I appear to have the worst luck with electronic goods; or as my friend puts it, I just work them too hard. But they were made to be used, so I use them!

My first laptop’s video card gets fried three months in. My second laptop has a hinge problem that is their fault. Both problems are (or will be) replaced for free. But why can’t I have a laptop that only has problems caused by me?

I just put in my work order for my Alienware M11x R2 to get the broken hinge problem dealt with. The M11x R1 and M11x R2 both have a problem with “faulty” hinges. At one point, I read it was because Dell tightened the fasteners too much *shrugs*. Whatever it is, your hinge will crack over time. Dell will replace it for free, even if your warranty ran out. My box arrives on Monday. Walk to Purolator, latest by Tuesday. Wait for Dell to receive it in 2 weeks (“approximately 10 business days”). They’ll take “5 business days” to replace the display. And an unknown amount of time to ship it back to me.

Last September, Dell finally published an official article outlining the procedures for getting it replaced. Call 1-800-ALIENWARE for support when you start to see it happen to yours. They won’t replace it if it hasn’t started to crack yet.

Edit (2012-01-18): Since the post just 5 days ago, they have changed the official article. It used to say that they will replace it out of warranty and gives you the support knowledge ID to reference to when speaking with a representative. My prediction is that they will fix my laptop and charge me and tell me they never said they would do it out of warranty. I’ll tell you in 4+ weeks. 

Laptops give me headaches. My first laptop, a Toshiba, gave me buyer’s remorse even before it arrived. I actually had my eyes on an Asus Lamborghini, but that didn’t end up happening because I got suckered into the Toshiba-has-better-support-than-Asus ploy. Three months in, video card died one night while I was doing nothing of import, had to get it replaced. I can see why Toshiba needs support if things break down that quickly. I will commend them for having in-person service. That’s the convenience I miss with Alienware. Shipping times makes me sad.

The plastic case wasn’t doing it for me. I used it and ported it around daily. There were cracks on the screen case from pressure from the books in my backpack, even a notebook backpack wasn’t enough to keep my laptop safe from me; the wireless switch cover broke off exposing the LED and making it inconvenient to physically turn off Wi-Fi; and my infamous, left palm print on the palm rest from daily use, the silver coating on the case faded into my palm print. The pressure from books in my backpack also caused the plastic case to bend and bruise the screen.

While I was in China, the AC adapter died on me and I had to get it replaced because there was no way I was going to buy a laptop while I was over there. One night, the Shift keys decided they were going to retire and stop working–both of them, at the same time. My “W” key is permanent depressed and never returned to its idle position. It’s just a mess.

I had forgotten about all these problems. A couple nights ago, I pulled out my Toshiba and thought to reformat it so I could at least use it as a replacement while my Alienware was sent in to be fixed. But nooo, the recovery CD didn’t work and now the partition is dead and I have to deal with that later when I have more time. That was supposed to be my PVR when I had time to set it up. For shame, laptop!

I didn’t replace that laptop until it turned 6. Looking back at our time together, I did learn a lot from it. I have, undoubtedly, become more neurotic when purchasing a laptop but I like to call it attention-to-details. I learned what I prefer in a laptop that is supposed to last me years. It’s why I chose the Alienware M11x R2.

Size. My old laptop was a 15-inch, my new one an 11.6-inch. Lugging around a 15-inch notebook daily in university was okay, the commute isn’t that long. But lugging around a 15-inch notebook through customs and huge airports with two suitcases and two carry-ons really turned me off to it. Mind you, I was looking for a semi-portable, semi-desktop-replacement when I originally purchased it. I had no idea I would be journeying halfway around the world.

Chassis. Plastic versus magnesium alloy. I saw what plastic could handle, now it was time for something stiff that can protect the screen better.

Battery Life. I’m okay with a mediocre battery life. I hardly use my laptop on battery without my AC adapter in my purse and nearby electrical outlets mapped out in my head. Side note, the Alienware M11x R3 battery life knocks the R2 out of the park, coming in at just under 13 hours on power save and 143 minutes on high load.

Fast. Since I started customizing my own desktop computers, I was always looking to do things faster. I like to do a range of things on my computer–and usually all at the same time. Someone convinced me that 2 GB of RAM was enough for my Toshiba; I insisted I needed more. I needed more. Lesson learned for #2. For processing power and graphics capability, Alienware had the best option. Everything else at that size were mostly netbooks. Alienware was the logical choice.

When I bought the Alienware, I couldn’t justify getting an 128 GB SSD for the upgrade price. The hard drive on my old laptop never failed me but after I bought my Alienware, one of my external hard drives died; I attribute it to the external hard drive travelling to and from China with me. It has a lot of bumps and bruises from residing in my backpack and getting crammed into the overhead compartments of airplanes. Laptop #3–4.5 more years down the line–will have an SSD so I don’t have any moving parts to break from jostle and tousle on the hard drive. And by then, the price will have gone down. Win!