Positive Experiences with Alienware Thread

I'll be the first I own a: Area 51 m5550 1.66 Ghz core 2 dual 2 Gigs of ram 100 gig HD 7200 rpm 256 mb geforce go 7600 Issues: I have made a lot of calls but, there are two that really stood out. The second month of owning it, I noticed that I started to get the lagging problems and stuff. So I kept thinking that maybe my notebook had problems because I had a 1.66 Ghz core 2 dual. I couldn't even play FEAR on all lowest settings. So, naturally, I tried to talk to the AW technician about upgrading the CPU. And actually talked me out of upgrading. He said that is wasn't the CPU that was the problem, and told me that he DIDN'T want me to make a mistake of upgrading my CPU and WASTING money. I talked to him about alien adrenaline. And he told me that it is not even worth it to waste money to try to purchase it too. His name is Adrian (So there goes the belief the Alienware is trying to con us to all of those who think this). The most recent phone call was what really really impressed me about the AW support. It was about last week. I was really really down since my video card keeps on disappointing me. The Technician, his name is Mark, stayed with me about two hours on the phone trying to help me solve the issue. We ran a couple of tests such as the CPU stress test and 3dMark06 to determine the issue, and check the bios and such. Once my cellphone got disconnected while we were in the middle of a hold. And the technician actually called me back and was worried how my notebook was running. Can you believe that?? I was actually thinking that he would probably just quit on me and choose another person to help, since AW were so busy. On the on-site support forum, AW-Warner also helped me out a lot. I told him the same problems that I told me, and eventually he suggested that I ship the system back for repairs. I wasn't sure about this since I have heard so many bad stories about repairs and returns. So I called Adrian for a "second-opinion" and he told me that it was definitely something with the video card. And offered to send me a brand-new replacement video card. But, then, he also recommended me to send the system in for repairs. He told me that there was the chance that the not only the video card but something else could be failing and that's why they need me to send it in to repair. The way he told me was very serious and I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was very concerned about the problem. So I made the decision to send it back in with the sticker that they emailed to me for the shipping. So, there's the proof that AW does care about there customers. It's just unfortunately that sometimes only here the bad side of AW. I'm really glad that this thread was started. Here's to Adrian, Mark, AW-WARNER to keep up the good work guys

I repaired a Sentia 244 for my brother,
Even though Alienware support said that the warrantee wasn't transferable the support was fantastic, They gave me plenty of web adresses and leads to follow which enabled me to recycle an Alienware laptop. Brother is happy too.
And these days recycling is paramount.

I purchased a m7700 around 3 years ago when they were Alienware's top model. I loved it for a year until it crapped out on me. I was upset that my machine had to be sent back to Alienware, they had my machine for about two weeks and sent it back. They found that the CPU, heatsink, and the motherboard all fused together because the CPU died out. The repair bill would have been 1,800$ if I did not have a warranty, thankfully I had the 3 year.

They sent back my computer with all new panels, a bran new hard drive, bran new cd-rom, motherboard, GPU, CPU and heatsink. I even got a call from Marco, head of Critical Issues team personally to tell me what they did "extra" for me. I was appreciative of that, very much so.

Well, needless to say...5 hours after I received the machine it died again, bricked out. Not cool. I called back TS and was very pissy with them, I know, I know... They had me send the computer back in for repair.

Two or so days later I got a call from Alex, the COO of Alienware on my cell phone. I was shocked. Alex told me that he personally wanted to make sure I was taken care of. He told me I could have back full credit on my machine in order to purchase a new one from the company. He went on to tell me, because of the recent Dell acquisition, that the hardware in my m7700 was a lesser grade then what was now offered in the new machines. He said I could spend a few extra bucks on the new configuration if I wanted to, he personally recommended the m9700.

I thanked Alex and even wrote emails to all of the Critical Issues team with thanks for helping me in my matter. Alienware really went above and beyond in my case. I appreciate what the company did for me and they made me a customer for life.

Since I received my new m9700 I have not had to call Technical Support once. I love this machine.



EDIT: I guess I'm going to be third

Good thread.

I'm on my 3rd AW laptop and everything has been flawless about it. Not once have I had to call Customer Support. I also own a desktop 7500 thats going on for 3 years now, never had a problem with that but I've upgraded everything in it. Overall I am very satisfied with Alienware

I updated my post, it may be short, but its a good read.

That was cool how they offered you full credit for the machine, we rarely hear stories of this but constant complain from flamers. You just gotta be patient I guess. Your are very fortunate. I hope that my story turns out as well as yours, I'm sending my m5550 back for repairs... I hope that "that" Dell acquisition doesn't hurt me.

Bump

I have an Alienware m5500. 2.26 Centrino, 2 GB RAM, go 6600 256mb video card, 80GB 5400rpm hard drive. It is nearly two years old now and is my only computer {heavy gaming}.

I never had a problem. The only thing I would've changed at purchase would be a larger hard drive. I toyed with the idea of a 7200 rpm hard drive but it is fast enough as it is.

I've never had to call in for service or anything. It runs like a dream and will run some of the more graphically challenging games with full features at 800x600. The power on button seems to stick at times {once a month or two}, but pulling the power and battery then reconnecting them seems to correct this. Haven't bothered to call service on it.

I have been so impressed with the computer that I would reccommend Alienware highly to everyone. If I ever get a major influx of cash {I am expecting/hoping} I will get a true DTR {no room for a desk top} and can't imagine going with anything other than Alienware.