Alienware -9/10
I recently configured and ordered an alienware area51 7700m to replace my beloved emachines m6805. I'll start from the beggining an dlet you all draw your own conclusions....
I saw an ad they had in maximum PC that mentioned a $400 discount on all laptops for mentioning that ad (august issue I think), so I went to the website but couldnt find any info on the promotion...but I configured the laptop the way I wanted it and gave their sales department a call. The guy I dealt with was very curteous and even helpful(!), and he said he would check with his manager and see if I was eligible for the discount....I had to send him an email formally asking for the discount and describing where I'd heard about it...blah blah blah. After that was all taken care of, he said I would recieve a mail-in rebate form for it, as wellas a form for a mail-in rebate for shipping costs. All was good, I recieved regular emails updating me on the status of my order and the production phase my laptop was currently in. unfortunately, I ran into a problem with the internal tv tuner card I had selected, it was just after the hurricaine that I placed my order, and Alienware is based in FL, so they had a few problems with some of their inventory, they called and emailed me and asked what I would like ot do, I said I'd like to wait for the tuner card to get back in stock and then they could ship it....apparently there was some confusion, because they refunded the money for tuner card and shipped the laptop without it. I got my laptop and searched for the rebate forms...but they werent there....so I called them, and got to talk to the same guy (he gave me his extension number) and asked how I got the rebate...he directed me to the online PDF form for the shipping rebate, but then proceeded to tell me that he had "instantly applied" the $400 discount. Well, I asked to talk to his supervisor, who gave me the same story, and apologised for the confusion..but I'm still out $400. I have since purchases the internal tv tuner card, and there are actually directions on their website on how to remove the Keyboard and install it, none of which voids my warranty...which I thought was pretty cool. aside from the laptop being more expensive than I planned, everything went well, the tech support people are good, the online knowledge base and personalised support areas are great. When calling them on the phone, they try to keep you on hold as little as possible, and if its longer than they estimate, they actually check back in with you and make sure you're still there...they have even called me back at a later time when they needed to research some information. after all is said and done, Im happy with my purchase, and the laptop is the mercedes benz of portable computing.
But it is a 1.13 GHz, with a capability to go to 1.2. Has all of the great features of my T20-22 stuff, and a lot of the parts will fit as well. I found a 60 GB 7200 RPM HDD, and a 80/5400 so I'll have plenty of storage room. Now, I need to find the adapter to put a HDD in the optical/floppy drive bay. Ebay has them every so often, for $40 or so.
