It is my opinion that most of the reviews for Alienware, a subsidiary of Dell, on this site are likley fake. If one compares the amount of BBB complaints against their high rating here a large disparity is readily apparent. Please do a web search and many bad stories emerge.  
 
After the glowing blue alien head started to flicker, I had my notebook catch fire due to what looks like a poor case of wire routing. It is beyond repair and unfortunatley, out of warranty. Victor, the head of customer service, refused to let me speak with anyone else and told me that "even if you notebook is only 24 hours out of warranty it is your problem not ours". Yes, the notebook was out of waranty. However, a notebook is not supposed to spontaneously catch fire. This appears to be the fault of the Alienware build process and they refuse to help me out at all. I am not asking for a free notebook, bit a slight discount on a new machine would be in order it seems. What happened to going above and beyond Alienware?  
 
Having been a good customer, I will no longer do business with a company like this. I strongly encourage you to research the Alienware customer service reputation and take your business elsewhere.

This review was modified by its author, lostin, on 4/29/09.

I bought an Ailenware m15x-R1 computer for playing games. I thought I was getting a top of the line gaming computer. I was sadly disappointed when the laptop arrived. After it was charged up and ready to go I unplugged it take it to the living room. The volume control on it went nuts. It began to turn itself up and sometimes down at random about every 5-10 seconds. Then the computer began to just freeze up or just completely shut down. I haven’t even played any games on it yet. When I went to the Ailenware tech site I discovered that many people where having the same problem with their computers. They were complaining about sending their computers in multiple times for “repair” but getting their computers back still broken. The tech response to one such person was they didn’t know what was causing the problem, they would pass it on, and that they would get back to them when they had a solution. That particular complaint was logged about 4 months ago. The earliest complaints of the volume control was 10 months ago. Another gentleman complained that he his computer shut down intermittently. He got a new computer and that one had the volume control issue. Based on on these complaints I decided to just return my computer and get my money back. When I contacted Ailenware I was told I would have to pay a restocking fee of 15%. I was stunned that they expected me to pay them for a BROKEN computer. They stood by their decision to charge me the fee despite my arguments. They said I either had to let them try to fix it or pay the fee. I see that as black mail. I am not returning the computer because I don’t like it or changed my mind. IT IS BROKEN. They send it to me that way. Why should I be forced to let them try to fix something the tech people say they have no solution for. Plus, I would then be without a computer during all this fixing time. I need a computer now when I bought it not when they finally manage to fix the broken computer they send me.  
I would like to warn all other consumers not to buy from Ailenware. They don’t care about their customers or their product.  

Lets just start of by saying that I (Like many others obviously) was searching for a company to build my dream machine. I have known about Alienware for several years and was very excited that I finally had the chance to have one of my own. I attempted to purchase a fairly expensive Area-51 ALX system on approximatly March 26th, 2009. I had noticed that a new feature for the Area-51's became availble and that was CPU Liquid cooling and decided to go with that. The order had been made and the person to whom I spoke told me that it would be two to three buisiness days before the order was processed and it would be shipped about April 6th. As the days went by, my order never left the phase two stage in the check order status page of their web page. I called many times only to reach employees that were not at all helpful and seemed as if they did not care about me or any customer for that matter. Everytime I called, I got a different answer to why my order was being delayed and the workers could not answer a simple question about the product I was ordering. If I was trying to sell a product, I would probabally treat the customer with utmost respect and at least know what the product I was selling was and to an extent how it worked. Finally, it was decided that the liquid cooling that I had ordered was only avalible on the web site for two days because the cooling system was not working as intended and to top it off, they had no idea when this certain part would be ready to "Start" building my computer. Then, I noticed a few days later that a new option had came out called High Performance Liquid Cooling for about one-hundred and fifty dollars more then the other option I had picked. I asked them if I could pay the difference for them to upgrade it so it could be shipped to me faster and they said yes. I then noticed that they released the new Wartime Edition of the computer I had ordered. The only difference between it and the customized version of mine was the word wartime in the name of it and the 265 dollar discount for ordering it. April 13th rolled around and I had yet another unsatisfying phone call to the company saying that they would have to cancel the order competely before they could give me this discount even though it was one week after they said they would ship my computer. Instead of being led around the yard like a Jack-ass, I decided enough was enough and canceled the order. All in all, their customer support is terrible and they make for a very shaky experience in business. I do not recomend anyone ordering an alienware if you want quality support with your order. Recently I have been looking into DigitalStorm where they care about their customers.

Obviously Alienware has some of the best gaming systems out there. I have both a MX17 and a ALX desktop. My MX17x purchase was disappointing to say the least. 1 day after receiving my new laptop the laptops miraculously went on sale...and if you've been to the site recently, they went down significantly. I called and talked with a customer service rep - he told me there was nothing that he could do. In fact, he told me he couldn't do anything for me because it was against the law - he said"It's against the law for me to discount your past order because you have already paid for it"...are you kidding me.  
 
When you spend a ton of money on a system like this and see the price drop 2,000 dollar after you receive it - thats a bummer. He told me I could return my laptop if I wasn't happy with it.  
That's not a solution - that's an employee that doesn't care about a customer doing future business with this company. He told me if you want to get the system at that price - you'll just have to order another one and return the one you have - OH and here's the kicker, he told me that I would then be charged an additional 15% for re-stocking. Then it got worse, He said - it's not his problem and that it's just marketing, he said again, it's against the law for him to help me. So, Mr / Mrs. Alienware how stupid do you think you're customers are?  
 
I have written a couple of times to the sales department and they refuse to respond.  
 
I highly caution you from buying one of these systems until you know for sure you have the best price. The last insult I was given before getting off the phone was : I asked the "customer service" rep if they knew about this promotion when I ordered my laptop. He said yes. Can you believe that?! I said to him, why...seriously, would you let me spend all of this money and right in front of you - you have a memo saying that tomorrow you're discounting the same system I was buying today and NOT TELL ME TO WAIT 1 DAY.  
 
...and on top of it not to offer any kind of reconciliation?! I asked for a manager and he said they would tell me the same thing. I gave up. I am a SVP of sales in a New York firm, I know the difference between a good deal and a bad one. The bad ones leave a horrible taste in your mouth long after the purchase. If you haven't guessed by now, the experience I've had with Alienware so far - has been way below what I would have initially guessed.

My Gaming system was unbelievable, have never seen my game look or run so well...I was so impressed, untill I got an overheated system shutdown. Had the system for two months and it has been gone for four weeks and still has not reached the repair facility..they telling me another three weeks if they can get it back across the border. I would not recommend this company to anyone.

The ordering wasn't bad - Alienware was somewhat backlogged, but they did make it clear up front that this was the case.  
 
Build quality is not the best. It's not downright horrible, but it's not worth the price premium. I've had overheating components, squeaky joints, breaking joints, crappy hardware, bad drivers.... It does look reasonably good, though, but computers aren't all about looks.  
 
Support since then, though, has been absolutely horrible. For all Alienware's claims of Onsite Support, that's nigh non-existent. The only things that you can get fixed onsite are those that they'll also walk you through over the phone, and even if you get onsite support, it takes several days after you receive a part before they'll schedule somebody to fix it. As it is, a customer support representative estimated ~30% of calls get onsite support - an absolute joke compared to all the other major manufacturers. On top of that, technical support doesn't really care about your problems.  
 
If you want to say you have an Alienware, then feel free to buy a system from them, but don't expect quality and support that matches the price premium.

I am a repeat customer with Alienware, and I have to say that I will not ever be buying another machine from them again. Their Support is the most horrendous support group I have ever seen. My latest laptop a M15X came in originally only to have to be returned for a new motherboard. Then 5 months later the monitor casing cracked and the light pipe started falling apart in it. Returned it to them and after a month and a half now I still do not have my computer back. They claim that it is on indefinite backorder for the monitor. They will not replace it with a new one, which they still are selling, they will not issue a credit to get another, essentially they are holding a $3000+ laptop indefintely, and I am now looking to have to buy another laptop to replace this one. DO NOT BUY FROM THEM. Both laptops i have had have had issues and had to be returned. Their support does not get back to you and once they have your money they dont care about you any longer.  
 
Andrew Ellis

This review was modified by its author, wolff9653, on 11/11/08 9:17 AM.

I ordered a 9750 notebook on october 22, 2008. After about a week and it was still in phase 2 I called on numerous occasions just to find out that the video cards were on backorder. It is now November 9th and after I called them on the 6th and they said they would update the status on the website it is still stuck on phase 2. They did put a rush priority on my order but it is still not in production. The video cards were not up to there standards so they had to order another set. This is still unacceptable because I have been waiting since the 22nd of October and it was suppose to ship on the 4th of November. I'm lucky if it ships during the week of the 10th of Nov. if It dosen't I'm going to cancel my order and never order from them again. They are very slow with there process and have been the worst out of all of the online etailers that I have dealt with. I would not recommend them to anyone. They don't even compensate you for the long wait and the lies they tell you about your order. I was receiving different answers about my order including it would ship on time ............................yeah right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This review was modified by its author, ronbos56, on 11/9/08 7:23 PM.

I had a bad experience with this company. I wanted a good system but I also wanted a quiet unit and I called their sales people prior to purchase to inquire about the noise level of their systems. I was told that with the water cooling option, I would not even need the acoustic dampening option because the system would be very "quiet". Of course no data was offered. I took the bait and ordered, but I added the acoustic dampening also anwyay (for $99). The system was very noisy when it arrived and probably more than 6dB louder than my 7 yr old Dell, which could not even be heard when the Alienware system was on. When I called to ask them about this, they said the fans could be slowed but the unit may overheat. I finally asked for an RMA to return the unit and was charged a 15% re-stocking fee! The Customer Service rep made the claim that "the system is quiet" and then admitted that he meant the quietest of *their* systems. But he had no data on other systems (even Dell, their parent company) and I really disagree that Alienware and "quiet" should be used together in any sentence. Either they should represent the systems accurately with noise figures in dBA or be honest that such large units with higher power graphics and processors are going to produce more noise and heat than a standard type desktop system, and stay away from the "quiet" claim. My restocking fee is on the order of $350 - as much as a low-end desktop system. I feel that Alienware was completely unfair in charging that. I would have considered them for a laptop or some other replacement, but after the customer service intransigence on the issue, I would not patronize the company further.  
 
Update: Oct 15, 2008: Unit returned 9/30. They acknowledged it. NO Refund was ever received. Company ignores emails! I had to dispute the charge for the returned system with my credit card company.  
 
My new Puget system: (see new review) is truly a quiet system!  
 
Update 11-05-2008: Alien finally issues a credit but makes mistake, then finally after about 10 days makes the correction I asked for which was another $109 in my favor. They called, I called back spent 5 minutes going through maze to reach the original cust service guy who told me the letter I wrote them was read by their President. He said "no way" on refunding the 15% re-stock fee! So there you have it: The President of Alienware believes it is fine for his sales people to misprepresent their products and then blames me the customer for complaining about it, charging me a $360 re-stock fee plus $73 shipping back to them for a unit that was not as described. Buyer Beware!  
Update: 12-1-2008: The $109 credit was applied by Alienware. No luck on disputing charge and filed complaint with state's attorney general. Alienware is now emailing/calling me to offer me $50 in "Amazon coupons" to somehow rectify this. They can't buy my satisfaction with coupons, and they remind me each time that they "cannot" refund the restock fee, which is the only right thing to do after a fraudulent sale. While they seem to have devoted a lot of energy to my sale, they have not done the right thing to solve the problem - complete refund and reprimand of the sales person/people giving out false information.

This review was modified by its author, jj.jarod, on 12/11/08 11:55 AM.

Do yourself a favor and stay away from this company...pay the extra and go to the 'other' company.  
I work for Dept. of Defense and Discovery channel so the box purchased due to the reviews I read on AW. I needed something dependable and high end for some large data processing. Original purchase was over $2800. I guess if the machine worked I would be ok but it didn't. Plus the issues showed NO pre-shipping testing was done. First boot up, video card failed. Called to get "at home" support and was instructed to open box. Thats when I found the sound card 'lock' tab was broken off and lying on bottom of box. Was told it had to happen in shipping. Explain that one to me please. At that point I requested to execute my "In Home" repair as I also (call me dumb) payed extra fee for 3 year warranty...boy am I dumb. Was told that "In home" service applied to different situations. When I asked the question (I know I am looking real stupid now) I was told that only pertained to specific fixes. So I asked what exactly qualified...got no reply other than my situation did not apply. Requested a manager and was told the same. Was instructed to send back machine and they would send me a FedEx label I could print. I explained that I had no access as the computer I bought was my only 'running' machine. They told me FedEx would come by w/ pre-printed label. FedEx arrived and stated clearly that their instructions where customer would supply. At this point I called concerned about my 30 day return policy was going to expire. I was instructed that I would get a extended date. Well they lied. My computer is who knows where right now. They are stating that I am not able to return unless I get charged a "restocking fee". This all started July 14th and now its Sept. 10 2008...no machine and a $2800 charge on my credit card. Right now I am working thru AmerEx. to see if they can recover any of it. Also turned in a report to FTC...but I am seeing the print on the wall: I am hosed.  
 
Conclusion: In todays computer market customer service is the deciding factor as there are many companies out there making the same thing for about the same price. AW customer service is terrible and once they have your $ you are not much of a concern to them. As noted, I am no working w/ my CCard company to get a full return as AW will not due to their statement that I missed the 30 day return policy. My only hope is my CCard company...thank you Visa? One last note: if you do decide to go w/ AW make sure your Credit card company will back your full money return on situations like mine. Not all do and some requires a extra fee to support.  
Bottom line, if you purchase after reading this you have no reason to complain: you have been warned. Also, if you see my box on the "resale" list might want to not purchase: black AREA-51 7500-R5 but again, if you do go for the "deal of deals" realize a. it is junk. b. you end up w/ a high-tech paper weight...which it does make a very nice one if you don't mind the footprint (HUGE).

I placed the order on the 12th of May using ALienware's in-house credit. The order was confirmed a few days later. I kept checking the order status page, which only showed that this order was pending confirmation. In early June I contacted Alienware for an update and was told that the order shipped on the 30th of May 2008. I was also told that Alienware would not look in to any shipping problems until 8 weeks had gone by. The order status page still showed pending confirmation. The order arrived on the 14th of July 2008, however, it was not shipped until the 18th of June 2008 not 30 May as I was told. Prior to arrival, I received the first 2 of the monthly bills from their financing section even though I had no computer.  
 
When I first started the computer I had to reload the video drivers as I kept getting error messages stating that the drivers were not present. Since then I have had to re-load the drivers several times. The video cards have 2 processors each, but only 3 show up and only 1 card shows under ATI's video card control software.  
 
The first time I tried to use the Blu-Ray player I discovered that it was not recognized by the system. When I opened the case to troubleshoot this problem I found that the player was not connected. The player was fixed by simply plugging in the wires. Something that should have already been done.  
 
I expected much more from a 3K system from Alienware. By the way, the order status page still says that my computer is pending confirmation.

This review was modified by its author, dboggs, on 9/5/08 12:03 AM.

There's not enough space to write all of the terrible things this company has done to me. They shipped me a computer that would not connect to the internet. Over 4 hours with their technical support could not fix the problem (which I only got after being on hold for an hour). I had to reinstall everything three times. When I used their shipping company to send it back for repairs, they called me and told me it was damaged in transition. They wanted me to pay for the damage!! I was so tired of trying to work things out with them, that I asked to cancel the order. Similar to the gentleman who commented previously, they said they would charge me restocking fee. I found this to be terrible service. I even wrote the CEO. There's much more, but needless to say, I will never buy anything from them again. The techs are nice by the customer service is horrific!!!

This review was modified by its author, jcservant, on 8/28/08 12:20 AM.

I bought the Area-51 quick ship edition desktop that was currently priced at the time 2,699$. I buy it, everything goes smooth, they ship the computer within 2 days and I receive it 5 days after it was shipped.  
 
So RIGHT when I plug the computer in and load it up, it starts to configure and load up Windows Vista. Well while it was checking hardware it freezes. So I restart it, go to the desktop install some stuff, it locks up again. Tech support told me to re-install windows using the recovery disc. Doesn't fix problem. Called tech support again, on hold for almost TWO HOURS, YES TWO HOURS!!!! Finally, I get a guy that helps me, he was nice and walked me through some things to change. After being on the phone with him for 2 hours, so nearly 4 hours total, he tells me my problem should be fixed and I should have no problems again. The next day I'm playing a game, and it locks up again, hmm?!?!? It lasted for about 10-14 hours after I got off the phone w/ him.  
 
I call tech support again, and get the rudest idiot I've ever came across, he knows NOTHING and doesn't fix my computer. So I ship it back to them, asked them for a refund but they tell me that I can only get around 2300 out of the 2900 I spent? Why? You guys send me a MESSED UP OUT OF THE BOX computer and I cant get a full refund? Hm good service there Alienware.  
 
So I have them build me another one, and it is currently about to get built right now, so I will update when everything is done.  
 
So people, if you are thinking about purchasing from Alienware, be cautious and KNOW that you are taking a risk just like everybody else that is buying from this company. The support is 50/50, youll get a respectful nice person, or a complete IDIOT that has no respect for its customers.  
 
They also say that they inspect they're computers a couple times to insure its running correctly. Don't believe this like they say, if they make sure its running correctly mine wouldn't have locked up out of the box. But don't get me wrong, when the computer WAS working, it worked GREAT, and ran games ridiculously good! So in all reality they MAKE good computers, they just need to make sure they are running correctly before being shipped.  
 
I will update soon.  
 
UPDATE (September 19th): As you see, my last review was August 22nd. Well, issues w/ Alienware BARELY got resolved! So last August I thought it was resolved, nope, its barely getting resolved almost a month later! They had told me that they had trouble transferring the funds from my old order to the new order. So that takes a whole month huh? And they did not bother to contact me about the situation for 2-3 weeks, yea okay. So finally on the order status page, my order is in Phase 3: Payment has been received and the order is now in queue for production. So hopefully my computer will be built around next week starting Monday the 22nd hopefully.  
 
UPDATE: (September 24th)  
So I receive an e-mail today stating that my new computer has been shipped via Fed Ex, finally! But I was ONCE again lied to! I was told by the agent in charge of my order that for all the trouble, they would send it back to me Fed Ex 2 Day Ground so I would receive it in 2 days! WRONG! Fed Ex tracking shows estimated delivery date is October 1st, which is 7 days away from now. Thanks for lying to me repeatedly Alienware.  
 
I will update when I receive.  
 
FINAL Update (October 3rd): I received my Alienware in perfect condition October 1st. After using the computer for a full day, I can definitely say that I am satisfied. It runs AWESOME, and plays games at high settings with high FPS. I am still highly unsatisfied with the customer service Alienware provided me, but I am happy with the computer!  
 
Overall I had a very unpleasant purchase with Alienware, but now that everything is settled and I have my computer, that is A LOT of weight off my shoulders!

This review was modified by its author, 36chamberz, on 10/3/08 6:04 AM.

I wish I could give a better review to Alienware for the laptop I ordered but their customer service in my case was pretty unreasonable.  
 
First off, the laptop itself is great so far. The quality leaves nothing to be desired. The problem was with the shipping and service afterward. Alienware used Fedex Ground (not the usual fedex most of us think of when we hear the name), who seriously mishandled my order.  
 
I ended up having to jump through several hoops to get my laptop shipment from the Fedex terminal, and, long story short, the manager of the terminal was 100% willing under the circumstances to refund the approx. $70 it cost to ship the system. He gave me his direct phone number and told me to call Alienware and have them call him to arrange for the refund (since Alienware is, in fact, the contracting party on the shipment).  
 
So I called Alienware, who refused to accept the refund for me. For no real reason - it's not like they would have had to do anything more than call and say "yes, we will take that money back, thanks." There was no unwillingness on the part of Fedex to return the money, they completely accepted responsibility for the shipping issue.  
 
But because Alienware decided to be a collective jerk about it and say they wouldn't do it, I was unable to get a refund.  
 
If they won't even help you out when there's no loss to them, what do you think would happen if there was a problem they might have to take a financial hit on?  
 
Therefore, I'd have to say that despite the product, I'd never purchase from Alienware again. There are other companies who do similar work in building systems and don't have the poor customer service reputation Alienware appears to have (and appears willing to let grow). If I'd checked into that aspect of the company earlier I probably wouldn't have bought from them in the first place, but I did, and now I'm stuck with it.  
 
I'd go with someone else, if I were you.

Actual purchase was 5/4/06. Delayed several months due to them failing to tell me a part was out of stock. Was not informed until 2 weeks after purchase there would be a delay. Did not receive computer until 7/10/06. 2 years later, battery at 50% or original capacity. With the computer not even 3 years old, the power jack melted to the power supply and the pin came out. They refuse to take any responsibility and want to charge $300 just for me to send it to them so they can tell me I need a new jack. Worst computer company ever. Worst sales, worst customer service, worst products. Save yourself the time and money and don't buy from them. It's not worth any of it. There's better stuff out there that won't take advantage of you like this. Way overpriced to be issuing faulty components like this. I'm lucky my house didn't catch on fire and burn up. Customer service is extremely rude. Stay away.

This review was modified by its author, tashtonb, on 8/7/08 12:37 PM.