Question about Alienware

[Climber]

There's just something about this line of thinking that really irks me. Could you repair a transmission yourself? Could you paint your entire house? Could you tile your own floors? Assume the answer is "YES" to those questions, now further assume that although you knew how to do all of those things, and could save considerable penny doing it yourself, would it really be such a disservice and a ripoff to have it done professionally by a reputable company?

Yes. That 20thousand extra dollars that it would have cost me to hire someone to do all those things went into my retirement fund. Its called being wise with your money.

I mean, there's this overwhelming lull of posters here who just cringe at buying PC's just because they have the knowledge of building them, I don't understand it, it's like some weird movement. I know how to do my laundry, guess what, I pay to have it done, because of convenience and not having to worry about getting it done.

Well to be honest, you posted this on a computer building and overclocking enthusiasts board which is why you are finding hostility towards the markups alienware is offering. We do actually have a general hardware section of the forum which would perhaps be better suited to answer this question as there are a lot of custome made pc vendors and buyers that hang out in there.

 

[nullzero]

I wasn't bragging, but looking at the $3599 setup, the processor alone is faster than 95% of what I see posted here. I don't have it, so how am I bragging? I'm just acknowledging that they are using top of the line parts that are not practical for most, myself probably included.

And how am I paying $3000 more for a system that sells for $3599? Unless they're charging $3000 for labor and the rest for the processor with everything else costing 0, the actual profit for labor and the Alienware name is actually closer to $1300. That's really not unreasonable, it's a business, why the fuck would they sell the market value of components? There's some odd resentment PC builders here have that Alienware attempts to make money, of course they do, but that doesn't mean their systems are junk and only appreciated by "noobs".

Welcome LearninToBuild to the forums. You will find a vast amount of resources and helpful members here on the hardforums. You will find that majority of us tend to know much more then your average computer user. We are mostly computer enthusiast that know how to build a computer.

This is why most of us feel its a rip off. Because we know the hardware prices pretty well and have a good eye on catching good deals. Give most of us $2000 and we could price out and build a better machine then a $4000 alienware (taking overclocking into account). If you dig around in the forums and ask around you will get lots of good info and help with building a system from the ground up.

I hope you go the route with custom building your PC. Have a friend or a respectable local PC shop put it together. A lot of people here on the forums would be glad to help you price it out and select quality components for the price. Remember we are not trying to be snobby at you or Alienware we want to help you save money and have a great PC.

 

[Uberbob102000]

Well my rig is a pretty beastly system and it play all my games at the highest (current) resolution of 2560x1600. I paid ~2250 for it and it's housed in a nice Lian Li case that is far nicer than Alienware. You give far to much credit for the case and their wire management is atrocious. I believe that they use a cheaper water cooling kit as well. I would recommend building as it is not that hard to do and you could easily do it, it's far harder to do tile or work on a car than it is to build a PC.

Alienware is NOT good quality and it's not a good deal. If you want a system builder I would choose Puget Systems or Maingear. Both are amazing companies who can do just about anything you could ever want to do with your computer and they offer far more than Alienware ever could. I have personally worked with all 3 companies. Alienware was disappointing and didn't help me much while Puget got every part I wanted ordered in for me as well as other nice touches. Maingear makes some incredibly nice systems and they're extremely well built.

 

[Climber]

Alienware is NOT good quality and it's not a good deal. If you want a system builder I would choose Puget Systems or Maingear. Both are amazing companies who can do just about anything you could ever want to do with your computer and they offer far more than Alienware ever could. I have personally worked with all 3 companies. Alienware was disappointing and didn't help me much while Puget got every part I wanted ordered in for me as well as other nice touches. Maingear makes some incredibly nice systems and they're extremely well built.

Not sure on Maingear asit has been a while, but I do know that the Puget Systems company maintains aprescence here at the [H] and she is a very nice rep, although it has been a while since I've checked in on them here at the forums.

 

[Everett1]

If you want a system builder I would choose Puget Systems or Maingear.

This

 

[FreiDOg]

Alright, some math:
$3599 OEM Built
$2250 DIY

the difference between the prices is $1349 and $1349 / $3599 is .3748...
$1349 is approximately 37.5% of $3599.

Assuming I made no error, why is there a markup of 37.5% on the product? Your question is a good one, why no extra fancy stuff? No water cooling for almost 40% markup? What exactly is it that you're getting for such a premium besides the fact that you don't have to build it yourself?

That's exactly what you're paying for. You're paying for the convenience, and to have a single point of contact when something goes wrong that will take care of the fix for you.
On this forum, that may sound like a silly thing to pay for since by the fact that we're here most of us have a fairly high level understanding of computers and consider them a hobby more than a piece of equipment.
If I gave people here the choice between an off the lot Mustang, and a pile of parts that made up the Mustang for ~2/3rds the cost; I'd image a fairly high number would want their car in one piece. Not because they're fools, or have more money than sense, but simply because they don't have the desire or specialized knowledge to turn a pile of parts into a working machine in a safe and timely manor.

 

[Yossarian22]

That's exactly what you're paying for. You're paying for the convenience, and to have a single point of contact when something goes wrong that will take care of the fix for you.
On this forum, that may sound like a silly thing to pay for since by the fact that we're here most of us have a fairly high level understanding of computers and consider them a hobby more than a piece of equipment.
If I gave people here the choice between an off the lot Mustang, and a pile of parts that made up the Mustang for ~2/3rds the cost; I'd image a fairly high number would want their car in one piece. Not because they're fools, or have more money than sense, but simply because they don't have the desire or specialized knowledge to turn a pile of parts into a working machine in a safe and timely manor.

I think others and myself summed it up quite nicely in our replies, check my last reply.

It's a good analogy but it's not quite the same. I mean, yes, I can't put together a Mustang (but I've been working with computers for 15 years not cars) but an adventurous person could research for a week and post at these forums and get online help and learn how to assemble and set up a computer within a very short period.

Assembling a computer has become easier and easier every year and nearly anyone can do it. I remember back in the K6-2 days with those shitty non 100% PnP compatible OSes and hardware it was a bit of a challenge getting a rig set up, listening to POST beeps (hell, my Antec 300 doesn't even have an internal speaker) but nothing that was rocket science. It's not like you're fabbing the wafers yourself.

I'd equate building a computer to Lego. Some people build coherent things and then some people build screaming machines optimized to the max, balls-to-the-wall overclocking masterpieces of electronic circuitry. It's easy to do, but to do it really [H] is something else. It's tricky.

 

[criccio]

That's exactly what you're paying for. You're paying for the convenience, and to have a single point of contact when something goes wrong that will take care of the fix for you.
On this forum, that may sound like a silly thing to pay for since by the fact that we're here most of us have a fairly high level understanding of computers and consider them a hobby more than a piece of equipment.
If I gave people here the choice between an off the lot Mustang, and a pile of parts that made up the Mustang for ~2/3rds the cost; I'd image a fairly high number would want their car in one piece. Not because they're fools, or have more money than sense, but simply because they don't have the desire or specialized knowledge to turn a pile of parts into a working machine in a safe and timely manor.

That is a horrible analogy. All I did to figure out how to put my first PC together was look at the inside of other PC's in pictures here... I would love for someone to put together en entire car by doing the same thing.

Analogies work better when the things you are comparing are of equal difficulty but still help prove your point.

 

[arr4ws]

That's exactly what you're paying for. You're paying for the convenience, and to have a single point of contact when something goes wrong that will take care of the fix for you.
On this forum, that may sound like a silly thing to pay for since by the fact that we're here most of us have a fairly high level understanding of computers and consider them a hobby more than a piece of equipment.
If I gave people here the choice between an off the lot Mustang, and a pile of parts that made up the Mustang for ~2/3rds the cost; I'd image a fairly high number would want their car in one piece. Not because they're fools, or have more money than sense, but simply because they don't have the desire or specialized knowledge to turn a pile of parts into a working machine in a safe and timely manor.

i love this!

 

[Uberbob102000]

Guys, it's time to stop with the car vs computer comparison. Cars are FAR more difficult to work with than computers. It takes me 1 hour to make a working computer but took us 2 days to rebuild an engine and it has so many more parts than a computer that there's no comparison.

 

[FreiDOg]

That is a horrible analogy. All I did to figure out how to put my first PC together was look at the inside of other PC's in pictures here... I would love for someone to put together en entire car by doing the same thing.

Analogies work better when the things you are comparing are of equal difficulty but still help prove your point.

You need few more specialized tools to do the car; but that's really the only difference. You don't think you can learn to use a wrench and do some basic welding in fairly short order?


That was the whole point of the comparison: it's only hard because you haven't taken the time to understand it. And most people haven't taken the time to understand the inner workings of a PC, even at a very high level, enough to put one together.
Is it hard? Of course not, once you've taken the time to understand what you're doing. But the public at large is going to have the same reaction to building a computer you did to assembling a car: 'there's no way I could do that.

 

[criccio]

You need few more specialized tools to do the car; but that's really the only difference. You don't think you can learn to use a wrench and do some basic welding in fairly short order?


That was the whole point of the comparison: it's only hard because you haven't taken the time to understand it. And most people haven't taken the time to understand the inner workings of a PC, even at a very high level, enough to put one together.
Is it hard? Of course not, once you've taken the time to understand what you're doing. But the public at large is going to have the same reaction to building a computer you did to assembling a car: 'there's no way I could do that.

Once again, we (who the OP is preaching towards) are NOT the general public. We are enthusiasts. We do this because we want to and because its fun. Its a hobby just like anything else.

 

[MetalX]

You need few more specialized tools to do the car; but that's really the only difference.

No that's still a failed analogy. Thousands more parts are involved, tuning, ignition timing, wiring diagrams, etc etc. The two do not compare.

 

[Heather Taylor]

Not sure on Maingear asit has been a while, but I do know that the Puget Systems company maintains aprescence here at the [H] and she is a very nice rep, although it has been a while since I've checked in on them here at the forums.

"She" works for Maingear now, actually. However, Puget still has a presence on here with William. I'm sure he's floating around somewhere.

It's against my personal code to speak ill of any company, so I'm not going to comment on Alienware. I would listen to the people here, though--they know what they're talking about when it comes to OEM systems.

What I will tell you is that both Maingear and Puget build top notch systems. If you prefer a flashier case, then Maingear is probably more up your alley because we do case etching and custom paint. Puget doesn't offer things like that at this time, but for those who aren't into the bling, they're a great choice, too.

For what you're willing to drop on that other system, you could easily get a very nice gaming rig from us or Puget. (Bragging rights, too, if you care about that kind of thing. Both companies are well known among enthusiasts and are reviewed well by major magazines and sites.)

If you have any questions for me, I'm hanging around all the time--I'm always happy to help. Drop me a PM and we'll chat. The guys here will tell you that even though I'm a company rep here, I'm also pretty impartial. Even if we're not the choice for you, I can guide you towards other companies that may meet your needs.

 

[ScYcS]

The best Analogy i could come up with is actually to compare building a PC to building a rather simple Lego piece.

Imagine a Lego with around 10 pieces, color coded but no instruction manual. That's your standard PC. Some people prefer it to be pre-assembled to toy around with, some people prefer to build it first. I'd never pay anyone to put the color coded legos together for me and neither will i spend money on someone building a PC for me.

 

[infect0]

If you have never built a system before why are you using a aftermarket cooler? The stock cooler will run you fine for the time being.

Please stop using a weak argument that since you pay people for services the Alienware service is not a ripoff. It is 100% a ripoff. If you go to any decent computer shop they are not going to charge anywhere near that kind of markup. What you fail to realize is Alienware is not providing some specialized service. They are charging you $1500 to put in a handful of screws and plug in some components. Wire management? You have to be joking because a 5 year old could do wire management and with alienware they are not really doing anything special because the systems are preplanned as in everything has a place. Stop trying to make weak arguments. Its a ripoff end of story. If you want to buy the ripoff good for you.

 

[MorgothPl]

Since I built my first PC I never went for company built system from a simple reason. Good number of parts was from my previous rigs, so buying a new computer when half of the things were working was useless.

On the other hand I can understand the OP's reluctancy (spelling?) to build first PC. The only knowledge I had was that generally you can't mess the slots and that I had a copy of "PC for dummies" from library. And I did mess the setup, as I didn't know how to screw MoBo to case, so it was resting on 6 Wrigley's Spearmint packs

Oh, and I still mess up the wires from case to mobo to power switch and so on, always put the ground opposite way. And until few computers built now it's just a simple process to me.

However, I understand the OP and others who pay for having their computers built. I'd be however very cautious and checked the prices between shops, to get good deal. Why won't you ask at your local computer shop to have it built for you. Let the people at [H]Forums help you pick the components, then ask a friend or get with the list to shop and get it built by someone else. What you will lack will be a glowing logo. What you will get will be few bucks in your pocket.

And if we use the car comparison it's like getting Mustang (letskeep to this analogy) from two dealers - one that will sell you a car made by GM for GM price, but 2nd will give you light alloys, custom exhaust pipe and charge you 40% more. But it will still be SAME Mustang

 

[Climber]

"She" works for Maingear now, actually. However, Puget still has a presence on here with William. I'm sure he's floating around somewhere.

DOH...Sorry it has been a while since I floated around in your neck of the woods on the forums Heather. Congrats on the switch though.

If you have any questions for me, I'm hanging around all the time--I'm always happy to help. Drop me a PM and we'll chat. The guys here will tell you that even though I'm a company rep here, I'm also pretty impartial. Even if we're not the choice for you, I can guide you towards other companies that may meet your needs.

This is the truth. She'll do right by you.

 

[Koko56]

Just my "$0.02".

OP - look around and try to build it yourself. It may well be quite scary at first, but look around for videos, instructions ands so on.

It migth proive to be a bit of a challenge, but trust me, it can also be very cool to build your own PC. Sure Alineware is pretty nice, but as many on here have said it is quite pricy, so gain youself some knowlege and save yourself a few bucks!

Hope this helps.

 

[Archer75]

On most of my computers I use the stock intel cooler and it's always worked fine. On my desktop I have it watercooled simply because I have the parts. But i'm thinking about ditching it. Too much upkeep. And there is the occasional water leak.

But if it takes you 2 months to order the parts and assemble you are doing something wrong. I research heavily and order the parts in a week. Get them a few days later and assemble in a couple of hours. Simple.

For $5k I could have built a kick ass system, without the hype and gimicks. And had thousands left over.

 

[Forealz]

The OP isn't serious, this is either a troll attempt, he works with some computer assembly company, or he was born rich and is trying to justify his expense.

Paying 5k for a computer means he is either an enthusiast or rich. If he was an enthusiast then he could build it himself. This first time takes maybe, maybe a day, then after that under two hours. He tried to do it himself, but could not figure it out. So he is not smart, so he probably did not become rich on his own merit. So what we have here is a born richee who would rather pay a company 1300$ an hour to assemble a 2k machine.

Or he works for said company researching if marketing money would be well spent on this site, or something similar.

Or he is a troll.

Either way he probably won't respond to this thread again and it will sink into the depths of the site.

 

[vasta]

Just out of curiosity someone build a PC that is just as good or better on Newegg and see if the prices are even close...$4,299.00 for what you see below via Alienware (the only thing I changed when I went to customize is the processor to i975e)

I couldn't deselect the mouse or keyboard or an operating system or the headphones or sound card or the killer xeno thing, most people have them except the killer xeno...those are totally optional when building your own

Processor: Overclocked Intel® Core™ i7-975 Extreme 3.86 GHz 8MB Cache
Alienware P2 Chassis: Alienware® P2 ALX Chassis with AlienIce™ 3.0 Video Cooling - Space Black
AlienFX®: Alienware® AlienFX® System Lighting - Astral Blue
Alienware P2 Chassis Upgrades: Alienware® High-Performance Liquid Cooling
Power Supply: Alienware® 1200 Watt Multi-GPU Approved Power Supply
Graphics Processor: Single 1GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 285
Memory: 3GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz - 3 x 1024MB
Motherboard: Alienware® Approved Intel® X-58 Motherboard- Socket 1366 Core i7 Ready, Dual Triple Channel DDR3 Memory
Operating System (Office software not included): Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium (64-bit Edition) with Service Pack 1 plus Free Windows 7 Upgrade Option
System Drive: Extreme Performance (RAID 0) - 1TB (2 x 500GB) SATA 3Gb/s 7,200RPM 2 x 16MB Cache
Optical Drives : Single Drive Configuration - 20X Dual-Layer Burner (DVD±RW)
Enthusiast Essentials: Killer Xeno Pro
Sound Card: High-Definition 7.1 Performance Audio
Gaming Headsets:
Alienware TactX™ Headset

Keyboard: Gaming Keyboard - Logitech® G15 Keyboard
Mouse: Gaming Mouse - Razer Lachesis™ 4000dpi Laser Gaming Mouse - Phantom White

 

[Koko56]

Well, using an extreme CPU is a bit of a waste IMO. You can get 4Ghz out of 920s as I understand, so if we can make it a 920, take off about $500?

Still it's bloody too much...

Okay - I will go on Newegg now.

So after about 40 minutes I've come up with this:

(Bear in mind that I don't even know much about i7 motherboards or DDR3 RAm. - just went with the things I've picked up without "dedicated research")

So add about $100 for some good headphones like Audio Technica ATH-AD700, about $100 for extra fans and about $100 for a good heatsink.

For the sake of comparison I put in a i7 975, however as I said above Iwould personally just get a 920 and OC to about 4Ghz, as far as it will go with resonable voltage basically. Take away the 975 and you have about $2k to play with.

So to sum up, the newegg system is kind of getting to be superior compared the one offered by Alienware, okay minus the shiny lights on the chassis.

All of that for about $3.5.

Oh and an OS - put about $150 towards that.

 

[Spewn]

There's just something about this line of thinking that really irks me. Could you repair a transmission yourself? Could you paint your entire house? Could you tile your own floors? Assume the answer is "YES" to those questions, now further assume that although you knew how to do all of those things, and could save considerable penny doing it yourself, would it really be such a disservice and a ripoff to have it done professionally by a reputable company? I mean, there's this overwhelming lull of posters here who just cringe at buying PC's just because they have the knowledge of building them, I don't understand it, it's like some weird movement. I know how to do my laundry, guess what, I pay to have it done, because of convenience and not having to worry about getting it done.

Would you think you were getting ripped off if you found out the service you use charged 50% more than everyone else in town, yet provided you with the exact same level of service? I don't cringe at the idea of buying a PC because I know how to build one(ok, for ME I do, but that's because it takes me all of 20 minutes to turn a desk of parts into a ready-to-run PC), I cringe at the idea of paying more than anyone else would charge you for ANY service. Doesn't matter if that's building a PC, painting a house, or walking your dog.

You may think you get what you pay for, but you also get what you deserve if you don't do your research. It reminds me of Red and Kitty Foremans' exchange on "That 70's Show" when Red is trying(struggling) to be a Salesman at his neighbor Bob's appliance store. Kitty decides to help him out by trying some roleplaying at home:

KITTY: “We'll see. Ok! Here we go. My, that's a lovely blender!”
RED: “This is stupid.”
KITTY: “Red.”
RED: “Well, it's got stainless steel rotor blades so it can crush ice, which is why I keep it out here at the bar, and it has the highest wattage that you can get, without moving up to the industrial model, which would cost you twice as much.”
KITTY: “Well, now, see, we have had this blender all these years and I never knew that's why we bought it.”
RED: “You didn’t know? How could you not know that?”
KITTY: “Well, Red, everybody doesn't research every product before they buy it!”
RED: “Well, then they're dumbasses!”

Pretty much sums up how I feel about the average consumer. Now to be fair, you're here and you *are* technically doing "research", but you're getting all defensive about it. Nobody's saying you shouldn't buy Alienware because it's cheaper to build it yourself(at least, I'm not), we're saying you shouldn't buy Alienware because they mark-up their products higher than anyone else for no good reason. If Alienware did something special that was worth an extra $1400 on $2200 worth of computer, I'd say go for it if it's what you want and you've got the money. But they don't, so I can't say that.

Obviously, as this is an enthusiast forum, people are going to try and convince you to build it yourself(it really isn't that hard). If you decide that's not for you, that's fine, but we're still not going to support a decision that has you paying far more than you should.

In the end it's your money, and you'll waste it if you want to. We're all just hoping you don't.

 

[Proxy]

For kicks and giggles I went to AlienWares site and configured a normal x58 machine like my sig rig. My sig rig was right around $2500.00 from NewEgg, AlienWare was 3,056.00 + shipping.

Dude, DIY, learn something, and save money.

 

[LearninToBuild]

The OP isn't serious, this is either a troll attempt, he works with some computer assembly company, or he was born rich and is trying to justify his expense.

Paying 5k for a computer means he is either an enthusiast or rich. If he was an enthusiast then he could build it himself. This first time takes maybe, maybe a day, then after that under two hours. He tried to do it himself, but could not figure it out. So he is not smart, so he probably did not become rich on his own merit. So what we have here is a born richee who would rather pay a company 1300$ an hour to assemble a 2k machine.

Or he works for said company researching if marketing money would be well spent on this site, or something similar.

Or he is a troll.

Either way he probably won't respond to this thread again and it will sink into the depths of the site.

I'm flattered at the attempt to analyze my thread, but I can assure you that my reasons for creating this thread were indeed not nefarious.

Anyone that ventures into 'General Hardware' will see I have had a thread there for a couple of weeks as I decided what about the custom built PC I had purchased months ago I wanted to replace, as it was literally a pile of junk (components caused performance issues).

Through my trials and tribulations of that thread and my time spent on this site, I'm happy to report I installed a new motherboard into a new case, PSU, after-market cooler, and am now running at about 27C to 33C degrees, and even after gaming do not get too much hotter, but I also haven't overclocked and for now use medium settings.

Either way, I was certainly curious as to why that Alienware system which I linked did not provide a liquid cooled solution for such a tall price-tag, and I couldn't help but defend the idea of buying a pre-built PC after the army of [H] members basically ridiculed the idea due to the excessive markup.

I am not planning to order an Alienware, but hell for a little while there when I couldn't get this sucker to work I really considered just chalking up my losses and ordering one. It was getting too stressful waiting for parts to come, having to install them, troubleshoot issues, make sure I did everything right, looking back I'm actually excited at the prospect of doing it again down the road now that I have a greater understanding of what I'd have to do, but going in I was frightened like a little schoolgirl.

Also, I'd like to thank Heather for her reply here.

 

[Koko56]

I'm flattered at the attempt to analyze my thread, but I can assure you that my reasons for creating this thread were indeed not nefarious.

Anyone that ventures into 'General Hardware' will see I have had a thread there for a couple of weeks as I decided what about the custom built PC I had purchased months ago I wanted to replace, as it was literally a pile of junk (components caused performance issues).

Through my trials and tribulations of that thread and my time spent on this site, I'm happy to report I installed a new motherboard into a new case, PSU, after-market cooler, and am now running at about 27C to 33C degrees, and even after gaming do not get too much hotter, but I also haven't overclocked and for now use medium settings.

Either way, I was certainly curious as to why that Alienware system which I linked did not provide a liquid cooled solution for such a tall price-tag, and I couldn't help but defend the idea of buying a pre-built PC after the army of [H] members basically ridiculed the idea due to the excessive markup.

I am not planning to order an Alienware, but hell for a little while there when I couldn't get this sucker to work I really considered just chalking up my losses and ordering one. It was getting too stressful waiting for parts to come, having to install them, troubleshoot issues, make sure I did everything right, looking back I'm actually excited at the prospect of doing it again down the road now that I have a greater understanding of what I'd have to do, but going in I was frightened like a little schoolgirl.

Also, I'd like to thank Heather for her reply here.

Well, I just went ot the OP and read it... Well, I guess I should have read the first time I looked in this thread.

That aside, I completely understand what you might have felt like - when I got a new system for Chsristmas 2006 I was quite scared to touch anything too much and I got a lot of help from my dad in terms of assuring me that I was not screwing up completely, like saying - "yeah that's right" and so on. Continuing on what you might have felt like - I also get how you could easily be on the verge of gettign a pre-built system. Nothing wrong with that, but Alienware is quite expensive for what it offers, not just compared to self-built systems.

As far as it goes for you - it's good to know that you have "seen the light" and to answer your original question - well, not really as long as there is a resonable amount of fans in the case to get rid of presumably quite a lot of warm air.

 

[Heather Taylor]

DOH...Sorry it has been a while since I floated around in your neck of the woods on the forums Heather. Congrats on the switch though.

This is the truth. She'll do right by you.

Thanks, Climber. You're forgiven.

 

[Sly]

$10.00 assembly fee at the local store if you're too lazy to put together the parts you ordered yourself.

 

[Koko56]

$10.00 assembly fee at the local store if you're too lazy to put together the parts you ordered yourself.

Huh - what shop - just one of ones around yourself?

 

[Obi_Kwiet]

Most people don't have any problems building their computers. Those who do, tend to be impatient and easily frustrated.

 

[Sly]

Huh - what shop - just one of ones around yourself?

The walk in PC store. Ordering online isn't an option, taxes adds 30% to the cost so we're stuck shopping around ($5,000 alienware would cost $6-7,000 by the time it gets to me). The PC shops order them in bulk tho so it's cheaper through them. You walk in, ask for a pricelist, check the tickboxes or add notes for the ones not on the list (Or go next door for the parts they don't have). And then you can either walk out with everything or add $10.00 and come back in an hour for the assembled rig.

From the posts, the only difference between alienware and what i can get is the $1,000 assembly fee.

Good lord, do you guys really order everything online?

 

[Archer75]

Good lord, do you guys really order everything online?

Everything. It's cheaper than anywhere around here(portland, OR) and we don't pay sales tax.

 

[vixer]

I'm flattered at the attempt to analyze my thread, but I can assure you that my reasons for creating this thread were indeed not nefarious.

Anyone that ventures into 'General Hardware' will see I have had a thread there for a couple of weeks as I decided what about the custom built PC I had purchased months ago I wanted to replace, as it was literally a pile of junk (components caused performance issues).

Through my trials and tribulations of that thread and my time spent on this site, I'm happy to report I installed a new motherboard into a new case, PSU, after-market cooler, and am now running at about 27C to 33C degrees, and even after gaming do not get too much hotter, but I also haven't overclocked and for now use medium settings.

Either way, I was certainly curious as to why that Alienware system which I linked did not provide a liquid cooled solution for such a tall price-tag, and I couldn't help but defend the idea of buying a pre-built PC after the army of [H] members basically ridiculed the idea due to the excessive markup.

I am not planning to order an Alienware, but hell for a little while there when I couldn't get this sucker to work I really considered just chalking up my losses and ordering one. It was getting too stressful waiting for parts to come, having to install them, troubleshoot issues, make sure I did everything right, looking back I'm actually excited at the prospect of doing it again down the road now that I have a greater understanding of what I'd have to do, but going in I was frightened like a little schoolgirl.

Also, I'd like to thank Heather for her reply here.

I clicked the most expensive Alienware computer, and it looks like it has water cooling by default.

 

[Koko56]

I live in he UK and I have no idea what you all mean with this tax... is it like VAT or what... ? An extra tax due to locations?

As far as getting everything online - as far as computer components go, then it's the best thing to do here in the UK as there aren't that many computer shops over here...

 

[wrbt]

I would assume it's not even as simple as subtracting newegg prices from Alienware price to deduce profit/labor costs. Alienware should be getting huge benefit from economies of scale... a crate of 4890s wouldn't cost what you as a consumer can order it for.

 

[Sly]

I live in he UK and I have no idea what you all mean with this tax... is it like VAT or what... ? An extra tax due to locations?

As far as getting everything online - as far as computer components go, then it's the best thing to do here in the UK as there aren't that many computer shops over here...

I was referring to the import tax, shipping cost, etc.

Just to give you an idea. NO BOOKS have been imported in my country for the last 3 months because the customs officials want to be paid $4,000.00 to release a $10,000.00 shipment!!! And i'm pretty sure there's some sort of international treaty about books being tax exempted.

 

[Koko56]

I was referring to the import tax, shipping cost, etc.

Just to give you an idea. NO BOOKS have been imported in my country for the last 3 months because the customs officials want to be paid $4,000.00 to release a $10,000.00 shipment!!! And i'm pretty sure there's some sort of international treaty about books being tax exempted.

Where do you live?

... and dude - that's fucked up.

 

[Nightrainsrt4]

My younger brother just bought a focking Alienware and I was on the verge of kicking him in his scrotum. And it wasn't because he didn't know I build rigs either, as just built two kickass rigs for the other two younger brothers.

He wanted it because its "cool". Fuck. Could have bought the damn case on ebay. Ughhh.

 

[LearninToBuild]

My younger brother just bought a focking Alienware and I was on the verge of kicking him in his scrotum. And it wasn't because he didn't know I build rigs either, as just built two kickass rigs for the other two younger brothers.

He wanted it because its "cool". Fuck. Could have bought the damn case on ebay. Ughhh.

Live and let live, man. I'm sure he appreciates your computer knowledge, and should an issue he cannot solve arise I am certain he will troubleshoot with you, but consumers want the "hot" item. Look at the obsession with I-Pod's and I-Phone's, now given I-Phone's are really cool and stylish, but the rate plans that phone offers are ridiculously off-market. People still want "brand name" though, because image is everything sometimes.