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- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -17/+75I hope they do, maybe Alienware will be become slightly affordable and people won't be going, "Hey! I want an Alienware! They're the best out there!" anymore. Alienware isn't worth very much, same parts, same OS, higher price....
- rm999, on 10/12/2007, -11/+29Yeah, but Dell isn't exactly known for their quality:price ratio. Everyone I know who bought a Dell for college either had to buy a new one two years later or spent more than 2000 dollars on it.
I build my own computers, and my computers last at least 5 years each and cost less than most stuff I could buy from Dell (~500 dollars).
Alienware, although overpriced, makes some good quality stuff and innovative hardware features. I wouldn't want to see that spoiled by Dell. - Lostcosmos, on 10/12/2007, -0/+18They could call it Delli-ware.
- flickerbrain, on 10/12/2007, -4/+21While Dell could probably afford to shave off some of the price if they started selling AW PCs, I don't think that's the reason they would buy AW, if at all. I think a main factor behind any possible Dell purchase of AW would be for the mind-share. Everyone knows dell for the built to order PCs they sell. No one thinks of Dell when it comes to gaming machines. Alienware has the "Hip, With It" style that Dell needs. They're sorta the sexy Macs of the gaming machine market.
However, even after all I just said, the real hardcore gamers tend to build their own systems by hand, completely bypassing big names like Dell. They see Alienware as being better in the gaming market, which would be the one spot Dell doesn't excel in.
That is all hypothetical of course, since neither has confirmed anything to prove this true. - Ignignokt01, on 10/12/2007, -4/+16Yeah, I never understood the hype about alienware, other than their cool designs. When you break it down, theyre pretty much just ripping people off. Dell does the same thing though with most of their products, so I'm wouldn't be suprised if they merged or if Dell bought Alienware.
It's still way cheaper and better to just build your own out of individual hardware. Plus you can get any cool case you want; theres a much wider variety. Plus its really not that hard at all. These hardware manufacturers got smart and made putting computers together so much easier, because it obviously would improve sales if more people put together their own PC's. - krewemaynard, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Dell gets their prices low by cutting corners. They mask it well, but there's always something left out to shave a few dollars here or there. Most of the time it's not a big deal, but to gamers (Alienware's market) it is a big deal.
Besides, look at the prices for some of Dell's gaming rigs. With the right config, you can get a $2000+ rig easily. I don't think the prices will drop too much if they buy AW (at least not on all the models), and if they do, pay really close attention to the specs when you buy...something will be missing.
Not knocking Dell here, just pointing this out. Not everyone needs or wants high-dollar gaming systems. But, those that do should be ready to pay for it. - Rice, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10Ounch, -28 diggs for saying their computers are ugly... Do I smell fanboys?
- chrono13, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10"News article at The Inquirer..."
Yeah, you lost me there. Damn, and I was hoping it was from a credible source too. The Inquirer, while often a fantastic read, is the National Enquirer of technology.
"Micheal Dell an ALIEN? Picture proof!" - niran, on 10/12/2007, -4/+11I bought a Dell Inspiron 700m because it was the most affordable mobile laptop on the market. I run Linux on it and all the hardware is supported (except the card reader, and those are generally troublesome). None of the hardware in my laptop is proprietary, so I'm pretty sure you're just making that up to sound cool. Do you have any hard examples of this?
- ascheinberg, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Um.. which "proprietary crap" are you talking about? I know the Precision line has some interesting stuff in it power-supply wise, but the VAST majority of Dell stuff is completely normal, off the shelf hardware: typical RAM, PCI cards, AGP video... that is precisely WHY so many corporate customers use it.
What proprietary stuff are you talking about? - geminitojanus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6"What proprietary stuff are you talking about?"
He's very likely talking about the power supplies (and yes, most Dells use funky non-standard power supplies these days) and strange case layouts. As for their boards being "non-standard", there really isn't a standard in the boards, and Dell's boards are pretty close to the Intel general engineering sample boards. - serra, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9I'm totally with the people that say build your own computer. That's what I do, it saves money and you can get EXACTLY what you want. Might have to be a little bit of a geek, but I think that we're all geeks here. :)
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http://fuh-q.com - DisposableRob, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8I wouldn't call it ripping people off. Alienware is the Nike of computers. Great product, but you pay a lot more for the name and there are better and cheaper alternatives out there.
- tciny, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9I spent 2500+ on my DELL Notebook and when I got it the motherboard was defect (2 weeks for repair), then the hd crashed (1 week), after that the USB Ports seized to work (I just decided to ignore it and get a PC-Card istead because I really needed the little piece of crap then). I dont use it anymore tho since every time I re-install Windows it takes about 5-10 boots (without changing ANYTHING) before some important system file is corrupted (changes which one that is).
Now I could be really mad, but then again DELL was the reason I got a PowerMac and for that I am thankful because that thing just is a pleasure to work with... dont do anything and the thing just works... it always does :) - DoubtfulSalmon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4"The Inquirer, while often a fantastic read, is the National Enquirer of technology."
From Men in Black: "The best investigative journalism on the planet"!
Of course, Men in Black isn't real life, and you're absolutly right about The Inquirer...
Oh, and I read the original Rahul article, and it's really very very clear that Rahul wants to be Cringley when he grows up.
Please, let me have some of whatever drugs Rahul is on, they seem to be very very good (for distancing one-self from reality!!!) - rcomegys, on 10/12/2007, -9/+13God, I fear Dvorak has started a trend....
- desibabes, on 10/12/2007, -8/+12There is no innovation in assembling computers. It's a manufacturing process using commodity parts. The differentiator is to assemble them more efficiently and ship them out cheaper.
- Brak710101, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I hope they don't, Alienware's quality and support have never been surpassed IMO. If they are taken up, VooDoo and Falcon Northwest will be the only people I buy laptops and some desktops from. Dell Sucks!!!
- AngryPenguin47, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Know thy box!
And ye shall have no problems.
Tech reps are worthless EVERYWHERE, whether it is dell, gateway, hp, dfi, kingston or intel. WORTHLESS. Stick to the forums.
or maybe you are better off chosing hardware based on companies that don't outsource their ***** call centers to INDIA. - SAOSiN, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I just hope the price goes down on the Alienware systems, maybe then someone will buy a machine.
- KevinJ, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Anyone who cares enough about gaming to buy an Alienware should honestly either
a)Know how to build their own rig already
or
b) Ought to learn how to build their own rig
Gaming and computer knowledge go hand in hand. I became a PC fixing/building beast once I began upgrading my own PCs for gaming purposes. - Legato, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4so this would just be using the alienware name to lure people over onto xps boxes?... kinda Atari style?
- gaberbruno, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Alienware certainly does have the cool factor that makes their machines very desireable, here in the UK it's certainly a brandname that I considered when purchasing my last desktop. They made a big thing of the follow on support that they would provide - something I would not get if I'd attempted my own custom build. In the end they did not have the best price to power ratio from what I found, I ended up buying from a company called Cube24/7 - other than an initial problem with a faulty stick of RAM the machine has been pretty rock solid since then and I've been very pleased.
The XPS line is doubtless attractive in terms of the deals they have managed to strike that have been ahead of the curve, that quad SLI rig shown at CES looked amazing however I must admit that if I had that sort of money to spend (I wish!!) then waiting just a little while for HDCP chipsets for HD and BluRay on the graphics cards and DirectX 10 compatability would be very sensible. Alienware would be an exceptional buy for Dell in the long term. - kb9vgr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3i totaly agree self built pc are the best way to go
you dont have a tech compant behind it to take more money when it breaks but when you know enough. the tech support dosent matter antway because youd never call them anyway if you had bought prebuilt - adml_shake, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Didn't alienware just get into the server market?
Anywho, this is good news I guess since it means that they will hopefully be dropping their prices. they are nice PC's but way over priced in my opinion. - kevin.gc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I like the older dells that were really quiet.
- muikano, on 10/12/2007, -5/+7dude, the point of capitalism is to use greed and avarice for productive means. Using that drive and ambition and vice to create goods that are wanted, as well as useful.
It's not just to make money. Like all things, there's good capitalism, and there's bad capitalism. Your white blood cells fight off disease but they also give people allergies.
Come now.
But if this is true, it's a bad merger. There's no need to buy the Alienware name or their designs. A spun off division with a handful of mostly young talent would do just as good as any merger. Those Dell LCDs and keyboards aren't badly designed at all. - Protoss, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Anyone look at Alienware recently? They have totally trashed their products, they are living off the whole, "It's the best out there" model, and not actually putting the best into it. The base systems come with 256MB of RAM, I mean c'mon, my Mythbox has more RAM...
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Funny that my roommate bought an alienware before he came to school. The cost of his hovers around $1,200 or so, but the one I built for around $600-700 trounces his. I wont knock the quality, though. It really is a pretty spiffy machine, and is very silent (as opposed to mine).
One way that Dell cuts corners with its PC's is that they are paid by other companies to bloat down the computer with software such as MusicMatch, AOL, Norton Antivirus, and so on and so forth. Alienware's core customers would hardly stand for this to ever happen, so this is why Alienware's PC's cost so much. - kibmcz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3When you build your own pc you know what extactly is in it. But if you get a Dell, gateway, etc you don't know what parts you are getting. Even worse Dell and all the others that sell prefab pcs have been known to change parts mid production run... thus making the provided documention inaccurate.
I prefer my custom built system anyday over a Dell. - gekkokid, on 10/12/2007, -5/+7all alienware is a nice case and lots of fanboys ooogling it, this is what how economy has become, repackaged poop
- argash, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The one good thing that dell would get out of it is AW's notebook division. AW makes MUCH better gamming notebooks. And since portability is becomming more and more important this would be a very good move for them.
- DesertWolf, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Maybe the Support Team from Dell, and the Support Team from Alienware will combine to make a not-so-incredibly-retarded-wait-on-hold-for-two-hours-just-to-be-asked-if-your-monitor-is-turned-on Support Team.
+Digg for the hope. - thatsiebguy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Proving once again, that if you can't do it good enough yourself, buy out someone who can.. or sue them out of existance... :P
- SilentBobSC, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Agreed, I have an 8200 that I bought refurbished and it's been the best lil' Lappy I've owned... and I've had a Satellite, Thinkpad, and Presario. This lil guy has been bulletproof.
Now, just a disclaimer - I don't buy their desktops, but that's because I build my own systems, but I do use the 2001FPWs and they are fantastic monitors (even with that minor image persistance glitch). Alltogether, I still recommend Dell first for all my customers, followed by Compaq/HP second and Sony at the very bottom of the list (under eMachines). - chriszma666, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Doesn't really matter either way to me. I don't fancy either brand. Dell is cheap crap and alienware is overpriced.
- rudolphdude, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Yes build your own box BUT... just remember that YOU are your own tech service when something major happens. Be prepared to call seven different manufacturers to get to a problem and each tech rep giving you a COMPLETELY different take on the problem
- bloggerchange, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2If Dell buys AlienWare companies like Falcon & Voodoo are doomed. Plus, Im sure the prices of Alien-Dells will actually be affortable for the working class like myself. Nice Story!
- manfesto, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Do you really believe that? I mean, I do agree that many would prefer a laptop to a desktop, but as somebody who sells laptops, I can tell you that size is a factor - and most people prefer portability to raw power in laptops. Not everybody wants to watch movies on 17" widescreen laptops (much less game on them) - most people just want a comfortable five or six pound machine that has wifi and decent battery life.
As far as desktops being dead - I find that to be quite the hyperbole. Desktops are still cheaper than laptops (specwise), and price is another big factor when people are considering buying new computers. Besides, there will always be enthusiasts that prefer system building to shelling cash out to Dell or Alienware. - lightningrod220, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Are XPS boxes any good? Do they have that "quality" that people say that Alienware has? I'm mildly interested in getting one, and I've never tried either brand.
- berning, on 02/01/2009, -0/+2I just posted a follow up story with Alienware's response and a little more credible commentary than that provided by The Inq.
http://digg.com/hardware/The_Alienware,_Dell,_and_Voodoo_PC_Love_Triangle - Legato, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2my church uses one for its projectors and from what i have seen (every fourth week that i run them) its rock solid... but than again, that's just running animated slides on screen two while cuing up screen 1... so its not the most labor intensive of things.
- vypergts, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2That's fine and good for desktop systems but you can't really build your own notebook and that is what a lot of people buy from both of these companies. I for one, would rather have an Alienware notebook than a Dell XPS one but that may be just me...
- snapcase, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Dell has never made great PCs. Their only plus is they are relatively cheap. The thing to remember is, you get what you pay for. The dell may cost less than some others, but it will also need replacing sooner.
- linnerd40, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3If Dell bought Alienware, would Alienware have to start offering only Intel processors? That would be devastating. AMD kicks Intel's ass in gaming and most other uses. I hope this deal never goes through. Besides, at Alienware you get top-of-the-line quality and Dell, well, they could use some help making better computers.
- nrbelex, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Alienware laptops are Clevo computers ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clevo ) with a nice, overpriced, glowing case. If you still like the Clevos, look at Sager and the other small, boutique Clevo companies which give you far better deals.
- R0cko, on 10/12/2007, -12/+13I hope they dont, last thing we need is dell buying alienware and slapping their proprietary sub-standard crap they refer to as parts into alienware boxes and charging a premium to the consumer....no thanx
- Majin_Raditz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2If it's true Dell should change there name to Alienware. It's alot better brandname.
- djfelix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I looked at buying an AlienWare a few months ago. I checked the forums ... and people that own AlienWare laptops are not that happy. Their failure rates are astronomical ... support is abyssmal ... and the bang-for-buck is minimal ...
Sounds a lot like Dell ... Maybe they are a perfect match ... - giggins, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I don't like this idea. I can see Dell killing Alienware.
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