What's your opinion on Alienware?

  • Thread starter Eks
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Eks

Eks

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Brucifxr
Do you think they're overpriced? Do you think they're worth it?
I've been saving up to get an Alienware x51 (the $806.55 model to be exact) and it seems like they are just an unliked brand. Every Alienware video I go to always has 1 comment along the lines of "custom PCs are way better than Alienware" (Well of course custom PCs are better, you can add anything you want to it) or "Alienware sucks", etc.

Are they really that bad? My uncle has an x51 and I love it, hence why I'm getting one. (Although I'm abit bothered that it comes with no monitor or keyboard. I doubt it even comes with a mouse.)

Anyway, do you like/hate Alienware(s)?
 
Way overpriced! You can get your own build with the same performance for about half or less of what they charge!
 
Overpriced pieces of kit. If you want a gaming desktop, a bit of time learning how to put a computer together/finding a friend who can will make you happier in the long run. You can pick and choose your parts and end up with a faster computer for half or better the cost.

If you want a gaming laptop, I've got an ASUS N56v that'll run you about $1100, so about $400 less than an equivalent Alienware.
 
One of my classmates in school owns an Alienware laptop (forgot what model it was) & said that it handles very well. But to me, it wasn't very much worth the +$1000 purchase even with the flashy keyboard and stuff.
 
You can build a much better pc with a GPU 4-6 times more powerful if you're on about the GT545 x51, its a very weak GPU. Please do not buy.
 
Eks
Do you think they're overpriced?
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Yes, those computers are overpriced. Especially the desktops.

Do you think they're worth it?
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This computer is not worth it in my opinion.

I've been saving up to get an Alienware x51 (the $806.55 model to be exact) and it seems like they are just an unliked brand. Every Alienware video I go to always has 1 comment along the lines of "custom PCs are way better than Alienware" (Well of course custom PCs are better, you can add anything you want to it) or "Alienware sucks", etc.
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Well..yeah, they charge you for the price of the computer parts plus labor of building the computer plus tax. Technology today.

Are they really that bad? My uncle has an x51 and I love it, hence why I'm getting one. (Although I'm abit bothered that it comes with no monitor or keyboard. I doubt it even comes with a mouse.)
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They're not bad as a computer but it's cheaper to build your own. Nowadays, it's almost virtually foolproof to not be able to build a computer if you have the time and access to google. There are so many helpful guides.

Anyway, do you like/hate Alienware(s)?
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As a computer company, they're not bad. They were heaps better before dell bought them but they haven't ventured too far away from their original ideals. On the other hand, dell stuck their hands in too much with alienware and should've left them to their own devices like HP did for the most part with VoodooPC (I think.)

Great computers but for the price, one could do better.
 
Dell's overpriced and Alienware is Dell's even more overpriced subsidiary. Instead of Alienware, you could:

1) Build a PC yourself. You'd get an equally powerful PC for less than half the price.
2) Mix and match parts and have a custom computer build for you (if you're not confident enough to build it yourself). You's still get an equally powerful PC or 60% of the money.
3) Buy a computer by another, less overpriced brand. Asus or something. It'll still cost 200 to 300 bucks less for the same hardware.

Quality wise, I hear good things about Alienware. But they're just so pricey that the only folks I know personally who've ever bought them were seemed clueless about computers and therefore didn't realise just how expensive they are in comparison. Well, that, or that one guy who buys them to stand out and show off.
 
I like Alienware for their style and you can be sure of a quality product, the problem is that you're paying a lot of money for that and in reality you're getting less computer as a result. If you spend I dunno £1500 on an Alienware, you're probably paying a lot of extra money that could have been spent on extra parts to build a more powerful computer from the beginning.

I always build my own computers, did my first one when I was 12 years old with my dad and it was a lot harder and more fiddly back then. Nowadays computers are easy to build, they have been designed that way and you don't need to be an expert to put one together. The result of building your own is that you can source all the quality parts yourself, you can build the exact spec you want and you're getting it at a far better price than you could if you bought it prebuilt from Alienware.
 
I got an Alienware several years ago. If you only look at the PC, yes the components are overpriced. But the reason for that is what you get. Not only are you going to get top notch components, but you also get the styling and the customer support. Is the awesome US-based customer support worth it to you along with the custom case and lighting? That's what it comes down to.

I have upgraded since then and I put together my own PC, but i used the Alienware parts that I could. The orig Barracuda hdd is a back up drive I use for OS recovery. The case and 750watt psu are still in use.

IMHO Alienware is not overpriced overall because you are paying for that excellent customer service and unique styling. I had to use customer support once for this machine- I talked to someone in the US, there was no hold time on the phone, the issue was solved quickly and the tech knew what she was talking about. There was no Indian named "Bob" who immediately said to use the recovery disk.

Every step of the way as the PC was being built I was informed exactly what stage of production it was in. The packaging was flawless and the PC was not only perfect but tested and verified to be perfect when it arrived. THIS is what I paid for. The experience was worth the money.
 
Isn't this simple. If you can put PC computer with the same specification for less, than Alienware is overpriced, Simple.

Now, go on and do it :)
 
How about instead of the alienware you look at http://www.mainperformancepc.com/

This guy has really good customer service and puts better parts in his systems. He has a 899$ one that has a better GPU in it, and I'm guessing a bigger power supply, I can't see what the alienware one has. I'm also not sure about the CPU.

I would be more likely to buy from him though. He takes care of you himself, and there is no dealing with some idiot on the phone that has no idea what you are talking about. I ahve not seen one bad comment about mainperformance.
 
Alienware is a boutique computer. You will be paying a premium price for it. What you hope to get from any boutique computer builder is optimized configurations in the bios as well as OS tweaks. You also hope to get combinations of hardware that they have tested to work best together without conflict. Finally you hope to get personal service and custom workmanship on proprietary elements of the build.

It wasn't too long ago when these boutique builds could outperform other systems with the same specs. This was because of their optimizations they would do on the system. Today, things are a bit less daunting and most hardware conflicts are pretty non-existent when you use quality hardware. You can even overclock your system safely with no real knowledge of what you're doing.

Although longgevity doesn't always mean they are a good company, I would say they have been around long enough that they will be there to support your product during the life of your computer.

With that said, if you are looking for a computer that you don't have to tweak on and maintain and want someone else to be responsible for, but still want a performance machine, Alienware may be the solution for you. It is up to you to decide if the added cost is worth those benefits.

Also, moving to the computer hardware section.
 
I mean yeah, there a billion things better that could be in a custom PC, but someone like me who has zero knowledge of how to build one and honestly I just want to jump in and play some PC games. I'm not looking for a super-chuck norris-tower-of-gaming-god PC as I'm still primarily a console gamer. I think that for the price, it's worth it. I've seen it run BF3 on ultra which already let's me know that it has all the GFX power I'll ever use, etc.

I think Alienwares (particularily 1000> models) are a good way to transition from console to PC. Well, it's a start 👍
 
Was Battlefield 3 in 1080p? Not that it's a necessity, I'm just wondering. I'm not trying to burst your bubble or anything either, if you think it will be good for you then go for it. 👍
 
Eks

I think Alienwares (particularily 1000> models) are a good way to transition from console to PC. Well, it's a start 👍
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Considering the horrible experiences my friends have had with Alienware, I wouldn't bother. Much like I wouldn't bother with Comic Sans - both are just hard on the eyes as well.
 
Just memorize the specs of the X51 and look for a similar PC by some other manufacturer. You still won't have to put it together yourself, you'd stilll get proper warranty and you'd still save yourself a few bucks.

Sure, something like iBuyPower might not have as much "swag" (and yeah, I'm using that word because getting an Alienware is a double edged sword in that regard), but you get better performance for the same price - or the same performance for less.

Or just look for some online retailer that offers to build a PC to your desired specs. No hassle, warranty and whatnot and still cheaper than most pre-build options...
 
I have recommended before to a friend to get an Alienware instead of getting custom PC. Main reason being it was cheaper than custom PC by quite a bit, Dell Outlet had an awesome deal for a really high end gaming PC

OP, you should not get the one X51 at spec you currently saving for, should get GTX 660 if you do decide to go down that path if you want a compact gaming PC. It will probably better to look for offers though than get it at standard price. Being in US, surely there must be very good deals for better gaming PCs already built or built for you so better to look around. Something with a GTX 670 and 3570K should be very powerful and should be able to get it in budget.
 
@Azuremen
3 of my family members have Alienwares and they work perfectly, and yes I've been meaning to change from Comic Sans, thanks for reminding me.
I kinda like this..

@Luminis
Any online retailers you recommend? iBuyPower is one, yes?

@Saidiur_Ali
Yeah, you can customize/add parts and that's what I plan to do, if I get one.
 
Eks

@Luminis
Any online retailers you recommend? iBuyPower is one, yes?
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iBuyPower is basically a manufacturerer. You can probably pick one of their PCs up at Amazon, Newegg or what have you. They've got their own website and are doing weekly deals and whatnot, might want to keep an eye on that. A custom build PC from ibuyPower.com would get you the following for $ 798:


  • i5-3570K
  • 8GB G-Skill Ripjaw X DDR 3 1600
  • Radeon HD 7870 2GB
  • Gigabyte Z77 HD3 Mobo
  • 500 watts Corsair HX series PSU
  • 1 TB HDD
  • DVD/CD RW
  • 3 years of warranty
  • FarCry 3, Sleeping Dogs, Dirt Showdown
That's a better CPU, quite the superior GPU, similar RAM and a 3 year warranty instead of "1 year essential support". The only downside is that Win7 isn't included in the deal, but if you've got any sort of computer around, I'd think that you've got a Win7 disc somewhere - but you at least get some free games as a trade-off.


And that's with iBuyPower's very limited and (in my opinion) expensive custom PC configurator. I'd bet you can find somehting similar for even less if you looked around a little.
 
I don't know why you just don't get one from mainperformance PC and call it a day. You will be really hard pressed to find any computer with better parts in it cheaper then main performance PC is going to make it. The guy who owns the store is online all the time in the iracing forums and responds to emails super fast. It's really a no brainer if you don't want to spend a few hours building it yourself and don't care to spend a couple hundred extra dollars as compared to a custom build.

I think the x51 has a 330 watt PSU, his i think has a 500, and the GPU is much better in the 900$ one compared to the x51. It's just an all around better PC.

For 1200$ mainperformance has one that is an all around solid computer. It would run triple screens right off the start without upgrading anything. I doubt you wuill run triple screen but that is how powerful it is.

As for your friends alienware running BF3 on ultra I bet it wasn't the x51 doing it. I can't see that system maxing out any new games.

You could also check out origin computers. They are also way overpriced like alienware, but they tend to use better components in their builds. Mainperformance is you best bet though when it comes to a prebuilt gaming PC. It's nice when you deal with a company you are dealing with the owner of it. It's much easier to get things done that way most of the time.
 
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I do like Alienware's style / design and if its your sort of taste then I do understand why people pay a premium but like others have said they are massively overpriced from a hardware standpoint, especially the desktops. If your aim is to play games rather than look at the funky LED's then try to build your own system.
 
Robin.
I do like Alienware's style / design and if its your sort of taste then I do understand why people pay a premium but like others have said they are massively overpriced from a hardware standpoint, especially the desktops. If your aim is to play games rather than look at the funky LED's then try to build your own system.
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They can be underpriced too hence why I have recommended them before over custom PC, Dell sometimes sell them really cheap in the outlet store ;).
 
If you don't want to build yourself. Most PC Stores will have a 'Construction' service for $40-$80. So you get something pre-built but catered to what you want, usually with some kind of build warranty too, always a good option.
 
If you really want the Alienware then by all means go for it, they're good products from my friends' (admittedly anecdotal) experiences. That being said, you're paying a lot for the name and because it looks cool, I'll echo everyone else and say get a custom PC shop online to build one for you. I consider Alienware to be the Mac of PC's. Looks pretty, is a well built computer, won't crap out on you, but you're paying a lot of money because it looks cool (and because the Alienware is a "gaming" computer, analogous to the Mac being "creative").
 
You could always pick a fancy case and add some LED's to a custoom build. I mean, it's not like it's only Alienware that got that stuff on offer.
 
I have a self built computer that I spent 1,100 on and I ran it on an Alienware built 3rd gen i7 core because the regular intel i7s clocked at 4.10ghz max but the Alienware i7 was at 4.70ghz. I also have Alienware Windows 7 Ultimate (only because it was 2$ cheaper and it looks cool)
 
bergauk
I've never ever seen an Alienware outperform a similarly priced handbuilt PC.
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Alienware was quite a bit cheaper than custom built PC off memory and was using high end parts at the time. Like I mentioned outlet store sometimes has bargains, maybe next time it does will be when Haswell CPUs come out.
 
I just wish I could buy some of their cases....

Or that lovely screen they never released:

alienware-crvd-42dwx-curved.jpg



But, ya... little bit too expensive.
 

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