Poll: Should I buy an Alienware computer?

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Davey Woo

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Jan 9, 2009
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I got my computer from PC World off the shelf, it's pretty good just needs a better graphics card. Cost less than £500 which I believe is way less than you'd spend at Alienware.
 

The Lost Big Boss

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Sep 3, 2008
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No, I have an Alienware computer and I keep hitting myself every time I see it. It is insanely overpriced (Try 500-700$) The main problem I have is they tell you what you are getting, like 2 gigs of ram, a 8800GTX, but they dont tell you the brand. They say "Super fast RAM", what the hell does that mean? They give the chip set of the MB but never the model, so I got stuck with a bloody Foxconn MB and a mediocre 8800GTX (Forget brand name, got a new GTX 285.) The ram is very cheep with almost no OC potential. Insane rip off, go make it yourself. You will save hundreds and get the satisfaction of making your own computer.
 

Actual

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Jun 24, 2008
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Hmmm, Alienware's are sexy beasts t'is true. My brother recently bought one, he loves it and rightly so.

If you're after teh cool factor then sure go for it.

If you want something great for it's price but you're not comfortable risking putting it together yourself, PC Specialist will use the parts you order, put it together and test it. Problem is I'm not sure they deliver outside the UK. :(

I'm sure there's an American alternative.
 

Danzaivar

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Davey Woo said:
I got my computer from PC World off the shelf, it's pretty good just needs a better graphics card. Cost less than £500 which I believe is way less than you'd spend at Alienware.
Yeah PC worlds great. My girlfriends 2 year old computer only cost her £500, it had the same specs as my sisters PC I built 3 years ago for £200.

£15 for a power cable when they're £2 on ebuyer. If you can stay profitable charging those prices and keep a fan base you're a great company!
 

AlphaOmega

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Oct 10, 2008
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They are good, but very very very overpriced.

Building your own rig is tons of fun (I build my current comp; never did it before and it took me like 3 hours and I enjoyed it. did loads more for other people by now)
 

Merteg

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AlphaOmega said:
They are good, but very very very overpriced.

Building your own rig is tons of fun (I build my current comp; never did it before and it took me like 3 hours and I enjoyed it. did loads more for other people by now)
It was easy? What sort of things do you have to do?
 

Johnnyallstar

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Feb 22, 2009
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Only consider Alienware if you want mega style points.

If you want the most kickass desktop, build it yourself. You will receive much more bang for your buck, and also have the cocky pride of being able to say you did something for yourself. Buy parts individually, just make sure they're compatible, and you can really rock the socks off of an Alienware for a quarter the price.

If you want a laptop, I would shop around, I found my little honey of an HP for $1150, and it's a 17.3" powered by a Core2 quad 2.0ghz, Radeon 3650 1gb dedicated GPU, 4gb RAM, with all the other trimmings. It's not as top notch as higher up Alienwares, but to get an equivalent I would have had to pay at least $3000. After a RAM and HDD upgrade, this thing literally screams awesomeness.

I wouldn't suggest building your own laptop until you get a lot of experience under your belt. And I mean a lot.
 

Johnnyallstar

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dkuch said:
No, I have an Alienware computer and I keep hitting myself every time I see it. It is insanely overpriced (Try 500-700$) The main problem I have is they tell you what you are getting, like 2 gigs of ram, a 8800GTX, but they dont tell you the brand. They say "Super fast RAM", what the hell does that mean? They give the chip set of the MB but never the model, so I got stuck with a bloody Foxconn MB and a mediocre 8800GTX (Forget brand name, got a new GTX 285.) The ram is very cheep with almost no OC potential. Insane rip off, go make it yourself. You will save hundreds and get the satisfaction of making your own computer.
It is probably very fast RAM, with how fast it pushes info in and out. Each piece of RAM has a timing and clock speed built in. Some RAM is faster than others.
 

AlphaOmega

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Merteg said:
It was easy? What sort of things do you have to do?
Read the motherboard manual for the soundcard cables if you have one and to get a idea of its layout.
Insert Power Supply
Use the print to put placers in your comp itself.
Gently mount prosessor on Motherboard
Put cooling paste on processor, mount cooling.
put motherboard in comp, screw it together.
Place vidcard/soundcard/RAM whatever. Vidcard in the best slot (allways top basically).
Place harddisks and drives.
Connect all wires according to manual.
Check wires are fitted firmly.
Screw case closed.
Boot her up, adjust some motherboard settings (basic settings are easy) install windows + drivers + what-ever
Feel proud, done
 

The Lost Big Boss

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Sep 3, 2008
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Johnnyallstar said:
dkuch said:
No, I have an Alienware computer and I keep hitting myself every time I see it. It is insanely overpriced (Try 500-700$) The main problem I have is they tell you what you are getting, like 2 gigs of ram, a 8800GTX, but they dont tell you the brand. They say "Super fast RAM", what the hell does that mean? They give the chip set of the MB but never the model, so I got stuck with a bloody Foxconn MB and a mediocre 8800GTX (Forget brand name, got a new GTX 285.) The ram is very cheep with almost no OC potential. Insane rip off, go make it yourself. You will save hundreds and get the satisfaction of making your own computer.
It is probably very fast RAM, with how fast it pushes info in and out. Each piece of RAM has a timing and clock speed built in. Some RAM is faster than others.
Even if it is (Which it isn't, the ram I got was only 800 mhz) they never tell you the info (Or at least when I got mine 3 years ago they didn't. It would just be nice to get all the info and not just the thing they want you to see.
 

Johnnyallstar

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Feb 22, 2009
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dkuch said:
Johnnyallstar said:
dkuch said:
No, I have an Alienware computer and I keep hitting myself every time I see it. It is insanely overpriced (Try 500-700$) The main problem I have is they tell you what you are getting, like 2 gigs of ram, a 8800GTX, but they dont tell you the brand. They say "Super fast RAM", what the hell does that mean? They give the chip set of the MB but never the model, so I got stuck with a bloody Foxconn MB and a mediocre 8800GTX (Forget brand name, got a new GTX 285.) The ram is very cheep with almost no OC potential. Insane rip off, go make it yourself. You will save hundreds and get the satisfaction of making your own computer.
It is probably very fast RAM, with how fast it pushes info in and out. Each piece of RAM has a timing and clock speed built in. Some RAM is faster than others.
Even if it is (Which it isn't, the ram I got was only 800 mhz) they never tell you the info (Or at least when I got mine 3 years ago they didn't. It would just be nice to get all the info and not just the thing they want you to see.
Ah, well it's not that hard to upgrade laptop memory, because the most important thing, after DDRtype and PINtotal is voltage so you don't fry your system, and I think all laptop RAM is 1.8v standard, though I may be wrong, but I have yet to see any that aren't. You should be able to see the settings in your BIOS.
 

Bigeyez

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Apr 26, 2009
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Like everyone said theres much cheaper alternatives to Alienwares. It's like an Apple product, you pay more for the brand name. That said if you don't mind losing the money and you actually care about the looks and having a brand name thats going to make people say "wow" go ahead and buy it...again just like apple products lol.
 

Phenakist

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Feb 25, 2009
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As many people have said before, no, not unless you have serious cash burning a hole in your wallet, cheaper alternatives everywhere.

Prebuilt computers overall are usually only a good idea if either:
a)Money isn't an option
b)Lack confidence in computer building or just can't
c)You want the best of the best of the best