Just ordered an AW Area 51m, and we'll see...

I just ordered an alienware laptop. Well, actually my parents ordered for me as my christmas/birthday present. I wanted an alienware desktop a few years ago, but it was too expensive. Just recently, though, my parents said they would buy me a laptop, and without even thinking I said, "I want an alienware." They wouldn't pay for the whole thing so we split the cost and i paid half. I ordered it two weeks ago. Just today I started looking at the reviews for Alienware's service and I am shocked!!!

[:0] <--- (like this guy)

Now I'm pretty mad at myself for not looking into alienware further before i ordered my laptop. All I used to see is about how great alienware computers are. And there website is so neat and professional looking. I have no idea where all these bad reviews came from all of the sudden. Now I am already thinking i will have to send this stupid thing back and have to pay a 15% restocking fee. Darn! I feel like such a moron!

Im just telling you all this because I am going to post exactly how my experience with Alienware is. Like if I recieve it on time (should be here on Jan 10 05), If there is problems with the computer. And how the customer service is. I hope I didn't buy a lemon but Im prety nervous after reading these message boards and the reviews on cnet. If I had read this stuff before I would NOT have ordered it... but we'll see

 

hey, it would be great to hear what your experience is with that. You have to remember that people tend to post more after they've had a bad experience rather than good. However, I too am surprised and some true horror stories that have cropped up regarding Alienware. So let us know if you have better luck, hopefully that is the case and you're totally happy with your purchase.

 

which AW did u order the 7700 or the 5500?

 

The laptop I ordered is:

[1] Area-51m 5500

Warranty: 3-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support with Onsite Service Bundled with AlienAutopsy and Respawn
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2
Case: Area-51m 5500 Case with 15.4" WideSXGA+ 1680x1050 LCD Display - Saucer Silver
Processor: Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor w/ HT Technology 3.4GHz 800MHz FSB w/ 512KB Cache
Motherboard: SiS648FX + SiS963L AGP8X Chipset
Memory: 1GB DDR PC-3200 at 400MHz - 2x512 SO-DIMMs
Video Card: Area-51m 5500 NVIDIA GeForce™ FX Go5700 Module with 128MB DDR
Video Optimizer: AlienAdrenaline: Video Performance Optimizer
Sound Card: Sound-Blaster Pro Compatible 3D Audio
Hard Drive: Hitachi 60GB 7200 RPM ATA100 with 8MB Cache
Smart Bay One: 24x10x24 CD-RW / 8X DVD Combo w/Software
Ethernet NIC: Integrated 10/1000Mb Gigabit Ethernet NIC
Wireless Network: Internal Wireless 802.11a/b/g miniPCI Card
Modem: 56K Modem with V.92 Technology

I cut and pasted that off an email they sent me after my order was confirmed.

 

I'm thinking of the 7700 myself as imho it looks the absolute best on paper and is unbeatable for my needs. Price is also decent. Have yet to see it beat.

Unfortunately I've done my research as I'm a bit anal like that. I wish you the best though. Hopefully their customers will push them towards better on-time service....

**********
Dell 8200 (8600 closest picture found)
512 G ram :: 120 GB :: 64MB Mobility Radeon 9000
**********

 

if u do go with the 7700 i'd get the Sager 9860, its the same as the 7700 but much cheaper.

PCtorque Sager reseller

http://pctorque.com/9860.php

 

I think I'll stay with the 5500, I just looked at it and it wouldn't be to much more money to get the 7700, but it will cost me money i think just to change the order at this point and i think the 5500 will still be a decent laptop for a few years to come, which is good enough for me.

Anyways my computer is now in phase 13, which is:

"Phase 13: (Production: Shipping)
Your system is being carefully packed for shipping."

The estimated ship date was Jan 10th, however, hopefully it looks like they should be able to ship it before then. Maybe they were getting to many complaints about taking longer than expected so they became more generous with the estimated dates.

If you do order an alienware yourself though, you can pretty much ignore the "phase website" that is supposed to help you monitor the progress of your computer. They don't update it with the completion of each phase like i was expecting, but instead they update it seems whenever they get the chance or something. So I went from phase 2 to phase 3. It stayed in phase 3 for a really really long time which made me kind of mad because that phase is just called "verifying order" or something. However the next update was phase 9, stayed in phase 9 for two weeks, and then finally today it is phase 13. don't know what happened to all the phases in between.

Oh well, im just happy that is being packed for shipping right now, which means i might get it earlier than i thought.

 

well i recieved my Area 51m 5500 on the 4th, about 6 days before the estimated ship date. I took the computer out and it looked pretty cool. Some people said that it actually looks cheesy in person, but i actually think it looks awsome.

Then I turned it on...

And it froze at the windows start up screen...

But that was not the only problem. After hearing all this crap about dead pixels (a term i had never heard untill i started reading about alienware) I had my fingers crossed that i would get a lcd screen that was dead pixel free.

But I noticed a tiny little pixel in the bottom left of the screen that was glowing bright neon gren while the rest of the screen was black. Now I figured a dead pixel would just be blank, however this one glows bright green!

I was heated

[ !] <---(like this guy)

Now I called technical support and got a hold of someone rather quickly, and solved the freezing problem. He said just to restart the computer, so i did, and it worked, and it hasn't happened since. Then I asked him about the little glowing neon green spot on my screen, and he said that it was probably a dead pixel and that there was nothing he could do about it since there was only one of them.

Everything I had heard about them was happening. This just pisses me off. I spent almost $3000 on this computer and it works great and is pretty awsome other than the dead pixel. But that dead pixel really frickin annoys me especially when i paid for what was supposed to be the best!

What do you guys think I should do? Send it back, or am i just overreacting about the one dead pixel? Is this dead pixel thing a problem with other companies?

 

Here is an e-mail I sent to Alienware concerning the dead pixel. I sent it last tuesday and have yet to receive a reply.



" I just received my Alienware Area 51m 5500 yesterday. I started the computer for the first time and had it freeze on me at the Windows start up screen, however using the technical support phone number I was able to resolve this issue fairly quickly.

One other thing I noticed when started the computer for the first time, was that there was one "pixel" in the lower left of the screen that was glowing bright green against the black color of the rest of the screen. And when the screen is white the pixel is red. I asked the technical support representative about this problem and he said that it may be a "dead pixel" and also that since there was only one of these dead pixels it would not be covered in the warranty and that there was nothing they could do.

I just got done looking at the dead pixel policy for the Area 51m 5500, and found that indeed my problem is not covered in the warranty. However, if the dead pixel was just a little further to the upper right or if there were more than two of them, the problem would be covered.

When you go through the process of purchasing an Alienware computer they make a big deal of their philosophy which is, "Build It As If It Were Your Own." However, I doubt it if any of your technicians would build themselves a laptop that had a dead pixel in the lower left of the LCD screen.

Also a big deal is made of the "Alienware® 200-point quality control process." It is said on your website that, "An Alienware® Quality Inspector is in charge of inspecting your machine from top to bottom for any obvious or latent defects. Our Inspectors are seasoned technicians/engineers and are very experienced in the art of perfection."

If this system actually went through this kind of inspection process then how possibly could this obvious defect be missed? It is very noticeable especially when you first start the computer, and my only conclusion is that it could not have been missed by any so-called "seasoned technicians/engineers." Someone had to know about this problem, yet sent me the computer anyway. It makes me wonder if this problem was ignored because of the fact that it would not be covered in the warranty. I spent a great deal of money on purchasing a quality computer and I feel as if for the most part I received one. But that there is one dead pixel that could not have been missed in any inspection, makes me question your dedication to satisfying your customers, and that this obvious defect is not covered in the warranty, makes me feel like I have been duped.

I would like an explanation as to why my dead pixel is not covered in the warranty while other dead pixel problems are. I strongly feel that it should be covered. And I do not believe that I am being unreasonable in feeling that way. I work at Starbucks where I have to listen to people complain about cold lattes all day and we will always without question fix the problem whether it means giving them free drinks in the future or just replacing the one. This is an almost $3000.00 computer and I believe that I should receive customer service and satisfaction that reflect that price."

 

I dont think your overreacting. A brand new computer should not have a dead pixel, it shouldn't have a dead anything! It should be perfect especially if you waited so long for it.

I am so sorry this has happend to you. I am glad you are posting about it though because I was just about to purchase from Alienware.

I would not touch this company with a ten foot pole. Sounds like they have consistancy in the types of problems they do have, which you would hope would help them stop having them, but I doubt they care that much. Or maybe they aren't in a position to fix them since it appears they get their product from somebody else.

 

Like I said in a different topic, Alienware don't give a **** anymore, they don't have to. Now that they've made such a big name for themselves, getting business is not a problem, but because of this they've slacked.
They no longer strive to get customers and that'll be their downfall.

SPECS: Soon. Soon.

 

I too ordered an Alienware laptop based on their supposedly excellent quality assurance and customer service. What a mistake![xx(] My Sentia arrived with a burnt pixel that was slightly to the right of center.[:0] Because it was not in the center quadrant, they refuse to replace it. I have to either pay a 15 percent restocking fee (about $300!) or I'm stuck with a glaring reminder of how crummy Alienware is every time I turn on my screen. This bright blue mark will show up brilliantly in the midst of every game I play, every PowerPoint presentation I make, everything I do on my laptop.

When I spoke with the technical support manager, Juan Carlos, he was condescending and asked me: 1) Don't you know anything about how LCD screens are made? and 2) Do you even know what ISO 9000 standards are?

Well, the answer to both is no, but I do know unsatisfactory customer service. I had no idea I needed to know LCD manufacturing procedures and ISO 9000 to buy a quality laptop. I mean, I don't need to know how my car is made before I purchase one...

Meanwhile, my husband sent a mail to their 'customer support' line that they claim to reply to within 24 hours. We're going on 48 hours now without a word...

Alienware thinks a burnt pixel is a defect if it is in one quadrant of a screen, but if it is slightly to the right, it is merely an acceptable flaw. What?!?

I'll never buy another Alienware and I'm doing my best to get the word out.

 

Actually, believe it or not, dead pixels are quite common. LCD screens, liquid crystal displays, are very complexly made. Each pixel is comprised of three super micro bulbs, one red, one green, one blue. If even one of these micro bulbs is out, then the pixel is left glaring a color different than the rest of your screen. It is extremely annoying, and frustrating, I bought a $400 dollar LCD screen with a dead pixel mid center top right.

However, I to was close to purchasing an Alienware laptop, looking at 7700, and the fact that they would disregard their customers complaints like this greatly angered me. ESCECIALLY, since Alienware forever, has been known as the ultimatum for gaming and PC's, and if I was to spend $3000, on a computer thats top quality, I dont want some stupid pixel or two, to point out their stupidity constantly to me, and mine for purchasing the product.

It's just as bad for them (alienware), every time I turn on the computer and would have someone looking over my shoulder and awe, I can imagine their face scrunch up when they see the glowing blue pixel.

So, now I am in the market for a gaming laptop, something i can play HL2 on and all, for pref under $2000.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>
So, now I am in the market for a gaming laptop, something i can play HL2 on and all, for pref under $2000.
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Get a Dell 9300 Got mine for under $1400 with discounts.

 

THIS INFURIATES ME !

You spend 3 freakin grand on a machine it should be JUST THE WAY YOU LIKE IT and for any damn reason you should be able to get an exchange for one THAT WORKS PROPERLY. I'm sorry it just P*sses me off so much to hear this. I'd take it to court if they didn;t exchange it...