Congratulations. It is certainly one powerful gaming beast. Could you state the reasons why you chose to purchase Alienware desktop, instead of DIY desktop, other than the sheer love of Alienware? Thanks.

Other than Coolermaster Notepal Infinite, what would be the best cooling pad for M15x?

Well, unless there is a dedicated thread for Alienware desktops, I don't think there is any problem including the Alienware desktops here.

Hardware forum mostly cater to DIY desktops. If anyone opens an OEM-desktop thread there, it may receive bashing.

This post has been edited by alvinkhorfire: Jan 28 2011, 04:11 PM

Guys, after you all purchased your Alienware laptop, do you purchase warranty extension?

Well, the price for warranty extension is so expensive.

1 Year Standard Hardware + Complete Cover Warranty : RM 775.00 (obtained from Dell Sales Agent)

Bear in mind that my warranty has not expired. If you request warranty extension after your warranty has expired, the price will be even more expensive. Ouch!

If you extend another year of 1-year Premier Service with 1-year CompleteCover during your laptop purchase, you only need to pay about RM 350 per year. Okay, I do know that if I choose not to extend the warranty during the laptop purchase, I would pay a much higher price after that. I would expect something like RM 400 to RM 500. The real thing is that it costs almost RM 800, double the price. It is outrageous.

Then again, if I do not extend warranty, I would risk paying much higher price for laptop repair.

I need some advice here. How long do you all extend your warranty? The maximum warranty extension is 5 year.

Anyway, I just do not feel spending that much money. Then again, I would face the risk of costly repair cost, should the worst case scenario happen.

Thanks for your advice.

This post has been edited by alvinkhorfire: Feb 22 2011, 07:31 PM

Mr.Docter, do you think that I should spend RM 775 to extend my warranty? Is it worth it?

One component of this 1 Year Standard Hardware + Complete Cover Warranty is:
Onsite Engineer assistance labour charge

What does that mean? Do I have to pay additional money so that Dell will dispatch on-site technician to repair my laptop? Or, is it free of charge as it is included in RM 775?

If you guys want to know more, I can reveal the entire quotation of the warranty extension here. That is upon demand from you all.

This post has been edited by alvinkhorfire: Feb 25 2011, 11:19 AM

Mr.Docter

Thank you very much for your advice. I may probably purchase it. Still, it is outrageous to charge double amount of money, compared to the one made during laptop purchase. It is really akin to daylight robbery.

If I am not mistaken, you are a medical student studying in Egypt. So, you are back in Malaysia, right? Great to know that you are safe and sound. You also offer dicsounted warranty extension, right? Perhaps, you can offer me lower price. If you are not comfortable with revealing your price here, do send me a PM.

Upon request by Mr.Docter, here is the entire quotation I received:

Option 1 :-

1 Year Limited Hardware + Software Phone support warranty : RM 710.00
2 Year Limited Hardware + Software Phone support warranty : RM 1,200.00
3 Year Limited Hardware + Software Phone support warranty : RM 1,700.00

- Cover on natural Hardware failure & limited software issue
- Exclude battery, accidental damage, wear & tear and cosmetic issue



Option 2 :-

1 Year Standard Hardware + Complete Cover Warranty : RM 775.00
2 Year Standard Hardware + Complete Cover Warranty : RM 1,320.00
3 Year Standard Hardware + Complete Cover Warranty : RM 1,900.00

- Cover accidental damage failure
- Cover natural hardware failure & limited software issue
- Onsite Engineer assistance labour charge
- Exclude battery, wear & tear and cosmetic issue

Price Validity until: 28th February 2011

If possible, let's discuss whether it is worthwhile to purchase warranty extension and how long the extension should be. I really want to be a smart customer, not someone who will give hard-earned money to Dell for useless purposes.

This post has been edited by alvinkhorfire: Feb 26 2011, 09:34 AM

Well, I had maxed out my budget during my laptop purchase. Between better hardware and longer warranty, which will you choose if you have limited budget? For me, I would rather sacrifice warranty extension, in order to obtain much powerful hardware.

Still, different people have different opinion.

Eugene91

My M15x specification is nothing fancy. It is i7-740QM, 6 GB RAM, ATI HD 5850, 500GB HDD. It was priced about RM6000 a few months ago.

If I had extended my warranty, I would have obtained HD 5730 instead, which is much inferior compared to HD 5850. Of course, I can purchase HD 5850 from Dell after the laptop has been purchased. Then again, I have heard enough scary stories about inexperienced Dell technicians who will perform the upgrade and repair. I will not let them repair my computer, unless it is absolutely necessary.

Thank you, Mr.Docter. Let's hope there is good news about warranty extension, for the benefit of all.

This post has been edited by alvinkhorfire: Feb 26 2011, 12:00 PM

wadelucy1987

Just plug the DisplayPort-to-HDMI cable to the DisplayPort on the left side of your M15x.

There is a horizontal slot between Gigabit Ethernet port and USB port on the left side of your M15x. That slot is DisplayPort. Plug the cable to that port and to another device with the HDMI port. VGA port is not required in this case.

You are very well-off, putochip123. I guess that your business of selling Dell laptops has been providing you with handsome profit, enabling you to own many laptops. I am very much envy of you.

putochip123, please do not take it wrong way. It is a genuine compliment from me and contains no hidden ill intention.

This post has been edited by alvinkhorfire: Mar 9 2011, 05:02 PM

yurblex1a

Since you already have M17x R2, it is not worthwhile to purchase M17x R3. Plus, there is no way to "upgrade" R2 to R3, as for now, due to limited BIOS support purposely restricted by Dell Alienware.

M17x R3 is the direct successor of M15x, not M17x R2. If you really want to purchase new Alienware laptop, wait for the rumored M18x, the real heir of M17x R2. I don't think that single GPU of M17x R3 is more powerful than dual GPU of M17x R2.

This post has been edited by alvinkhorfire: Mar 17 2011, 11:57 AM

yurblex1a

I see. Sorry for misunderstanding. As for now, the Notebook Review forum members are considering to install the latest NVIDIA and AMD GPU inside M17x R2. However, no success has been reported so far.

M17x R2 should be able to support any MXM 3.0 graphic cards, including GTX 460M or AMD HD 6970. I think that Dell Alienware purposely restricts the BIOS, so that R2 cannot support the latest graphic cards. That way, we are "forced" to purchase another Alienware laptop from Dell, in order to use the latest graphic card. It is their business strategy. What to do?

This post has been edited by alvinkhorfire: Mar 17 2011, 12:04 PM

Congratulations, putochip123 for your Alienware desktop. Is it Alienware Aurora ALX?



At the first glance, I was thinking that there is no way you would be satisfied with such inferior graphic cards. After reading that you want to replace mobo, RAM, graphic card, I finally realized your clever buying tip. Configurate the specification as low as possible to save money, since you are going to replace it with your own high-end parts.

How do you manage to configurate it having GTS240 SLi? The most inferior video cards in SLI I can configurate in Dell website is SLI - Dual 1GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX460.

This post has been edited by alvinkhorfire: Mar 25 2011, 09:26 PM

Thanks for the insider tips, putochip123. Please share more of these tips here if you can. At least, these tips are more accurate and trustworthy than the "fact" stated by supposedly honest Dell Sales Agents.

putochip123, how many desktops do you own? Besides this Alienware Aurora, I remembered that you have one custom-made desktop, the one with GTX 580. I really wish that I can have such huge graphic performance at my disposal.

kira-kun

Your video card in M17x-R3 is 2GB GDDR5 Radeon 6970. Wow, that is great. It should be more powerful than AMD HD 5850, HD 5870 and NVIDIA GTX 460M found in any M15x. I am so envy of you.

This post has been edited by alvinkhorfire: Mar 28 2011, 12:08 PM

Okay, 2GB DDR5 AMD HD 6970 costs an additional RM 1185.00 over 1GB GDDR5 AMD HD 6870M. Is it worthwhile? Performance-wise, yes; price-wise, no. It seems a bit excessive.

Maybe, it is a newly-launched video card, hence the price is quite high. Perhaps, should we wait for a few months for the price drop, so that it is worthwhile?

Guys, what is your comment of the pricing by Dell Malaysia on this video card?

This post has been edited by alvinkhorfire: Mar 29 2011, 01:18 PM

Sorry to say this. There is no such thing as M15x-R2 as it does not exist. What we do have are:

1. Pre-Dell Alienware: Area-51 m15x
2. Current Dell Alienware: All Powerful M15x

Notice the small m and capital M. Some people always mistaken All-Powerful M15x as M15x-R2, but the fact is that M15x has been released by Dell Alienware just once. Thus, there is no such thing as M15x-R2.

Hope this will clear any confusion here.

NBR forum has somehow stated the lineup of the future Alienware laptops as follow: M11x-R3, M14x, M17x-R3 (single GPU), M18x (dual GPU). Take your pick.

This post has been edited by alvinkhorfire: Apr 1 2011, 11:25 AM

I see that may be the source of the confusion. I myself am not sure which processor M15x originally is equipped with. Probably, it came with Core 2 Duo, as you said. Later, the processor is charged to the current Core i Series nowdays. The thing is that even though the processor platform has been charged siginifcantly, the name of the laptop remains the same: M15x. No R1 or R2. List of user manual in Dell website always shows M15x.

As M15x is expected to be discontinued in favour of M14x and M17x-R3, for sure, there will not be M15x-R2 in the future, unless Dell makes a complete 180 degree turn.

I am not sure. You can check NBR forum and most importantly, Eric G's blog. This blog is reliable, as it accurately predicts the specification of M17x-R3.

M14x: Unknown release date thus far.
M18x: It is expected to be released end of April this year. Potential option of 2x NVIDIA GTX 485M (SLI).

Now, M17x-R2 cannot be ordered online from Dell website. It is definitely a sign of better things to come.

Perhaps, you can ask GreaseMonkey90 for more detail as he avidly follows the blog. He may be one of the first owners of M18x in Lowyat in the future.

This post has been edited by alvinkhorfire: Apr 1 2011, 02:29 PM

It is quite imminent that M15x is to be discontinued in favour of M14x and M17x-R3. I am sure that many M15 owners, including I, are devastated with this news that there will not be any refresh in our beloved laptop model. Cruel it may seem to be, but there is a blessing in disguise, if you carefully consider my opinion as follow. It is a matter of turning this bad news into something advantageous for all of us.

Suppose that your M15x's warranty is extended to a maximum of 5 years. Assume that you are now in 4 years later, and your laptop may encounter malfunction you yourself cannot repair. Thus, you request Dell technician to be dispatched on-site to repair your laptop. Still, although Dell cannot pinpoint the source of the problem, Dell still insists certain parts to be replaced. You know that this laptop is near of its life and no matter how Dell repairs it; it may not escape the inevitable fate of complete failure.

Well, your warranty guarantees you a solution within 1 business day, subject to availability of spare parts. If they cannot diagnose the problem, they have to sent you a replacement unit, as it should be according to warranty agreement. True, they may refuse to do so, but you have to be firm and demand an equivalent or better replacement for your M15x.

Wait, isn't M15x being discontinued in the future? How can Dell provide you with a replacement? Yes, they have to give you a new M17x-R3 for free, as your warranty is still valid. Then, you say to Dell that you want to add in another RM 2000.00, so that you can get instead a new M18x with dual GPUs. Now, isn't that sound enticing to you? M15x owner today, potential M18x owner 4 years later.

I am not saying that that is the main reason I extended my warranty. The main reason is to have my laptop safely secured by the warranty service. Still, there is nothing wrong of harbouring hope of this incident happening. So, for M15x owners with near-expiring warranty, what are you waiting for? Confirm a deal with Mr.Docter to extend your warranty now. You can get your laptop safely protected by warranty, as well as keeping Mr.Docter's warranty extension service thriving. It is like killing 2 birds with 1 stone. Who knows, there is a brand new M17x-R3 waiting for you 4 years later.

Caution: The practice of replacing a faulty Dell computer with an equivalent or better replacement computer is practised by Dell USA and I have seen such instances happening for real. I am not quite sure whether Dell Malaysia also adopts this policy. I have heard many horror stories of Dell Malaysia refusing to provide certain part replacement, whereas anyone can easily request the very same part replacement from Dell USA. It is one example of the double-standard practised by Dell Malaysia. And, I am tired of hearing that whatever is applicable to Dell USA, is not applicable to Dell Malaysia. Don't blame me when your laptop is faulty 4 years later and you cannot request at least M17x-R3 from Dell Malaysia as a replacement for it.

Comment and feedback are appreciated here. If I have said anything wrong, let me know. Thanks.

This post has been edited by alvinkhorfire: Apr 4 2011, 04:28 PM