Alienware ARE NOT overpriced

skorn

I am getting sick of seeing posts here saying that Alienware are overpriced and not worth it.

First thing, they are high performance systems, so if you just want a machine to type letters on and play tetris then yes dont buy an Alienware.

I run a graphics company and we bought 2 machines. Same spec (2Gb Ram, same video card ...) only one was a Dell (3.4GHz Dual Pentium Xeon) and the other an Alienware (3.2GHz Dual Pentium Xeon).
Ran a test render in 3D StudioMax on both:
Alienware = 10 hours
Dell = over 14 hours

So is a Alienware worth the price paid? Absolutely!!!
I only wish we had bought 2 Alienware machines instead.

Personally I will only buy Alienware from now on as long as the quality remains excellent.

randomname

Well Dell i think bought them out so if your gonna buy Alienware you will be technically be buying from Dell.

koneko

Riiight. Most of the people here (myself included) who say Alienware are overpriced are people with high end systems, not the type of people who "type letters and play Tetris", but geeks.

You like em? Good for you, don't see why you're getting so upset about it.

conzy

Do you mind me asking how much that Alienware set you back??

And that doesnt show how good the Alienware is, it shows how bad the Dell is:p

Are they dual processer or Dual core?

You should get your systems custom made from now on if you are prepared to spend that much.

Oh, and i just configured a similar PC to mine on Alienware, except with a worse GFX card, worse ram, worse PSU, worse motherboard, and worse Cooling, it came to a savage €2344:eek:

My Pc cost me around €1100 at most;)

Alienware are shockingly overpriced

Khannie

koneko wrote:

Riiight. Most of the people here (myself included) who say Alienware are overpriced are people with high end systems, not the type of people who "type letters and play Tetris", but geeks.

You like em? Good for you, don't see why you're getting so upset about it.

x2

I have recommended alienware before. If you want a very high end machine, are not willing to build it, want the very best support and don't care too much about money then alienware are for you.

As someone who builds his own machine, alienware (like most other manufacturers) can't compete.

RuggieBear

Khannie wrote:

x2

As someone who builds his own machine, alienware (like most other manufacturers) can't compete.

QFT

Having said that you do get their reputably excellent customer support.

ShiverinEskimo

The argument that they are overpriced is because you simply can build the exact same spec for a much much lower price. Of course that does mean no customer support and it does mean actually building it yourself. (though building it yourself generally gives you a better chance at fixing anything that goes wrong since you built it.)

When I built my PC recently I priced the exact same spec on Alienware minus the monitors (I have 2 22" CRTs which you cant compare to anything ALienware can provide) and the difference was me better off by 1300 euro - what it cost me to build mine.

So from anyone's perspective who can DIY a PC, Alienware are shockingly overpriced.

KdjaCL

Link to your exact pc ? With the VAT on and i would bet anyone with a pc capable of playing tetris would knock at least 500 euor of what you paid.


kdjac

projectmayhem

Khannie wrote:

As someone who builds his own machine, alienware (like most other manufacturers) can't compete.

and this is where the argument comes in. you can build the same spec machine, matching component-for-component, as an alienware, and save money.

they're not grossly overpriced, but you're paying a lot for that nice case there.

astrofool

Also, if one is rendering much faster than the other, than there is something else different causing the problem. Different component, bad drivers, but most definitely a configuration issue. Might be worth getting someone to take a look before spending way more on an Alienware.

Dell and Alienware do not us any magic on their computers, and are based on the exact same components as any other PC in the world.

Also my own self built machine would piss all over the two machines mentioned (and be alot cheaper to boot)

Sparky

Khannie wrote:

x2

I have recommended alienware before. If you want a very high end machine, are not willing to build it, want the very best support and don't care too much about money then alienware are for you.

As someone who builds his own machine, alienware (like most other manufacturers) can't compete.

Exactly. Its beter to build a PC from your own personal spec. and it is cheaper.

jesus_thats_gre

They are overpriced, its as simple as that.. They do not use mystically high end components that are not available online to system builders.. My machine is pretty much top spec across the board and it would cost double with alienware..

SouperComputer

I recently got a contract from a small animation studio looking to replace their gear. Based on 5 units the amount of money they saved easily covered them for support, and them some.

Horses for courses as they say.

Depending on the software you use, a render farm can be a good plan too.

10 of these puppies and you have some serious horsepower for little money

network render 3dsmax checklist


Thats a pretty big difference between the Dell and Alienware though. As others have said, there is no black magic, so id love to know exactly what the difference in the two systems. RAM speed\latency perhaps? Although I dont think that would explain the difference in performance.

What motherboard is in each of them?

astrofool

Could hyperthreading be enabled/disabled in one of them? That can cause pretty big shifts either way depending on the app (server's hate HT). Could also be the HD being used?

Laguna

There's nothing wrong with Alienware systems, they're good performers, but you're not going to convince anyone that they're not overpriced. If you were to assemble one of their machines yourself via parts from Komplett, you'd see the extra markup you pay for having a little alien on your case. I only ever build my own machines anyway, that way I save money and have it exactly the way I want it.

TerrorFirmer

Hello,

In response to your first post, I would like to just say...

You know absolutely nothing about computers. Except the names of companies that build them.

RE*AC*TOR

You do realise that Alienware only uses parts that you can buy elsewhere - so if you combine those parts yourself and it costs less - then Alienware are overpriced. They don't sprinkly magic pixie dust on it or anything.

po0k

koneko wrote:

Riiight. Most of the people here (myself included) who say Alienware are overpriced are people with high end systems, not the type of people who "type letters and play Tetris", but geeks.

You like em? Good for you, don't see why you're getting so upset about it.

It's normal for people to be a bit peeved when they realise just how badly they got shafted by the forces of marketing and pandering to the super-ego.

projectmayhem wrote:

they're not grossly overpriced, but you're paying a lot for that nice case there.

...which are normally just a stock Antec/Chieftec with new plastic bezels.

zilog_jones

skorn wrote:

First thing, they are high performance systems, so if you just want a machine to type letters on and play tetris then yes dont buy an Alienware.

I run a graphics company and we bought 2 machines. Same spec (2Gb Ram, same video card ...) only one was a Dell (3.4GHz Dual Pentium Xeon) and the other an Alienware (3.2GHz Dual Pentium Xeon)...

So you not only wasted your money buying Alienware systems, but you also wasted your money going for more expensive yet crappier Xeon processors and not Opterons, which perform better at nearly everything including 3ds Max (look here) - not to mention wasting energy thanks to the excessive power consumption of current Intel CPUs. Good work there.

Also, you're giving very little information about the two systems you're comparing - e.g. the type of RAM used, the chipsets, hard disks, etc. And since you won't tell us this and obviously don't know what a good processor is, how do you think we're going to trust your vague (and highly dubious) benchmarking?

And this is all besides the point that they are PCs with case designs that could only possibly appeal to eithter (a) someone under the age of 12, or (b) a Toyota Starlet Glanza owner.

stevenmu

I think if you had posted asking for advice on what machine to buy, detailing what it was to be used for, a lot of us would have recommended Alienware.

For home users who have the ability to build themselves and aren't too worried about support (or have a boards account ), then Alienware is overly expensive. For business, or home, users who want the very best hardware, can't build themselves, and need support and service then Alienware is a very good option.

SouperComputer

For business, or home, users who want the very best hardware, can't build themselves, and need support and service then Alienware is a very good option

That's a valid enough point that I think a few people miss when they are comparing computers.

However, I still contest that for the same money you could have a local company build better spec and still have enough change left over to afford excellent support.

Hobbes

skorn wrote:

I am getting sick of seeing posts here saying that Alienware are overpriced and not worth it.

First thing, they are high performance systems, so if you just want a machine to type letters on and play tetris then yes dont buy an Alienware.

Mentioned it before, will mention it again. My Dell was 2K cheaper then an alienware for the exact same spec.

your paying for a flashy case and a logo.

stevenmu

soupercomputer wrote:

However, I still contest that for the same money you could have a local company build better spec and still have enough change left over to afford excellent support.

You're probably right, and I'm sure a local company could do just as good a job as Alienware at the same or less money, but from a business perspective there's a certain value to buying a well known brand PC bundled with support over one from a smaller, less well known local company.

unklerosco

If they're such good pcs why do they need the "excellent customer support"... If ur gonna pay that much for a pc ur not gonna want to have to call their customer support cause u shouldnt have a reason too...

Where's the OP gone???

conzy

unklerosco wrote:

If they're such good pcs why do they need the "excellent customer support"... If ur gonna pay that much for a pc ur not gonna want to have to call their customer support cause u shouldnt have a reason too...

Where's the OP gone???

I agree,

And people say that their Support is worth the money???

Customer> "My Alienware PC wont turn on"

Tech support> " Put it in a box, We'll collect it tomorrow"

Wow, That €1500 tech support was really worth it:D

Look at this:

http://www.bit-tech.net/modding/2004/08/21/9ghz_rendiathon/1.html

A guy made a render farm from 5 Durons, It cost him £400:eek:

His 3ghz pentium 4 with 2gigs of ram rendered the test animation in 1 hour, the Duron farm rendered it in 15 minutes;)

SouperComputer

A guy made a render farm from 5 Durons, It cost him £400

Thats a neater job that what I had in mind

A thrifty watercooling setup would top it all off.

Capt'n Midnight

Wow - that looks like you could turn it on it's end and rack mount a load of them :cool:

Cuddlesworth

Reminds me of those folding rooms you always see with 20 or 30 mobos sitting on selfves.