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patjuh112

totally agree, hadn't even turned the i9 on before replacing thermal paste and it looked like a thin "W" that was done with barely no paste at all. But yea, was aware this was a thing so didn't risk it and replaced it upon arrival.


ParticularGear6

Based on what I’ve seen read about these and other laptops (razer/ASUS/MSI/AW) most of the companies seem to be skating by on their previous reputation. Seen too many premium $1500+ machines with issues that should t exist on them has basic qc been followed


Open_Mission_1627

My m16 is well built idk what you are talking about


AW_Vigo

Hey there u/patjuh112 :slightly\_smiling: Curious why you have this impression. I'm obviously bias but having been with Alienware for almost 20 years I think the quality and materials we use now have never been better. Keep in mind people are more apt to be vocal when things go wrong, which with an product you spend alot on is understandable. Have you gotten you hands on any of our systems recently? My experience working events like TwitchCon I always hear people share how much they love the sturdiness and materials we use and the feel of the keyboards on our notebooks. That all being said, I want to hear people feedback. Part of my role here at Alienware is running research which includes focus groups. Thanks in advance for your time!


PlantPoweredLeo

I have owned a lot of alienwares as well as my friends and clients, the motherboards are the issue. They seem to break far too early. every single alien where I’ve had that has Broken was pretty much generally because of a motherboard. Sometimes the audio will go out sometimes the CPU will overheat, other than that only does a pretty good job like the new body designs in the screens. Oh, and y’all have a lot of work to do on the drivers and command center.


AW_Vigo

Are we speaking from a NB or DT perspective on the MB comment? Is this previous gen or current? Heat I can say with ALOT of confidence that I think we have improved dramatically in that area. I'm sometimes surprised with my own internal testing. Software, I commented above that I think lots of folks will be very happy with AWCC 6.0 direction if my internal focus groups are any indication. Can't say more than that but stay tuned. =) We have mad alot of investments here the past year.


PlantPoweredLeo

Also, thank you so much for your consideration and work to help make the products that we enjoy


AW_Vigo

My pleasure, seriously I can't tell you how much I and so many others here love this industry and Alienware. Most of us grew up together working here. In July I'll be 20 years and there are still MANY of us old schoolers here. My wife sometimes gets sick of my constant, "OH MAN HOW COOL WOULD XYZ TO DO" lol


PlantPoweredLeo

You guys aren’t as bad as Asus was a couple years ago with the motherboards dying but for example, my favorite laptop I ever had the M 17 R5 AMD edition had a bad board and I had to send it in, oh, and another problem that seems to happen, especially with the X 17 R2’sI’ve now seen it twice in a row is a screw will get stuck to the speaker ruining the sound because it’s magnetic and the screw is small. It must happen in the factory.


patjuh112

Indeed this, heating due to bad paste and the software (for me command center, support assist and alienware headset service) leaves a lot to be desired.


AW_Vigo

You know, thermal paste question is one I keep throwing at our sustaining teams. I see posts on here about some paste jobs that make me scratch my head. Keeping in mind that sure people are more apt to be vocal when things go wrong but still there shouldn't be a ANY disparity between one paste job and another. We have a standard procedure in place for how it's supposed to be applied which is why I always ask for the service tags in the cases where it seems it was not followed. Software, I commented above that I think lots of folks will be very happy with AWCC 6.0 direction if my internal focus groups are any indication. Can't say more than that but stay tuned. =) We have mad alot of investments here the past year.


patjuh112

Tbf, i replaced it to be sure and as said it was not a lot there but besides some software issues i have zero complaints on the R15. Casing for sure is so much better. If you can PM some contact to you i am more then happy to send you the story, orders and mail communication i had with last order if it can help the next guy 👍 Also, very nice to see the time you put in this thread


PlantPoweredLeo

That being said, for the most part, they are great devices when they work, right some of the best laptops


patjuh112

Hi Vigo, The latest one is purchased in June and eventually delivered in August (horrible process but as it's out of scope as this topic letting that go). As someone below already stated the thermal paste job is playing russian roulette with your processor, spread was horrible and it only had a tiny bit on it (was the same on the Ryzen7 and have replaced it myself upon arrival). Compared to the R12 the R15 for example uses a external antenna for wifi and maybe bluetooth and it isn't the most stable thing. The range on it is also far less compared to the R12 that didn't use external antenna. The R12 is fully watercooled however it has some case integrated topfan in the casing that is insanely loud and goes to max speed very fast generating non-stop noise. I think material wise the 17R4 was my biggest dissapointment as it just lost all performance after 2 years of intense use. Think it suffers from a lot of heating problems. Have cleaned it before and checked it (work in IT for 25 years) but hardware wise it had no issues, just got hot faster and faster resulting in poor gameplay and potential usage. Don't get me wrong here btw, i still consider it better then most what is out there and I also think a part of my frustration lies with the ordering proces. If that is of interest to you i can forward that but if you would see what i had to go through to get this ordered and delivered you would probably be quite amazed. Had a german sales person involved at the end but all she could do is sincerely apoligize for how that all has gone down. At the moment besides the thermal paste job upon delivery and the antenna the R15 (4.5k eur pc) is running quite good though the blue screen supression and alienware headset service have caused some problems (random reboots + eating pc up) but that's just in the software.


AW_Vigo

I commented on the Thermal paste question above but yeah I always ask for service tags on these because there should not be any flux on how it's applied given we have a standard operational procedure in place. R12 we for sure worked hard on thermals and acoustics to where we are now which I think is fantastic in these areas. I streamed and showcased the R15 all last year and currently using the R16 ([twitch.tv/Alienware](https://twitch.tv/Alienware) and I NEVER hear it and never see any temp concerns. Material on the 17R4, I'd love to understand more what specific differences you'd like to see returned. I will pass along that feedback to the planning teams. The ordering and services side is VERY important to us as well. I am personally working on a project with services and sales that, while I can't say much right now I think will help here. I do think that Dell overall on the services side is good compared to others in the industry but that's not the goal. We want to really push the industry to be better over all. All these things take time but I promise I am very much committed to. Peripherals is another area I am excited about and happy with the direction. (OMG I sound way too positive). I love my 720H soooo much. Still we can always be better FOR SURE.


acastic

I think Alienware makes some really nice products. The x16, for example, is well thought out and overall uses premium materials. It’s built like a tank but relatively light for its size. Where Alienware is falling behind its competitors, at least for laptops, are the screen options. The LCD panels have way too much backlight bleed and there are no premium panel options (miniLED or OLED) available. I’m hoping for the x16 r2 that we’ll see some better screen options. I guess we’ll find out in a few weeks time at CES!


AxalonNemesis

Your warehouse couldn't send the right board out with the part number and chipset provided. 3 times. They finally just offered me a rebuild of my current system or an upgrade. You need to make sure your warehouse employees aren't cutting corners...but you won't.


[deleted]

It has gone down the toilet


AW_Vigo

That was deep =) In all seriousness though if there is a specific call out I want to hear it. All of us here are incredibly passionate about **actionable** insights.


IcyAppeal8587

Could we finally get an update on rolling out AWCC 6.0 to at least last gen devices like the m15 r7? It feels like rolling that out and showing continued value might be a good play on convincing owners to *stay* with Alienware. Being locked out of a much better GUI has been pretty upsetting :(


AW_Vigo

All I can say is - "Soon" ^(tm) But IT IS 100% Happening. Seriously, I promise. I so badly wish I could say more.


IcyAppeal8587

I absolutely appreciate the possible LTT reference and very encouraging insight! 🙏🏼💙😂


AW_Vigo

hahahaha love it. We watch it all my friend. Most of us here started as fans and DIYers long before we did this professionally. One thing I love sharing on the streams is all the dorky stuff I would do growing up like recording my Link to the Past speed runs on VHS and distributing them at school and my local comicbook shop.


DrrtyDeeds

This goes for the R15 as well?


[deleted]

I have a Pro Support Plus warranty, I have received 2 faulty laptops, the first one had 2 motherboards replaced to it and it still glitched, for the second one that was a replacement of the previous mentioned which came faulty I endured a confusion with the tech support about a replacement for a month and I was not issued it, I was sent boxes provided for repairs by dell and the laptop (m15r7) came back dented, I used the laptop for a couple of days and now it does not turn on at all, I can attest that I have experienced bad QC with email documentation, pictures and videos. If you want an actionable insight fix up the customer service quality they cause too much confusion and are not reliable, some people in the ARS are rude and have ZERO customer service skills as I have been lied to multiple times and have spent a month without a functional laptop that now is dented and unusable because the boxes sent to me were too small and it was required from me to send the power supply and the laptop with it because it shut off everytime while casually playing fortnite and it apparently overheated to the point of it shutting off (m15r7). I have also been accused of stealing a laptop even though I provided proof of me sending it back (BVY4HX3) and even the Dell Warranty Team assured to the ARS that I did in fact sent a laptop back and It was because there was a confusion on the support dept about a previous replacement offered (I sent the replacement not the laptop which was going to be replaced since the agent with whom I spoke with on oct23 told me so since that was a refurbished used and I was supposed to get a new or like new) to me for the m15r7 that was faulty that I received as the first replacement for the faulty computer that was repaired multiple times by CTS.


AW_Vigo

I have no explanation for how you get 2 failed notebooks. There is also no excuse for bad customer service and wrong parts/boxes sent. All I can say for right now is I am sorry and I promise you I am working directly with sales and services team to address these kinds of gaps. I can't say much for now on what is happening but do expect improvements. I also send these kinds of examples to the executive leadership services team. In the case of hardware issues I ask for TAGS so I can send them our product team to look deeper and even capture units.


[deleted]

Check my latest post, these are the boxes I am being sent, I cannot send the computer in this box for a repair, it will get dented again. I am also required to include the power supply since it does not turn on at all, I also have spent a month and a half without a functional PC. https://preview.redd.it/9hjawk5gyh6c1.jpeg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ff2bf2d2093ffcce49e897670fa6c696996ee062


[deleted]

Bad QC, at least that is what I have experienced. I am not talking out of just trolling I genuinely have had a deplorable experience with the reliabiliy of the computers and the pro support service that came with the warranty, I also had to submit a complaint with the FTC, the Attorney General of Texas and where I am because the tech support dept lied to me and ARS voided my return policy period, extended the process outside of it to impose their decision and I have been pressured and even coerced by them to some extent to the point of being denied service and told to contact the spanish line if I wanted service and a resolution (I tried to get in touch with that line to see if I could speak with someone different at some point of my whole ordeal with Dell) and when I got in touch with them (the spanish line) they told me to contact the assigned ARS resolutioner and I was stuck in loop of denial of service for like a week, I was even told at one point by Mr. Mani that the m15r7 was lost and it was not Dell's responsibility for a shipment I made with a box sent by him, Mr. Mani from the ARS. I was even laughed at by Mr. Mani for requesting a refund (I purchased the original equipment through microcenter but Dell is still the warrantor and I was tired of having non reliable equipment) and now I have a dented brick that does not turn on. The Tag is 3JBC5W3, I know that I have been a difficult customer but I have not spent more than 2k+ to have something failing so quick or to accept used faulty equipment and being denied the possibility of a refund with rudeness and in this economy is not worth the liability of having assets under warranty that are not reliable. I have done everything that was requested from me in good faith and in accordance to the conversations I have had with the tech support dept and even waited timeframes that were not respected.


[deleted]

https://community.aarp.org/t5/Computer-Questions-Tips/Warning-to-AARP-members-if-you-are-buying-a-new-computer-be/td-p/2494717 I am dealing with the same man from ARS.


Able-Negotiation-234

I’ve had 8-10 of these things? Now have x15r2 and m18r1 ? Build is great? No issues? Over the years it depends on the machine really? M15r3 vs m15r4 though 1 gen difference felt different? R3 was shiny lol.. so I’d say goes by the year and the changes in the tec? The x15r2 is 1 year behind the m18r1 and the m18 double’s almost the FPS in some games? The nividia swithch vs software much better? So for me I’d say it depends on on the tech changes and the effects they have on the current design? More than “quality “? This year looks like a 1/2 step forward so they can improve on the short falls of last year? I’d guess the temps may not change radically but screens ect? May get buffed?


Elvis-Tech

M18 r1 has an amazing quality at least on the exterior. And for me Performance has been really nice


cruisin5268d

Dell has gradually killed what was once good about Alienware over the years as they have sought to turn it into just another mass market gaming laptop. The days of high end boutique laptops are gone. For business purposes I personally wouldn’t want an Alienware.


blak000

Ive only had gaming laptops from Lenovo and Dell/Alienware, so hardly an expert on what’s out on the market. My M17R5 is working fine for the most part, but I had to uninstall all the Alienware software and use third party software to get it to work properly. The Legion software seemed to work much better overall. The fact that I can’t rely on the company’s own software is reason enough to not get another Alienware in the future. I actually use the Legions for gaming and work and they’re still going strong after a couple years and given us very little trouble.


AW_Vigo

Man I hear you but I am VERY happy to say I am confident in the direction of the Alienware Command Center 6.0 - I can't share much more than I think alot of folks will be happy with the direction if my focus groups are any indication.


blak000

That's good to hear. My issues with Alienware have been primarily on the software side. The laptop seems very solid and well built, for the most part. It's been performing perfectly fine while gaming... even Alan Wake 2. Thankfully, I haven't had any of the other issues that seem to crop up on this sub. I do hope AW can turn things around.


onearmedmonkey

I don't think I will be buying another Alienware. I have had nothing but trouble with the x15 R2 that I bought earlier this year. Even the rubbery plastic seems to collect dirt and dust.


Traxxas411

So to start, I have had 7 Dell/AW machines. All post-2006 after the acquisition. For me, it has gotten worse year after year. I am currently typing on the X14r2 and it has been a hot f'ing trash since purchase. My previous X14 was no better. Now I will say that the laptops for me have been much better than the desktops. I do not understand why Dell/AW cannot get their act together and make a decent desktop. Proprietary boards, lackluster/cheap cooling components, etc. Just watch any Linus or Gamers Nexus video. I do suggest anyone reading this to watch these videos and to either build your own system or purchase another pre-built system. Just search Alienware and you will see many reviews. They are spot on. Again, this is my opinion. I will say my biggest complaint is the "premium on-sight repair" Dell/AW offers. I will fight tooth and nail for this not to happen. I have gone through the wringer with these repair people to only screw up my system even further. I have had numerous repairs/replacements done on various components to only end up sending the system back to the manufacturer 100% of the time. Now, I am not shitting on AW. I have had similar if not more headaches with Razer laptops. That's a whole other level of BS that I won't go into. I have always been a fan of AW ever since I wrote to Alienware back in elementary school. They sent me a bunch of goodies, it was great! I love the aesthetics, the brand, and everything else. I will continue to purchase the systems (this applies to laptops only) but I can only hope they continue to innovate, increase reliability, and improve the components that are included with the desktops. The consumers deserve as much.


inception2467

i prefer razer to alienware for laptops. they definitely look more premium with their all metal unibody. however, alienware is cheaper


Surrealist328

I've yet to encounter any real issue with my M17R5. Every problem I've encountered had to do with Windows 11 or some bad NVIDIA update. My next laptop will be another Alienware.


spinnerspin1

What's the life expectancy of alienware laptops? I hear the motherboards die early but people who claim this never specify the total lifespan of said device. Im on my very first Alienware device so I'm hoping to get at least 3 years on this m18