New Sentia m3450 -- Build Quality Issues

Great....I just ordered one. Hopefully I'll have better success with my build. I'll let you know when I get mine.

Dude, make them send you a new one. That stuff is unacceptable.

You should be able to work this one out 'toot sweet'...I can't believe you actually stayed on hold for an hour and a half...bloatware erm...

Killin' Me



Zoid

Does anyone know if it's worth paying the extra money to get the 3 year warranty?

Hard to quantify...if you buy a three year warranty and never have a problem then I would say, 'No it wasn't worth it'...but on the other hand...

Seriously though, if I were to buy an Alienware notebook Today I would opt for the 3 year warranty. Desktop? If I had an extra hundred laying around I would spring for the 2 year warranty...IMO.



Zoid

1. I dont have this problem. My screen sits flat against the case like is supposed to. Might need to adjust the case itself.

2. The keyboard does float on the bottom right corner. I did notice this too and was a bit worried about it over time. I don't have issues with my touch pad though.

1. I don't have this problem.

2. The keyboard doesn't sit flush against the base on the right side because there isn't anything there that's level with the left side. If you lift the keyboard off the Sentia you'd see there is a metal plate there unlike the left side where components are installed.

You can send it back for a new one. There's a 30-day manufacturing warranty you *need* to act on to get this fixed.

To add to the list I recently noticed my AC adapter wasn't charging my battery. I called Alienware and they set me up with an RMA swap for a new adapter, but I decided to check my girlfriend's adapter for her laptop (same make and model) and it didn't work either, at first. I twisted it a little and jiggled it and voila the AC LEDs came on and started charging. So fine, I'll call AW and RMA the laptop for a quick fix on the power connections. Wrong.

After having the Sentia for 3 months Alienware told me this was not covered under warranty and this was due to general wear and tear. I would have to live with it or pay for S&H, parts (new motherboard) and 2 hours labor. The tech told me he wasn't allowed to give me a price, but the repair depot would call me.

I asked him how after only 3 months with a warranty in tact I couldn't get this quickly fixed for free. He told me there was no proof I didn't ram the AC adapter in too hard or rip it out too roughly at an angle dislodging the connection. So now I can charge my battery and run off AC, but I have to keep an eye the power.

That's a bunch of B.S. I can't believe after 3 months they won't fix the problem. So are you going to just live with it?

Something I noticed is the paint on the top where my wrists rest is faded after only a few months of having it too. Kinda a bit sad to see the quality of this taking the shit end of the stick after only having it for a few months. Haven't had any other major issues yet though.

Only other main issue was when I first got it, I ran Windows Updater and that killed it. Had to reinstall Windows. It's better to reformat and install anyway when you first get it, but what happened shouldn't of happened after the first day of having it.

I posted my issue on the Alienware support forums and someone took notice either here or there because I received a phone call today from Virgil in critical issues and was told my issue had come across his desk and he wanted to talk to me. I was pretty surprised to see Alienware pop up on my cell phone and even more so when I found out it wasn't the repair depot calling to quote me a $100+ bill.

He told me he wanted to set me up with an RMA to have my laptop sent in for a brand new motherboard replacement and possibly other new parts in case the power connection has damaged anything. I told him I'd send it in immediately and he said he'd call me in a couple days to see if FedEx had picked it up and everything had gone smoothly/ Then said he would call again when the laptop was received and whenever there was an update.

Considering this goes well I'm very impressed by how Alienware is handling this and getting m taken care of.

Excellent! This makes much more sense on Alienware's part.

A cold solder joint or faulty connector on the laptop just didn't sound like normal wear and tear after only three months...now if it was the power bricks cables or connectors there may have been an argument, but they offered to RMA the brick...

I'm happy to hear this getting squared away Guerrilla!!!



Zoid

Hope your issue was resolved.

A co-worker of mine just purchased a Sentia and showed it to me this week. To me, it looked pretty solid but his only gripe is that there isn't a volume dial on the side. Other than that he's satisfied.

i recieved mine last friday and have yet to have any of those issues its perfect on my end. one thing about the "wearing" on the palm rest...i have a 7700m and it does the same thing but from what ive been reading its just the oils from your hands getting onto the laptop i believe i saw on here someone whipping it down with some rubbing alcohol maybe and it came right off but dont quote me on that look it up.

I received my Sentia M3450 about 2 weeks ago and have also had no issues. The fan even runs quietly. So far I'm quite happy about the purchase.