http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/ Engadget Comments for http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/
Alienware doesn't offer anything that can't be built (desktop)

Adding them doesn't suddenly make Dulls any better. Alienware...LOL ]]>Mar 14th 2006 12:44PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/Mar 14th 2006 12:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/
End of story.]]>Mar 14th 2006 12:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/Mar 14th 2006 12:57PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/Mar 14th 2006 1:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/Mar 14th 2006 1:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/
That would be awesome, and with some of Dell's amazing deals and alienware style, this MIGHT be great for gamers.

If they stick with intel, then this will just be a slightly improved xps line, which doesn't interest me at all for about the next year, until maybe conroe. ]]>Mar 14th 2006 1:06PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/]]>Mar 14th 2006 1:08PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/Mar 14th 2006 1:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/Mar 14th 2006 1:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/Mar 14th 2006 1:13PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/The fact that Dell might buy them shows they are leaders in what they do, why would Dell jeopardise that?

]]>Mar 14th 2006 1:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/
It almost happened. (This probably belongs over on AutoBlog)

At one point when Ferrari was under severe financial pressure, Honda tried to buy them, but the Italians said No Way! It could have been awesome...merging the top two engine builders in the world, along with two of the top F1 programs.
]]>Mar 14th 2006 1:18PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/
Fiat did.]]>Mar 14th 2006 1:18PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/Mar 14th 2006 1:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/Mar 14th 2006 1:22PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/Mar 14th 2006 1:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/
1. Make sure that the two brands have their own unique identities. I don't want to see a Dell Alienware or something like that... that will kill the brand equitey Alienware has.

2. Not load Alienware with the Dell OS... that kills performance and hurts #1.

Still... it isn't the end of the world and actually might be good for the two companies. That is, if they can keep the two brands separate. ]]>Mar 14th 2006 1:30PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/Mar 14th 2006 1:32PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/Mar 14th 2006 1:38PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/Mar 14th 2006 1:42PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/
If they were going to go ahead with the deal, they would probably leave Alienware alone to operate as it always has and under the Alienware brand - but then take advantage of whatever synergies that might exist...who knows ]]>Mar 14th 2006 1:43PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/
At the end of the day who knows what will happen, but what I do know is that condemning the idea before anyone actually knows what Dell’s plans for Alienware are (e.g. as stated above this could purely be about gaining a stake in AMD CPUs without changing/effecting Dell’s current deal with Intel) is dumb.

Also a merger at the luxury/gaming end of the market, making one brand/company stronger than others could result in the other competition (such as Sony) innovating more which can only mean a winning situation for consumers.

Till
]]>Mar 14th 2006 1:53PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/Mar 14th 2006 1:56PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/Mar 14th 2006 2:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/Mar 14th 2006 2:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/
]]>Mar 14th 2006 2:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/
Agreed. Dell needs to find ways to grow their business and buying Alienware would be the way to take a major chunk of the ultra high-end gaming market.

Regarldess of reviews of Alienware... ALienware commands the money-is-no-object gaming niche. Of course you can build a computer for cheaper that is comprable to Alienware... but Alienware isn't after that market. They are after people who want a high end gaming rig out of the box... Dell doesn't really have a lot of footing in that market.

Besides... where else can Dell innovate? They have already streamlined their inventory and manufacturing process... they have a great low to mid range offering. Whats missing? The high end. ]]>Mar 14th 2006 2:29PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/Mar 14th 2006 2:31PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/
DO NOT BUY ALIENWARE.
My first PC tower was from Dell way back in ’99, and it NEVER failed me. And had I not scavenged its hardware for another tower, it would probably still be working to this day.
But Alienware… Oh man…
Admittedly, I kinda brought it upon myself because while doing my review research, I kinds ignored the MASSIVE number of bad reviews of Alienware, and their Customer Support, and wished to just listen to the paid-off raves, and company propaganda.
I bought an area51m laptop, in Oct '03, and by Sept (after it arrived a month later) it took a week for the video card to die. Luckily I bought the 3-year warranty.
The second vid card took a month to die, which they replaced.
Then the third video card lasted 6 months, which died and took the laptop with it. When I sent it back again, they replaced the mobo & vid card, and sent it back to me with the speakers NOT PLUGGED IN! (And yet somehow on their 'quality checklist' they said sound worked...right...
So back it went. They plugged the speakers in and sent it back....WITH A CRACK IN THE SCREEN!!
So it went back YET AGAIN, and this time it came back and the lid wouldn't latch shut without excessive pressure on the edge, and the laptop would blue-screen after being on for 30 minutes and shut the laptop down. (And I don't mean a nice windows shutdown...I mean like someone pulled the power cord and battery...all of a sudden just DEAD.) After which the laptop would REFUSE to boot unless you removed the battery & AC power, let it sit for 3 minutes and THEN boot it up (rinse & repeat adnauseum).
Finally the latest problem that I've been putting up with is that the vid card overheats if the laptop is on for more than 45 minutes.
.... I’m not talking hardcore 3D games either... I'm talking using FIREFOX, or just WORD! (With the graphics settings set to the absolute LOWEST setting!)
Alienware is NOT worth the money, and hopefully if Dell DOES buy Alienware before October, I'll actually get some good service when I give them a call.

Till then...buy yourself a can of spray-paint and some sand-paper if you want a shiny paint job, because that's EXACTLY what you’ll be paying for with AW. Crap components with an overpriced paint job.
Oh and did I mention the 45 minute battery life (TOPS)? Yeah…
I don't know about Dell's XPS, but I can’t see it being worse than AW's steaming coiled piles of ..... yeah.
STEAR CLEAR and go with the SAFE bet...Dell.

...Or be sure you are WELL VERSED with your state's LEMON-LAWS, and DOCUMENT ALL returns/repairs/replaces/problems etc.


(VERY) Unsatisfied Customer.]]>Mar 14th 2006 2:42PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/Mar 14th 2006 2:59PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/
THEN more recently The jack where you plug in the power supply is broken! Something came loose allowing the cord to wiggle around while still plugged in... the worst part is it sparks up. Anyway this has caused the battery to not charge and unless the cord is in the exact right spot the laptop shuts down.

Shoddy construction on the laptop thank goodness I know how to sodder.

Alienware's construction sucks right along with their customer support. Save yourself the trouble and just build your own desktop, it's about 2 grand cheaper.]]>Mar 14th 2006 3:00PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/Mar 14th 2006 3:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/Mar 14th 2006 3:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/
“Check the technique!”
http://www.eternal-champions.com/images/ldm_master_builder!.jpg
]]>Mar 14th 2006 4:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/
What is the point of buying a laptop with a removable video card? You basically paid for a full tower, so why cut yourself short and buy a laptop? The video cards for them are going to be more anyway.

I for one own both the M51 and an Aurora machine and both kick arse and have for the past 2+ years. Maybe I just got lucky?

And Dell, it's not like their customer support is anything to cheer about. try talking to someone technical, yea. Fun times there...

It won't make on bit of difference if Dell owns them or not, all the hardware is out there and for sale. Well, not the 4 video card having monster Alienware is offering right now.

But stop bashing Alienware, your just jealous our cases kick your cases ass :p ]]>Mar 14th 2006 4:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/
alienwares are so awesome

those are retarded consumers

anyone who knows anything knows alienware blows and if you are gonna spend that much money might as well make you own for half the price.

alienwares quality is also shitty because i knew someone who worked their and they use sometimes refurbished items in their NEW desktops and laptops]]>Mar 14th 2006 4:55PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/Best case scenario is that Dell buys Alienware and they have a virtual hands off approach to it and only sells it through their site and does warrantee work for it. Joy more systems to learn.
]]>Mar 14th 2006 5:25PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/
Also, Alienwares proces (for laptops at least) has gotten waaaaay more competitive. I still build my own desktops though.

In a final word, I hope that Dell does not buy Alienware. I fear they will just ruin the brand.

- Kiteless
S.F. Bay Area, CA. USA]]>Mar 14th 2006 5:55PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/Mar 14th 2006 7:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/XPS laptop. Got it and right out of the box it would
shut itself down...went back and forth with customer
service and finally got a bright guy who had me re-seat
the RAM module. Battery life is similarly crap, and I
had the *exact* same problem with the power supply, my
original died before a year was up.

Maybe they already bought Alienware and just didn't
tell us!]]>Mar 14th 2006 9:37PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/
On the OTHER hand... some of my relatives purchased dell desktops because they were "cheap" for about 800 i think at the time. One runs on like 2.0 ghz but it feels twice as slow. Besides slow, my relatives call me every 4 months or so beacause their computers are not working and i find out its because of a faulty hardware component. (ive counted one faulty videocard, one motherboard, two soundcards, and a dell branded printer that just locked up and wouldnt work no matter what after that)

Alienware desktops are solid, I purchased one when i was first getting into gaming and didnt know enough to build my own, you cant beat their desktop quality and attention to little details like "cleaning" the OS of services and things that u dont need.]]>Mar 14th 2006 10:43PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/
Alienware (and xps for that matter) is a RIPOFF. They usually tack an extra $1000 to the price and alot of these computer were designed by total retards (like a p4EE powering a quad sli rig, an fx60 can MAYBE power 2 cards at capacity i've only tried an fx57)
Alienware mattered when they made cases, now its just the same crap as dell weither they are bought by them or not. Build your own or get someone to do it for you.]]>Mar 15th 2006 3:25AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/Mar 15th 2006 3:32AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/
Alienware is just overpriced overhyped pieces of junk. think of alienware as a dell with a paint job that costs some 300 bucks.]]>Mar 15th 2006 4:45AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/Mar 15th 2006 11:36AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/Mar 15th 2006 3:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/Mar 19th 2006 9:14AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/
1 year after I bought it I tried to upgrade the video card which was the whole reason I bought the extended warranty. They had decided to stop offering upgrades, but never told me or gave me a chance to get one before that time.

Then, when it broke about a year later, not only did they no longer carry the parts I needed to fix the laptop only 2 years into my 3 year warranty, but they told me to get them from the supplier at my own cost. Then I e-mailed them to have them install the part like they said they would, and I was told I could do it myself. When I ran into a problem, I called in and was told I had just voided my warranty. When I gave them the incident # and they read the e-mail their tech sent me, they said he shouldn't have told me to do it myself, but that my warranty was still voided.

Bottom line, if you buy one, don't buy any warranty and plan on fixing it yourself if anything happens. I now have an XPS Gen2 and it rocks. Dell let me upgrade the 6800 Ultra to a 7800 GTX with their permission for me to do it myself in writing (hopefully they'll honor it) and I benchmark over 6500 on 3Dmark05 and 14500 on 3Dmark03. The alienware from 2003 never scored above 2200 on 3Dmark03. I may sacrifice a tiny bit with Dell over the very top of the line $5000 51m config, but I'm getting much better value, good tech support (from the XPS department), and a pretty awesome laptop.

If Dell does buy Alienware, I hope they fix Alienware's broken and corrupt culture and don't get corrupted by it themselves.]]>Mar 20th 2006 10:37PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/is-dell-buying-alienware/
Now you will be paying big bucks for customer support from people you can barely understand and will not know a damned thing about your problem outside what is written on a procedure manual.

Alienware employees can kiss thier job good bye as they are slowly outsourced to third world nations. And performance trade offs are made to maximize profit as the number one goal.

Welcome to the world of "Please reboot your system" as the first Customer service suggestion to any and every technical problem. Be ready to be without your machine for weeks or longer when warrenty repairs have to be done. And as commonality of components is a key way to control costs expect the Alienware to start using standard dell parts even some of those infuriating proprietary components that you can not get anywhere else.

My suggestion to all those alienware owners, find a reputable small computer shop in your neighborhood and let them build you the ultimate gaming platform. You will get better service, usually a better warrenty at a cheaper price than even dell can crank a true top end machine out for.]]>Mar 23rd 2006 12:35PM