April 9th - I started looking for a new laptop because my current Samsung keeps overheating when watching videos and it is time for an upgrade anyways. I spoke with Roland about the distinction between the 16f3 and the 0ne-403. He was very helpful and informed me that they are essentially the same machine but the 16f3 allows for different customization and comes with an inferior warranty. The 403 comes with a 1 year accidental damage plan and a 2 year defects plan while the 16f3 only comes with a warranty against defects. The pricing was essentially the same when similar options were selected. The 16f3, in general, is superior if you already have an OS to install and you do not want an accidental damage warranty. The 403 is better if you do not have an OS to install and you already want all of the upgrades it comes with it by stock.
April 11th - I spoke with Roland again as to the distinction between the 95 gamut screen and the default screen for these computers. He said, definitively, that the 95 gamut screen would provide a much better gaming experience.
April 23rd - I spoke with Josh K to get a second opinion and he stated that while I would be able to appreciate the difference between the 95 gamut screen and the default screen, the brightness and contrast is essentially the same and the difference is most significant for people who are interested in graphic editing. I did some more research and discovered that most people hold that for purposes of playing games, the difference in screen is not that great and especially not great when you do not calibrate the screen correctly. Furthermore, some games do not even deal with calibration correctly and the result is a more saturated looking game than you would get with a stock model screen. Since I decided I wanted the accidental damage warranty, changing to the 95 gamut screen would have also had the effect of eliminating my accidental damage warranty on the screen. As such, I settled on the stock screen.
April 24rd - I settled on the 0ne-403 and talked with MSI about the 100 dollar off mail in rebate they gave since the language in the rebate form is a little confusing ("eligibility period" is not defined). Unfortunately, the MSI sales people seem to be a little confused. One person told me on the phone that I would have to get the rebate to them by April 30th, which would have been almost impossible. The person who told me I would have to get it in by April 30th talked to XoticPC and told me to speak to Melissa. XoticPC offered to send me the required documents ASAP after payment was forth coming and before the computer was shipped. However, prior to talking to the person on the phone I had emailed MSI and a representative responded that I would have until May 30th to get them the rebate form. I decided that since I had written proof that I could rely upon from MSI, I was safe to wait and weigh my decision before placing an order. XoticPC stated that they would put my order date on the invoice when they shipped the machine to prove that I ordered the computer before April 30th.
I looked up the MSI dead pixel policy and discovered that if my screen came with 5 or more dead pixels that they would consider the unit DOA and replace it. However, if it came with less than 5 I would have to suffer the screen. This made me decide to get the 30 day dead pixel warranty from XoticPC. In addition, I looked up the cost of a SSD from amazon and discovered I could buy a samsung 840 250gb drive myself for around $120, which is a savings of 80 from what XoticPC was going to charge me to install it themselves. I recognize I would have to install the OS myself but it isn't that hard to burn my own recovery disc and do so if I so choose. In addition, XoticPC replaces the 750gb drive and does not give it to you but if you get a 2nd drive with the 840 drive it costs the same? Perhaps this is because a replacement drive requires them to install the OS and they take the stock drive as the cost of this process? However, they have a clean install option that is significantly cheaper than the cost of the default drive. The pricing seems to be a little off. I decided to not bother with a SSD for now because the difference between loading from a hibernated state on a 7200 and a shut down state on a SSD is negligible and for gaming the difference is also fairly negligible. It will be a nice upgrade to get sometime in the future. Furthermore, I get to keep the accidental warranty on the stock hard drive as a bonus.
I also looked up the warranty on the MSI in general. I discovered that MSI puts a sticker on the bottom of their computer that if removed allegedly voids the warranty of the computer. I looked at the warranty on MSI and this sticker is not mentioned in the warranty. The only voiding the MSI warranty speaks of is if you remove a sticker with the serial number. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act has been interpreted in Automobile cases to make such a warranty voiding addendum ineffective unless disclosed in the initial warranty. I talked with MSI and they informed me that the warranty would not be void if I removed the sticker so long as I did not damage the computer when doing an upgrade.
April 25th - I ordered my 0ne-403. I decided only to get a ram upgrade as I wanted to retain my accidental damage coverage and I can always do an upgrade in a year or so once that warranty has lapsed.
April 25th - My order was put in phase 2.
April 27th - I informed Hutsady at XoticPC about an advertisement on their website for the 0ne the states it comes with something free despite the fact that the actual order area does not have this item. XoticPC has offered to give me this free thing and has placed it in my order history. They have not removed this advertisement yet and because they are being so nice to me in this regard I won't expose what it is. I am just stating this to show they are going well beyond what they had to do. I was just informing them of a mistake on their website.
April 30th - The product has been shipped according to Xotic. UPS's website does not register the tracking code as of yet.
May 1st - UPS has tracking code and shipment is scheduled to be delivered on the 6th.
May 6th - Computer delivered. Everything seems to be in working order. Will be doing a graphical test to check for any temperature problems later today. The computer came with the camera off and I had a slight panic thinking that the camera came disconnected during the shipping process. The sound is definitely impressive for a laptop. The sub woofer is kinda pathetic; I wonder why they bothered adding it at all?
Everything is going great so far and I will update as necessary. So far XoticPC and MSI have both been very helpful and the experience has been great.
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Support.1@XOTIC PC Company Representative
Seems as though I'm the only person you didn't talk to, slightly offended!
Glad to hear they were all able to take care of you and I'm sure Hoss will be around shortly as well. Be sure to let us know if we can continue to help out! -
P.S. I do find it kinda funny that you advertise the Alienware Perks as including "No Sales Tax." Because, you know, it isn't like we have to pay that tax anyways. -
Support.1@XOTIC PC Company Representative
My XoticPC experience
Discussion in 'Reseller Feedback Forum' started by jbhasban, Apr 30, 2013.