New laptop is DOA

Hey everyone, I picked up an Alienware m17 yesterday—16GB RAM, GTX 1070 graphics, the whole deal.
But here’s the problem: the screen keeps going black and those weird little artifacts start appearing everywhere, then the whole thing just freezes up completely. No sound, no picture, nothing.
Can someone please give me some advice on what to do?
Is this a hardware failure or just some software glitch?
I mean, this laptop was definitely not cheap.
I'd really appreciate any help you can offer.
I've attached a video here:
Since I bought it directly from a retail store, I know I can demand a replacement, but honestly, I’d rather avoid that headache if possible because I just don't have the time to deal with the back-and-forth right now.

https://streamable.com/iwc89

Did you install macOS yourself or...?
I just grabbed macOS from the official site and picked up a license on eBay for two bucks—everything should work fine.
If it still isn't working, we're probably looking at a hardware failure.

The laptop came with its own original macOS license

If you bought it online, just return it. No explanation needed.

wiredotter14 said:If you bought it online, just return it.

+1

I think you’re entitled to a *refund* or an *exchange* within a certain number of days—not just a repair. Check their policy or just Google "US consumer protection laws."
Go in there, tell them it’s defective, and hand it back.
Ask for a different laptop or your money back.
Try out a replacement on-site if you can.
If they give you any pushback about testing it ("...oh, we don't really allow that..."), then just demand your money back.

From what I hear, the Better Business Bureau or consumer agencies actually get things done, and the fines for breaking these laws aren't small. We aren't at the mercy of the store anymore.

I tried doing a full macOS recovery,
which seemed to fix everything for a bit, but as soon as I rolled back the latest update, the exact same issue popped right back up.
Is there any chance this is actually being caused by the update itself?
thanks

One more thing, I need some advice here…
According to the specs on this Dell, they’re claiming up to 14 hours of battery life under normal use, and maybe 9 hours if you're just watching video.
In reality? My battery died after exactly 1 hour and 26 minutes. That was just browsing the web, hitting YouTube, and testing out some games.
Is this actually normal? Can anyone tell me what's going on? Thanks...lp

If you ask me, that sounds perfectly reasonable. Honestly, claiming nine hours of video playback feels a bit like wishful thinking to me. In my experience, gaming tends to drain a battery in an hour or maybe two at most.

It’s also entirely plausible that the recent update is what’s causing the headache. You might want to try going without any updates for about a week just to see if the issue persists. If things stay stable, then go ahead and update; if not, you have your answer. Actually, if I recall correctly, you can't really opt out of updates on macOS at all, can you?

amberwalker10 said:I did a macOS recovery, everything seemed fine, but as soon as I rolled back the last update, the exact same issue popped up again...
Is it possible the update is the culprit?
Thanks

The issue is definitely within macOS. They likely installed an unauthorized version or some outdated build on you, and now it's glitching.
We ran into this exact same headache on a brand-new machine, but once we downloaded a clean copy directly from the official site, everything worked perfectly.

I honestly didn't think it would drag on for 9 or 14 hours,
but it definitely wasn't supposed to take just 1.5 hours either...
Then again, you pay a premium price for a high-end laptop...
Plus, everything in the specs listed at the store (Saturn AT) claims the graphics memory is DDR6, when in reality, it's actually DDR5...
So I'm not sure if they're allowed to lie that blatantly, if that's even the right word...
And regarding those fake macOS licenses... I find that hard to believe, considering this is a somewhat "reputable" retailer...
Thanks to everyone for the replies,,,,
I honestly don't know what I'd do if I were in your shoes... #ShouldIreturnit, and what on earth would I even tell them?
I've got the whole "glitch" recorded on my phone... I'd just feel a lot better knowing if this is just a software issue or if something is seriously broken...
Best,

amberwalker10 said:It claims the VRAM is DDR6, but it’s actually DDR5...

#Should I return it? And what am I even supposed to tell them?,,,

I think what you mentioned above is plenty—fake specs.
They aren't Ford, so they can't just lie to the entire world and get away with it just because they have billions in the bank.

Just a quick heads-up in case anyone else finds themselves in this mess...
I ended up returning the laptop because it was clearly a lemon...
Honestly, it’s an absolute embarrassment for a brand like Dell...
Thanks, everyone.

Melissa Phillips4 said:I honestly think the issue is definitely rooted in the macOS installation itself. It’s pretty likely they installed some kind of unauthorized version or maybe just an outdated build, and now everything is acting up and causing all these headaches.
I ran into that exact same headache when I first set up my new rig, but once I just grabbed the installer directly from the official website, everything started running smoothly again.

It looks like macOS is acting up again... I'm pretty sure I caught a virus.

I'm really glad you brought that up, because honestly, those so-called "activated" versions of macOS floating around the internet can be incredibly sketchy. I’ve heard stories about people downloading them only to find out they’re packed with nasty malware designed to cause absolute chaos—things like identity theft or draining your bank accounts. It's definitely not worth the risk.

amberwalker10 said:I was just browsing the specs over at Saturn AT, and I noticed something a bit off—it says the graphics memory is DDR6, but when you actually look closer, it’s definitely DDR5.
I honestly can't tell if they’re allowed to be that dishonest, if that's even the right way to put it...

Maybe, though it’s probably not that big of a deal.

I actually caught that whole glitch on my phone, so I've got it recorded if anyone wants to take a look. Honestly, I’d feel so much better if I could just confirm it's some minor software hiccup rather than something majorly broken under the hood...

I’m really sorry to say this, but it looks like you're dealing with a major mechanical failure here, which is honestly such a bummer. It seems pretty clear that the hardware itself is shot, so you'll most likely have to go through the whole process of getting the device replaced entirely. It doesn't sound like anything crazy or out of the ordinary—just one of those classic factory defects that occasionally slips through the cracks—but it’s still a huge headache when it happens to you. On the bright side, this is exactly what having a warranty is for, so just lean on them to make it right!