Can somebody please enlighten me? - Page 2

The US.

. Nope. All it is is a ghost image of your software on the pc. You can do that yourself. Or better yet just reinstall windows. Just buy norton ghost and do it yourself for the same money that you would pay for the alienware disk. Plus you can use norton ghost on all your other computers.

I personally like having the respawn disk. It's not very expensive and sets my computer back to factory settings.

Hi Olivia,

I'm waiting on my sixth Alienware system. Alieneware has easily been the best computer company I've dealt with from the quality of product to the support. They aren't perfect, but as I've said they're the best I've dealt with.

As for you questions...


Alienware offers similar support to other companies their size. They are located in Miami, so major issues usually require you to ship the system back to their repair facilities, but most issues can be fixed with support on the phone, or by having a replacement part sent to the user for installation, or if applicable they can have a local technician come to your home to do the repair. They won't authorize major repairs in your home though, as it's best for major repairs to be done by those that know the systems and components.


All the vaio's I've seen have had flexible cases and creaked when you moved them around. AW systems are very solid, well designed and finished. From my experience, I would say AW hardware is superior to the average large manufacturer like Dell, gateway or Sony.


As the industry moves towards more standardized sockets and standards like mxm for video cards in mobile systems, laptops are becoming easier and easier to upgrade. AW will be as easy as any maker to upgrade as they use standard parts rather than proprietary parts like some manufacturers. With Alienware desktops, the components are off the shelf retail or oem parts, so upgrades and compatibility are not a problem. Laptops are a little different since they don't sell laptop parts generally for do it yourselfers, but Alienware uses standard form factors for video, hd, cpu, memory and opticals so upgrades should be fairly easy.

Alienware doesn't use any proprietary parts, so you won't get stuck having to upgrade specifically through them as with some other manufacturers...

I agree.

With the respawn disc, in a matter of minutes you can reset the computer to the way it was when it came to you from Alienware.

You can buy your own imaging software, but it's more expensive than respawn. You need to figure out the program and run it too. If you don't have any other need for an imaging program, the respawn disc is a better option.

Olivia, I have owned many AW systems and like others have had my share of problems and complaints. Alienware systems are cool systems but you have to remember a few things once you decide buy them.

Any and ALL future upgrades have to be performed while a technician is on the phone with you, period! If not - not only is that component NOT covered under warranty, you most likey will have voided the entire warranty. Not only that you MUST buy the upgrades from Alienware paying through the nose. In other words instead of finding a better deal anywhere else!

If you buy the AlienCare Extended Warranty, it is NOT transferable to another owner should you want to sell it to upgrade to a new system from them or from any other company. Not only that, once you sell it the original warranty is also forfeited. This drags down the resale value because the new owner is left WITHOUT a warranty, period! Who wants to buy a rather new system without a warranty?

I've learned that Alienware systems tend to become obsolete faster than other computer companies. While granted that most computers are obsolete before you even buy it (they always have a future upgrade on the table), wouldn't one want their system to last at least a month or so before being already outdated whether it be a motherboard revision or what have you?

Customer Service. Don't let anybody fool you, at times you will have to fight to get what you deserve. It doesn't matter who you talk to or how many notes you make - AW CS seems to practice the art of claiming to make notes on your account and they don't and you rarley will ever be able to talk to the same rep.

Most of their operation is in Costa Rica, I myself am an American Italian and I hope I speak fairly fluent english, I was born here in America and my name is Jim. Not only are AW Reps hard to actually understand (horrible english!!!) they normally DON'T provide their real names. You'll find that out when you receive an email for one of their reps.

The name will be completely different, why you ask, well that's because most of the names are superficial names. I don't know about you - but I like to know whom I'm speaking to especially when it comes to matters regarding the warranty of a $3,500 - $4,500 toy my wife ragged unlessly because I "wasted" money on it!

Damn chicks they don't understand a damned thing. But they'll pop $100 or so for a color, cut, nail job and who knows what else. When it comes to wasting money on a "JOB" it better have some kind of WIND in it, if you get what I mean!

Anyway, this is a little of what you can be sure you'll experience. I don't know about you but I don't exactly know which of the two I prefer NOT to understand better. On one hand you get India's best and on the other you get Costa Rica's best. In the end it really doesn't matter because everyone will complain they can't they speak english at very well at all.

I've owned 2 Alienware Notebooks, an MJ-12m 7700i and a Area-51m 7700 since December 2004. A Dell since July 2005 and at the same time numerous PowerBooks (I would sell each one to upgrade to the newest version), iBooks, iMacs G5 (iSight) and Mac mini's.

I sold the Alienware Notebooks for a HUGE loss, I can't sell my XPS M170 because I'll take another huge loss since they're worth half of what we paid. But I decided to keep every one of the Apple Systems because of the incredible quality and performance of each system.

Again, all at the same time and I can tell you NOTHING compares to Apple' Tech Support and Customer Support. You can understand them when they speak, they actually do what they say they're going to do and their products are top of the line merchandise and they have an absolutely high resale value. What more can you ask from a company?

Just a thought or two to keep in mind before and after your purchase. But at least you were warned.

Peace!

In my opinon, AW gets ragged on more than most companies for no good reason. I think 50% of all problems caused on these systems are a result of user error.

From JLG1985's post:

Damn chicks they don't understand a damned thing. But they'll pop $100 or so for a color, cut, nail job and who knows what else. When it comes to wasting money on a "JOB" it better have some kind of WIND in it, if you get what I mean!

What the @#$% does this mean?

I'm an Apple owner as well as an AW owner...in my experience, Apple has not been significantly better than AW...doesn't mean they're bad...individual experiences with any company are going to vary, so not too much point in debating it here. If having to talk on the phone to tech support (or waiting if a system has to be sent in for repair) are going to be major hassles for someone - I really do think they'd be better off buying from a local brick and mortar store where you can get questions and warranty work done locally. Just my 2 cents...

O crap. You got Shazza angry.

This should be interesting...


Wow, you're full of crap.

You can upgrade many components in the system without a technician. Optical drives, hard drives, video cards, memory, etc... all can be upgraded. You have the option to buy the upgrades from Alienware, and as an existing customer you get all upgraded parts at vendor cost. If you buy the parts through Alienware, they are covered by warranty, and they will assist you with installation over the phone if you wish.

Under warranty, you can also send your computer to Alienware for them to perform the upgrades. With Alienware's upgrade plan, you pay shipping one way, and the vendor cost of the parts, but Alienware does all the labor for no charge, rewires your system to original AW spec, and runs in the computer again so it's returned to you as if new. AW covers all the labor, and also pays to ship the system back to you.

If you buy parts elsewhere, Alienware will not offer technical support for the parts you don't buy from them. Any issues caused by parts you add will also not be covered, but the warranty for the remainder of the system remains intact.

There are procedures that will void your warranty without Alienware on the phone. These include things like flashing the bios or upgrading the motherboard. These issues will void the warranty as with the motherboard you're basically disassembling the whole machine and rebuilding it. AW can't be responsible for covering other people's work. The bios thing is necessary because if you have a problem flashing the bios you can render your machine inoperable. AW will want to make sure you have the correct bios and know you follow proper procedure. If you flash your bios without their help and destroy your system, your warranty is void. If there's a problem while they're on the phone, you're covered.


Yes, Alienware warranties are not transferable.


How is it possible that an Alienware 7900gtx would become obsolete any faster than anybody elses 7900gtx?

Again, you're full of crap.

Yeah, you can future proof yourself by buying a low end eMachine instead of an Alienware cause eMachine doesn't offer upgrades as much so your machine will stay current longer... lol...


I hear if you don't say thank you to AW reps on the phone, they fart in the box your computer is shipped in. Don't let anybody fool you, they're all box farters. They also practice the art of multiple fart packages, but they'll never admit it...

I've never had any issues getting ahold of a specific rep at AW. Maybe you need some breath mints. I've always dealt with specific people at Allienware, and I've never had a problem getting their email or extension and dealing with them exclusively. It can be difficult to communicate with Alienware at times though, that's true. That's why I advise everyone to try to deal through the same rep on an issue for consistency.


Most of their operation is in Miami. Alienware also has facilities in Costa Rica, Ireland, and Australia.

If you have any issues understanding any Alienware employee, just ask for another rep. Alienware has employees in many countries, and... god forbid... people with different accents... AW understands some people have difficulty with some accents, so they've always said if you have any issues just ask for another rep and they'll accomodate you.


Why do you want to know who you're talking to Jim? Do you plan on flying to where they are and thanking them personally if they're good, but you're worried you won't be able to find them if you get the name wrong?

I know what you mean though. I was dealing with AW-Steve a while back, and I found out his real name is Romulak from Rigel 7. Boy was I pissed. He tried to tell me Steve was short for Romulak, but we all know he's full of marklar.

You really are a tool, Jim.


I bet every Italian American reading this post is just thrilled you've identified yourself as one of them. Somehow, I don't think you know any women, Jim... at least those you don't have to pay.

I'd also bet that Olivia is a "chick"...


I'd prefer to deal with India's best, or Costa Rica's best over Jim the racist, sexist Italian American that can't get a date guy.


Really? Thanks for sharing.


People frequently sell broken Alienware systems for quite a bit on eBay. I've even seen people sell them for what they paid new. I've had some incredible offers myself on my old hydraulic cases.

Guess you're not much of a businessman.

Then again, anyone that expects to make their money back on a used computer isn't exactly the spiciest sausage on the pizza, eh Jimbo?




Are you Steven Jobs?

Only problem with Apple is... they're Apples. Not exactly a gaming machine or a pc. And I know you can run windows on newer Apples with intel based dual core processors, but they run like poo.


I'm sure Olivia can tell by your rant about women that she can rely on your advice...

I have no clue... Maybe he got a bad haircut and manicure once and he's projecting his disappointment on the women that laughed at him...


It means there's a dvi connector on the back of the laptop, so if you have an external computer monitor you want to hook up you can. You can either use two monitors at once, or connect to a larger monitor for demonstrations, stuff like that. A lot of people use laptops for mobility, but when they're at home they'll hook up a larger monitor for home use. You can use an external mouse and keyboard also if you like so you're not limited to the smaller laptop keyboard or the touchpad.

S-Video is a connector so you can see the computer screen on any tv with an S-video input. This is pretty standard on tv's now. It's cool because you can then show pictures or movies off your computer on a tv screen. You just need an S-video connector on the tv, and an S-video cable and you can display on a tv.

Awwwwwwwwwwwwww crap hammerhead and shazza beat me to the post in making fun of that asshat. Olivia ignore that whole longwinded post because its sooooooooooo wrong. Hammerhead did in excellent job showing where. But bottom line. Alienware laptops are more upgradeable than most. If you ever opened one up you will see that inside the chasis, its quite standard componants. In fact i have the 3.0 intel cpu and putting in a 3.8 is quite easy.

Do you have pics?

No pics but when my laptops pci bust and i checked it out i realized that the pci connector is part of the motherboard. Thats when i realized how easy it is to upgrade. But it also meant i had to ship my laptop back to alienware to get the pci fixed because they had to replace the whole motherbaord.