Alienware computers the shiznit for gaming or all hype?
 

I was checking them out and they seem way overpriced but from people that i know that have them they swear by them. But i dont think i could respect myself if i dropped the money that they are asking for them.

http://alienware.com/ALX_pages/area51_alx.aspx

I mean 5.5g's WTF. Is this thing really worth that kind of cash.

Build a Dell XPS Gen 3. You can still get the extreme edition Pentium and a powerhouse PC without spending as much money.

For about $3800 you can build just about the same PC with Dell. The Alien Ware might be a bit better, but $1800 better?

Thats my point.

Thats ridiculously overpriced, at least from the components listed in that link. Does it come with a monitor? It is pretty top of the line but I think you could definitely get all those things cheaper, even though the P4 EE is ~$1000 just by itself (I believe). Part of what you are paying for is the "cool looking" system design. You could build a system that was 90% as fast for less than half.

Now when they come out with the supposed dual (cores/gpu's) thing that was mentioned recently then maybe they can justify a hefty price.

I would build my own personally, but thats not an option for some people I guess.

Alienware's are fine for people that have money to blow and want to show off their computers but are too lazy to customize it themselves. No they're not worth the money.

Alienware sucks. I had them in my store for a little while and they do nothing but break.

Haipu.

What used to break on them?

well overpriced but cool

Nice computers, but not nearly worth what they cost. Mainly for people with more money than sense, imo.

I do not own a Alienware because I could never justify the personal cost of one as I tend to build all my PC's.

However I have worked on several and have been very impressed with the speed and quality of their units. In fact I previously have recommended them to others for digital video manipulation. (100 plus PC orders for schools) I've only heard great things about how all of those units have performed.

In regards to gaming, I think they also make stellar units and perform better then 95% home brewers could build, however a home maker could obtain about 80-90% of the performance for only 60-70% of the price.

So yeah, you don't need an Alienware for PC gaming, you arn't going to really miss out. But people don't need cars like the Diablo or the Ford GT, its a want thing.

$5,500, thats a lotta money. You're paying for the case design, custom paint job, perhaps some neatly folded and organized IDE cables by a pro, thats where the money goes.

And here I thought a good deal on my $499 Dell with Radeon 9600 pro :).

Bah, I bought a Dell 9100 today... Intel 3.2Ghz , a gig of DDR400 ram, 128 megs ATI mobile radeon 9700 and a 60 gig 7200 rpm hdd with dvd/cdr and it cost me 2900$ Cdn shipped to my door. The same configuration at Alienware was 3400$ US!

Does dell offer this same comp even down to the liquid cooling system?

Liquid cooling? Sorry, I'm talking laptop- I assumed a 5500$ machine would be a laptop- I've never seen a pc come close and would have problems building one that came anywhere near that.

the problem with PCs is that technology moves annoyingly fast

Say you buy an alienware computer which is total top of the wozza, the mutts nuts TODAY for 6 grand.

You could buy a computer which is 75-80% as good TODAY for 3 grand or i'm sure less, then in a year or 18 months, you could either upgrade or buy a whole new computer which would be 150% better than that Alienware computer was 1 year to 18 months ago.

Like many others, i'm a "technology just a nip from the best which has just gone through a price drop " man. Just can't justify putting that much money into a computer which will drop it's value faster than Paris Hilton drops her panties.

You got half that right. They aren't cool. You take an alienware computer to a lan and you will be laughed at simply because you have alienware. They are soooo over priced and in this day and age the technolgy you paid extra for will be outdated by the time you walk outside the door.

Not worth it in the slightest. The only advantage is they have the cases customized and if you think that's cool you really need to look around for different cases cause their is a lot better ones out there.

:lol: Beware the scorn of the geeks.

Jack they laugh because they cant have one.;)


I wouldn't ever drop 6k on a comp. My thinking is more inline with what desmond says. Why buy the mutts nutts when you can get the mutts nut for half the price.

that's right skippy and then in another year you can buy the other nut and it will be a fresher riper , more nicer smelling nut than if you bought both nuts the year before :D

If they are true gamers then they would have their rig way faster and sicker then any alienware on the market. The only difference is the case with the logo. Everything else can easily be stocked up quickly and for half the price.

You are just buying a brand name. the parts inside are still made in china like the everyone else's. :p

I disagree about that performance.

They are overpriced. You pay for gee whiz stuff like liquid cooling but there is no need for it. You also pay for all the latest buzzword hardware like the super duper RAM that may or may not improve performance. The P4 EE chip is a waste of money.

Basically I can build an AMD based system from scratch that will be faster than OP's config for half the price or less.

Ok.

The Internet: where there is no middle ground between "the shiznit" and "all hype."