This isn't Alienware

This is just a thread to vent off some of the frustration which I've been feeling when reading through these forums, particularly this sub-forum. In particular, I was reading the thread about the new Alienware 15, and right off the bat things didn't look that well... shabby build quality compared to previous Alienwares, light bleeding, and so on. However, what shocked me the most were the sort of questions being asked, questions that are so painfully obvious to anyone with an ounce to knowledge about computers that I thought they were jokes at first. Now I'm not saying that whoever has a problem should hesitate from asking anything, because I'd probably be one of the least persons entitled to comment on that - I asked my fair share of questions and the members on here were always happy to help, especially Mr. Fox who should have a monument raised in his favour. But how can you ask a question such as "is it normal that my new 250GB SSD shows as having 229GB free space instead of 250GB" when you're purchasing an Alienware? Where are those questions concerning overclocking, disassembly, whether to go for a new AMD or Nvidia GPU, and so on and so forth?

For years, owning an Alienware meant you knew your stuff, knew how to look after a computer and knew how to manage your way through it. When selling my own Alienware M18x R2, I conducted interviews, not joking, to the persons who were interested in it. I flatly refused 1 particular interested customer because he didn't know what an Extreme processor is. I wanted to make sure that that particular Alienware goes to a knowledgeable person who can enjoy it just as much as I do, maybe more, as I didn't have enough time to enjoy mine when the time arrived to sell it. Now? Now Alienware is just a glorified Dell, a laptop with twinkly lights and a cool design to go with the cool iPhone case belonging to the teenager whose just bought it, probably with his parents' hard-earned money.

I switched my allegiance long ago to Lenovo, partly because I do not have enough time for gaming and customizing PCs/laptops anymore, and partly because at least they stuck with their core product, the Thinkpad, and that remains their core audience - and they strive a lot to meet their demands. I respect that. Dell? Dell just wants 3 different types of Inspirons to please the masses. Well done Dell. You've succeeded.

P.S. - in no way am I stating that you should not ask questions when you have problems. You are more than entitled to do so, heck, maybe it marks the beginning of a loving relationship with your laptop/PC with no sexual innuendo. But remember that Google is your friend as well.

 

Some people who buy high-end sports cars don't know anything about high performance driving - perhaps not even cars in general. It's a status symbol, just like Alienware or any other designer product. I understand what you're saying about not wanting people with Alienwares to misrepresent - but there's no way to prevent that from happening. Getting stressed out or even worrying about that is borderline illogical. I can understand the pain and frustration you experienced after building an affinity with a particular brand only to see the brand take a different direction later on. The lesson there, which it appears you already learned and embraced, is to simply move on and take your enthusiasm to those who will recognize and reward it.

 

I would dispute that "owning an Alienware" ever "meant you knew your stuff" in reality. That may have been your interpretation of ownership, but at the end of the day it's just a brand name and has always attracted buyers of all knowledge levels, in fact, one might easily argue the brand is actually predicated on providing performance that an enthusiast might reach in an attractive and pre-built package to actually preclude needing to know all the subtleties of high-end personal computers. I would go so far as to say that because Alienware left "gaps" in their designs, PC knowledge was required to cover the bases to make the damn things actually work as advertised - not because they were like a sports car where you were expected to tinker as in days of old, but because testing these days is clearly pathetic and getting worse.

I am frankly glad people are stepping up and asking basic questions - it shows new blood is coming in from the console world, a new generation which didn't grow up (as you and I likely did) on the PC; they are discovering and getting caught up on how things work. Sadly, for those who like to tinker to achieve higher performance levels those days are slowly coming to an end and only "bridging the gaps" in bypassing problems is what is left to them.

Frankly, don't be such an elitist about the whole thing, ownership doesn't brand you as someone "special" unless you buy into the ads by Lexus, BMW and Cristal champagne

Remember, humans are little more than hairless chimps, striving to be at the top of the tree hurling their feces down on their fellow chimps on lower branches LOL. Understand that and a lot of what humans do socially makes sense.

 

I agree, you should at least have some knowledge or what your doing.

I saw the hardrive post yesterday as well and laughed

 

The problem with Alienware is that today is accessible to a bigger audience due to the cost and availability of these machines. I remember when I actually planned on buying my first Alienware in 2002, it wasn't all that but it cost around $11,000 and took them about 4 months to deliver. I remember people use to complain back in the day because they thought they wouldn't build the machines until the parts that were "quoted" went down in price. That is a reason why before people actually had to be knowledgeable about Alienware, because it wasn't targeted for "Enthusiast" it was actually meant for productivity.

Honestly I had not heard the HD capacity debate since 2000 or so, but its something that is never brought up. Now if your looking forward for...

Where are those questions concerning overclocking, disassembly, whether to go for a new AMD or Nvidia GPU, and so on and so forth?

you are not the Original audience intended(going with Lenovo ), seriously you need disassemble instructions??? or input on AMD or Nvidia??? Isn't google there to answer those questions..

 

It's important to teach others what you know and not deride them. Everyone is constantly learning. If you adopt the mindset that you are superior than you are really no better than the people who put down a certain brand because it's something they personally do not like.

 

Tsk, not another one of this.

Can't say any better than this.

If you feel like venting your anger and nonsensical frustration, there is a whole thread dedicated to that. Join their ranting. Thanks.

 

. The M11x was my first exposure to a Alienware computer. Not only was it the newest thing on the block but also because it was the first Alienware computer that I could afford.

Before that all my computers were whatever was available at the local Best Buy, I just bought whatever was on the shelf it never occurred to me that I could get a computer built the way that I wanted it.
Lurking on the forums was the best education that I could get and still is to this day. Asking questions of others helped me decide what I wanted in my new computer and still helps me today. No matter what the question is that someone has if I can help them by answering it I will be happy to.

 

It's a shame the great things I read about their customer service have seemed to not be true from my experience and from other peoples' experiences on here. I hope they can get their act together, I'm still dealing with them to replace my laptop that arrived broken and stop giving me lies. I received it 2 weeks ago. I've had to escalate more than necessary to get anywhere because of agents lying to me and being rude and so on.

 

I was surprise how bad there customer service is, I called on 2/19 (requesting 240W PSU) waited 65 minutes on hold, lady answer and told me she was aware of the situation. Then she proceeded to inform me that there was no problem with my PSU as the problem only affected the Alienware 17 models(I bought a A15 980m).. I explain and point her into the following link ( http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN295814?dgc=SM&cid=249387&lid=5461134) and said there was nothing she could do. I ask her if I could speak to the Manager or Supervisor in Charge, she put me on hold. After 10 minutes on hold she said that the Manager was out on lunch(8AM PST ) that she would contact me in an hour.. I told her that if she was sure they would call me, and she got really rude.. Started to tell to not worry and was trying to get me off the line even when I was requesting more information. To this day I'm still waiting for the call.

Thanks LAURA!!!!

Employee ID:605710

 

Don't get me started on this callback business... Every call I've ever made I've been promised a call back. I've only received 2. I've made easily over 100 calls to them.

 

I would actually contend it was always the opposite: people bought an AW because it was known to be high-performance, high-quality, and flashy. People who knew how to tinker bought a Clevo or something else.

I've never met somebody with a Clevo who wasn't a tinkerer or a low-level enthusiast, as only quasi-enthusiasts ever find out about Clevo. On the other hand, pretty much everybody in the PC/gaming world has heard of AW.

AW is (was?) a Ferrari/Maserati/Porsche. Clevo was a 1967 Mustang GT Shelby. You buy the former because it is high-performance, well-built, and runs perfectly out-of-the-box. You don't need to know anything about cars to walk into a Ferrari dealer, plunk down $200k and walk out with a fantastic car. You DO need to know something about cars to find, buy, and fix a vintage 1967 Mustang.

These forums are not a good indication of your typical AW user - if you're here, it means you're at least somewhat PC savvy. I'm willing to bet most people who buy/bought an AW went online, bought the machine, had it delivered, used it and never thought to look anywhere else, or find out how their machine actually works.

Case in point: I bought an AW17 R1 from a guy yesterday. He initially said it was a 1080p screen with a GTX 880M. When I look the machine over, it turns out its a 1600x900 screen and a GTX 770M. He had no clue, because he didn't know how to check. I still bought it (negotiated a deep discount).

While AW allowed you to tinker with it, and it was much better built than other laptops, I personally contend its broader appeal was much like a high-performance, luxury car.

That being said, I do somewhat agree that some of the questions being asked are...odd. You're spending $2k on a gaming laptop (an AW, no less) and you're asking if you can swap the HDD for your own SSD? Though to be honest, given the direction AW is going in (and the market it is going after) these questions are to be expected I guess.

 

Alienware is a broad brand with all types of customers, we would love to teach everything that we know about this machines to all of our users so that they can use them at its full speed. Places like NBR help people who aren't that good on this matters and put them up to speed with what the machine can do. We've worked a lot to get plenty of videos on our Youtube Channel, new content on Facebook and we know that there's a lot more to do to achieve this goal. Anyway, the most important thing about a forum like this one is to help each other, to fix what we need and to share our experiences.