I have dealt with Alienware in the past ... and the experience was not a good one. Out of three computers ordered ... one went back the next day due to faulty components. The second machine was missing parts that had to be reordered separately, including the monitor, NIC card, and MPEG-2 card. The wrong modem came with the system AND the wrong operating system.
The third machine died after eight months of hell, partly due to the hardware, and the rest because of the most incompetent technical support on the planet. Alienware's technical support department is run by a lying pack of idiots who specialize in lip-service, and not much else. It has been especially bad ever since they moved the facility to a new site ... everything is a shambles. Half the time, they can't even find the files for your account.
People to avoid at Alienware ... Gerald, who can't spell or type. Chris, who is better at lying than anyone I've ever met, before or since. Roland, who displayed a level of arrogance toward a repeat customer that was amazing to witness. The list could go on and on ...
The third machine was replaced, but only after being forced to track down and speak to the CEO and owner of the company, who ordered the head of the technical support division to physically make certain that the replacement machine was assembled correctly. This required two months, over 200 hours of research to identify the reason that the components failed (by me, not them) ... and 37 phone calls by two different individuals to the technical support division over the same period of time ... culminating with a final phone call and email to the CEO.
Still, the replacement would not have happened without the threat of a lawsuit.
Even after all of that the machine was mailed to an incorrect address, and only arrived by sheer luck, due to the common sense of a Fed-Ex driver who had delivered many packaged to my home before!
It was a long, frustrating saga, that could take many hours to properly document and describe in detail. The most exhausting experience of my life when dealing with a manufacturer.
The end result? You want a gaming computer? The best is Falcon Northwest, hands down. Voodoo is number two. Avoid Alienware like the plague, unless you are a masochist at heart.
If you actually want more details, I took the time to write down the content of every conversation, with every individual I spoke to at Alienware, including the date. I also documented every problem with the machine, and what was done to keep it running.
I am out over five hundred dollars of my own money that was used to replace defective components, simply because Alienware promised to fix the machine, and did absolutely nothing. And no, I am certainly not going to be reimbursed by the company.
The warranty isn't worth squat ... and the warranty company can't make a move without authorization from Alienware ... who will never bother to make the call ... even if you move to Miami and camp naked on the front lawn of the main building; something I thought about doing at times out of sheer frustration! It's a running joke around here. Call Alienware. expect no response. Call again. Speak to someone who promises you the moon, and acts as if they are aghast at the extent of the your problems. Wait. Expect nothing to happen. Call again the next day. Etc.
I can't warn you strongly enough to order your new computer from anyone ... EXCEPT Alienware. If the company continues to function in this manner, it will go bankrupt, and you'll have no support for your system at all. Of course, if you do order one from them, that'll be pretty much the case, anyway.
Beware!
Toejam31
<font color=purple>If there was a reason for everything, having faith would be redundant.</font color=purple>
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram