Thread: who uses alienware computers? & and how good are they?

I would just like to chime in here real quick.

I am a proponent of Pre built high end systems. I used to build my own for over 6 years but I got tired of having to maintain my systems and shell out cash every time a component broke or failed.

Yes most components come with a life time warranty like ram, and some video cards do as well but I got tired of the rat race involed in working on the computer.

Having a warranty on your system if you don’t feel like dealing with the hassle is priceless in my mind.

NOW.. now.. hold off nay sayers….for me it’s not about money , yes I could save a lot by DIY boxes but… its about piece of mind. IF my PC breaks, I call up and with in 24hrs I have my replacement part or a tech come…all done from my home. I don’t have the time or will to finagle this component and that component.

IS one way better than the other… well that depends on the consumer.

EDit: Just for refrence this is what im running.
Dell XPS 720
8800GTX
2gigs Corsair
680I NforceMB
Duocore2 2.4ghz

can you even overclock those? im assuming it voids the warranty.

just curiosity on what they offer.

Having a warranty on your system if you don’t feel like dealing with the hassle is priceless in my mind.

NOW.. now.. hold off nay sayers….for me it’s not about money , yes I could save a lot by DIY boxes but… its about piece of mind. IF my PC breaks, I call up and with in 24hrs I have my replacement part or a tech come…all done from my home. I don’t have the time or will to finagle this component and that component.

Just about every piece of hardware you get now a days has a lifetime warranty. Or can be RMA'd for a new one no problem... I would never let some DELL noob inside my pc.

If you insist on a pre built then get it from these guys... I have sent many of non pc building gaming buddys here to buy systems all with fantastic results. http://www.buyxg.com/category/intel/default.asp

As a partner with Dell I can tell you on most mid range systems I can match if not beat NewEgg now everytime with a 3 year warranty NBD included. The part they can't really help anyone with is the Video Card selection unless you go with their XPS line. They also sell most of the same parts as NewEgg and are about evenly matched on prices. At least through my business portal they are, the mark up is always up to the vendor. My company just marks them up 10%. Making money on Hardware is a dead business. It's all about service and billable time. Hell look at CompUSA's closure for that one.

Like what Warchild said, it's a piece of mind that is almost priceless with the warranties. I don't use Dell's software support but their hardware is just awesome. Most of my customers have 4 hour response and those parts are there within 4 hours. NBD is just as good and the part comes directly to you.

RMA'ing items average what....5-6 weeks on most components after the initial 30 days? Corsair, ASUS, ABIT, AMD, Intel, XFX, BFG, Maxtor, WD, and ATI all take forever to RMA their products. Took 5 weeks to RMA my Raptor drives and get replacements back. So I didn't have downtime I went and purchased some drives to get me going. Well that is more money right there.

Now to contradict myself here....the XPS and Alienware line from Dell are priced high and I get no discount, no one does. Why? Because of the high demand and warranty of high end parts. If you want to go high end and have the time and experience to do so, or a friend with some, then DIY. The only thing you miss out on is the warranty on the high end and maybe a few hundred dollars saved. But if you need to warranty or troubleshoot hardware....what does that cost you? Maybe nothing and it works great or like my random issue posted in another thread here, where I am tearing my hair out over it, and having to wait on RMA's.

An XPS 720 with similar hardware would of cost me 320 more dollars initially. After buying replacement drives to test with and power supply...well I just about broke even now and it is still not fixed. The risk of DIY boxes.

Stryker

If you want top-end "stupid money" PC's, then check out

www.falcon-nw.com

Hmmmm... delish