Graphics card problems

recently, I was finally able to order the Alienware X51 R2 I've wanted for a long time.  so far, it's been a incredible disappointment.

took the first one out of the box, plugged everything in & turned it on.  there was a very loud clicking noise from one of the fans.  then I discovered the graphics card driver wasn't installed.  made me wonder what kind, if any, qa was done.  just turning it on would have shown that there was something wrong.  2 hours on the phone with technical support got the driver loaded.  seemed to be ok.  said they would send someone out to replace the fan.  no one ever called or came.  the next day, I started to get 3 columns of horizontal lines across the screen that shimmered like crazy.  then the screen turned into tiny squares that blinked like mad.  the screen would then go either solid blue, solid white, or solid black.    another call to technical support & they put in an order for a replacement.

a total fiasco with the shipping process (won't go into that here).  took it out of the box & connected everything.  again, no graphics card driver.  installed the driver.  was only using it for a short while when it shut off on its own.  after 4 times of that, called technical support again.  after 2 more hours, uninstalling & re-installing the driver, taking off the cover & checking the fans, & running a monitoring program, the tech discovered the graphics card was overheating (+100°c).  because of the little bit I saw, I had them order me another replacement.

my questions after this experience:  what are the chances that I'll actually get a computer that works without problems?  is qa so poor that these problems (especially the fan one which is so obvious) can't be detected before shipment?  are drivers never loaded before the computer leaves the factory?  is Dell able to assemble a working computer or is it time to cut my losses & buy a computer from another company?

this would be my 5th or 6th Dell computer.  they have always worked as promised straight out of the box.  what has happened to the company that they can no longer do this?  if I didn't like the little bit I saw, I wouldn't bother.