Ironically I enjoy using my Alienware for gaming and my Apples for productivity apps. Just wondering whether anyone else here is a fan of Alienware computers. Yeah, they look pretty awesome to me...
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Alienware versus Apple?
- Thread starter princealfie
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swingerofbirch
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I like the minimalist look so, no, Alienware doesn't appeal to me.
I went to there website for fun though to check them out. I can see how they are "fun," just not my style.
Surprised they have a "Superman Returns" edition laptop, it just seems...so...esoteric!
I went to there website for fun though to check them out. I can see how they are "fun," just not my style.
Surprised they have a "Superman Returns" edition laptop, it just seems...so...esoteric!
How can be compare a dell to an apple, customer service, delivery? etc etc, we sure can't compare the computers because at the end of the day, an apples and apple a dell is a dell. in terms of specs, and quality of build, whilst apple hasn't been the best recently, dell has always been really bad as far as I'm concerned.
I've never understood how Alienware can sell their computers for such high prices. Like zioxide said, you can build your own for half the price(or even cheaper). Some say they use high-quality parts and that's why they cost so much. But what does high-quality really mean in practice?
Are they faster? In that case, why would I pay twice as much and get something like 10% more speed? Doesn't really seem wise to me
Are they more reliable? If some part of my self-built PC breaks down and I had totally forgotten about the warranty, I could just buy a new part -- or a totally new computer -- and I'd still be paying less than for an Alienware.
The ONLY thing that makes Alienware stand out is their cases, which are fugly IMO. Personally, I don't think a cool looking case shouldn't cost half the price of a computer, but that's just me I guess.
Are they faster? In that case, why would I pay twice as much and get something like 10% more speed? Doesn't really seem wise to me
Are they more reliable? If some part of my self-built PC breaks down and I had totally forgotten about the warranty, I could just buy a new part -- or a totally new computer -- and I'd still be paying less than for an Alienware.
The ONLY thing that makes Alienware stand out is their cases, which are fugly IMO. Personally, I don't think a cool looking case shouldn't cost half the price of a computer, but that's just me I guess.
Show us how to do it for less, please. Price the parts out for us, and lets see you do it for 50% or less.
Apple and Alienware don't compete. Completely different market. Alienware sells nice hardware (not aesthetically, but internal components and such), and it's priced as such. However, they build systems with the gamer in mind. On the other hand, Apple never has the gamer in mind. People always ask about why Apple doesn't include a newer video card that was just released, and the answer is because they don't need to. Gamers aren't their target market. If a gamer wants to buy a Mac, then maybe it's the wrong machine for them.
You can go on ahead, but it's not like the system isn't aiming to be great for video and photo editing, 3D modelling, etc.
Indeed for the portables, Alienware pawns Apple very much especially with the SLi-enabled Nvidias on their Area-51 laptops compared to the MBP. However, the MBP isn't a sloucher either although you would be hard pressed to try to run Oblivion up with the full specs.
Alienware sells some gaming machines that are attractive from a specifications standpoint (I think their physical design is over the top). The laptops in particular are a nice "portable" (as opposed to truly mobile) gaming solution.
Overall though, unless I was looking at getting a gaming laptop, I'd go with a homebuilt PC for gaming - more fun because I get to order and assemble all the bits myself.
A Mac Pro would still be my first choice though, since it does everything well in one pretty box.
Overall though, unless I was looking at getting a gaming laptop, I'd go with a homebuilt PC for gaming - more fun because I get to order and assemble all the bits myself.
A Mac Pro would still be my first choice though, since it does everything well in one pretty box.
I did consider it when I was looking to buy the gaming machines. But in the end, my corporate Dell discount swung it. Currently a very happy owner of two 710H2C's (liquid-cooled, factory overclocked quad-core, Physx, 8800GTX's in SLI), an XPS 710 and a slightly less ecstatic owner of a XPS 700 until recently - when Dell firmed up some intriguing offers for 700 and 710 owners and made me happy again.
Thing that really put me off the Alienwares is the cases. The XPS's have a purposeful look. I never thought I'd find a use that I'd personally put the word 'janky' to - but that's the Alienware look to me. Janky.
Thing that really put me off the Alienwares is the cases. The XPS's have a purposeful look. I never thought I'd find a use that I'd personally put the word 'janky' to - but that's the Alienware look to me. Janky.
Out of curiosity, what do you do with 3 very high-end gaming towers?
There's nothing wrong with the XPS machines (on paper, you can speak from experiences I haven't had), but the Dell sells them at a loss IIRC, so that must be a strong factor for people shopping for a high-end gaming machine.
There's nothing wrong with the XPS machines (on paper, you can speak from experiences I haven't had), but the Dell sells them at a loss IIRC, so that must be a strong factor for people shopping for a high-end gaming machine.
General computing + gaming. I didn't actually start off this way, it just ended up like this after buying some machines out of sequence and Dell being generous with upgrades. I use one of the H2C's as my main non-work noodling machine + games. That covers browsing, fun programs + being the 'stereo' in the home office. The other runs video and audio editing as well as acting as a second gaming machine. The octocore Precision running Vista is used for semi-work-related noodling, visualisation, etc with the slightly older Windows XP quadcore Precision kept for stuff which doesn't run under Vista yet (alas, some pretty important stuff).
I like having several separate machines as opposed to a 2+ monitor setup. Since I have files on a server and networked clipboards it means I can move between machines as opposed to screens, which means I'm rarely kept waiting for things to happen.
The extra great thing is that it's looking quite likely that I won't have to spend a penny to have the 700 and 710 exchanged with the latest and greatest XPS later this year so I'll probably migrate to those and sell the two H2C's - which removes the need to upgrade the machines to Vista.
I doubt Dell sells them at a loss. Add up the parts (minus the case) and you can certainly build an equivalent machine for less - provided of course, you don't take into account the time and effort involved in the overclocking process. The reason I feel justified in buying the 710 H2C rather than DIYing is the 3-year onsite support, the factory overclock from a 2.66 Quadcore to 3.2, the case (a minor point but they look badass), and that whatever criticisms can be levelled at the 710 and the 700 especially, all three 7xx variants have been absolutely rock solid. Most tweaked self-builds are not stable and I really don't have the time to devote to building machines properly (with extensive testing, etc) at the moment. Stability wise, I've had one BSOD on one of the H2C's so far and that was when installing a scanner. On the other hand I believe I had a 'power switch of death' a week after unpacking the first Mac Pro, running with a pretty barebone software set. For tweaked gaming machines, these are seriously reliable.
My guess is that they can't be profitable when you factor in the components, case design+manufacturing, OC'ing and tweaking, AND the warranties & replacements...But flagship products aren't often big moneymakers.
A homebuilt machine with equivalent specs would certainly cost many hours to assemble and tweak, but that's part of the fun for most people who do it. Not that I wouldn't be happy with an XPS tower.
A homebuilt machine with equivalent specs would certainly cost many hours to assemble and tweak, but that's part of the fun for most people who do it. Not that I wouldn't be happy with an XPS tower.
They do up to a point. If you are speaking to memory, hard-drives, dvd/cdrom drives, etc., then you are correct. However, Apple has superior fabrication with all of the components they engineer in-house. The rest of the PC industry is happy to use common, stamped, sheetmetal parts and cheaply made plastic components. Apple also has better crafted micro-switches, wire bundles, etc. Many years in aerospace manufacturing have given me a keen eye for superior engineering and quality.
Yeah you can buy the same CPU's/Memory/Gfx cards/Sound cards/HDD's the whole shebang from any top retailer and build your own tower. If you know how to.
However I do like Alienware's latest cases, but their PC's inside can just be as tidy as Apple's.
I've always felt Alienware is the equivalent of Apple for the PC/Windows side.
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3165&review=Alienware+Area+51+m5550
Don't get me wrong the Alienware machines sure do look lovely, and if someone was to give me one I would take it with no doubt. But sadly it has Windows and I would never buy one.
However I'd take a Macbook Pro over an Alienware because I love OS X so much.
However I do like Alienware's latest cases, but their PC's inside can just be as tidy as Apple's.
I've always felt Alienware is the equivalent of Apple for the PC/Windows side.
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3165&review=Alienware+Area+51+m5550
Don't get me wrong the Alienware machines sure do look lovely, and if someone was to give me one I would take it with no doubt. But sadly it has Windows and I would never buy one.
However I'd take a Macbook Pro over an Alienware because I love OS X so much.
I'm sorry, but the thrown together engineering of an Alienware is no where near as well engineered as any recent Apple tower.
You are also forgetting the Mac Pro's quiet operation vs. wind tunnel.
Granted, it takes much more cooling to run those heavy SLI cards, but overall
Apple's engineering puts these P/C's to shame.
You also have to consider the OS.
If you plan to stay with Windows XP, that's great, but if you buy a machine
running Vista, good luck finding all the drivers you need and plan on long wait for Vista updates.
You are also forgetting the Mac Pro's quiet operation vs. wind tunnel.
Granted, it takes much more cooling to run those heavy SLI cards, but overall
Apple's engineering puts these P/C's to shame.
You also have to consider the OS.
If you plan to stay with Windows XP, that's great, but if you buy a machine
running Vista, good luck finding all the drivers you need and plan on long wait for Vista updates.
@FFTT: Have you used any of the heavy-duty gaming machines recently? The H2C is nearly as quiet as the Pro while not in gaming use - while packing more power. And more importantly, it's better cooled while running normally. Apple doesn't have any engineering superiority [anymore] as I can attest with my Pros which failed in a situation where the Precisions kept on trucking. They just make it look nicer (and run hotter).
Dunno - the Alienware desktop still looks janky to me although the laptop does a better job of the alienness without going totally OTT.
One piece of major jankness I own is the XPS M1710 - in fact, two. Honestly I wince inside every time I look at them (fortunately I did not get them in the max-bling red). It's exacerbated by the case being simply the Inspiron 9400 with extra bits stuck on, unlike the Dimension vs XPS desktops which look very different. Thing is, it was difficult to find as functional and as powerful a Core 2 Duo machine in the same weight range with the support I wanted. I really wish HP would come out with something similar in the nx casing. I'd feel less self-conscious about using it outside.
Dunno - the Alienware desktop still looks janky to me although the laptop does a better job of the alienness without going totally OTT.
One piece of major jankness I own is the XPS M1710 - in fact, two. Honestly I wince inside every time I look at them (fortunately I did not get them in the max-bling red). It's exacerbated by the case being simply the Inspiron 9400 with extra bits stuck on, unlike the Dimension vs XPS desktops which look very different. Thing is, it was difficult to find as functional and as powerful a Core 2 Duo machine in the same weight range with the support I wanted. I really wish HP would come out with something similar in the nx casing. I'd feel less self-conscious about using it outside.
Yeah you can buy the same CPU's/Memory/Gfx cards/Sound cards/HDD's the whole shebang from any top retailer and build your own tower. If you know how to.
However I do like Alienware's latest cases, but their PC's inside can just be as tidy as Apple's.
I've always felt Alienware is the equivalent of Apple for the PC/Windows side.
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3165&review=Alienware+Area+51+m5550
Don't get me wrong the Alienware machines sure do look lovely, and if someone was to give me one I would take it with no doubt. But sadly it has Windows and I would never buy one.
However I'd take a Macbook Pro over an Alienware because I love OS X so much.
Those are some of the ugliest monstrosities I have ever seen. Makes me long for the beige box.