alienware-area-51?

im thinking to buy an alienware PC but is it anygood Im spending £4,320 on it so i want to know if I should turn back

If you really must have a prebuilt, go to ibuypower.com. The price premium on those don't seem as bad as from other big manufacturers, and they're highly customisable. Don't be like me, though. I ordered a Gateway PC from Best Buy for $1300 only to discover shortly thereafter that I could've ordered the parts myself for only $700. Building one yourself is easy if you're willing to learn how everything is put together. In fact, there's a handy little walkthrough in the PC Hardware forum that you can check out for it.

im thinking to buy an alienware PC but is it anygood Im spending £4,320 on it so i want to know if I should turn back

Lukebeez

I've owned 3 of their computers and consider them among the best investments of my life. You ever open up one of their computer cases? Reminded me of a corvette engine.

You do pay a premium, no doubt. However it is a thing of beauty.

Just stay away from their laptops. The technology just isn't that reliable yet.

I've owned 3 of their computers and consider them among the best investments of my life. You ever open up one of their computer cases? Reminded me of a corvette engine.

You do pay a premium, no doubt. However it is a thing of beauty.

Just stay away from their laptops. The technology just isn't that reliable yet.

twi41

this, alienware is a premium gaming computer brand, so of course you're paying something extras

something like RAM, graphix card you can ignore and self upgrade later,

the whole computer just looks amazing and is whatever you'd expect from a premium product

I've owned 3 of their computers and consider them among the best investments of my life. You ever open up one of their computer cases? Reminded me of a corvette engine.

You do pay a premium, no doubt. However it is a thing of beauty.

Just stay away from their laptops. The technology just isn't that reliable yet.

twi41

You know, maybe it wouldn't be so bad if PCs were something that lasted a long time and not items that were constantly replaced (at least among the gaming crowd) due to obsolescence.

[QUOTE="fudgeblood"][QUOTE="Lukebeez"] overpriced=yes, hunk of junk= your crazyLukebeez

Of course the caveat with all online PC sellers, including Alienware, is that if you have a problem with the system (that is covered by the waranty), you have to mail it back to them.

ill never understand you people that buy prebuilts, go to the HW forum and they will suggest you a couple of sides that buy the parts you want, integrate them together and deliver you a fully working PC for waaay less price than a prebuilt.GazaAli

[QUOTE="GazaAli"]ill never understand you people that buy prebuilts, go to the HW forum and they will suggest you a couple of sides that buy the parts you want, integrate them together and deliver you a fully working PC for waaay less price than a prebuilt.dakan45

[QUOTE="dakan45"][QUOTE="GazaAli"]ill never understand you people that buy prebuilts, go to the HW forum and they will suggest you a couple of sides that buy the parts you want, integrate them together and deliver you a fully working PC for waaay less price than a prebuilt.zomglolcats

I had no idea how to build a computer the first time I did it. I was able to find everything I needed online from a list of compatible parts to a how to list for putting it together. PCs are nowhere near as complex as a car, unless you know of a car I can build with nothing but a small screwdriver.

There are basically 8 parts to a PC - case, power supply, CPU, GPU, RAM, motherboard, Hard Disk and disk tray. As long as you don't short something out by building it on a carpet wearing socks while playing with a dozen kittens (or puppies if that's your preference) you're basically good to go. The hardest part of a do it yourself PC is the OS install, but if you followed the instructions in the manual that comes with your motherboard correctly, it should pretty much take care of itself.

I view it more as a money issue. If you have the disposable cash to give to somebody else to make one for you then go for it.

.... if you have the funds, get the Alienware; you won't be disappointed. They do an outstanding job putting them together, which makes it very easy to upgrade basic components yourself, even if you're a beginner.I have two, the oldest is about ten years old; it's had a DVD drive replaced, the video card upgraded and an extra gig of ram added in that time( rhombus ram, it's that old LOL ) and still runs better than most of the dual cores I've seen ( it has aP4 3.2 in it). Thier support is excellent too, if you should ever even need them. However, I have been eyeing Digital Storm here lately, their support has been getting great reveiws for the last few years ( support is good ) and I can get aboutthe same buildfor almost $1000 less ( which would take care of a new monitor, speakers, gaming keyboard and gaming mouse :) ). You might want to check them out too.

CyberpowerPC is the closest we have in Britian to Ibuypower.Ikavnieks

Alien ware = overpriced hunk of junk. Buy the parts and build your own PC, also, please use the hardware forum in the future.fudgeblood

Wow, i must have a piece of junk?? Please, I only paid $1247.00 for what you see in my sig (minus Monitor). I got it when they had the $300 deduction sale going on about 2 months ago. Don't bash computers on price, instead on quality. If you have fears that you might get jipped, listen to my story. Only took about 12 days to get my desktop from them. About 2 weeks later, motherboard went KIA. Called up Alienware, shipped it back, received it back within a week, and they upgraded my warranty from 1 year to 2 years, and upgraded my memory from 4GB to 9GB (remember, we are talking about DDR3 memory here). So far, my experience with them has been great. I too was on the same ship. I am a full time student, and a member of the national guard. I simply needed a computer fast for school work. I don't have time to sit around and find out such and such part is DOA. As much as I would love to sit down and build my own, I couldn't.

If you have the time and resources to build your own, go for it. If your looking for prebuilt systems, I would recommend Alienware. And yes, you might pay a bit more, but in the end, you won't have to spend time putting things together and troubleshooting, especially if this is your first build.

And yes, mine is a Alienware Area-51 x58 model.

I'm not fan of prebuilding rigs because I like to do myself the work, and always is way cheaper than a Alienware/Falcon Norwest/Dell XPS, etc. But If you want a very special prebuild I'll suggest the HP/Vodoo Blackbird 002, or the Firebird:

http://www.voodoopc.com/#/productsfirebird

Reason? IMO the Blackbird 002 has the best case even made for a PC gaming system. Is huge, is heavy, but is lovely beautiful, has ton of space and a perfect air flux segmentation. I myself own 2 Cooler Master Cosmos and I love this type of full tower cases, and I would pay 600 € for a Blackbird 002 case if HP/Vodoo would export the units to Europe. Sadly, they sell only in the US those beauties.

[QUOTE="fudgeblood"]Alien ware = overpriced hunk of junk. Buy the parts and build your own PC, also, please use the hardware forum in the future.Valentino07

Wow, i must have a piece of junk?? Please, I only paid $1247.00 for what you see in my sig (minus Monitor). I got it when they had the $300 deduction sale going on about 2 months ago. Don't bash computers on price, instead on quality. If you have fears that you might get jipped, listen to my story. Only took about 12 days to get my desktop from them. About 2 weeks later, motherboard went KIA. Called up Alienware, shipped it back, received it back within a week, and they upgraded my warranty from 1 year to 2 years, and upgraded my memory from 4GB to 9GB (remember, we are talking about DDR3 memory here). So far, my experience with them has been great. I too was on the same ship. I am a full time student, and a member of the national guard. I simply needed a computer fast for school work. I don't have time to sit around and find out such and such part is DOA. As much as I would love to sit down and build my own, I couldn't.

If you have the time and resources to build your own, go for it. If your looking for prebuilt systems, I would recommend Alienware. And yes, you might pay a bit more, but in the end, you won't have to spend time putting things together and troubleshooting, especially if this is your first build.

And yes, mine is a Alienware Area-51 x58 model.

The hardest part is not to burn the mobo if the LED connection cables of the case and the indications on the motheboard dont cleary much. Figuring out which cable is what, when the mobo and the LED cables have difirent indications is not a begginer's thing!!!dakan45

Every PC I've built has had a label for every wire going into the mobo. If you have difficulty reading a manual to discover what each wire is for and where it should go then you have much more serious issues then building yourself a new PC.

[QUOTE="dakan45"]The hardest part is not to burn the mobo if the LED connection cables of the case and the indications on the motheboard dont cleary much. Figuring out which cable is what, when the mobo and the LED cables have difirent indications is not a begginer's thing!!!myke2010

Every PC I've built has had a label for every wire going into the mobo. If you have difficulty reading a manual to discover what each wire is for and where it should go then you have much more serious issues then building yourself a new PC.

im thinking to buy an alienware PC but is it anygood Im spending £4,320 on it so i want to know if I should turn back

Lukebeez

Alienware PCs and laptops are very good. I think they only recieve a bad rep in the gaming community because people cannot afford them and usually "hate" on which they dont have access to (like expensive cars being keyed). That being said, I would probably attempt to build my own before buying an Alienware PC because I am computer knowledgeable and could save alot of money.

Good note as previously said is Alienware warranty. If for ANY REASON your computer is acting up and cannot get fixed within 1 day over the phone through tech support, they pay for a tech to come to YOUR house and fix it there absolutley FREE for an entire year.

DO NOT buy a PC from ibuypower or any of those sites. Do a quick google search and better business buerau search and you can easily find thousands of complaints. In my long gaming history with PCs and laptops I have owned 3 Alienware laptops and 1 Alienware PC. All of which work flawlessly since purchase years ago.

A friend also gets his PCs pre built through newegg/tigerdirect and has good success with powerful computers at a good price.Drycht

Alienware sends a tech to come to your house? Maybe if you live near them I guess. That directly contradicts the story someone gave above about shipping their computer back. You said to check the Better Business Bureau. Well, I did that just now...for both companies. Now, I don't really put a lot of stock in these BBB ratings all the time personally, but since you brought it up, here is what I found for Alienware using the query "alienware site:bbb.org" on Google:

http://www.bbb.org/central-texas/business-reviews/computers-dealers/alienware-in-miami-fl-90019025?noskin&fax=Y

Alienware PCs and laptops are very good. I think they only recieve a bad rep in the gaming community because people cannot afford them and usually "hate" on which they dont have access to (like expensive cars being keyed). That being said, I would probably attempt to build my own before buying an Alienware PC because I am computer knowledgeable and could save alot of money. Good note as previously said is Alienware warranty. If for ANY REASON your computer is acting up and cannot get fixed within 1 day over the phone through tech support, they pay for a tech to come to YOUR house and fix it there absolutley FREE for an entire year. DO NOT buy a PC from ibuypower or any of those sites. Do a quick google search and better business buerau search and you can easily find thousands of complaints. In my long gaming history with PCs and laptops I have owned 3 Alienware laptops and 1 Alienware PC. All of which work flawlessly since purchase years ago. A friend also gets his PCs pre built through newegg/tigerdirect and has good success with powerful computers at a good price.Drycht

i have 2 alienware area 51's and they have worked flawlessly for a year now

im thinking to buy an alienware PC but is it anygood Im spending £4,320 on it so i want to know if I should turn back

Lukebeez

[QUOTE="myke2010"]

[QUOTE="dakan45"]The hardest part is not to burn the mobo if the LED connection cables of the case and the indications on the motheboard dont cleary much. Figuring out which cable is what, when the mobo and the LED cables have difirent indications is not a begginer's thing!!!dakan45

Every PC I've built has had a label for every wire going into the mobo. If you have difficulty reading a manual to discover what each wire is for and where it should go then you have much more serious issues then building yourself a new PC.

The comment wasn't meant as an insult to you, merely a general statement with anyone that has these kinds of issues. And to your point about motherboards not being clear, that's why they come with manuals. Worse comes to worse, there are tons of PC hardware forums where whatever problem you run into has most likely been addressed.

I'm not saying a blind monkey can build a PC, but any competent human being is quite capable of it should he/she be willing to exert the effort. I apologize if I come off a bit argumentative, this particular topic just irks me a bit as I've seen too many peope complain that building a PC is too difficult for the average person, which it truly isn't. If a person does their homework before ordering parts and putting one together it really isn't that difficult.

.Important!Read all sticky threads for this forum. No hardware specific discussions are allowed

I built my computer, it is luv-leeee, and very purtee too. It is the second pc I built, the first one took me 5 hours to build, but this one took me a little over an hour to build. So you have to look into a couple things first, but you'll save yourself a lot of money (in this case thousands). You can pretty much bet though that if you build your pc you cut the price anywhere from 25-50%.

Not everyone has the time/patience/nerd-itude to screw around manuals and online forums for hours to figure out how to build a bloody PC. OP, I would search for prebuilts on some famous online retailers. Newegg might have something, don't know what else there is in the States. NCIX is pretty good too, they can build it for you, but don't know if their US prices are as competitive as their Canadian ones.

I know for Canadians, NCIX charge about $50-$100 to build up your system with whatever parts you purchase, which is a far cry from these 50% markups people are talking about.

Not everyone has the time/patience/nerd-itude to screw around manuals and online forums for hours to figure out how to build a bloody PC. OP, I would search for prebuilts on some famous online retailers. Newegg might have something, don't know what else there is in the States. NCIX is pretty good too, they can build it for you, but don't know if their US prices are as competitive as their Canadian ones.

I know for Canadians, NCIX charge about $50-$100 to build up your system with whatever parts you purchase, which is a far cry from these 50% markups people are talking about.

F1_2004

But if you're willing to spend 4,000 plus for a computer then you have to have some level of "nerd-itude".