Alienware

[edyzmedieval]

www.alienware.com

It got my attention yesterday while I was sick. Alienware says that it has high quality high performance desktop and laptop computers, but the price of those things is really out of the order.

Out of curiosity, I maxxed out on everything on their 3 way SLI desktop, and it got me to almost 10000 USD!!! True, you have 2.3GB of video power, but 10000 dollars is... insane is not enough to describe it.

I was wondering, does anyone have Alienware products around here? Any feedback you can give on them?

[Veho Nex]

Alien ware is just the name brand, they actually have some pretty crappy computers. But if your the rich kind of person and you want some high quality stuff, with overnight shipping and repair, then Falcon NorthWest are the guys for you.

[Veho Nex]

I uhhh don't have the option to edit... anyways, yeh I forgot to add that my friend bought an alienware a little while back and it arrived with a chipped motherboard and bent ram sticks. He was furious. But also when I ordered mine awhile back(was in my price range) it came and was pretty well done. HD fried a little while later but I figured out that I hit it somehow and killed it.

[Lemur]

Yeah, if you're looking for ultra-high-end, best option is to build it yourself, or have a knowledgeable friend do so. Boutique places like Voodoo, Alienware and Falcon NW will take all of your shiny shekels.

If you really are stuck with more money than sense, Falcon NW or Voodoo are the places to go. I think Voodoo was even selling a gold-plated computer case, so that should give you an idea of their audience. Alienware has suffered from uneven quality control for a couple of years now.

[drone]

Alienware got bought by Dell (1-2 years ago, I think). Dell bought them for their name and reputation, which was quality high-end gaming desktops and laptops. I've never owned one myself, but I keep hearing rumors that they have gone downhill since.

[Xiahou]

Alienware got bought by Dell (1-2 years ago, I think). Dell bought them for their name and reputation, which was quality high-end gaming desktops and laptops. I've never owned one myself, but I keep hearing rumors that they have gone downhill since.

Ditto
I used to have a lot of respect for Alienware, but it seems like they've pretty much sold out.

Like Lemur says, the best PCs are the ones you build yourself. You shop around for the best prices on components, you don't pay for fancy bells and whistles that you don't want/need and you don't have to build in a profit margin.

[edyzmedieval]

Thanks for the tips. Sorry, a gold plated computer is not on my shopping list and will never be.

But what happens if you like want to build an extreme (3 SLI + ) gaming computer? You have to go to a specialist anyhow for the custom cooling and custom case at least.

[Ramses II CP]

Alienware's slide started, IMHO, with the very model that I purchased from them, the 7700m laptop. At the time (3+ years ago) building your own laptop was almost out of the question, and I had the funds and desire for a mobile gaming solution/desktop replacement.

Unfortunately I picked one of the most problem plagued machines ever to leave their lines. There was a time (~5 or 6 years ago) when Alienware was a respected name in custom machines, they started small, they guaranteed hand tested components in quality configurations, and they had a great service reputation.

My laptop, however, arrived in a non-working state. I was able to get it working, despite being led down the wrong path by AW tech support, the next day, but it was a poor start. I considered sending it back and eating the cost of shipping, but decided against. I experienced frequent heat problems with the machine, to the point that the area of the case over the video card (6800 Ultra something) was very uncomfortable to touch. The fans never seemed to kick in on time, and there was no documentation on how to manually control them. I used the machine sparingly, but it still died with a crisp electric pop about a week after the warranty ran out.

I was able to narrow it down to the video card or the motherboard (Which was eventually confirmed) but Alienware would not retail those components, would not provide me with information on where they purchased them, and would not provide any estimate on the cost to have it repaired at their facility. I was a fool for not buying the extended warranty, so I can't blame AW entirely, but their case design was utterly inadequate for the heat load of the machine, and brief research showed me hundreds of complaints about the model of machine I had online.

You can still purchase, cheaply in fact, 'non-working' versions of this machine on ebay and similar places.

Long story short, after enough time, research to be sure the machine wouldn't immediately die again, and enough hectoring with AW I sent the machine in, paid the money to fix it, and it's still running today. AW charged me to replace the motherboard, but also replaced the video card for free with a cooler, more recent model, and didn't inform me that they had done so. I had to call them to ask about it. They would admit that the prior card still worked, they would admit they replaced it for free, but they would not explain why or provide any more detail.

So AW, who I am given to understand ate hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses due to people who did buy the extended warranty on this machine, sold out to Dell. I still wouldn't recommend you buy anything from them. If you want a desktop, build your own, natch. If you want a laptop, you have a couple of good starting points to build your own too, though I haven't put in the research necessary to know if they're competitive.



edit: Here is the old thread where I discuss this machine's problems:

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...13#post1695713

[edyzmedieval]

I'm thinking what to do to be honest. DELL phased out the XPS M1710, which I have since July 2007, so that means no more support for it. It runs the old nVIDIA Go 7900GS chipset which I could barely find updated drivers for. I was thinking of selling the notebook this summer so I can still get a decent price for it, and then buy a new one so I won't have absolutely any problems with it.

I've been thinking mostly for a VERY powerful notebook since 7/12 months I am away from home, so a desktop really doesn't quite fit. And I want a really new one, for which I can get full support, and also hopefully no hard drive failures and phased out video cards.

[Lemur]

What about an itty-bitty desktop? Something like this, say? or would that still be too big?

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Never buy an Alienware desktop - ever! When it comes to cost and performance, it's always better to build it yourself. The same thing goes for all the other companies, like Falcon, Voodoo, etc. With them, the highest customizations can get to a good twenty thousand USD.

On the other hand, I have no experience with notebook prices and building, but I think it's still better to get an older notebook and upgrade it how you need it.

[Mikeus Caesar]

A friend of mine wanted to buy one of these pieces of tosh a few years ago. I persuaded him otherwise by showing he could make it himself for about a hundred pounds less. All he would have been paying for was the fancy case.

[edyzmedieval]

What about an itty-bitty desktop? Something like this, say? or would that still be too big?

Could fit well, but I need to carry it around too.
If I scrape the desktop option, I scrape the MacBook option too and just go for a wicked notebook and that's it; I don't care how heavy, I'll just carry it in my backpack.

[Kekvit Irae]

Alienware is extremely overpriced. The best high-powered computer you can get for cheap is one you build for yourself.

[KukriKhan]

Alienware notebook's claim to fame (in addition to top-notch gamer graphics) was upgradability. An unheard-of concept at the time (and still today, actually). AMD, Intel, ATI and nVidia cooperated for awhile, making 'modular' cpu's and gpu's, so that 2-3 years after purchase, the user could spend $300 or so to replace the vid card and CPU, instead of dropping $3,000 for a whole new machine.

Hooray for the user/buyer! But the "modular-replacement/upgrade" business model was doomed, and ultimately abandoned after 2 generations. The hardware moguls decided pci-e was the way forward, and dual-, quad-, and octo-layer processors. Heat became a problem. Compatible, affordable chinese motherboards became a problem. Vendor cooperation became a problem.

The owners farmed out their previously excellent customer service to call-centers, slashed wages for their assemblers, cut manpower, and adopted the UPS/FedEx "just in time" warehousing plan... then sold out to Dell when financial times got really rough.

Don't buy Alienware, Dude. The brand won't exist in two years, IMO, and you'll be left holding a 10-pound paperweight/doorstop that can barely display the org forums, much less the hottest 2008 game.

[TevashSzat]

If you really want some high end stuff, Games for Windows Magazine just released an article called the Ultimate Gaming Machine in which they called the top ten vendors and asked them for the highest machine they have to send.

Judging from your reaction to the 10K price range, I guess you're not too fond of their $12,000 machines, but there were some 5K-8K ones that you might be interested in

[edyzmedieval]

I have a question for all of you:

Would you ever pay 12-14-16K on a computer even if you had money and didn't know what to do with it?

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

I have a question for all of you:

Would you ever pay 12-14-16K on a computer even if you had money and didn't know what to do with it?

Yes, I would, but that computer would still be home-built - I'd just have a 64-bit OS with three nVidia's on SLI, a Quad Core Extreme, and 16 GB of RAM (the maximum my current motherboard can support, to my knowledge). After that, I'd probably invest the money for later upgrades.

[Ramses II CP]

No. The price to performance ratio curves to miniscule at around the 3k home built range IMHO (Excluding monitor costs). You'll be spending twice as much for essentially invisible performance gains.

The better course, I would think, is spending that 3k on your box and throwing the rest at a pair of very large monitors.

[Whacker]

I found Kukri's post to sum up my views very well. Alienware is essentially Dell now, and they were overpriced to begin with.

At the OP: If you want a really nice computer, try the two companies others have mentioned, Falcon Northwest and Voodoo. Both still have good reputations.

Of course, this all still pales in comparison to what you could do yourself. I used to have a 3k budget every 3 years for getting a new PC, and I could always put together a monster for that budget.

I have a question for all of you:

Would you ever pay 12-14-16K on a computer even if you had money and didn't know what to do with it?

I'm taking this to mean "you have more money than you know what to do with", and my answer is certainly "Hell yeah".

[Meldarion]

I am going to agree with the custom build option. If you don't know how to do it then learn, its really not that difficult and will save you a lot of money.

[edyzmedieval]

Thread necromancy...

I have an insane friend who wants to spend his cash on an expensive laptop, and he came to me because everyone considers me the computer geek. I recommended him Falcon Northwest and he said its ok but he wants more information.

Are they worth it? He says he just wants it already built.
He made it and its worth 7000 euros, but he wants to know insider info like is the screen good, how is the power overall bla bla bla...

[Lemur]

Falcon NW is known for its desktops and Fragbox, not its notebooks. If you want a performance notebook from a high-end place, I'd recommend WidowPC since gaming/performance notebooks are their whole claim to fame. The other possibility would be Voodoo's laptops, but then you're getting into the serious high end.

Has your friend looked at the Dell XPS laptops? They're too nice to ignore, and the pricing is a little more sane than the small boutique builders ....

[KukriKhan]

Voodoo's top of the line Envy h-201 would fit the bill. At 16 pounds, and $4,000, portability and price need to NOT be a factor.

Still... by summer 2011, an h-201 owner-gamer would need to chuck it in favor of a new machine that would run 2011 games.

Having had laptops for 7 years now, I've become disillusioned with them; they're fine for text tasks, net-surfing, and communications - but crap in trying to keep up with advances in graphics, processors, and heat-dispersion.

Next Kukri machine will be a "Return to the Desktop". You read it here first.

[edyzmedieval]

I have an XPS M1710, and it works like a charm, but he said he wanted more power. True, if I had the cash I would do the same. I am extremely pleased with my XPS and while I was at school it provided excellent work + entertainment value.

I found Voodoo PC a bit too voodoo for my style, at least. He said he's taking Voodoo into consideration, but I personally do not like them because the only option is AMD processors, which are kind of bad.

WidowPC and Falcon NW are his choices.

I was thinking at one moment of buying a custom built Falcon NW desktop but I got a straight answer: forfeiting any other birthday gifts until I finish school.
It would have provided some excellent entertainment but I'll prolly switch from gaming sometime in the future so there was no use spending 9000 on something and living like a spartan afterwards. The desktop was a monster which would be at least medium-power in 6-7 years, with 2.3GB of video and 8GB of RAM.

[Whacker]

Edyz, why does your friend want a laptop? Is he a gamer, because laptops suck the big one when it comes to gaming. I always do a /facepalm whenever I read or hear someone saying "Oh yeah, I game a lot, I want a great system for gaming high end cpu and video OH it should be a laptop".

[edyzmedieval]

Because there is no point for him or me either to buy a desktop when for the past 2 years we will be 8 months a year at a boarding school.

[Whacker]

I still don't understand. Do you carry your machine around daily? Picking up a machine and moving it once every 8 months is nothing. The only people I have ever seen with a real need for a laptop are business(wo)men who travel daily or near-daily.

Guess I'll just be simple and blunt. It sounds somewhat like this is just a simple matter of someone wanting a laptop. That's great, as long as they understand what that entails. First, it's going to be much more expensive. Second, it's not going to be nearly as good as a desktop for gaming, and it will get obsolete FAST. This is experience talking, I went through this phase when I graduated college and bought a 3k laptop that had a real usable lifetime of about 6 months. Third, laptops tend to grow legs, and the average cable lock will last approx. 15-30 seconds against a determined thief. Again this is firsthand experience as a security professional who attended a physical security course, they gave us wirecutters and showed us how quickly we could hack through even the thicker cables, it was stunning.

It sounds like the person in question would be far better off with a desktop, which would be more practical, in line with their wants and needs, and not as expensive for better hardware. Yeah there may be other circumstances that haven't been mentioned, but at this stage this is what it sounds like.

Just my $0.02.

[edyzmedieval]

Yes, he wants to carry it around. I told him its useless to carry a 7kg monster but he wont understand. Its his point anyways.

The thing is, we cant carry a desktop with us too school. It's impossible to carry a desktop, keyboard and monitor at the same, ESPECIALLY if you are one of those maniacs with a 3 way SLI, 8GB of RAM and Extreme Quad Core complete with custom case and liquid cooling. That thing is bigger than your desk! (just a figure of speech)

That's why he wants a laptop. He wants it to game seriously and also to work on it.