Get the Goods: A brand new Dell powerhouse desktop!

Wow! I'm truly amazed at the Dell customer service I received today! Earlier this week, I blogged about my XPS 710's motherboard dying an untimely death just three years after I purchased it. But I was still under warranty, so Dell sent out a technician to replace the motherboard, power supply and front panel. Turns out Dell doesn't make 710s anymore and the company was hoping that a 720 motherboard would work.When it didn't, the technician called in, told them the issue, and a customer service rep determined that I would be receiving a brand new Alienware Aurora.

Dell bought out Alienware which produced powerful gaming machines with expandable performance, amazing 3D quality graphics, HD gaming immersion, and lightning speed with no lagging. The Aurora's standard features should be plenty for my photography needs. But I dropped a ton of change when I purchased my XPS 710 because I had numerous upgrades, including a souped up processor, video card and extra memory. So the technician told me to make sure that when I get the new computer that I check its manifest against my XPS 710's manifest to make sure I at least had all the upgrades I had before or something better. The new Aurora comes standard with Windows 7 64-Bit, so that will be an instant upgrade from the Windows XP Professional I was working with.

I should be getting the new machine in about 15 days. Until then, I've got to take the old 710 hard drive out and back it up. My photos are all safe and sound on external hard drives and a SmugVault. But I've still got some music files and documents on the old hard drive. And of course I will have to reinstall all software such as the new Photoshop CS5 and the latest OnOne plugins.

That's are hardship I can live with if I get a new and better operating computer out of it! Dell rocks! Now I have an AlienWare computer to match my AlienBee strobes!

I recognize that while this may be a beneficial outcome for me, it is going to be a major inconvenience for the Dermer Family, whose reunion photos I was in the process of editing when my desktop died. I am offering the Dermer's a free 1 hour photo session and a free 20x30 enlargement of their favorite image from the reunion in hopes of stemming the disappointment of waiting so long for their finished CD.