x15 R2, QHD display hot pixels and other problems

Hello Community,

Need your guidance. I have purchased my fist Dell (Alienware x15 R2, I9,32GB ram, RTX 3080Ti, 2tb storage) and was super excited to get this expensive, top of the line, laptop. The excitement was short lived however. I am now waiting for the 3rd unit replacement.

Both original laptop and the replacement had defective QHD displays. Both had 10+ hot pixels scattered across the panel. Most pixels were white, some red, but all super distracting, especially during darker movie/gaming scenes. 

First replacement was handled by Dell's customer support and was very strength forward (received in 3 business days). When it came to replacing the "replacement" Dell Customer Support just refused to help. They stated that they have already sent me a replacement and they are not "authorized" to do anything further. When I stated that I am yet to receive a working computer I paid for and I would like a replacement, customer support rep politely said: "nothing we can do, contact tech support".

Dell's tech support offered to send out a rep to my house and replace the panel. I am not interested in having repairs done to a laptop that is less than a week old. I paid for a new product, not a refurbished, patched up one :).

After some back and forth tech support said that they work on sending a replacement, but the turnaround will be much slower. Per Dell Tech rep, Customer Service has priority over tech support when it comes to processing replacements, so I will have to wait. 

I am now waiting for the third (3) replacement and honestly I don't have high hopes. 

• Have any of you had similar experience with Dell's QHD panels (i.e. hot/dead pixels)?
• Are UHD /FHD panels less prone to hot/dead pixels? 
• Have you experienced any other problems with your x15/x17 machines? 
• Would you just return or continue to try to resolve and get a working product?

Though I love the looks of the X15, I am seriously considering returning it, getting 3K+ back and going with a competitor. I was counting on Dell's reputation and customer service, but so far it has been less than stellar. Everyone has been very polite, but not really helpful (not where it counts). 

Apologies for being rantie/wordy, just disappointed 

 Cheers!