues I started looking at other notebooks. Luckily I found the deal on the m1730 because the price difference between the m15x and the m1730 isn't much... and from what i've read in the m1730 owners lounge is that the system peeks at 80 degrees in crysis and has AWESOME performance. You can also reformat to windows XP on the m1730 if you want to. I think the synced lights, the big screen, power, cooling, and from what I hear great on-site service is what turned me onto this system. All of the problems with the m15x really worried me. I didn't want to wait and find out :O!

here's a link to the synced lighting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgQWzRWjAJ4

Good luck with everything!!!!!!!!!!!

 

It's an absolute monster, the third largest laptop I've ever tested (and a close third). The biggest were the Alienware Aurora M7700 (Clevo D900K) and Sager NP9260 (Clevo D900C). It would completely dwarf the m15x.

Personally, I think the Dell is unreasonably big for what it packs. If I were buying a notebook that big I'd just go for the Clevo D900C (Sager NP9262) because the size/weight difference isn't noticeable and you get quad-core, DDR2-800, and better service. Plus, battery life (not that it matters) is a bit better with the Clevo.

 

Yea honestly - Either one is a great machine. In my opinion you guys should go with whichever - the m1730 or the sager. Whichever you can get a better deal on you should go for. For me, I decided for Dell because I have a dell notebook now and the on-site service has been great for me. Also, the discount I got was Incredible. Either one is a fantastic choice!

 

Gonna head to bed, good luck with everything alienware/user

 

Alienware is a Junk company. that's for sure.
they don't let you transfer your warranty or let the person you sell it too get tech support of spare parts even if they pay.

The quality of their Laptops are questionable. and their Support is nasty from what i've heard.

my friend bought a 1 month old 9750 and dropped it accidentally and then he called alienware for help. they told him to go away because he wasn't the original owner and even if he paid they wouldn't help him.

so he has a 2.5k paperwieght.

 

I agree. and thanks to Chaz'es review of the d901C and many other great Clevo users. I chose the d901c myself over the M1730. because everyone and thier dogs fleas have a m1730 it seems. but how many people do you know have a d901c? with quad core?

 

i would go for the 1730, because altough the sager has more power for the price i need style too. does anyone have any advice for when i call to return it tommrow? i usaully screw theese things up. what should i say? i really cant afford to waste $500 on a restock fee. especially since the 1730 is a bit more than the alienware.

 

I don't need style. I need conservative power.

I work in an office corperate enviroment. shirt/tie..

I could just see me at the board meeting... people would start putting xmas presents under my laptop and say it's the xmas party eh?

naw. I like a sleeper laptop. it has way more future proofing and it looks very stylish too me. in a conservative way.

that's the way I like it.

I don't need a pink cadalac.

the m1730 is for kiddies.. it looks way to flashy. and has a "STEAL ME i'm lost and can't find my mommy" sign on it.

the d901c is a Sleeper. when fully equipped it will toast the m1730. and it looks like a plain o'le notebook from 1997

 

first off i would never bring a massive desktop replacent laptop anywhere. thats what my macbook is for, second not every works in that drab enviorment. the m1730 is not flashy at all. you can turn all the lights off.

 

heh, it's not a drab enviroment. it's conservative.

you know. just not like hawaiian shirt day with barny jumping around.

and I have man arms and packing around the d901c is like packing around a bag of books. it's not hard at all.

plus as chaz said it gets better batt life than the dell

 

so by that logic if you dont where suits and everything in black. your obviously having wild partys with 90's childrens tv icons. also since i can carry a 200 pound cell phone all the time, i should, becuase i can? battery life is not a factor to me because i will be always pluged in.

 

Wait wait guys, just a few weeks ago I was reading the reviews of owners of their new M15x and they said their notebooks have good cooling and doesn't heat up so much...

I have been gone for a few weeks and...what happened now?

 

yes it doesn't feel hot and isn't loud but the problem is that the 8800M GTX gets very hot and starts downclocking... people just needed some time to realize this

 

actually, in my case, the first two days it wasn't doing this, was peaking at 85C, and then day 3 it started to get hotter and downlock.

don't know if that's my environment being slightly warmer then before, or thermal paste settling or something else, but now its pretty much all the time.

 

i'm not getting a m15x i'm waiting for a cool and overclockable Clevo M860TU.

Alienware is a try hard Voodoo PC... there is a reason Voodoo use Clevo

it stays cool and thus can run faster

 

that "little" sucker is a broiler

 

guys go buy m9750 with dual 8700 SLI!

reasons are = Price very low
performance ( new drivers start to be good and stable)
design
8700 sli dont overheat + dx 10+ no downlocking

you can also take 7950 gtx if you want better performance ( but very hot system + no dx10)

Moreover There's rumors about upgrading to a 8800gtx

what are you waiting for????

 

Im thinking about cancelling my M15x order and buying the 9750

 

Is one able to order Clevo laptops online?

 

no one is using the new chassis yet mate.

 

I don't understand. What does that have to do with my question?

 

That would probably be a good idea.

My advice to everyone at this point is...

If you're thinking of ordering an m15x, DON'T.

If you've ordered an m15x and it hasn't shipped yet, try to cancel the order IMMEDIATELY.

If you've received an m15x and it suffers from the overheat/downclock issue, try to return it IMMEDIATELY.

If the overheat/downclock issue is eventually resolved, you could always just reorder anyway.

 

Head over to engadget. I don't remember who but one company will release by May 1st

 

No it won't. It's not happening, not may 1st...

 

If it were me, I would have your list ready of things that don't work right. I'd also mention the overheating. You need to stick to things that are arguably defective or not working and stay away from saying that you don't like it as much as you thought you would. Also, be prepared that it might not go well initially and you may have to fight a bit and escalate it past the initial CS rep. Be sure to get names of everyone you talk to. I'd also ask them if they have a direct email so you can send them a confirming email of your discussions. If they do, regardless of how it goes, I would send a confirming email right after you get off the phone. If they won't give you an email, I would still sit down and write out exactly what you told them and what they told you. If you paid with a CC and it does not go well, I would call immediately and start the process with getting them involved. I had a problem with a Clevo/Sager reseller last year regarding a return/refund and was eventually able to get it resolved through Visa.

 

well the guy on the phone insists the downclocking is not a normal isuue. and he is transfering me to support.

 

have him refer to this forum. The guys in tech support have internet and could easily start researchign what we are talking about here.

 

well tech support told me to run 3d mark 06 3-5 times. i got 10,000 the first time , then 9500, then 9000 then 8800. after the tests i played unreal 3 on max with a minimum of 50 fps. then i tried crysis, the guy told this laptop can only play the game on medium settings. same with flight simulator x. i guess thats just the general performance of the 8800m gtx. im guess im not going to return it after all. what i thought was downclocking was probally just the game lagging in crysis /fsx because of the cards abilty. sad really, seems they would not give on the restocking fee. since the 8800m seems like a not great but yet a "good" card im not going to bother to get another gaming laptop. my only other option is the dell xps h2c desktop. its on sale this week. i regret beilving the 8800 m gtx was equal to a desktop 8800 gt. based on this performance its miles away. im either keeping this laptop or calling customer service and holding my ground that i want to return it. i have seen the other benchmarks for thee 8800m gtx on other laptops and there very similar to this. so i dont think that this laptop is particually faulty.

 

Hmm, not sure but the downclocking still exists for most users and "the lag" you were seeing when you check the temps of the card coresponds to the card going down which shouldn't be the case.
ABout your hopes of playing crysis on all high on a laptop... are you kidding? I wouldn't put my money on dual 8800 m17x when it comes out, this games is ****ed up, it demonds technology of 2009 to play. Didn't they do a test with 3x 8800 in a desktop and still concluded is not enough to max everything?

 

3DMark isn't the best way to reveal the underclocking issue because it is not one fluid test - there are breaks inbetween.

The best way is to download ATI Tool and run the 3D renderer.

 

actually thats the only system that could max it, and i dont need very high. high with no aa and a couple settings on medium would have been good for me. medium? i can play this game on a 8500 gt (not a gaming card) if i wanted to go medium.

ok chaz i got it. i just click 3d view? i just a see a fuzzy box spining? is this logging the results somwhere. sorry i dont really use becnhmarking software other than fraps.

 

i'd get riva tuner and run it in the background collecting stats while you do all, then see what the temps reached and if it downclocked. honestly in some games you're not going to be able to tell, but in others it will be obvious.

 

im not really sure how to do that either. i have the program i see a little record button. what do i just hit it? and minimize and start playing games and all? how / where is it saving the data?

 

im on the phone again with theese snakes , they are still refusing and want to charge me 500 bucks for a "gaming computer" that cant play crysis on medium settings., im never getting alienware again.

 

you are telling me that they are going to charge a restocking fee even though this system is NOT performing the way it is advertised? that is BS. Call your credit card company, explain the situation and do a charge back. That will get alienware's attention. Man I am fuming at their arrogance right now....

 

Don't give up, instead of trying to return it tell them that you want to have on-site support to fix the problem. And don't give up if they give you crap about how this doesn't qualify for site support, if you let them talk their way nothing qualifies for site support. If after on-site support and/or repairs the computer is still faulty they will need to fully refund you (obliged by law). If is not faulty you got yourself the best computer so no worries. If none of the above type alienware sucks in google and there's a nice webpage that explains how to get your money back from them and who to contact.

 

i know i was hustled by them and they want to get any last dime out of me they can. http://www.alienware.com/ they show that the laptop can play crysis. they should ad " 20 fps at medium settings" and the card downclocks randomly. im on hold for 20 minutes now listening to there alienware music. building a computer was more fun than this. THIS IS BULL ****, he just there said are no supervisors there. so he said someone will call me back with in 48 hours. im done.

 

They can't charge you a restocking fee for a system that doesn't work. Alienware is a joke of a company. Return it and go for the m1730 if you like it. Screw alienware. Freaking snakes.

 

First of all, the supervisors aren't really supervisors. When I asked to speak to a supervisor Someone came to the phone and as it turns out it wasn't a supervisor at all. It was a "cancellation prevention agent." Screw alienware. The m1730 has no heating issues, I hear the Sager with the desktop Processors has heating issues. If you can get the good discount on the m1730... definitely get it.