Is AlienWare overpriced or as affordable as other DELL laptops?

Cuz i just made a custom Alienware m15x and it was almost double the cost of DELL studio XPS 16.

i was wondering, is it overpriced because of its brand or it could be the specs i chose?

I chose-
WIN 7 64 bit Home Premium
Intel i7 820qm
4 gb ddr ram
220 HD
Nividia 1 gb ddr vram

no cable, accesories, earphones, and 15 bucks cable

 

what specs did you have on the xps?

Well first off, the alienware has much better cooling and build quality that's for sure.

 

What video card is the nvidia card? What are the XPS specs? To each his own, but the Alienwares have much better build quality and cooling then most laptops. No flimsy plastic case either

 

Back in Feb. 2005 I purchased a DELL XPS (now referred to as XPS Gen 1) 3.4GHz Extreme Pentium 4 CPU with 1 Gb RAM, 60Gb HDD, DVD/RW, XP Pro, MS Office Small Business, the back pack, spare battery and an external Sound Blaster Audigy NX2 to replace the internal SigmTel,

I have had but 2 issues in over 5 years of ownership, the keyboard started acting up and was replaced and the onboard mini Wan card died and was easily replaced. This laptop weighs 13.5 lbs and it has not been babied but works as well today as it did the day it arrived,

I was a BETA tester for Windows 7 RC and loaded it on that XPS and it worked flawlessly save the touchpad and SigmaTel audio card both of which I've been able to rectify and it now sports 2 Gb of RAM, Windows 7 Professional 32 and a 160Gb HDD which I upgraded 3 days after my M17x arrived. I also added a Belkin N PCMCIA card for wireless network access to my Belkin N+ Router.

The old saying is you get what you pay for and that XPS Gen 1 build was the best I've see in DELL laptop lineup ever, there is no comparison to that XPS and this Alienware M17x IMHO.

 

As snotty as it sounds, Alienware doesn't cater to those looking for bargain computers.

They build high end, incredibly built and very well cooled gaming systems. If you don't understand that AW is about quality, and not about getting the components in your build for a low price, you're going to view AW as overpriced.

It's the same as Apple. People hate Macs because they're "overpriced," nevermind the fact they have the best build quality in the business. A lot of people view AW the same way.

"ZOMG LOLOL AW IS OVERPRICED BRAH"

Well, I wouldn't trust any other laptop to wear as a chest plate to take a bullet for me, that's for sure.

 

I owned that laptop for a while and the build quality was pretty good but not as good as the m17x-R2 (the only ALienware I've owned). And that XPS got increadibly hot plus it was a pain to access any of the internals.

In all honesty it depends on what your looking for. Alienware is overpriced if you don't care about the Dell warranty or build quality or easy access to clean the fans or the low heat of the system.

But if you care about those, Alienware easily beats the compitition. If you care about non of those things, than the ASUS 72GH is your best bet for the money. If you care about just the warranty than perhaps the XPS is better.

That said, if you are looking at sticking with this laptop long term than the AW is a great deal. The lack of heat issues alone prolongs the life of the system plus being able to easily clean the fans.

 

Matt K,
I agree my post was meant to state the AW M17x build surpasses the XPS Gen 1 by an incredible margin I was mainly speaking to the XPS Gen 1 being about the best in the DELL series of laptops IMHO naturally. I am totally enjoying the M17x and hope to for a long time.

 

I tend to agree with most posters here. Alienware build quality is second to none. Aesthetics and design are above the norm and performance is great too. Plus, cooling system is efficient, as opposed to most "mainline" brands. My M15x is the best gaming/multimedia powerhouse I've owned so far. Is that overpriced? If you don't need the above features, sure, it's overpriced. It depends what are your needs. The Alienware vs XPS comparison is like comparing a Lexus ES350 with a Toyota Camry. Both have similar specs on the paper. But the assembly, finish and overall ride and reliability is quite better on the Lexus. So it's up to you.

 

its all about the bling bling. i'm willing to pay extra for the illuminated keyboard with morphing rainbow colours, the awesome exterior shell and a build quality that just as others have stated.... is second to none. Others... view it as overpriced and would rather pay less for the same thing in another brand, even though the build quality may be just as good or even better... but the bling bling is not there.

 

really for what you get its a steal but most people are just "special" by thinking the cheapest deal is the best. I've learned that is not the case. In most case realistically you get what you pay for. That above all else applies to computers

 

Imo it's slightly overpriced if you pay the retail + tax compared to the other brands, call an rep up and get get them to cut down the price, if they don't then buy something else or try again. I had to pay almost full retail and never even got my dell gift card/mouse/headphones. Dell does alot of false advertising so just watch it.

 

I used to think alienware was overpriced

I was so convinced of this I went and bought my own barebones notebook with the exact same chassis as the Alienware M17 - the arima/flextronics W840DI. After I was done upgrading parts in it and all I really wished I had just bought the Alienware. They seem like alot, but what you get for that price is just outstanding. There is a reason I sold that and bought this M17x

 

Well, for starters, you haven't posted the Studio XPS's specs.

Secondly you haven't said WHICH video card you picked. Why is it people always think the video memory is what makes the speed of the card, and not the other parts?

There are a LOT of nVidia 1GB video cards, both laptop and desktop, and they all differ MASSIVELY in performance.

To each their own, I guess.

I personally find Apple laptops overpriced, because I personally don't see them as worth it for the price. My friend was considering a 17 inch MBP a year ago, but got a very nice Asus laptop instead, with equivelant power, a still-good 5 hour battery, and nice build quality, for half the price.

I think a lot of what you pay for with a Mac is the operating system.

But then again, I'm a gamer, and that's one of the things that a Mac doesn't do. If I wanted extreme portability with an insane battery life, LED screen, and Mac OS X, then I'd consider the MacBook line as worth it.

 

to start with, DELL XPS 16 had the defualt specs in the premium service package.

and while customising the m15x, they only gave two options, the other being 512 mb vram, that's why i didn't specify the particular processor name

 

Not quite sure which of the XPS 16 packages you're talking about, there are several 'default' specs.

But in all the cases, the M15x's graphics card (the 260M, the 1GB one) is significantly more powerful. Also the 820QM is more powerful than the processors in the lower XPS16 confugurations.

 

Yes Alienware computers are slightly overpriced, the individual hardware customizations all add up to a lot more then what another would be with a similar build. A lot of people say the build quality is great with a Alienware and I agree, but you should get more then the amount you payed for when purchasing one. The starting build before customization I think just needs a tad bit of tweaking since it comes with outdated hardware which forces the buyer to buy something higher powered. Had a Alienware M9700 Aurora SLI and it was a great computer, the cooling system was very well built.

 

It's not overpriced if you consider the general build quality, cooling AND you like the designs. Alienware under Dell now is it's luxury brand, ala Lexus by Toyota; there are some things now reserved for AW by Dell, such as best performance and (currently) build quality.

That being said, only someone new buys straight online (as I once did), instead thanks to the folks here I made a much better informed 2nd purchase.

Make sure you read through the link on buying that DR650SE put up: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=456885

There is no better advice than what is indicated here in one place. Do it, and the price will come down into line and make the difference seem far less significant than an XPS.

Trust me, everyone likes an XPS but everyone is impressed with an Alienware

And yes, you can get an ASUS with custom components, or a Clevo or Sager lunchbox for less but some of us care about style too.

 

Thanks! i got what i was looking for!

 

Since this thread has served its purpose, it is now closed.