Some Reasons Alienware doesn't bite

[Immersive Gamer]

Thought I might help some of you conserve some urine instead of pi55ing on Alienware all the time. As for me, I have put together systems component by component in the past. It is pretty rewarding to assemble your dream work/pr0n/game/utility rig. You sure as hades save some pesos deal shopping component by component. Here are some advantages to keep in mind, though:

When I bought my system (just before AMD dual cores and nVidia's 7800 hit) they had some outstanding rebates (even though I DETEST rebates) that narrowed the best deal gap (using the best prices I could find using Price Watch) considerably

Naturally, some things (like the case) I could not find for EXACT comparison, but I got within $480. So what did I get by paying such a premium when I could have put the system together myself?

1. You deal with only one vendor[no trying to coordinate multiple retailers shipping you items that they claim to be in stock] You literally get one huge, padded and sturdy shipping box. Natch a monitor would be in a second one. You don't need to set tripwires for the deliverymen for a whole week (just one day)

2. Your credit card/house address/phone number is not dispersed across the nation in order to get all your deals.

3. Windows SP2 installed (with security updates) cleanly. I mean c-l-e-a-n. With the exception of Powerstrip, there was no proprietary BS, no superfluous progs installed.

4. Every driver is current. Even the BIOS! I nearly shat myself.

5. I hooked up my monitor, plugged the power supply to the wall, and I was up and running!

6. Immaculate wiring job. Meticulous cable routing, sleeving and tying. The PC power and cooling powercord/medusa bundle is unbelievably clean. While I'm not a fan of the alien-looking exterior, their case is hella sturdy, intuitively designed, and according to my temp probes, it promotes great airflow throughout. (and plenty of room and hardpoints to install my watercooling experiment)

7. Should anything go south, my whole darned system is warrantied by one company that has been around for years.

8. The system came already burnt-in and benchmarked (read: ready to overclock)

One other intangible: Buying a prefabbed system from a gaming system manufacturer sends a reminder to game developers. They already know the PC has the best tech for games, but it shows more importantly that people are buying PC's specifically for their games. When a company like alienware is adding several thousand square feet to their facility it lets them know that computer gaming is alive and well.

I know that my experience should be viewed as just an anecdotal one. (I've heard horror stories about their notebooks). I am not some yokel who is trying to justify the money he spent after-the-fact. I only know that out-of-the-box, I have a well-designed, no hassle, premium rig that hasn't hiccuped for the 24 days it has been mine.

I rarely go for the Brand New System approach as I like to pick and choose my upgrades, but Alienware, while expensive is NOT "just throwing your money away".

sorry about the length

 

[kd2777]

Nice.....and you want us to beleive don't work for Alienware?

I admit you guys have a nice case, maybe you should just sell it to the public. I would easily pay 200 for it with the lights an sound dampning. However I will still build my own computers.

kd

 

[biostud]

How would I know about computers if I hadn't build it myself?

 

[DaveyTN]

Bottom line is Alienware is too expensive and not competitive with pricing.

 

[exar333]

i really dont think the extra cost if worth a few driver upgrades and such...a waste...

 

[Ike0069]

Originally posted by: DaveyTN
Bottom line is Alienware is too expensive and not competitive with pricing.

Agreed.

Nice computers, yes. Worth the money, IMO no.

 

[The Pentium Guy]

Too expensive. Blah.

 

[n7]

Hahahaha!

So do they pay you to go post your BS on forums all over teh intarweb?

Alienware = for suckers or those who normally shop @ Best Buy but want better.

 

[KCjeeper]

Only reason I can see to go with a system builder like Alien are the time and hassle factors.

Personally I look forward to getting away from the rat-race and focusing on building a new system for myself and setting up the hard drives/OS/drivers etc.

 

[QuantumPion]

Originally posted by: n7
Hahahaha!

So do they pay you to go post your BS on forums all over teh intarweb?

Alienware = for suckers or those who normally shop @ Best Buy but want better.

they sell alienware at best buy.

 

[furballi]

Alienware is for NOOB or lazy people with $ to burn. With careful selection of parts, one can assemble a much cheaper PC with 3/5/lifetime warranty on major PC components (motherboard, power supply, CPU, hard drive, and RAM).

 

[QuantumPion]

hmm actually I just checked out their website and I found that they sell a system comparable to the one I'm building for only a few hundred more, and they include win xp, warantee, etc. So in reality alienware isn't that bad of a deal, at least for the mid-range systems. I still think their super duper gamer system is way overpriced though.

 

[BeakerChem]

The system I was building I double checked through Alienware and found ~$2000 in price difference and I couldn't get the exact specifications I wanted. That said, if there wasn't a market for it they wouldn't be in business.

I think alienware has its nitch. I would think there are a good segment of people out there who would pay the extra cash to not have to try to figure out how to put it all together and to not have to spend the time to figure out compatibilies. And remember that the warrenty doesn't help if you break it yourself. :/

 

[Gurck]

$1,000+ to install some drivers and flash a bios for me, which will not still be current in a few months time? Rofl, thanks, I'll keep it in consideration...

 

[ericlala]

Sorry but most of the things you said can be easily done by yourself even if you are just learning from the base up. I know I did and I can play with the bios all I like now. And like most things, It is the process that's fun. For me, reading what is the perfered component is actually enjoyable. Oh and most big retails sell almost everything you need. Sorry if I am sounding like an ass but most of the things you listed kinda marks you as a novice.

 

[Gurck]

Originally posted by: ericlala
Sorry but most of the things you said can be easily done by yourself even if you are just learning from the base up. I know I did and I can play with the bios all I like now. And like most things, It is the process that's fun. For me, reading what is the perfered component is actually enjoyable. Oh and most big retails sell almost everything you need. Sorry if I am sounding like an ass but most of the things you listed kinda marks you as a novice.

Psst: he works for AW. A 2-post wonder with a plug that sounds like an infomercial... I'd bet one of my nads on it.

 

[CreativeTom]

Please die.....Ban Him

 

[crimson117]

Who the hell calls themself "Immersive Gamer" Mods, can you trace this guy's IP address? Sounds like a corporate shill...

 

[mike3uz]

He probably is a shilll. Its a fact that AW ships defective machines plus their overpriced. Plus their employees are treated like sh*t. Monarch is the only way to go it seems like.

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: QuantumPion

Originally posted by: n7
Hahahaha!

So do they pay you to go post your BS on forums all over teh intarweb?

Alienware = for suckers or those who normally shop @ Best Buy but want better.

they sell alienware at best buy.

:Q
Ah...they don't in Canada...didn't realize it was different in teh US.

 

[Waylay00]

They don't sell Alienware at any of the Best Buys anymore here, don't know about other cities.

 

[shoRunner]

Originally posted by: Waylay00
They don't sell Alienware at any of the Best Buys anymore here, don't know about other cities.

they don't sell them in any best buy. they stopped about a year ago, because nobody bought them.

 

[frx218]

People don?t build there own just because its cheaper.. It?s because it?s a hobby and they enjoy building there own machines and picking out there own parts. When you boot up a Alien Ware or pre built computer you don?t get the same satisfaction as you would building your own.

Take your corporate crap elsewhere..

 

[dullard]

You are correct, if money isn't an issue, Alienware assembles quite nice computers. But money is an issue to most people. For 25% less than Alienware, you can get another company to do all that you listed. So why ever go with Alienware? I cannot think of one single reason (other than if you like the case so much that price isn't an issue). Also Alienware service supposedly is near the bottom of the barrel.

 

[So]

Let's take this point by point, shall we?

Originally posted by: Immersive Gamer
Thought I might help some of you conserve some urine instead of pi55ing on Alienware all the time.
Well, we're off to an immature start...
As for me, I have put together systems component by component in the past. It is pretty rewarding to assemble your dream work/pr0n/game/utility rig.
You admit that it's rewarding, but you assign no value to it...?
You sure as hades save some pesos deal shopping component by component. Here are some advantages to keep in mind, though:

When I bought my system (just before AMD dual cores and nVidia's 7800 hit) they had some outstanding rebates (even though I DETEST rebates) that narrowed the best deal gap (using the best prices I could find using Price Watch) considerably
Rebates are HORRIBLE...if you pay tax (depends on your state) you pay tax on the full price, plus, you are out that money for months. Additionally, you have to jump through hoops to get your money back. If the company WANTED to sell the product to you at that price, they'd put it on sale. Rebates are a shady business practice. And in the end, youre still paying MORE than you would buying the parts seperately

Naturally, some things (like the case) I could not find for EXACT comparison, but I got within $480. So what did I get by paying such a premium when I could have put the system together myself?

1. You deal with only one vendor[no trying to coordinate multiple retailers shipping you items that they claim to be in stock] You literally get one huge, padded and sturdy shipping box. Natch a monitor would be in a second one. You don't need to set tripwires for the deliverymen for a whole week (just one day)
It's called a wavier. Sign it and the fedex guy leaves the stuff at your door just like the UPS guy already does. Also, you seem to assert that all retailers lie about stock quantities. Pretty dubious claim there.

2. Your credit card/house address/phone number is not dispersed across the nation in order to get all your deals.
I'll be happy to ship you a free tinfoil hat if you'd like...

3. Windows SP2 installed (with security updates) cleanly. I mean c-l-e-a-n. With the exception of Powerstrip, there was no proprietary BS, no superfluous progs installed.
You have to be pretty dumb if you can't install XP w/ SP2 yourself. If this is the case, you should buy a prebuilt anyway. Dude, you're getting a dell!

4. Every driver is current. Even the BIOS! I nearly shat myself.
Because, lord knows, downloading new drvicers when you install the OS is HARD. And FYI, most mobo manufacturers have some sort of ez-2-use windows flash wtility these days.
5. I hooked up my monitor, plugged the power supply to the wall, and I was up and running!
Aaand? I can do the same thing with my homebuilt. Since you said there was value in the building experience, you can't call that a negative, so therefore, again, homebuilt is the same.
6. Immaculate wiring job. Meticulous cable routing, sleeving and tying. The PC power and cooling powercord/medusa bundle is unbelievably clean. While I'm not a fan of the alien-looking exterior, their case is hella sturdy, intuitively designed, and according to my temp probes, it promotes great airflow throughout. (and plenty of room and hardpoints to install my watercooling experiment)
I guarantee you that my antec case + $5 worth of zip ties from Fry's is at least as good

7. Should anything go south, my whole darned system is warrantied by one company that has been around for years.
Because, ASUS, ATI, AMD, and Creative are going away within the next three weeks...
8. The system came already burnt-in and benchmarked (read: ready to overclock)
Burn in is a myth, and benchmarks are a sham. A homebuilt is just as 'ready to overclock' by any rationale
One other intangible: Buying a prefabbed system from a gaming system manufacturer sends a reminder to game developers. They already know the PC has the best tech for games, but it shows more importantly that people are buying PC's specifically for their games. When a company like alienware is adding several thousand square feet to their facility it lets them know that computer gaming is alive and well.
Because game sales and $600 video cards flying off the shelf are no indicator...

I know that my experience should be viewed as just an anecdotal one. (I've heard horror stories about their notebooks). I am not some yokel who is trying to justify the money he spent after-the-fact. I only know that out-of-the-box, I have a well-designed, no hassle, premium rig that hasn't hiccuped for the 24 days it has been mine.
It kinda sounds like you are. Either that, or you're an Alienware employee

I rarely go for the Brand New System approach as I like to pick and choose my upgrades, but Alienware, while expensive is NOT "just throwing your money away".
Again, you can just as easily build a new system from the ground up...so...what's your point? A new system is faster than upgrading parts of an old one...?
sorry about the length
You're forgiven, don't let it happen again