Alpha R2, a costly mistake

Hi all

Are there any known quality issues with the Alienware Alpha R2 motherboards?

Mine has failed completely after just two years. It won’t power up and in fact causes the PSU to shut down altogether when you plug it in (the power indicator on the 180watt PSU goes out, the only way to get it on again is to unplug it from the Alpha and then disconnect and reconnect the mains). Not so much as a flash of an LED or a kick from the fans. My first thought was the PSU, so I borrowed one from a Dell docking station... same problem. Both PSU’s happily charge a laptop so no issues there.

I checked out the service book and re-seated all the connectors, reset the CMOS, pressed and help the power switch etc etc. After checking it all out myself I decided to call Dell Tech Support who went through a few thing and suggested I need a new motherboard. Quoted over £300 for the part and another £90 if I get Dell to fit it. I get that it’s expensive because it’s a proprietary part and because the GTX 960 is built on to the board ... but really?... after 2 years!

Frustratingly I had always built my own desktops before buying the Alpha. Back then A) everything lasted more than two years and B) I never paid over £300 for a motherboard. I guess that’s costly lesson learned. I was thinking of buying an XPS Laptop but couldn't handle throwing it away after a couple of years.

If anyone can offer advice that might get my Alpha system going again it would very much be appreciated.

Thanks
J5