Do companies like Alienware know what image they're making for PC gaming?

[QUOTE="mike4realz"]alienware computers are nice, bought the M14X laptop...not bad for a 14" gaming laptopThe_Wild_Tiger

And yet another victim

Their Desktops are to expensive for what the deliver but I think their laptops are a different beats altogether , like the design or not they do deliver for the price !

People sure do like condeming popular titles and or brands on this board. Or act like they're better. Let people spend their money on whatever they want, they earn it. You can sleep knowing you can build it for cheaper, so who cares?

PC gaming doesn't only have an image problem, it also has a reality problem.

Main problem is lack of standards, you have card makers pumping out bleeding edge hardware, creating a rift between rich gamers who run everything on max in 60 frames, vs late adopters who can barely even run the game because they're sporting a 3 year old card.

Lately it has been getting better but that is only because the PC market has been shrinking.

If people start flooding back to PC, they will start with their yearly upgrade Crysis crap again.

One of the things that annoy me is I buy something for $150 on Newegg and 2 years later it can't run anything smoothly. So I have to keep dumping my loot into Nvidia for the privilege of playing games.

People never talk about how Vista gutted PC gaming, people having to throw away parts because Vista won't support it.

They also never talk about how GPU makers gut PC gaming with their bleeding edge standards, "sorry you need shader version 3 to run this game."

During the middle of this hardware loot craze, console makers swooped in and ate all their lunches.

What PC gaming needs most of all is what it will never have; sanity, standards and common-sense.

LazySloth718

I paid $450 for a custom built PC and then another $250 or so to get some better parts for it. And it's a great gaming PC. At least for my standards it is.

Anyone with half a brain won't buy an Alienware, people who do deserve to be mocked.

Anyone with half a brain won't buy an Alienware, people who do deserve to be mocked.

JohnF111

[QUOTE="LazySloth718"]

PC gaming doesn't only have an image problem, it also has a reality problem.

Main problem is lack of standards, you have card makers pumping out bleeding edge hardware, creating a rift between rich gamers who run everything on max in 60 frames, vs late adopters who can barely even run the game because they're sporting a 3 year old card.

Lately it has been getting better but that is only because the PC market has been shrinking.

If people start flooding back to PC, they will start with their yearly upgrade Crysis crap again.

One of the things that annoy me is I buy something for $150 on Newegg and 2 years later it can't run anything smoothly. So I have to keep dumping my loot into Nvidia for the privilege of playing games.

People never talk about how Vista gutted PC gaming, people having to throw away parts because Vista won't support it.

They also never talk about how GPU makers gut PC gaming with their bleeding edge standards, "sorry you need shader version 3 to run this game."

During the middle of this hardware loot craze, console makers swooped in and ate all their lunches.

What PC gaming needs most of all is what it will never have; sanity, standards and common-sense.

vtoshkatur

LOL Says the typical

Console Peasant.

This conversation is clearly over your head.

People like you do not get to call themselves "Master Race" regardless of product ownership.

Run along now dumbass.

MY card is almost 3 gens old and I can still max most games out there (DX11/BF3 games excluded), but even when I cant its still near max settings. Iantheone

Affordable cards are rarely "this gen."

The huge sucking sound of people going console might have someting to do with devs making games more scalable to the hardware.

Even so my 5770 can barely run WoW on max settings, and that's a 7 year old game.

[QUOTE="Iantheone"]MY card is almost 3 gens old and I can still max most games out there (DX11/BF3 games excluded), but even when I cant its still near max settings. LazySloth718

Affordable cards are rarely "this gen."

The huge sucking sound of people going console might have someting to do with devs making games more scalable to the hardware.

Even so my 5770 can barely run WoW on max settings, and that's a 7 year old game.

So your solution for not being able to run games at MAX is to go runnign to a dumbed down console that can't manage to run games at LOW without running at 20-30 FPS, lowering texture quality even further and running at SUB-HD resolutions?

Wow, brilliant consolite logic there!

Waaaahh I can't max otu my game! So I'll just play on something that runs it even worse! That's the ticket!

[QUOTE="JohnF111"]

Anyone with half a brain won't buy an Alienware, people who do deserve to be mocked.

AmnesiaHaze

I'll try and get this thread back from a consolite jerk fest back to the topic at hand.

And yes, these large corporations don't give a crap about PC gamers or PC gaming.

They are a bunch of suits that want to make a buck.

We need someone to step up to the plate and market the PC as a gaming platform along mainstream lines, and we need companies to offer affordable and capable gaming PC's.

Problem with that, is that it means lower profits in the short run, and the suits running these things, all they care about is the short run.

Main problem is lack of standards, you have card makers pumping out bleeding edge hardware, creating a rift between rich gamers who run everything on max in 60 frames, vs late adopters who can barely even run the game because they're sporting a 3 year old card.LazySloth718

One of the things that annoy me is I buy something for $150 on Newegg and 2 years later it can't run anything smoothly. So I have to keep dumping my loot into Nvidia for the privilege of playing games.LazySloth718

People never talk about how Vista gutted PC gaming, people having to throw away parts because Vista won't support it.LazySloth718

They also never talk about how GPU makers gut PC gaming with their bleeding edge standards, "sorry you need shader version 3 to run this game."LazySloth718

People sure do like condeming popular titles and or brands on this board. Or act like they're better. Let people spend their money on whatever they want, they earn it. You can sleep knowing you can build it for cheaper, so who cares?immortality20

As far as Alienware, they suck.

I'll let you guys in on a cheap way to get a gaming rig.

Go on Newegg and look for their pre-built "gaming PC's" should cost around $500.

Drop in a $100 video card and you are done.

With the economy being in a reccession (although people seem to have money to blow instantly on every new ipad/ipod coming out). Not many people are going to fork over money for Gaming PCs more expensive then they should be.

NoodleFighter

So your solution for not being able to run games at MAX is to go runnign to a dumbed down console that can't manage to run games at LOW without running at 20-30 FPS, lowering texture quality even further and running at SUB-HD resolutions?

Wow, brilliant consolite logic there!

Waaaahh I can't max otu my game! So I'll just play on something that runs it even worse! That's the ticket!

Kinthalis

I can't play everything I want on PC. Also I need a 360 to play online with my godson.

My solution is to own multiple platforms.

Your solution is to swear allegiance to Windows and be angry.

its a good thing someone like you doesnt control my money on what i can and can not spend

We need someone to step up to the plate and market the PC as a gaming platform along mainstream lines

Kinthalis

Isn't that Alienware?

Marketing isn't cheap ya know.

[QUOTE="Kinthalis"]

So your solution for not being able to run games at MAX is to go runnign to a dumbed down console that can't manage to run games at LOW without running at 20-30 FPS, lowering texture quality even further and running at SUB-HD resolutions?

Wow, brilliant consolite logic there!

Waaaahh I can't max otu my game! So I'll just play on something that runs it even worse! That's the ticket!

LazySloth718

I can't play everything I want on PC. Also I need a 360 to play online with my godson.

My solution is to own multiple platforms.

Your solution is to swear allegiance to Windows and be angry.

nailed it.

not as bad as the image pc gamers give themselves campzor

Of cool pirates with parrots? How is that bad?

[QUOTE="Kinthalis"]

So your solution for not being able to run games at MAX is to go runnign to a dumbed down console that can't manage to run games at LOW without running at 20-30 FPS, lowering texture quality even further and running at SUB-HD resolutions?

Wow, brilliant consolite logic there!

Waaaahh I can't max otu my game! So I'll just play on something that runs it even worse! That's the ticket!

LazySloth718

I can't play everything I want on PC. Also I need a 360 to play online with my godson.

My solution is to own multiple platforms.

Your solution is to swear allegiance to Windows and be angry.

I don't really have a problem with it. If someone A) Doesn't want to build their own PC because they are too lazy, or B) Doesn't want to buy pre-built from a number of cheaper existing options, then why not let them waste their money? It's hardly more of a markup then the average mac user pays for a fashionable brand anyway, only the money people give Alienware etc. I would imagine gets back to hardware manufacturers a great deal more often.

It ultimately ends up publicising new technology while individual cards remain competitively priced for the upgrade and build-it-yourself markets.

[QUOTE="LazySloth718"]Main problem is lack of standards, you have card makers pumping out bleeding edge hardware, creating a rift between rich gamers who run everything on max in 60 frames, vs late adopters who can barely even run the game because they're sporting a 3 year old card.garrett_daniels

Point stands, average Joe Shmoe can't run down to the store and game.

You have to know what you are doing, rummage thru Tom's Hardware benchmarking charts, and flip back and forth to Newegg to find an affordable card that will be viable for a few years.

Consoles don't have settings, the game is made specifically for that hardware, which is why a $199 machine from 2006 can make a game look alost as good as a $1000 machine from 2011 that's supposedly 80 times faster.

ie Standardization.

PC gamers like to throw around alot of hyperbole about how terrible console graphics look, the truth is they look "good enough" for %99 of humanity and you're the odd man out.

[QUOTE="LazySloth718"]One of the things that annoy me is I buy something for $150 on Newegg and 2 years later it can't run anything smoothly. So I have to keep dumping my loot into Nvidia for the privilege of playing games.garrett_daniels

I use Toms Hardware charts, but most ppl are not willing to go thru all that, they want a product they can buy that will simply play games viably for X number of years.

[QUOTE="LazySloth718"]People never talk about how Vista gutted PC gaming, people having to throw away parts because Vista won't support it.garrett_daniels

A number of companies used Vista as an excuse to force people to rebuy perfectly good hardware.

Vista turned my friend's 6 month old HP laptop into a 12 pound paperweight, by that time he couldn't find the system disk to revert back to XP, gave up and bought a Mac.

[QUOTE="LazySloth718"]They also never talk about how GPU makers gut PC gaming with their bleeding edge standards, "sorry you need shader version 3 to run this game."garrett_daniels

I think our basic disagreement is the word "several."

I am of the opinion that when Joe Shmoe walks into a store, he should be able to purchase something for, say, $700 that runs all games out of the box for the next 5 years.

Currently that is not the case.

On the other hand, Joe Shmoe found that he could buy a 360 for $400, and run all games out of the box for the next 6-7 years (or maybe even longer.)

I can't play everything I want on PC. Also I need a 360 to play online with my godson.

My solution is to own multiple platforms.

Your solution is to swear allegiance to Windows and be angry.

LazySloth718

I have to say, well done, that made me laugh.

I actually found it quite hard to find a sleek and classy looking PC case when I was looking to build a PC. They are either gross modders looking things like the Alienware ones or plain boring.

I actually found it quite hard to find a sleek and classy looking PC case when I was looking to build a PC. They are either gross modders looking things like the Alienware ones or plain boring.

HalcyonScarlet

Well, some people don't care what the PC looks like. Heck. I plan to move my PC components to an older beige Antec case just because the Antec is a tough old steel case that I can also use as a foot rest.

[QUOTE="garrett_daniels"][QUOTE="LazySloth718"]Main problem is lack of standards, you have card makers pumping out bleeding edge hardware, creating a rift between rich gamers who run everything on max in 60 frames, vs late adopters who can barely even run the game because they're sporting a 3 year old card.LazySloth718

Point stands, average Joe Shmoe can't run down to the store and game.

I don't like average Joe.

He is 12 years old and swears down his microphone.

He can stay away from pc thanks.

As far as Alienware, they suck.

I'll let you guys in on a cheap way to get a gaming rig.

Go on Newegg and look for their pre-built "gaming PC's" should cost around $500.

Drop in a $100 video card and you are done.

LazySloth718

PS. I went and checked, none for $500..

not as bad as the image pc gamers give themselvescampzor

I could say PS3 gamers pirate aswell but whatever you just came in here to call all PC gamers pirates, you don't care about logic. All you care about is trolling.

[QUOTE="vtoshkatur"]

[QUOTE="LazySloth718"]

PC gaming doesn't only have an image problem, it also has a reality problem.

Main problem is lack of standards, you have card makers pumping out bleeding edge hardware, creating a rift between rich gamers who run everything on max in 60 frames, vs late adopters who can barely even run the game because they're sporting a 3 year old card.

Lately it has been getting better but that is only because the PC market has been shrinking.

If people start flooding back to PC, they will start with their yearly upgrade Crysis crap again.

One of the things that annoy me is I buy something for $150 on Newegg and 2 years later it can't run anything smoothly. So I have to keep dumping my loot into Nvidia for the privilege of playing games.

People never talk about how Vista gutted PC gaming, people having to throw away parts because Vista won't support it.

They also never talk about how GPU makers gut PC gaming with their bleeding edge standards, "sorry you need shader version 3 to run this game."

During the middle of this hardware loot craze, console makers swooped in and ate all their lunches.

What PC gaming needs most of all is what it will never have; sanity, standards and common-sense.

razgriz_101

LOL Says the typical

Console Peasant.

and the fallacy that you are so much more mature is simply the most fooking ironic thing ever.Your no better than anyone else on this board by calling someone a peasant.

Shut up peasant, he belongs in the master race :D

[QUOTE="campzor"]not as bad as the image pc gamers give themselvesR4gn4r0k

I could say PS3 gamers pirate aswell but whatever you just came in here to call all PC gamers pirates, you don't care about logic. All you care about is trolling.

Not hating, just putting things into perspective.

LOL Says the typical

*stereotypical trolling pic*

Console Peasant.

vtoshkatur

lmao you should probably go up a few levels before dolling out criticism without responding in anyway intellectually.

Nothing wrong with Alienware stuff... if you are rich and lazy I guess.

Alienware stuff is expensive as hell, but I don't think people's image of gaming PC's would change. Even if you built that $2000 PC yourself, it would still be over $1000 with what it contains (dual 6870's, and all the other stuff), and if you want the best price you'd have to build it yourself. Plus building a PC isn't something you just go out and "do" instantly, like picking out a console or a prebuilt one.

You have to know where everything goes, you have to know which parts are compatible (a card that uses 2 slots won't go on a motherboard with no more room but a 1 slot card), you have to know which parts are the best bang for your buck (deciding whether to SLI cheaper cards or get a single good card), and in the end the PC community isn't the best community.

You guys on SW might not know this, but they pretty much have their own SW going on, like a Hermit civil war. Go ask what GPU you should buy on a forum and if you're lucky (or unlucky) you'll be witness to a company war between Nvidia fanboys, AMD fanboys and the occasional Intel fanboy arguing about how wrong they all are in the parts they choose to help you with, while everyone's changing standards mean you could be offered a 280 to game cheaper at decent settings, and someone else will laugh at you when you have them proofread your list and make it pricier (this all might be a TAD exaggerated, but it was my experience my first time building a PC).

But yeah, getting into PC gaming with Alienware is pricey but expensive. If you want to save cash, you need time, and a lot of people don't have time, though I guess time is money, so either way you have to make a significant investment. Sadly that's the image, game with pretty games and some freedom and customization, but at quite a cost. But its one I made, and I think there are a few rare places in the world that are actually helpful and not money hungry, but good job finding one of those places hidden behind a huge CompUSA.

SPYDER0416

when will alienware and other companies realize that if they start expanding their business, make gaming PCs for much lower prices prices and get get rid of the unnecessary crap and focus on whats really important for a dedicated Gaming PC like the GRAPHICS CARD they'd have much bigger business. Whats better? selling $1.4k+ PCs to a few people or selling $1.4k+ PCs to a few people AND sell several PCs under that price range.

[QUOTE="NoodleFighter"]

With the economy being in a reccession (although people seem to have money to blow instantly on every new ipad/ipod coming out). Not many people are going to fork over money for Gaming PCs more expensive then they should be.

lowe0

Out of all the things I wrote you decided to pick out this :P

I'm saying is that most of the people who tell me that the economy is in a recession are the same people that run out to the apple store the second a new a Ipod, Iphone, Ipod or what ever comes out.

[QUOTE="R4gn4r0k"]

[QUOTE="campzor"]not as bad as the image pc gamers give themselvesSpartan070

I could say PS3 gamers pirate aswell but whatever you just came in here to call all PC gamers pirates, you don't care about logic. All you care about is trolling.

Not hating, just putting things into perspective.

[QUOTE="Spartan070"]

[QUOTE="R4gn4r0k"]

I could say PS3 gamers pirate aswell but whatever you just came in here to call all PC gamers pirates, you don't care about logic. All you care about is trolling.

starjet905

Not hating, just putting things into perspective.

Most people who own/plan to own an alienware pc/notebook are getting it just for bragging rights. There's also that "I want a computer that lights up!" factor.

The alienware light-up emblem looks kinda cool, but it gets old after 2 weeks tops. A month later, and you won't care.

[QUOTE="SPYDER0416"]

Nothing wrong with Alienware stuff... if you are rich and lazy I guess.

Alienware stuff is expensive as hell, but I don't think people's image of gaming PC's would change. Even if you built that $2000 PC yourself, it would still be over $1000 with what it contains (dual 6870's, and all the other stuff), and if you want the best price you'd have to build it yourself. Plus building a PC isn't something you just go out and "do" instantly, like picking out a console or a prebuilt one.

You have to know where everything goes, you have to know which parts are compatible (a card that uses 2 slots won't go on a motherboard with no more room but a 1 slot card), you have to know which parts are the best bang for your buck (deciding whether to SLI cheaper cards or get a single good card), and in the end the PC community isn't the best community.

You guys on SW might not know this, but they pretty much have their own SW going on, like a Hermit civil war. Go ask what GPU you should buy on a forum and if you're lucky (or unlucky) you'll be witness to a company war between Nvidia fanboys, AMD fanboys and the occasional Intel fanboy arguing about how wrong they all are in the parts they choose to help you with, while everyone's changing standards mean you could be offered a 280 to game cheaper at decent settings, and someone else will laugh at you when you have them proofread your list and make it pricier (this all might be a TAD exaggerated, but it was my experience my first time building a PC).

But yeah, getting into PC gaming with Alienware is pricey but expensive. If you want to save cash, you need time, and a lot of people don't have time, though I guess time is money, so either way you have to make a significant investment. Sadly that's the image, game with pretty games and some freedom and customization, but at quite a cost. But its one I made, and I think there are a few rare places in the world that are actually helpful and not money hungry, but good job finding one of those places hidden behind a huge CompUSA.

NoodleFighter

when will alienware and other companies realize that if they start expanding their business, make gaming PCs for much lower prices prices and get get rid of the unnecessary crap and focus on whats really important for a dedicated Gaming PC like the GRAPHICS CARD they'd have much bigger business. Whats better? selling $1.4k+ PCs to a few people or selling $1.4k+ PCs to a few people AND sell several PCs under that price range.

The problem is that they don't have a ton of competition.

Alienware is a big name company, they've got a lot of marketing and the public isn't going to know the difference between a GTX 260 and a GTX 580 or the price of every card and innard in a PC, so they'll buy Alienware as its pre made and promises high end gaming, so they advertise pre made gaming PC's, have tons of ads and sponsors, and if someone is just getting into gaming PC's, they'll probably go with Alienware. Heck, I see ads for them all the time on magazines that are supposedly meant for PC enthusiasts, so someone picking up a magazine like that will think "man, these are pricey, but at that price the gaming must be AMAZING".

From a business standpoint, they all wouldn't be selling at that price if they didn't make profit. They sell pricey PC's, people buy them, and its why they're so pricey. Anyone willing to look cheaper will just build their own, so they can sell at that price.

Alienware is just charging the "Alienware premium". It's no different than buying a name brand.

People just go on the website, buy the stuff with the highest price, and spend $4000 on an overkill machine because they don't know any better.

p.s.

If you're going to buy from alienware, then you should call a human sales rep. The sales reps give more reasonable prices if you know what you're doing. You can even get free 1 day shipping.

They wouldn't reap insane profits if they didn't create the image.