Hey Everyone!
I'd like to take a moment to formally introduce myself to the Alienware Forums (and Notebook Forums)...
Hi.
...
My name is Bruce.
I made another post about a week ago regarding some fears I had about purchasing my Alienware system... Needless to say, that post no longer exists, so this will (technically) be the first time I've posted information about my personal waiting game.
I made my purchase exactly one week ago today (Sunday, February 13th).
The Specifics
_____________________________________________________
Area-51m 7700
Warranty: 3-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support with Onsite Service Bundled with AlienAutopsy and Respawn
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional with Service Pack 2
Case: Area-51m 7700 Case with 17" WideSXGA+ 1680 x 1050 LCD Display with Built-in Camera - Xeno Grey
Processor: Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 560J w/ HT Technology 3.6GHz 1MB Cache
Motherboard: Intel® 915P Chipset Supporting PCI-Express
Memory: 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 533MHz - 2 x 1024MB
Video Card: Area-51m 7700 ATI MOBILITY RADEON X800 with 256MB of DDR 3 memory
Sound Card: Intel® High-Definition Audio (24-bit, 192Khz) with 7.1 surround sound
Hard Drive: Extreme Performance - RAID 0 - 120GB (60GB x 2) 7200 RPM ATA100 - Hitachi
Optical Drive One: 8X Dual Layer DVD+/-RW / 24X CD-RW Combo w/Software
Optical Drive Two: 24x10x24 CD-RW / 8X DVD Combo w/Software MPEG2 Decoder
Floppy Drive: USB Floppy Drive
Ethernet NIC: Integrated 10/1000Mb Gigabit Ethernet NIC
Wireless Network: External Wireless 802.11a/b/g PCMCIA Card
Modem: 56K Modem with V.92 Technology
Mobile Transport : Alienware® Premium Backpack XL
Additional Battery: Area-51m 7700 Primary Lithium-Ion Smart Battery Pack
Mobile Power: Belkin® AC Anywhere 300W
Optional Display: No Monitor
Optional Mouse: Microsoft® IntelliMouse Explorer 4.0 - USB - Conspiracy Blue
Free Alienware T-Shirt: Free Alienware® T-Shirt - Black
Desktop Enhancements: Exclusive AlienGUIse Theme Manager
Free Alienware Mousepad: Free Alienware® Mousepad
Free Shipping on Alienware systems excluding peripherals - Continental U.S. only.
SubTotal: $4,477.00
Shipping: $99.00
Discount: $99.00
Tax: .00
Order Total: $4,477.00
_____________________________________________________
The Phases
My order hit phase 2 immediately after purchase and telephone verification (I used my Quantum card), and phase 3 took only until Monday at 3:05 PM PST.
I called twice last week to get updates on the system (you know how it is). The first time, I talked with a good gentleman who indicated to me that my order was, contradictory to the website, in phase 4. He told me that all of my 7700's parts were being tested and that if any of them failed during testing, they would be replaced (although any replacement, he explained, would result in backorder).
The second call I made resulted in a connection with "Ace", who I must say was a fantastic customer service rep. He explained to me in detail the status of my order. The RAM, CPU, motherboard, and case (which includes the monitor) were all backordered and scheduled to be received on Monday and Tuesday.
My original estimated ship date was the 22 (Tuesday), but I obviously wasn't going to receive the system then. I have a presentation on March 1st, and while I already have a semi-functioning laptop, I would love to be able to use my new Alienware system instead (lest my old Dell explode, planting plastic and metal laptop parts in the soft organs of the audience halfway through slide 22). I mentioned to Ace that it would be helpful to know whether or not I would have my system by the 1st (no biggie either way), and he elucidated that in most cases it would not reach the deadline in such a short amount of time. So what did he do? He said that if I called back on Tuesday and asked for him, he'd put in a personal rush request on the system! Regardless of whether or not he can follow through, that is a fantastic show of customer support!
The Comment
The one and only thing that has made it slightly difficult to communicate with the AW staff are the accents. Unfortunately, my Spanish is lacking (seriously, I sound like a complete idiot). I'm pretty sure we understand one another, still. Maybe I should brush up on my skills... Anyway, this is a petty comment and it really means nothing.
I'll be sure to keep things updated here as changes occur.
The Tangent
Of course, I have a tangent to add to this post: I've been reading quite a bit lately about dead pixels and Alienware's policy on them. Even with 2 laptops, I have never encountered a problem with dead pixels. I have, however, owned an LCD-TV and a mini-DVD player with dead pixel problems. I replaced the TV 2 times and the mini-DVD player 3 times before they both finally came through clean. Even with a single dead pixel, it was beyond irritating to watch television, as my eye would constantly focus on the unmoving dot (which became the focus of a confused and fiery rage).
I'm fearful that I'll be trapped with a system displaying dead pixels. I understand that Falcon has a "no dead pixel" pixel policy. If Alienware is the bigger company, why can't they have something similar? Does Falcon's overall increased system cost have something to do with it?
What's the purpose of owning a fantastic performance system when your overall end experience is undercut? All of the video cards and hyper-threading processors in the world can't change the fact that your display is tarnished by a single, tiny (evil, satanic) spec. If I receive my system and it has one or two... or even three of these dots, do I just deal with the problem?
Should I cancel my order, spend another six months saving money, and order a Falcon instead? Doesn't the Fragbook use the same [insert case company here] case? How do you think they managed the Intel 3.4 GHz EE in their system? Do you think it would be worth it to switch to that system?
Ah well, for now I will salivate over my in-the-process-of-being-built 7700! All you can do is hope for the best.
Thanks for your time,
Bruce
I'd like to take a moment to formally introduce myself to the Alienware Forums (and Notebook Forums)...
Hi.
...
My name is Bruce.
I made another post about a week ago regarding some fears I had about purchasing my Alienware system... Needless to say, that post no longer exists, so this will (technically) be the first time I've posted information about my personal waiting game.
I made my purchase exactly one week ago today (Sunday, February 13th).
The Specifics
_____________________________________________________
Area-51m 7700
Warranty: 3-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support with Onsite Service Bundled with AlienAutopsy and Respawn
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional with Service Pack 2
Case: Area-51m 7700 Case with 17" WideSXGA+ 1680 x 1050 LCD Display with Built-in Camera - Xeno Grey
Processor: Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 560J w/ HT Technology 3.6GHz 1MB Cache
Motherboard: Intel® 915P Chipset Supporting PCI-Express
Memory: 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 533MHz - 2 x 1024MB
Video Card: Area-51m 7700 ATI MOBILITY RADEON X800 with 256MB of DDR 3 memory
Sound Card: Intel® High-Definition Audio (24-bit, 192Khz) with 7.1 surround sound
Hard Drive: Extreme Performance - RAID 0 - 120GB (60GB x 2) 7200 RPM ATA100 - Hitachi
Optical Drive One: 8X Dual Layer DVD+/-RW / 24X CD-RW Combo w/Software
Optical Drive Two: 24x10x24 CD-RW / 8X DVD Combo w/Software MPEG2 Decoder
Floppy Drive: USB Floppy Drive
Ethernet NIC: Integrated 10/1000Mb Gigabit Ethernet NIC
Wireless Network: External Wireless 802.11a/b/g PCMCIA Card
Modem: 56K Modem with V.92 Technology
Mobile Transport : Alienware® Premium Backpack XL
Additional Battery: Area-51m 7700 Primary Lithium-Ion Smart Battery Pack
Mobile Power: Belkin® AC Anywhere 300W
Optional Display: No Monitor
Optional Mouse: Microsoft® IntelliMouse Explorer 4.0 - USB - Conspiracy Blue
Free Alienware T-Shirt: Free Alienware® T-Shirt - Black
Desktop Enhancements: Exclusive AlienGUIse Theme Manager
Free Alienware Mousepad: Free Alienware® Mousepad
Free Shipping on Alienware systems excluding peripherals - Continental U.S. only.
SubTotal: $4,477.00
Shipping: $99.00
Discount: $99.00
Tax: .00
Order Total: $4,477.00
_____________________________________________________
The Phases
My order hit phase 2 immediately after purchase and telephone verification (I used my Quantum card), and phase 3 took only until Monday at 3:05 PM PST.
I called twice last week to get updates on the system (you know how it is). The first time, I talked with a good gentleman who indicated to me that my order was, contradictory to the website, in phase 4. He told me that all of my 7700's parts were being tested and that if any of them failed during testing, they would be replaced (although any replacement, he explained, would result in backorder).
The second call I made resulted in a connection with "Ace", who I must say was a fantastic customer service rep. He explained to me in detail the status of my order. The RAM, CPU, motherboard, and case (which includes the monitor) were all backordered and scheduled to be received on Monday and Tuesday.
My original estimated ship date was the 22 (Tuesday), but I obviously wasn't going to receive the system then. I have a presentation on March 1st, and while I already have a semi-functioning laptop, I would love to be able to use my new Alienware system instead (lest my old Dell explode, planting plastic and metal laptop parts in the soft organs of the audience halfway through slide 22). I mentioned to Ace that it would be helpful to know whether or not I would have my system by the 1st (no biggie either way), and he elucidated that in most cases it would not reach the deadline in such a short amount of time. So what did he do? He said that if I called back on Tuesday and asked for him, he'd put in a personal rush request on the system! Regardless of whether or not he can follow through, that is a fantastic show of customer support!
The Comment
The one and only thing that has made it slightly difficult to communicate with the AW staff are the accents. Unfortunately, my Spanish is lacking (seriously, I sound like a complete idiot). I'm pretty sure we understand one another, still. Maybe I should brush up on my skills... Anyway, this is a petty comment and it really means nothing.
I'll be sure to keep things updated here as changes occur.
The Tangent
Of course, I have a tangent to add to this post: I've been reading quite a bit lately about dead pixels and Alienware's policy on them. Even with 2 laptops, I have never encountered a problem with dead pixels. I have, however, owned an LCD-TV and a mini-DVD player with dead pixel problems. I replaced the TV 2 times and the mini-DVD player 3 times before they both finally came through clean. Even with a single dead pixel, it was beyond irritating to watch television, as my eye would constantly focus on the unmoving dot (which became the focus of a confused and fiery rage).
I'm fearful that I'll be trapped with a system displaying dead pixels. I understand that Falcon has a "no dead pixel" pixel policy. If Alienware is the bigger company, why can't they have something similar? Does Falcon's overall increased system cost have something to do with it?
What's the purpose of owning a fantastic performance system when your overall end experience is undercut? All of the video cards and hyper-threading processors in the world can't change the fact that your display is tarnished by a single, tiny (evil, satanic) spec. If I receive my system and it has one or two... or even three of these dots, do I just deal with the problem?
Should I cancel my order, spend another six months saving money, and order a Falcon instead? Doesn't the Fragbook use the same [insert case company here] case? How do you think they managed the Intel 3.4 GHz EE in their system? Do you think it would be worth it to switch to that system?
Ah well, for now I will salivate over my in-the-process-of-being-built 7700! All you can do is hope for the best.
Thanks for your time,
Bruce
can't wait for the review!
