ah, yet another glory of computer shopping...
looks like i need a new pc after 5 years with my current shiet box.

i've been using dell for the longest time,
and as much as everyone loves dell,
i think i might try something different.

i've heard many good thing about alienware...
but i dunno, it kinda sounds gimmicky.

what do you guys think.
should i try alienware or should i just stick to good 'ol dell?

 

Are u a gamer? If not, stick to Dell. They make solid PCs. I had one b4 my Alienware, and had no complaints. Then I got addicted to shooters...

If ur into 3D games, it is def worth the xtra $$ for A-ware drivers, config and tech support. Or, better yet, build your own.

 

On a reliability scale I'd rate good (read: not cheap) business-class Dells (different internals than consumer PCs) as a 9+/10 with superb customer service if you order a decent service plan. I worked with dozens and dozens of Dells and they really are #1 for a good reason. Just stay away from the cheap or consumer machines.

Alienware's I'd rate about a 4-/10. They are not tested as well as Dells and have some seriously stupid design choices occasionally (e.g. a CPU fan that blows air upwards where the PC card slot is -- the laptops overheat and shutdown with a wireless card installed... for $3,000 that's horrible). Alienware's that my friends have seem to always have stuff breaking under warranty. It's a major PITA.

I know the feeling of wanting to switch away from Dell but IMO there's nothing comparable. One decent budget computer maker is Monarch Computers. They're more beige box than Dell but you can customize the hell out of those things.


And for my $0.03: I'd rather pay for a stable, fast machine than a blue LED light or a shiny purple paint job.

 

I'm surprised to hear problems with Alienware, but then again, none of my friends have one. Does anyone have any experience with Falcon Northwest? Not that I have the dough to splurge on their systems...

http://www.falcon-nw.com/

 

^ They're top notch. I'd pick them over Alienware. The frag boxes are surprisingly stable little critters.

Now if you really want to spend dough try a Liebermann. You can easily spend $25,000 on a PC if you get one of their 6-LCD displays and a 10gb RAM disk (essentially instant access to the entire drive's contents at all time).

 

hellll no.. dun throw ur money away.. just build one..

 

I've had one from www.gamepc.com for the past four years...no problems, and a good machine. You can pretty much customize it any way you want.

My brother-in-law (big gamer) told me about them, as he had bought a ne pc every year from them. He bought a Voodoo last year, just to try something new, and he said it sucks. Lots of problems, so he's going back to gamepc this year.

 

I have a 3.5 year old Alienware desktop, and a 0.5 year old Dell laptop.

Zero issues with each so far, except for a harddrive failure on the Alienware. (No big deal, had hardware mirroring, and drive was replaced under warranty - actually, BOTH drives were replaced since the 40gb I had was no longer made, so Alienware shipped me two new 60gb drives so they'd match.) The construction of the Alienware was top-notch - the best cable routing job I've ever seen. Super fast when I got it. (Although it's behind the times now, of course.)

The Dell laptop I have is 17", 1.8GHz Pentium M, Radeon 9700. Plays Half-Life 2 wonderfully, very light, essentially silent, low power consumption. One of my best computer purchases.

Choosing the Dell over the Alienware for a laptop was an easy choice.

I don't know who has the advantage in desktops, however - I haven't specifically looked at their respective offerings. The Dell XPS machines look like they should be given serious consideration, however. I have the sense that Dell truly "gets" the enthusiast scene.

 

I'd get a Dell unless you play a lot of games. Dells are awesome for most purposes. About 90% of the systems we use at work are Dells and they've been great.

 

thats what i would recommend too..

1/3 of the price. same comp. hand picked parts.