Alienware PCs

[Wardog]

Are Alienware PCs any good?

I'm thinking of getting a new PC soon (currently using a 5-year old laptop), but aren't too familiar with current specs and manufacturers.

My department at work is also planning on getting eight new high-end PCs, and after comparing a number of different systems, it appear that we could get what we want from Alienware, for about £800 cheaper than a comparably powerful "serious" workstation (mainly due to the price difference between i7 and Xeon processors).

So would this be a good option, or are there any issues with the systems/CPU/build quality that weigh against them?

[Irbis]

Any good? Yes.

Expensive? Hell, yes. :smallyuk:

You can get more powerful laptops for the price, though Alienware tends to have better warranty and cooling systems (but are heavier and noisier thanks to that, too).

If you have any reputable 'barebone' laptop manufacturer near you, it's one place to look (barebones are generic laptops made alongside brand ones by manufactures working for Asus, Apple, Acer, etc.).

Other place to look would be checking Acer's "gaming" brands, Gateway and Packard Bell, they sometimes release powerful machines for very low prices.

[The Succubus]

Posted from an Alienware M17. A reliable and heavy beast, my lappy has served me faithfully for the past two years and can run anything I want it to. Took Alienware about a week or two to manufacture and ship it but was well worth the wait.

[thubby]

they're overpriced, oddly heavy, and made of DELL PROPRIETARY PARTS. if you get one, you will be buying from them until the thing dies. which, granted, won't be for a good long time.

ibuypower sells more for less as far as desktops, dont know their laptops from personal experience, but i would be stunned to see a major change in quality.

[Don Julio Anejo]

If you want a gaming laptop, go with Asus instead.

[tyckspoon]

For your workplace's purposes, you can almost certainly get a better deal than Alienware. You'll be paying a lot extra for the fancy cases, basically- the parts and spec levels in them generally aren't anything unusual. Any more specific recommendation would require knowing exactly what your job's needs for these things are.

For a personal laptop, I wouldn't get Alienware, but that's because I believe the point of a laptop is portability, not to game on (Acer's Timeline series is pretty good for portability and battery span.) The Alienwares are huge, heavy, very difficult to find accessories for, and have battery spans in the 'just long enough to find the next AC outlet' area.

Edit: Mind, if you *must* use your laptop as primary gaming machine, Alienware will do it- they're quite powerful, and a lot of the extra size and battery draw comes from more heavy-duty cooling so they don't bake themselves in operation. But it's still applying the wrong tool for the job.

[Irbis]

ibuypower

IBP is just more expensive barebone laptop, you can go lower with them.

[Worira]

Do you enjoy possessing money? If so, Alienware is not for you.

[Zmflavius]

My friend has a custom built Alienware which cost around $1000 dollars. Something like one of the best laptops I've ever seen.

[loopy]

I'm using an Alienware m17x laptop as I type this. Alienware computers are definitely awesome, but they are, as said above, very expensive.

The laptops are better value, though still expensive. I've had no problems with mine. :smallsmile:

[Mando Knight]

they're overpriced, oddly heavy, and made of DELL PROPRIETARY PARTS. if you get one, you will be buying from them until the thing dies. which, granted, won't be for a good long time.

Dell is actually fairly hit-and-miss. My Dell laptop has survived for four years now without hardware problems at all. Several of my relatives' computers from other companies haven't lasted quite like this one.

[blackfox]

The other thing about Dell is that they're actually nice about doing things for you (!) as long as your machine is still under warranty. So however much people enjoy knocking Dell hardware because of breakability, they'll at least replace whatever it is for you.

[Wardog]

Sorry, I wasn't quite clear. I currently have a laptop. However, it is desktops that I and my company would be getting. They currenly use Dell workstations, and it was "normal" Dell workstations (Precision) that we were planning on getting until we saw that Alienware gaming rigs did basically the same things for £800+ cheaper.

[GrlumpTheElder]

Dell is actually fairly hit-and-miss. My Dell laptop has survived for four years now without hardware problems at all. Several of my relatives' computers from other companies haven't lasted quite like this one.

I know what you mean. I have a dell laptop I have owned for 5 years with loads of problems (mainly power related). A Friend of mine has exactly the same laptop for the same sort of times with no problems...

[Odentin]

Sorry, I wasn't quite clear. I currently have a laptop. However, it is desktops that I and my company would be getting. They currenly use Dell workstations, and it was "normal" Dell workstations (Precision) that we were planning on getting until we saw that Alienware gaming rigs did basically the same things for £800+ cheaper.

For a PC, you can buy the parts yourself and put it together for MUCH cheaper than buying from a manufacturer. Likewise, if you have someone reputable nearby, you can have them put it together, if you're entirely unfamiliar with how a computer goes together. My friend and I built the rig I'm posting from for ~$400 USD. From IBuyPower, a similar setup would be almost $800, and Alienware STARTS at $100 more than IBP. On top of that, my computer takes up a lot less space then any of the towers they offer.

So look up places nearby that will build a computer from scratch, or have a go at it yourself. www.newegg.com is where I got all of my parts.

[thubby]

For a PC, you can buy the parts yourself and put it together for MUCH cheaper than buying from a manufacturer. Likewise, if you have someone reputable nearby, you can have them put it together, if you're entirely unfamiliar with how a computer goes together. My friend and I built the rig I'm posting from for ~$400 USD. From IBuyPower, a similar setup would be almost $800, and Alienware STARTS at $100 more than IBP. On top of that, my computer takes up a lot less space then any of the towers they offer.

So look up places nearby that will build a computer from scratch, or have a go at it yourself. www.newegg.com is where I got all of my parts.

oddly enough, the computer i have now would have cost me more than all the parts from newegg

[tyckspoon]

Sorry, I wasn't quite clear. I currently have a laptop. However, it is desktops that I and my company would be getting. They currenly use Dell workstations, and it was "normal" Dell workstations (Precision) that we were planning on getting until we saw that Alienware gaming rigs did basically the same things for £800+ cheaper.

Sounds like basically what you need is to figure out if what your company does actually requires a workstation or workstation-level computer. Most jobs don't, because most people drastically underestimate the amount of computing power there actually is in a modern system (and if you do, chances are you can get there with a mainstream consumer system +installing your own workstation-grade video card and still come out ahead of a purchased 'workstation'.) You don't need dual Xeons to do stuff, or i7-X980 six-cores, or whatever they're pushing on the Alienwares these days.

Edit: Although if you rely on your vendors for tech support, it can be worth going for the official workstation/business-class stuff. Most companies have much more intensive and responsive support programs for their business customers, which they probably won't provide if you buy from their standard consumer divisions instead.

[Rawhide]

For a PC, you can buy the parts yourself and put it together for MUCH cheaper than buying from a manufacturer. Likewise, if you have someone reputable nearby, you can have them put it together, if you're entirely unfamiliar with how a computer goes together. My friend and I built the rig I'm posting from for ~$400 USD. From IBuyPower, a similar setup would be almost $800, and Alienware STARTS at $100 more than IBP. On top of that, my computer takes up a lot less space then any of the towers they offer.

So look up places nearby that will build a computer from scratch, or have a go at it yourself. www.newegg.com is where I got all of my parts.

No no no no no no! He is not buying a PC for himself, he is buying a whole heap of PCs for work. When a business buys a PC they need it to just work. They can't assemble it and do all of the future support for failures themselves, they need it to arrive, work straight away and should anything go wrong, be fixed almost immediately with no hassle (and, from experience, Dell's business support is pretty top notch).

Everyone needs to keep this in mind with their recommendations. He needs a brand name PC that is already tested, assembled and backed by a complete warranty for the whole system and all parts from the one manufacturer with full support.

Finally, his business already has a relationship with Dell.

[Irbis]

No no no no no no! He is not buying a PC for himself, he is buying a whole heap of PCs for work. When a business buys a PC they need it to just work. They can't assemble it and do all of the future support for failures themselves, they need it to arrive, work straight away and should anything go wrong, be fixed almost immediately with no hassle (and, from experience, Dell's business support is pretty top notch).

In that case, they totally should buy self-made beige boxes.

Based on nVidia processors and Inter graphic cards.

With Linux :smallamused:


Finally, his business already has a relationship with Dell.

Isn't Alienware just rebranded Dell these days?

[Rawhide]

Isn't Alienware just rebranded Dell these days?

Entirely my point.

[Icewalker]

What most people are saying: Alienware is good and all, and fine shiny gaming computers, but you can get better computers for less. The ASUS computer I just bought (less than a week ago, it's shiny and wonderful and I love it) was $1500, the same specs from Alienware, with a notably weaker graphics card which was the best Alienware had to offer was like $2500 I think.

This is what I'm using, specifically: http://www.amazon.com/G73JW-XA1-Republic-Gamers-17-3-Inch-Gaming/dp/B0044BCZ0E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1295252182&sr=8-1

[Ichneumon]

<Obligatory mention of Apple computers>

What? Somebody already mentioned Linux!:smallamused:

[Irbis]

<Obligatory mention of Apple computers>

<Apple computers>

<computers>

Why, dear sir, they can be called many names, but computers, they're NOT :P

[Snow Leopard]

No no no no no no! He is not buying a PC for himself, he is buying a whole heap of PCs for work. When a business buys a PC they need it to just work. They can't assemble it and do all of the future support for failures themselves, they need it to arrive, work straight away and should anything go wrong, be fixed almost immediately with no hassle (and, from experience, Dell's business support is pretty top notch).

Everyone needs to keep this in mind with their recommendations. He needs a brand name PC that is already tested, assembled and backed by a complete warranty for the whole system and all parts from the one manufacturer with full support.

Finally, his business already has a relationship with Dell.

I agree with Rawhide, I have been assembling my desktop since I was a teenager, because it is cheaper, funnier, and you can get exactly what you want.
For your job, it is a different story, you need the systems up and running ASAP and the critical issue is the technical support. A company wants everything be easy and smooth, no problems.

[Haruki-kun]

Why, dear sir, they can be called many names, but computers, they're NOT :P

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t288/Vaarsuvius89/Ohyou-1.jpg


<Obligatory mention of Apple computers>

What? Somebody already mentioned Linux!:smallamused:

Good computers, if you ask me, but you don't really get one of those unless your needs are very specific.