Want to share my Alienware Area 51ALX story.

[The Sweetroll]

It's understandable that a company like Dell doesn't get much love on a forum like this but I wish people would think a bit more before they post.

 

I find your story well written and you seem to acknowledge the target market of Alienware and what else than the pure components make up the price. I would like to generalize a bit a say that anyone who buys a 6k pre-built PC doesn't either want or can't build a PC of their own and isn't looking for the most bang for the buck. Thereby the components and the pure power that people here like to drool over aren't the most important thing, most buyers want something that works and has good warranty service.  

[ShadowCaptain]

I live in Norway and the prices here are a little bit higher on everything so for example the system you are talking about costs 5797.52USD right now (I checked). So the same system I'm talking about wouldn't have the same price where you live. 

 

I live in the UK actually so I pay over the odds for everything too

[isdouble]

Actually, Alienware isn't all THAT bad as people think. Stop looking at their MSRP on their website. You can get pretty hefty discount if you give them a call. I bought an M17xR2 3 years back with 820QM, ATI 5870Mx2, 4 GB ram, etc. MSRP was nearly $3000 without tax. I gave them a call and talked them down to $2300. That's nearly $700 discount just talking to them. Their delivery was late by a week so they gave me a brand new Razer Mamba ($120 value) for free. Also, 2 years and 11 months into using, my GPU died (I have 3 year warranty). After 3 visits from AW and sending my unit to their depot to fix. They couldn't fix it so they decided to give me a brand new M18xR2 with 3830QM, ATI 7970Mx2, 8 GB ram, etc. Fully upgraded from previous set up for no charge. Of course, there are headaches that follows such as the techs because they are seriously CLUELESS. They actually break more things when they come by. My experience with AW have been seriously top notch. When I built the desktop on my signature, I actually wanted to go with AW because they offered me 20% discount but I wanted to choose my own components so yeah.. Of course my story doesn't make the company all good now because I have heard horror stories from other members (different forum) but this is my experience with them.

[KemoKa]

replaces "Hitachi" with "WD/Seagate"

Fixed

Dude, don't knock Hitachi's drives, they are awesome. The other two are, certainly (more so WD) but Hitachi drives are just as reliable if not more so. Really low failure rates.

[ruitti99]

Dude, don't knock Hitachi's drives, they are awesome. The other two are, certainly (more so WD) but Hitachi drives are just as reliable if not more so. Really low failure rates.

I've had different experiences but if Hitachi is good/better in your opinion, I don't hate you

[Redheadsrule13]

It seems like this is the case with alienware kit, they pull you in with the whole "gamer" aesthetic, then you get boned with a big price tag and a not-so-great system.
A mate of mine had an alienware laptop up until a couple months ago when the gpu died.

[spartann44]

Look i never had any problems with my  area 51 alx since i bought it brand new from dell back in 2011. Its been 4 years now and I'm ready to upgrade the parts,I'm KEEPING THE CHASSIS, I don't even  know why are you complaining about the chassis if it  is one of the best looking chassis on the market. Funny how ppl are trying to look smart in here, saying alienware its overpriced and you can save money building your own , sure you can, if you dont have the money, or if you love it to do it yourself  is fine, but if you are willing for company to build a computer for you and sit and wait it to arrive by your door, sure it will cost you more .Dell have to pay their employees,labor,ect, ect, ect, ITS A COMPANY AND HAVE TO MAKE A PROFIT, makes any sense?. You are paying for some one to build  your pc and a brand of course, quit whining.YOU JUST HAD A BAD LOOK WITH THE PC DUDE THAT'S ALL.

[FuzzyYellow]

I remember reading your story somewhere else. Have you posted it before?

[vt3c]

Look i never had any problems with my  area 51 alx since i bought it brand new from dell back in 2011. Its been 4 years now and I'm ready to upgrade the parts,I'm KEEPING THE CHASSIS, I don't even  know why are you complaining about the chassis if it  is one of the best looking chassis on the market. Funny how ppl are trying to look smart in here, saying alienware its overpriced and you can save money building your own , sure you can, if you dont have the money, or if you love it to do it yourself  is fine, but if you are willing for company to build a computer for you and sit and wait it to arrive by your door, sure it will cost you more .Dell have to pay their employees,labor,ect, ect, ect, ITS A COMPANY AND HAVE TO MAKE A PROFIT, makes any sense?. You are paying for some one to build  your pc and a brand of course, quit whining.YOU JUST HAD A BAD LOOK WITH THE PC DUDE THAT'S ALL.

Well his issue with alienware is a common one. I guess you're lucky. I have seen a few people be lucky with alienware desktops. Many people have bad luck with alienware, unfortunately... I have too, frankly. I have a horror story of when I had to fix my friend's core 2 duo alienware laptop.

 

In a nutshell: CPU and GPU had no thermal paste anywhere on them and the heatsinks were on lopsided, capacitors blew and fried from the heat, idled at 90C and under load went far beyond... fuck I don't know. Thing was done with life. He had never opened it, and it was just poorly put together. 

Made him spend his last $450 on an Asus that he's using 3 years later.

 

[vt3c]

Btw, here's what the motherboard on the poor bastard looks like. 

 

 

They didn't even bother to make it a good one like Asus or Gigabyte. That 3 RAM slots though, on an i7 990.

 

Gotta love that northbridge fan.

[Psykomantis00]

OP made 6k in 60 days while in school (assuming since he said during summer vacation). You selling drugs OP? 

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Alienware laptops are a bit different. Buying a desktop is just plain stupid though, you can get the same specs for literally 1/3 of the price.

 

Their laptops are sitll overpriced, so it's the same.