umm.. can we straighten this up

I waited 6 weeks for mine from the time I ordered to the day I received it.

July 5 will come and go and no laptop will be in your posession.

GAURANTEED

Sorry

I could care less about that, what should really piss you off is the fact that the cards past the 9700 are not compatible, which is news to me since I was off the boards for a week or two.

Doesn't it defeat the purpose to do that less than a year after unveiling it?

Ha. In stock? I ordered my computer last Tuesday (June 22nd) and I found out Friday by email after the customer service department was closed for the weekend that the 9700s were out of stock and would not come in until at least July 5th. LMAO. Alienware is suppossed to be the "ultimate gaming machine" yet they never have the crucial component to making games what they are (the graphics card of course) in stock. How pathetic. I'm really getting sick of this company. I used to love them, but now I realize that they are in it for the money. They have outdated machines and they are overpriced. Get a high gloss Sager machine and you will be just as stunned if not more than the Alienware. Who cares about gay little Alien eyes anyways? The Sager with high gloss is a beautiful machine. Seriously, the only thing Alienware owners have against the Sager machines are that they "look better". Bull****. Sager's are beautiful. Get one, you won't regret it.

.

Sometimes is stuns me how infantile people can be. And how LITTLE they understand about business.

Let's blame Iraq and Afghanistan on Alienware while we're at it, eh?

Ignorance is bliss. haha

Yeah, you guys are being a little harsh about the PCI-E updates. Its not like AW went out and changed the industry standard. Sure they are marketed as upgradable, but new tech comes out all the time, if the industry makes a move to it, then you can bet you are goingto have to upgrade. Sometimes its as easy as swapping out a card, and sometimes you have to start from the motherboard and build up.

Its not like the 9700 is going to be obsolete overnight.

And welcome to the PC world, if you want to stay current with bleeding edge tech, prepare to upgrade every 6 months.

yo craig....what are you talkin about....no where on the site does it state backed up....or wait time approx. 10 days now i dont no im soo confused

In defense of Alienware, you guys have to realize that their upgrade module is proprietary and probably takes a little more time to obtain. However, I do believe that they should keep their website updated when an item is in low quantity or out of stock. I'm no webmaster but I'm sure it only takes a few keystrokes to update that info.

Nobody is perfect. Alienware has been trying its hardest to fix something that the industy has inflicted upon them. Again, Alienware didnt say "Lets all go PCI-e on laptops and forget about all our customers upgrades!". I have gotten GREAT support from them on this matter, and nothing short of excelent people work there! I was patient and waited for my Alienware, and I got what I paid for. I dont think they charge extra for the upgadeable video cards, and if they do, its not alot. I was able to upgrade to the FX 5700. That probably saved me alot of time, because back in october, if I had ordered a Segar, I would be stuck with a problem and bad performence compared to the current Alienware that I have UPGRADED today. That was what i paid for. You can be lazy and go with Segar, but when Alienware gets back on its feet, you'll be sorry you switched. If you spent $3,000 on a laptop, I think you would be able to spend 100 bucks or less on a mobo upgrade to PCI-e, which will be upgradeable. So, one more step for Alienware, and then they have the PCI-e upgradeability. I cant wait for that.

OFF TOPIC-BUT NEEDS TO BE SAID...
I am sorry to say this, but Craig you have crossed over to the AW can do no wrong side. Have you become that jaded? I have a question for all of those who are defending AW...do you HONESTLY think that both ATI & NVIDIA (fairly large companies wouldn't you say?) switched to pci-e overnight and in secrecy from the companies they do business with? Last time I checked, ATI & NVIDIA discuss their future plans far in advance so that manufacturers can have designs and a heads up. So by everyone's theory AW just recently has realized that PCI-e has taken over and they have just begun radically doing R&D on new lappies. Not likely...AW will roll out pci-e lappies soon enough and I am sure they have been in development for some time. Is it not interesting that Dell stated only 1 upgrade for the iXPS? Very strange...nope they already knew where the industry was heading. Having said all this...there has been some upgradeability but for AW to still advertise "Upgradeable Graphics" is a sham. It should state interchangeble graphics not upgradeable. Upgradeable implies there is some future card waiting to be bought. Is it not also interesting that had I not made such an issue of this in my thread "This Is Bull$hit" that we all would still be oblivious and thinking more upgrades are on the way. The $hit hit the fan and FORCED AW to admit what they already knew for quite some time. Furthermore, yes the computer industry changes daily but this is a major transition not just some daily advance. By that theory PCI-e will be outdated in a year and everyone with PCI-e lappies will have to switch to another format...not likely. Enough bitching and moaning (I agree to that)...AW, ATI, NVIDIA, INTEL, the consumer all share some of the blame. The question now is how will AW rectify this situation? Their faux magnesium case has had a lot of success so will they change it...hopefully not. So...an offer of a mobo upgrade should be made at a fairly reasonable price (<$1000). This would not only satisfy many disgruntled customers but also expand their upgradeable gpu base and increase revenue with mobo upgrades...I would then be reassurred that I made a good investment.

Finally, just ask yourself what that kid or uninformed user is going to say when they just bought the Area-51m this past month and call in a few weeks to ask for upgrades and options only to be told that this format is not being supported...but you guys said upgradeable...ohh sorry sir it is the Intel/ATI/NVIDIA PCI-e conspiracy monster...


EDIT: I stand somewhat corrected because AW has recently removed all notes to upgradeable gpu off their website. I just visited and only found this blurb:Customize your Alienware notebook gaming system just the way you like it for optimum gameplay and personalized style, and benefit from highly-advanced architecture that gives you the opportunity to upgrade and extend the life of your system.
I'm glad to see that they are not misleading new customers at least!

I have to agree with this previous post.

AW is kinda in the wrong here... and they know it. I know all about Moore's Law and the fact that what you buy will be obsolete by the time you get it, yatta, yatta, yatta.

It's been less than 10 months since they first sold the new Area-51m2, so for the "upgradeable" option to be obsolete so quickly is a bit of a joke to me.

Sorry, but it's true... and it's a bit ridiculous. That said, what would be nice is if the next mobo used for the system were able to actually support dual channel RAM properly.

You have not been with pc hardware long have you? Prevously said its about every 6months a PC will become obsilute. And i even think withen 3months it is. for it to last 10months is a major feat. I mean celeron only lasted 8months before centrino took over the "light laptops" chip.

Computers r changing faster than ppl imagine. about 5years ago a 5-10gig drive was HUGE now wear talking 500gig raid systems. and if you said "i have a 8gig hd 2400rpm" you would think im joking!

I think it was 15years ago they would say "i have a 10mb harddisk" do u remember the "18mb RAM" days? or the 8mb gfx cards?? or when a proccessor was in mhz its not that long ago.

If you think a pc should last years your wrong. 3-6months before it can be classified as "****"

infact im on a laptop thats 2years old that cost the same as my new AW and its 1.2cel, 256mb ram, 32mb gfx,20gig Hd the SAME price! my new laptop is 4x the power maybe even 5!

Hardware isnt like software where it can last for a few years, IE windowsXP,Photoshop,Maya,3dmax

Did any previous or current notebooks advertise and hype up an upgradeable gpu? Did you buy your old lappie because it had advertised an upgradeable gpu? Nope. Your argument is so flawed it's a joke. This is not some minor change in the industry. This is a fundamental architectural change. When you think of desktops do you think that 11months is also too long a time to still expect upgrades? Be real and logical. Do you think that ATI and NVIDIA will stop supporting the huge base of desktops to solely go pci-e...no way in hell. This is not some more gigs of this or more mhz of this type of shift...this is a complete evolution of architecture...so please stop comparing ram, hd's, and chips (intel, amd) that always are changing. The point is...read very carefully...AW knew pci-e is the future and an upgradeable technology so they should have just sold their laptops as is with no promise of upgradeable graphics and customers would know what they are getting into and no one would be upset. Many such as myself would not have gone with AW and this is probably why they pushed their own technology/gimmick. Do you think Dell/ Sager/etc. customers are upset when a new card or feature come out? No, because they knew what they were getting into.

About the comment about being new to computers...stop being childish and making stupid comments like that. Yoda, I believe works in the industry and I remember owning a Macintosh SE/30 with 16mb of RAM....

I perosnally didnt care about "user upgradable gfx" because i knew it was going to end it was a "quirck" and "idea" which atm looks like its faild its customers but if they didnt try it who knows it could of work"

Yes they knew but they didnt know when?? like bloody waiting for a train or bus u never know if there gonna be on time!

Also you just answered your own question on whiining about how useless the "user upgradbility is"

edit
Yes i agree that was childish but it amazed me how someone thought 11months was a joke! cmon you sound like u seen all the changes ALOT happends withen a few months! AW seems to do the upgradability had the syndrome "at the wrong place at the wrong time"

another edit (more of a question)
Why do people call workstations a desktop? Didnt imb call them a desktop since the computer actually sat on the desk. then the screen ontop of that.(kinda like the macs) Or has the dekstop mean any kind of pc thats standalone?

Please don't misquote me:
Do you think that ATI and NVIDIA will stop supporting the huge base of desktops to solely go pci-e...no way in hell.

I agree with many of your points but also feel that AW did mislead its customers and it was only until pointed out that they made an official response. AW knew a lot more than they admit to...c'mon intel pushed pci-e so hard just recently that within a few months ATI & NVIDIA said well we will only push pci-e in notebooks? I guess we better do away with R&D and the marketing and strategy departments...since ATI & NVIDIA only do what Intel says...Doesn't the whole timeline and way things happened sound funny to you??? I am beginning to find this whole thing funny and upsetting all at the same time.

And what is even more funny is intel does what mircosoft says
"MS : We are introducing 64bit OS"
"Intel : We are developing 64bit chips"

Lol!

It is a shame that atm area51m is going to loose its upgradeability unless they find a convertor. but im sure most people looked and said "o cool extra feature".

We gonna have to wait but i also think theres going to be more AGP cards aswell in time. let the wave of PCI-e hype end.

but you seen these forums title. "buy now or shall i wait" using that method you will never get a PC. have u heard intel found a new way of working silicon to improve performance. I think its in the new 64bit chips.

Like anything in this world u buy something it will be outdated but pc are taking speed they change much faster than buyers want them to lol!!

p.s sorry about misquote musta not dragged completly

edit
Man my spelling,grammar,punctution SUCKS!