All posts by Smooth_J

Hurricane Irene

I am sorry for those that lost quite a bit in Hurricane Irene due to flooding, winds, or both.

I managed to bring my site back up, even though I did have some minor flooding. However that is nothing compared to the devastation I have seen online or on the news.

My heart goes out to everyone in the affected areas.

-J

Out with the M18x, and in with the M17x

Well, if you followed my posts, you are aware that I returned my M18x due to a few issues. Nothing major or game changing – just some minor things.

I was reading on the forums, and someone came across the same issue as myself with the warranty. They actually granted him the warranty at the POS price as a one time courtesy. That is really annoying considering I fought as well, and they didn’t do anything to help me out.

On another note, after thinking things through and looking at my budget, I was torn between a M14x, M17x and the XPS 17. You are saying, wait hold on – didn’t you return the XPS 17 cause you ran into issues? Yes, I did return it. However based on my new needs now – it will fit a lot better.

Anyway, I compared them all and my findings were a bit interesting. I was really thinking about getting the M14x, however one thing really turned me off – the screen. After reading and reading the forums, the screen doesn’t hold up to its big brother, the M17x or even its cousin – the XPS 17. It wasn’t the size – it was the color gamut. For the M14x, it was a 45% vs the other @ 72%. So that turned me off from that model since I really don’t want to play this returning game any longer.

So after comparing more – I leaned to the M17x due to the raw power it has.

Here are my specs:

Alienware M17x Soft-Touch, Stealth Black
Intel Core i7 2820QM 2.3GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Mode, 8MB Cache)
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz (4DIMMS)
Alienware M17x 240W A/C Adapter
17.3-inch WideFHD1920 x 1080 60Hz WLED
1.5GB GDDR5 Nvidia GTX 460
320GB 7,200RPM HD
Custom Nameplate
Personalized Nameplate Trigger
AlienFX Color, Mars Red
Alienware Command Center Software, M17X
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
DataSafe Local BackUp
PC Restore
DELL-DOWNLOAD-FLAG
Adobe Acrobat Reader 9.0 Multi-Language
Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
Roxio Creator Starter,No Media
Power DVD 9.6, 3D
Internal High-Definition 5.1 Surround Sound Audio
Killerโ„ข Wireless-N 1103 a/g/n 3×3 MIMO
Dell Hardware Limited Warranty, Extended Year
Dell Hardware Limited Warranty, Initial Year
Dell Limited Hardware Warranty Plus In-Home Service After Remote Diagnosis, 3 Year Extended
Dell Limited Hardware Warranty Plus In-Home Service After Remote Diagnosis, Initial Year
4 Year Limited Warranty
Accidental Damage Service, 4 Years
Soft Contracts Consumer Accidental Damage Agreement for Alienware
Soft Contracts Dell In-Home Hardware Agreement for Alienware
Warranty Support, 3 Year Extended
Warranty Support, Initial Year
Thank you for choosing Dell
Internal 60GHz WirelessHD Transmitter
Alienhead Chrome Red
Alienhead Chrome Red
Steam and Portal Factory Installed
World of Warcraft Preinstall Edition
EVE-Online, English, German, Russian
Thank You for Purchasing AlienWare
Plant A Tree – Notebook, Netbook, Laser and Inkjet Printers, LCD Monitor Offset
Thank you for choosing Dell

Alienware m18x – we should part…

Ok, well, long story short – I am returning the Alienware m18x. I am not returning it cause of performance, nor am I returning it over looks (although it did have a nice little paint chip on the top lid).

The reason, in short, was the warranty. Normally when you buy things you can buy a warranty for it within a certain time. In this case, until your other warranty expires. Even then you can buy another one. However its not the fact I couldn’t buy it – it was the price of it.

To max out the warranty on Dell’s point of sale price it would have been around $500. I said to myself, I don’t have the money right now so I will upgrade later. When I received the laptop, I priced it out and boy was I shocked… To max out the warranty on the Alienware m18x would have been $1500 for the same protection.

I called up customer care and tried to ask them to lower the price, but they couldn’t give me the POS (point of sale) price. So they recommended I send the laptop back and order another one. Not only do I find this dumb (IMHO), but its a good way to loose a customer since you have to wait nearly 30 days to get your money back and then you can reorder.