Reader Review: Alienware's Area-51 m5550i Notebook

Reader Paul DeJarnette reviews his budget-friendly Alienware Area-51 m5550i notebook. Does he like it? Does he hate it? Read Paul's review.

* Intel Core 2 Duo Processor (T5500) at 1.66 GHz
* 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM 667 MHz (2 DIMMS)
* 256 MB nVidia Geforce Go 7600
* 15.4" WideXGA 1280 x 800 Display
* 80 GB 7200 RPM SATA hard drive
* WUXGA 15.4" display with a 1920x1200 resolution
* Windows XP Professional
* 802.11a/b/g WiFi adapter
* Built in 4-1 card reader (SD / MS / MSPRO / MMC)
* 8x Dual Layer DVD±RW / 24x CD-RW
Which one god damn it?

I bought an Alienware laptop with a high-end CPU (2.33Ghz Dual Core 2). The laptop got so hot it would shut down. It was happening once or twice daily at first. I thought it was Windows related. Support insisted it was the heatsink and/or fan. I got prompt on-site support (which consisted of me, myself and I being told by AW to unscrew the bottom and to "inspect" it). I didn't have any "QC" stickers to add or anything, but the fan was working. Anyhow, two weeks later the laptop was shutting down every ten minutes. I returned it a refund after finding several others with the same problem. It appears to be a design flaw, in my option. 15% retocking fee aside, I found an HP NW8440 with the same exact specs and it doesn't get (so) hot.

Almost forgot, the FPS in games in actually better with the HP. AW sold me a unit that they had tested. It appears they felt 2FPS was acceptable on their benchmarking.

If your system works fine then keep it. I personally highly recommend you pick another brand (any brand) over AlienWare after experiencing their support first hand. It does look cool. I just couldn't risk losing business on a laptop that cost me 4 days of work. And yes, it did shut down during a presentation as well. That's what they call a closing the deal. LOL

-Dave

I have been interested in this laptop because of its DVI output.

However, my experience with Alienware's customer service and technical support on my one-year old desktop machine has been the worst I have ever had in 30 years of working with hardware.

First, my desktop machine came with a damaged case. There was no external damage on the packing, and so it must have been shipped damaged. When I called they said they were sorry, and the matter ended there---no repair.

Second, my machine was sold with a $400 rebate offer and a $100 free shipping rebate offer. It took me many emails and phone calls and five months to finally get the $400 rebate. Despite repeated promises, I have given up ever receiving the $100 shipping rebate. Show you deal with Alienware, get discounts up front.

Third, technical support response to a video display problem that they couldn't diagnose was to "reinstall Windows." I thanked them for their suggestion, paid for a service call to Microsoft and was finally able to sort things out: Update the driver, despite ALienware telling me to *not* do that, else it would invalidate my support from them.

The report in the post above about their "policy" on dead pixels mirrors my experience: Once Alienware has your money, you are on your own.

Aleinware machines have great specs. Unfortunately, based on my experience with the company, I will likely never deal with them again, nor will I recommend Alienware to others.

Dan

Buyer most definitely beware in regards to Alienware

In regards to the review, the upgradability is only useful so long as Alienware doesn't decide to move to a different technology. I own an Area 51 7600, purchased about 2 years ago. I bought it with an AGP card due to the fact that it was an "upgradable" system. Well, PCI-e came out, Alienware ditched the AGP option and all of the supposed "upgrades" became unavailable because they were for warranty repairs only. No compensation, no apology, just a "Sorry about your luck pal"

Also, I had the overheating issue as well. One part that Alienware never caught but I did on my own digging is that the heat sink grease that they use is garbage, switch to a Silver 5 and the temps will drop noticably.

The battery life issue, the touch pad issue, the screen shutting off randomly, dead pixels, all problems that I had with mine that have not been addressed because they "aren't known issues" and therefore not covered under my warranty.

Now, my harsh words aside, when it is working, it is one of the fastest laptops out there.