never buy Alienware laptops... worthless pieces of shit!

I originally bought this Alienware laptop back in October of '04 because I was going overseas but wanted to still be able to play the latest computer games (for those who haven't heard of Alienware, they're one of the main computer companies that specialize in laptops specifically for gamers). After only having the laptop for two weeks, the fan on the graphics card started making horrible grinding noises. I called their technical support, and they agreed the card was defective, and they sent out a new card for me to install. The new card arrived a week later, I installed it, and the first time I tried playing a game or any diagnostic tool, the computer froze immediately. The fuckers obviously have no quality control.

I was fed up with it, so I called a few days later (I unfortunately got sidetracked) to return it. This was, unfortunately, two fucking days past the 30 day return policy, so they refused to authorize a return and said all they could do was send another graphics card out to me. After talking with manager for about an hour, I got absolutely nowhere. The fact that I was now going to be on my third graphics card in a month and I'd only had use of the computer defect-free for two weeks didn't matter to this fucker they have as a customer service manager. I told him I was going to be travelling to Germany for a couple of months in a few days, and that was the whole reason I had gotten a laptop at all (I normally just build my own desktops--building a laptop is still a bit beyond me, however). He said he could mail me the card in Germany. Of course, the card never arrived when I was in Germany, though luckily I was back for the Christmas break, called again, and he said the phone number, e-mail address, and mailing address I gave him came back wrong. Yeah, right. He sends me the third graphics card, which works for about three weeks, and then starts freezing during games again. Unfortunately, I was back in Germany, and I was there for another six months, and I'd have to call long distance to the States to talk to technical support (and knowing that they are too stupid and/or lazy to write an international mailing label, I knew it would be a waste of money to call at all).

Anyway, altogether I've reformated the hard-drive about 10 times because something always comes up (though it's never been able to play any games since January). A few months ago it started failing to recognize the DVD-ROM drive, and today the thing finally froze for good. Halfway through loading up Windows, the BSD flashes and the computer restarts. I've tried loading up with the recovery boot disk, but since the computer fails to recognize the DVD-ROM drive, that doesn't help. :freak:

So, if anyone's ever in the market for a hardcore computer gaming system, do not buy Alienware. Their direct competitor is Falcon Northwest, so go with them, if you want, though Dell and Sony seem to really be getting into the gaming market, too (which I guess really means just Sony, since Michael Dell is a Republican fuckwad, but if the PC works...).

Of course, it's to be expected that every now and then you get a lemon, but when a company positions itself as the hardcore gaming company with supposedly excellent customer service, and they refuse to return a computer on the 32nd day despite its being on its second defective graphics card (of all the components important for computer gaming!), you can't help but conclude that they're just a worthless company that deserves to be driven out of business.

Oh, and this POS cost me $3500. The ironic thing is that I wanted this computer so I could play the latest games, yet I haven't bought a PC Game since October of '04, because I have nothing to play them on. I would've been better off buying a $1500 VAIO that, while not able to play everything at the highest frame rates, would at least be able to execute the program without freezing!

:argh: :argh: :mad:

I love my VAIO lappie. It has had to go in for service once but they got it back to me fast and good as new. If they make one that does what you need, go for it.

Worked selling the things. Popular, expensive, but one of the fewest computers returned. Had more IBMs (on edit: Compaq's too) returned (this was 7 years ago mind) than Sonys.

Mark.

But at least my trusty Inspiron laptop works like a charm.

Granted, not for serious gaming.

Good luck.

:cry:

I've pretty much learned that that old cliche is true: if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. I'll just do all my gaming on desktops that I build myself, since I've never had a problem with any of my own computers (which makes me even more pissed about this whole thing: I've usually upgraded my graphics card on my desktop about every year and a half, and I've never run into any cards that were noticeably so defective as to be unusable--certainly not to the extent of the ones Alienware sent, not to mention three in a row! I'm just a schlub who likes computer games, who simply bought the components from computer retailers--nothing special; did they purposely seek out defective components or something?).

I checked out the VAIOs and Dells, and the top-level Inspiron was the perfect fit (17" Hi-res screen, dual core processor... *drooling*) for $1800 (the computer itself is probably about $1400--not too far from the hypothetical $1500 VAIO in my post!--with the rest being the accessories, tax, etc.). It's not the XPS high-end gaming line, but I'm just going to keep the intensive gaming on the desktops, with watching DVDs and maybe just light gaming on the laptop. (I'm still addicted to games and need to be able to play them to some extent, so it had to be the top Inspiron.... O8) )

Dell just bought Alienware.

Alienware had (emphasis on "had") good, power desktop systems. Their laptops have always had problems trying to keep up with the same standards. This is not entirely their fault as it is very, very difficult to mash the kind of hardware needed for a good gaming rig into a laptop *and* keep it cool enough not to melt, but you can blame their marketing for pretending otherwise.

Anyway, as noted, Dell has acquired Alienware in a move that is most likely similar to Microsloth acquiring competitors.

they sent everything that could be changed (some things twice) and it was still a piece of crap. this was several years ago. so, after he retired, husband finally completely rebuilt it himself with parts he purchased elsewhere and it's been running now for about 3 years. their customer service was awful.

my husband managed a computer hardware service department. but he bought an alienware since he was racing online and gaming. working 60 hours a week didn't leave him with an inclination to build his own.

When I say "had good desktops" I mean quite a long time ago, before they became so well known, which is in fact why they became so well known. As my grandma would say, they got too big for their britches, and the quality suffered.

Truly, though, if you want a high-powered system, building your own is the only way to go. If nothing else, with a lot of the high-end games you have to know (or need to know to get the best experience) your hardware fairly intimately, and putting it together yourself is a good way to do that.

FYI, this is not the first alienware nightmare testomonial I have read.

but she bought hers a few months ago. probably not more than 4-5 months ago. she was wondering if it was the summer heat that caused the problem. but i guess not.

hers was a laptop also.

i have to admit that i really like the way the Alienware computers look though. but i wont be getting one based on other's experiences and of course with Dell buying it.

i have a HP laptop which i really like. the only time the fan stopped working was when i stupidly tried to clean it while it was still on and the fan was spinning. of course the fan broke and chipped off.

When it comes to desktops that is. Latest PC is a year old (mine's a Shuttle XPC and I love it!), only had to restore Windows once on it (due to its original Windows having lacked a proper licence). The other partition has Ubuntu on it and both are hanging in there rock steady.

Laptops are more specialised - you can get barebones laptops - which is a little more built up than say a small form factor PC (what mine is) - so you really only need to select your processor, memory, any other peripherals it can offer (some offer room for two hard drives, or even two optical drives at once depending on the configuration of the machine). Often the graphics are built in but I've heard that there are some that allow you to change the graphics card (not the screen itself; that's built in).

DIY machines have advantages because since you built it, you know what goes wrong with it when it does. The downside is that if anything goes wrong, you're the one making the repairs, etc. I've had limited experience with laptops; the worst thing I've had to do is to fix a broken screen on a Gateway. Now it got broke again so time for a new screen again or even better still a new laptop.

Mark.