Some Reasons Alienware doesn't bite

[Googer]

Originally posted by: 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

This was taken from Alienware and is © Copyrighted by Alienware ©

http://www.alienware.com/build_vs_buy_pages/index.aspx

 

[Googer]

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

Alienware had a complete withdrawl from Best Buy -Coat to Coast.
Since they are based out of Miami, Fl If I were to buy from them, They would add on another $400 in Florida State Sales tax for a high end system.

Originally posted by: So
Let's take this point by point, shall we?

Originally posted by: Immersive Gamer
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.

You're forgiven, don't let it happen again

YEP, Alienware uses Highly overclockable performance screeming INTEL Motherboards (Hah haa!)


The only Advantage to Alienware besides the AlienCare and Alien Autospy is the Free (for a limited time only) Alien An@l Butt probe (aka cpu temperature monitor).

 

[MobiusPizza]

I totally agree with you. In fact your ideas are not only valid for Alienware, but for others as well.

To sumarise:

1. Laziness / can't bother
2. Privacy
3. Laziness / can't bother
4. Laziness / can't bother
5. Laziness / can't bother
6. Laziness / can't bother
7. Laziness / can't bother
8. Laziness / can't bother

Well if you are lazy of course you can buy any OEM computers for premium and you don't have to do anything
Therefore I totally agree with you.

 

[SilentRunning]

I will not buy a computer assembled by "aliens" in a sweatshop, but hey that's just me. To each his own.

 

[Pabster]

It isn't just price, folks. (Dell sells a TON of their high-end XPS gaming rigs)

Some people have the extra $ to burn and want a rig they can just take out of the box, plug in, and it is ready to go.

Not everyone has the technical knowledge (or the desire to learn) that we AT geeks do.

That said, I'd steer clear of Alienware. WAY, WAY overpriced.

 

[CrimsonChaos]

Oh, good another one of these threads.

First, for people who say you are "lazy" for buying a pre-built system, do you not read the sound explanations other people give? ONCE AGAIN - some people do not have the know-how or even desire to build their own system. YOU enjoy it, but just because someone else doesn't want to bother does not make them lazy. It simply means they have other interests that lie outside of the compu-tech world.

Second, for those who say it is a "waste of money" - that depends on what your time is worth. As with the first point, if you truly enjoy assembling your own computer, then the experience is priceless. However, if you do NOT enjoy this type of activity, then the entire process could be frustrating and tedious, and avoiding these dilemmas be worth a few hundred dollars to someone.

Lastly, the "extreme" Alienware computers are over-priced. I think it's ridiculous to charge $5,000+ for any system. However, their mid-range computers are competitive with pricing from Dell, Gateway, etc.

 

[svi]

First, for people who say you are "lazy" for buying a pre-built system, do you not read the sound explanations other people give? ONCE AGAIN - some people do not have the know-how or even desire to build their own system. YOU enjoy it, but just because someone else doesn't want to bother does not make them lazy. It simply means they have other interests that lie outside of the compu-tech world.

Second, for those who say it is a "waste of money" - that depends on what your time is worth. As with the first point, if you truly enjoy assembling your own computer, then the experience is priceless. However, if you do NOT enjoy this type of activity, then the entire process could be frustrating and tedious, and avoiding these dilemmas be worth a few hundred dollars to someone.

If you really can't be bothered to learn how tab A fits into slot B, then why not offer someone who does know what they're doing $100 to assemble it for you? Cheaper than going OEM, and all you have to do is pick the right person to get better parts. We all have basic social skills and reasoning, so that shouldn't be too difficult.

I'm not actually anti-OEM by any stretch of the imagination, though. I'm just being difficult. Really, my main objection to this thread is that the OP at least SOUNDS a lot like a corporate shill, even if you leave out the subject matter. I mean, I do know enough about writing styles to recognize some strange things when I see them (as do many of us, as you can see above). Some of his sentences, especially the pseudo-curses and bits added in to assure us that he sure is an enthusiast, look very forced and startlingly similar to what you see in the "enthusiast" sections of corporate web pages.

I'm sure, of course, that he's actually just a thirty-something PC enthusiast who's been working with computers for 20 years and suddenly feels the need to make a long, rambling, poorly thought-out post about why Alienware is great. Excuse me while I cough repeatedly. (damn, that doesn't translate well.)

 

[SilentRunning]

Originally posted by: svi

First, for people who say you are "lazy" for buying a pre-built system, do you not read the sound explanations other people give? ONCE AGAIN - some people do not have the know-how or even desire to build their own system. YOU enjoy it, but just because someone else doesn't want to bother does not make them lazy. It simply means they have other interests that lie outside of the compu-tech world.

Second, for those who say it is a "waste of money" - that depends on what your time is worth. As with the first point, if you truly enjoy assembling your own computer, then the experience is priceless. However, if you do NOT enjoy this type of activity, then the entire process could be frustrating and tedious, and avoiding these dilemmas be worth a few hundred dollars to someone.

If you really can't be bothered to learn how tab A fits into slot B, then why not offer someone who does know what they're doing $100 to assemble it for you? Cheaper than going OEM, and all you have to do is pick the right person to get better parts. We all have basic social skills and reasoning, so that shouldn't be too difficult.

I'm not actually anti-OEM by any stretch of the imagination, though. I'm just being difficult. Really, my main objection to this thread is that the OP at least SOUNDS a lot like a corporate shill, even if you leave out the subject matter. I mean, I do know enough about writing styles to recognize some strange things when I see them (as do many of us, as you can see above). Some of his sentences, especially the pseudo-curses and bits added in to assure us that he sure is an enthusiast, look very forced and startlingly similar to what you see in the "enthusiast" sections of corporate web pages.

I'm sure, of course, that he's actually just a thirty-something PC enthusiast who's been working with computers for 20 years and suddenly feels the need to make a long, rambling, poorly thought-out post about why Alienware is great. Excuse me while I cough repeatedly. (damn, that doesn't translate well.)

And of course the lack of details of what exact configuration they purchased. You would think you would be bragging about what you got for the money if it was such a deal.

 

[pelikan]

This is certainly a plug from Alienware to advertise their current rebates...SPAM.

 

[imported_g33k]

Originally posted by: Googer

Originally posted by: 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

This was taken from Alienware and is © Copyrighted by Alienware ©

http://www.alienware.com/build_vs_buy_pages/index.aspx

LOL the OP is just a regurgitation of the Alienware site.

 

[Farmer]

Bottom line: You get what you pay for, or you get less than what you pay for.

For what Alienware charges for top-of-the-line systems, I expect all that and more.

1.) When you install XP yourself, are you installing anything other than XP?
2.) Can you not update drivers yourself, flash your BIOS yourself?
3.) Wiring takes time, but can also be done at home.
4.) I have learned the hard way to buy most or all of your parts from one place. With great places like Newegg, thats completely possible.

Sure, if you have no time at all, buy an Alienware; you will have a nice system at an OK price with some good backing, but if you have no time to build and maintain your gaming rig at all (after collecting all your parts, which is a point and click process similar to the one gone through with buying from Alienware, peicing stuff together and troubleshooting takes just a day if your lucky), I find it hard to believe you have time to game in the first place.

Yes, Alienware builds nice systems, but so can half the people on these boards. This is just me, but I only pay for stuff that I cannot possibly do myself. Peicing together a computer is pretty much like Legos, so why pay someone to build mine for me when I can do it myself and have fun doing it?

 

[bob4432]

the op talks about the rewards of building your own rig, but later talks about the horror stories he had when dealing with his own. the op is clearly not able to build his own rig..j@cka$$

come on mods, please tell us if the ops ip is an alienware ip..........

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: AnnihilatorX
I totally agree with you. In fact your ideas are not only valid for Alienware, but for others as well.

To sumarise:

1. Laziness / can't bother
2. Privacy
3. Laziness / can't bother
4. Laziness / can't bother
5. Laziness / can't bother
6. Laziness / can't bother
7. Laziness / can't bother
8. Laziness / can't bother

Well if you are lazy of course you can buy any OEM computers for premium and you don't have to do anything
Therefore I totally agree with you.

C'mon lack of knowlege is another reason to buy Alienware. I hear it from a lot of people who say to me Alienware rocks, (they look at my white box and say) why don't you own one? After telling them I build my own they stare at me a in amazement and say "Whoa, how do you do that!"

 

[LikeLinus]

Anyone find it funny he doesn't actually deny working for Alienware? He just said he's floord that we think he works for them

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: LikeLinus
Anyone find it funny he doesn't actually deny working for Alienware? He just said he's floord that we think he works for them

Where does he say that?

 

[Googer]

oops

 

[Immersive Gamer]

Originally posted by: LikeLinus
Anyone find it funny he doesn't actually deny working for Alienware? He just said he's floord that we think he works for them

I get back from work and there's damn near 20 more replies!

And for the record.... I do not work for Alienware. I am a food preparation technologist. (I'm an okay cook Also taking classes part time so that I no longer have to be in a f'ing kitchen any more.

I have replied on this thread earlier with what I thought was some clarification, but I'll take the time to explicitly summarize:

If you're not after the bleeding edge in components, and if you happen to time it like I did, (that is, just before new generation procs and vid cards came down the pike), some configurations aren't too far off the best you could do using pricewatch.

Now this is the important part:

Alienware prices are way, Way, WAY overpriced on 95% of all items. That ALX crap is stratospheric! And if you really want to see some prices out of step with the market, check out their gaming softwear prices! A lot of their prices haven't budged since the titles were released. I have no idea what their Intel-based systems priced at, because I never tried to configure one.

I AM a big fan of Newegg. They've got a plethora (and yes, Jeffe, I know what a plethora is) of all things electronic, and prices that if not the best, are usually in the top 5 of vendors. I've never tried Monarch, but they seem to have a lockdown on AMD procs.

Anywho... With the drop in prices due to the imminent realease of 7-series video cards, and dual-core procs [at May 1 when I was shopping] combined with $499 in rebates (still DETEST rebates, though), the price of a system was not the $1000-1500 difference from Pricewatch that you can normally expect with Alienware.

So, for those in the home audience keeping score...

1. I vouchsafe that I am not, nor have ever been an employee by Alienware
2. Alenware prices are unreasonably marked up over the market, IMO.

however, on the same token;

3. When they are dumping old product, the combination of relative markdowns and rebates make them competitive. (although apparently, paying any amount more than absolutely necessary has apparently made me, ahem, a jacka$$)

Hope this has provided an anecdote, as to why someone who normally gravitates to DIY decided to shell out for an Alienware this time around.

Now have mercy on me, with what will undoubtedly be reflective, conscientious replies.

 

[Immersive Gamer]

[Yet another post by the scab who bought an Alienware]


Gotta also sound off on my apparent laziness/inability to system build, cuz it ruffles a few scales...

To wit:

I have gazed upon my reflection in the shiney copper base of heatsinks I have lapped (and lapped and lapped)

I have unlocked elder AMDs using scotch tape and a pencil

With my drill and generic Dremel (aka The Mutilator), I have augmented cases to promote airflow

I have taken duct conduit and "configured" a snorkel in my case so that my delta 38 could breath (and fill the house with the sounds of Air Movement)

I have had a "Read Me" translated from German to download a beta driver during the Period of Ultra Crappy ATI drivers

With The Mutilator I have etched, and grooved DRAM heat spreadors so my memory could (in theory) better exchange its heat.

When it comes to warranties, the number of heinous violations committed is only rivaled by the number committed at the Neverland Ranch

In short, I have jumped a lot that is jumpable and worked-around a lot that is work-aroundable.
[Never tried my hand at soldering, though. A man has got to know his limitations]

In short, oh ye pharohs of the forums, judge me not because of a dorky username, or my last purchase, for in the Grand Schemata of Things I am Tweaker.

(i'm also getting old, too)

 

[Greenman]

Lol, around my part of the world, a tweaker is someone hooked on speed. Just not your day I.G.
I have no issue with alienware, seems to be a good computer, and if others don't like the price they don't have to buy one. (Is this a great country or what?) But why did you copy your OP from the alienware web site? Are you trying to justify (sp) the money you spent? Or do you get some sort of credit from AW for doing it? Time to come clean, it's the only way to earn back some respect.

 

[Gothgar]

you're a tweaker all right.

 

[Immersive Gamer]

From the esteemed Greenman:
>>Time to come clean, it's the only way to earn back some respect.<<

then earn back some respect I shall, good sir.

Really, concerned folkage, I have no ties to Alienware. No kind of credit/payback/karma thing. I made the (original) post when after searching AnandTech forums on the word "Alienware", every last post was negative. Like bad negative. I wanted to point out, that at least so far, it has been smooth sailing for me. I just happen to buy when AW and the market were more in synch.

Yeah, I can't deny that some of this is justifying the money I spent. but seriously, having suffered through some bad driver compatability problems, a near impossible-to-diagnose fan wire shorting problem, a dead memory socket motherboad problem as well as others over the years, I indeed can put value on being able to fire up a brand new system with no worries

I didn't know that my post was so close to AW's Pages of Propaganda. However, I DO feel strongly about game developers skipping the PC to concentrate on consoles (or piss-poor porting of titles to the PC). When Microsoft essentially bought HALO to have its release on the XBOX, or when they kept stalling the release of SW: KOTOR on the PC it made me royally pi$$ed. I have signed a couple of online petitions to developers to keep PC games coming. Sure recent sales of videocards factor in the develop/not-to-develop decision of some companies, but sales of rigs almost dedicated to computer gaming send an even bigger message.

That AW page seems like it tries to create fear for someone who is considering building their first system. Lots of scare tactics preying on uncertainty. Some have a smidge of truth, but trying to imply all of those things are going to happen to a builder if he doesn't buy his system there are just plain deceptive.

Lastly, I thought a tweaker was someone who just can't leave their system alone. Perhaps I am just a cantankerous tinkerer?

 

[cryptonomicon]

i'll buy alienware one day. after im really really really wealthy and couldn't be bothered to assemble my own computer.

by the way, you say you came within $480 of alienware's price by price matching the components yourself. may i ask what model you were aiming for?
(it makes a big difference if the $480 markup you estimated was off of their $5000 model, or their $1500 model).

 

[ProviaFan]

I could buy photos, or I could take my own to hang on my wall...

I could buy an Alienware, or I could build my own for much less (and actually got what I wanted, an Athlon X2, a few weeks ago - and AW isn't even selling them yet)...

I could buy a blanket, or I could knit one myself...

Guess why I do the first two, but not the third?

One word: personal satisfaction

Alternately, two words: hobbies

All of your "reasons" in the original post are either laziness or ignorance. I have no problems recommending or purchasing a Dell when it's not for my personal use (hey, I may not always be around to support it), but you're not going to change (m)any opinions among those who are currently numbered within the set of "enthusiasts" (not counting people who got bored and sick of it and moved on to other hobbies), and you end up sounding like a corporate shill, regardless of whether you are one or not.

 

[Immersive Gamer]

Sure,

It was the Aurora 7500, but what is important to note, it was the Aurora 7500 back in early May.

One thing I forgot (which really was a bad omission on my part) was to price the PC Power and Cooling 510 deluxe. So subtract that price from the $480 to get the difference of my estimation using pricewatch. apologies for not giving you apples to apples to compare.

So my rig consists of these components:

Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support with Onsite Service

Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2

AlienRespawn: Alienware® Respawn Recovery Kit

Chassis: Alienware® Full-Tower Case

Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 510 Express

Processor: AMD Athlonâ?¢ 64 3500+ Processor with HyperTransport Technology
(this turned out not to be the Venice, although they never advertised it to be)

Motherboard: Alienware® nForce�4 SLI� Chipset Motherboard PCI Express
(turned out to be the ubiquitous ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe)(yes I have the new chipset fan)

Memory: 1GB Low-Latency Dual Channel DDR PC-3200 at 400MHz - 2 x 512MB

Graphics Processor: NVIDIA® GeForce� 6800 GT PCI Express 256MB DDR3 with NVIDIA SLI Technology
(was told was either going to be BFG or eVGA. Got the eVGA)

System Drive: High Performance - Serial ATA - 74GB Serial ATA 10,000 RPM w/8MB Cache

Optical Drive One: NEC® ND-3520 16x Dual Layer DVD±R/W Drive

Optical Drive Two: Lite-On 52x32x52x CD-RW Drive

Floppy Drive: 3.5" 1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive - Black
(interestingly, you can't opt out of a floppy)

Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster® Audigy® 2 ZS High Definition 7.1 Surround Firewire (IEEE® 1394)

Power Protection: Opti-UPS SS1200 Active Voltage Regulator
(I splurged because my previous OCing efforts may have been hindered by bad juice)

Display One: No Monitor

Keyboard: Free Alienware® Microsoft® Multimedia Keyboard
Mouse: Razer Diamondback Mouse
Alienware Exclusive Offers: Gamespot Complete - Free 90-day Trial (a $20.85 value)
Alienware Exclusive Offers: 10% off your next EB Games online purchase
(joy)
Free Alienware T-Shirt: Free Alienware® T-Shirt - White
(double joy)
Free Alienware Mousepad: Free Alienware® Mousepad
(triple joy)

subtotal: $2226
bulletproof packing and shipping Fed Ex Ground $88

total going on the plastic: $2314
REBATE: Free Shipping (up to $99) so -$88
REBATE: Aurora Systems -$400

Net Price on May 8 $1,826

My No PS supply Pricewatch total: $1,346 (giving a $480 diff)
(using $40 for a case)

Correct PS adjustment ($219) $1565

So the difference in what I did pay at AW with what I could have payed strictly DIY is:

$1,826-1565 = $261

(Hope you fellow accountants/economists out there have had as much fun as I had)

remember these prices were early May so your mileage may vary

 

[RaiderJ]

You certainly bring up some good points, but Alienware isn't the only reseller out there... why so fixated on them?

Plus, that $261 difference could buy a smaller LCD, nice speakers, faster graphics card, etc, etc. You'll find most people here would just rather do that anyway.