Dell and Alienware Tie the Knot?
March 14, 2006 | by Nino Marchetti
Unconfirmed word spreads this morning that Dell as acquired specialty computer maker in a bid to remain on the cutting edge.
Speculation is floating around the Internet this morning that computer giant Dell may have purchased computer gaming specialty manufacturer Alienware. Sources have told tech site Cnet that "the purchase has indeed gone down". Chatter online, such as this story which appeared at The Inquirer earlier this month as well as a recent posting by VoodooPC president and CTO Rahul Sood on the same subject at his blog, suggest that Dell hopes to keep on the cutting edge of coolness amongst PC users and that an acquisition of this nature would perhaps help in that regard. More on this story will be reported as official announcements or denials are made.
Post Your Comment...Comments
Ian Bell on Mar 14th, 2006 at 10:43 AM:
My guess is that Dell will still keep their XPS line, at least for a while. Do you think they will keep Alienware as a seperate brand, or promote their systems on the Dell site?
fungku on Mar 14th, 2006 at 10:43 AM:
maybe alienware prices will come down more because of this? and perhaps they'll get a new case design too
Kurt Gandy on Mar 14th, 2006 at 11:35 AM:
Dell sucks - won't support them. www.boxxxtech.com
fungku on Mar 14th, 2006 at 11:36 AM:
your link to boxtech is broken...I think you meant:
http://www.boxxtech.com/
fungku on Mar 14th, 2006 at 11:38 AM:
i looked at the boxxtech computers. how are those even comparable to a gaming machine? They are work stations aimed at animation, video editing, 3d rendering, etc.. Granted, they are powerful but they have a completely different market.
Momma Amma on Mar 14th, 2006 at 12:38 PM:
Yikes...I am seriously considering purchasing the Area 51 m5500 model. Now I'm hearing Dell is about to or has purchased Alienware...I feel sick. While I used to love Dell computers...the service sucks and I'm afraid that if I purchase the Area 51 model, I'll be stuck with Dell service or lack of service.
Should I buy it and pray? Comments welcome.
fungku on Mar 14th, 2006 at 1:17 PM:
dell service doesnt compare to how bad alienware service, at least from what i've heard.
richrockx on Mar 14th, 2006 at 1:17 PM:
Knowing Dell and the way it is, the will probably combine the lines into like AlienXPS, or XPSWare, so they can say like get alienware power in your Dell XPS, whatever it is Dell's name will be in it. and XPS's arent pathetic, I happen to own one, trust me not my first choice but it was a graduation present, they arent bad at all, you just need to mod it a lil, the Intel core duo is strong but you need the RAM to back i shoved 3 GB's of Corsair XMS 2 in it and runs like a beauty
Stefan on Mar 14th, 2006 at 1:21 PM:
I just hope that their Alienware models go the way of Dell's unique (read: lame) mobo and power supply designs. I fix computers at a large national retailer, and I just can't stand when someone brings in their Dell with a busted PSU, and I have to tell them, "It's gonna be an extra $40 for me to mod your case for this STANDARDIZED ATX power supply. Or even better, "One of your RIMMs is bad, buy a new computer that doesn't use non-standard parts. If they don't change the system designs to Dell-style, they should be cool, but . . . hey you're getting a Dell! ;-)
b4k3r16 on Mar 14th, 2006 at 2:29 PM:
dell sux so do u
Mark on Mar 14th, 2006 at 4:38 PM:
Dell = EA
Killers of anything that is good.
EA is trying to do it to gaming industry, then they come out with crappy games that require SUPER computer to run them.
Dell cant make a PC/laptop worth a crap, if it would not have been for businesses Dell would not exist.
Nareg on Mar 14th, 2006 at 6:37 PM:
Big deal, I'll built my own and itll outperform an XPS or Aurora for ALOTTT cheaper
scion on Mar 14th, 2006 at 9:16 PM:
Where is all this hate for Dell coming from? They busted their ass to help me out with my system. I have a XPS M170(laptop) & it's amazing. I'm not sure if you guys are talking about the laptops or desktops. However, since I know nothing of the desktops I won't comment on them, but their laptop has been more than capable to play any game I throw at it at max settings with NO issues at all. ie FEAR,Doom3,Q4,GW. I just dont know if some of you really have issues w/Dell or if some of you just wanna jump on the Dell hating wagon to be cool.
Hank on Mar 14th, 2006 at 9:22 PM:
Dell has had this AD going for a while and now with this disclosure it makes more and more sense.
http://www.dell.com/html/us/products/ces/index.htm...
adam on Mar 15th, 2006 at 1:22 AM:
no way if dell buy alienware then alienware will turn crap.
Mano Marks on Mar 15th, 2006 at 9:50 AM:
You think Dell's support sucks, Alienware's is horrible. They insult you, tell you its all your fault, and take 14 days BUSINESS days to fix a problem if you send it in. Every time you call about about a problem, they read the notes and totally get it wrong. Alienware will hopefully give better support now.
Ian Bell on Mar 15th, 2006 at 9:58 AM:
Tell me about a company that actually has good tech support. I don't think it exists. And most people consider "instant replacements" good tech support which it isn't.
I have not been too impressed with Dell's tech support to be honest.
Kurt Gandy on Mar 15th, 2006 at 2:54 PM:
Fungku - I own a Alienware laptop (Area 51m 7700) and actually went ot to boxxxtech and went online and selected the same, sometimes better features than what I purchased from Alienware.
P.S. I use my laptop for more than gaming.
merk house on Mar 20th, 2006 at 10:40 AM:
WHO CARES ABOUT DELL AND ALIENWARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BUILD YOUR COMPUTER!!!!!!
THEY WILL BE BETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!
Chris on Mar 23rd, 2006 at 7:51 AM:
I think that the only reason Dell purchased or is going to purchase Alienware is to keep up in the gaming industry. Dell isn't able to use AMD processors, but through Alienware they will. Dell isn't going to change any thing about Alienware, they are going to back them up financially, where Dell has the means. I can only see Alienware getting even bigger and better. I own 3 Dell systems and 1 Alienware. As far as service, I've had problems with both. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next coming year. Kodos
QueenSammie on Mar 28th, 2006 at 7:12 PM:
I just bought an Area 51 and I am currently waiting for it to arrive, now I'm hearing that Dell might be buying Alienware....ick.
michael on Nov 16th, 2006 at 7:57 AM:
you dont want an Alienware laptop of any kind believe me..2 weeks after i got mine had to send it back for a motherboard replacement.. then harddrive failed.. total garbage these are IMO.. since i have had mine the motherboard has been replaced 2 times the graphics card 2 times and harddrive once and its now dead again suspect motherboard again.. but for a $4k machine to have these problems and service.. well dont let the warranty expire is all i can say
ed on Jun 25th, 2007 at 11:00 PM:
dell is 1 or prob the worst pc company eva they over prices there out of date junk they neva sell good **** example there best offer is a core 2 duo (2 cpu's in 1) with vista bussiness and a 120 gb hdd and dvd burner and 512mb or 1gb ram and some grphx card and a 450-550w psu (power supply) and a **** case for $1900 and that is supposed 2 b on a special offer as well lol, I can built a core 2 quad (4 cpu's in 1 or 2 core 2 duo's in 1)a geforce 8600gts 2 gb ram corsair 2gb heatspreaded (good 4 cooling)ddr2 800 ram and a p5b plus vista motherboard with vista ultimate (the best vista out)and a raidmax ninja case and a 650w trio psu that supports pci-e power and sata 2 power for $1800-$2000 and no i will not sell this 2 others unless they live in AUSTRALIA, CAIRNLEA (3023), VIC
ed on Jun 25th, 2007 at 11:00 PM:
dell is 1 or prob the worst pc company eva they over prices there out of date junk they neva sell good crap example there best offer is a core 2 duo (2 cpu's in 1) with vista bussiness and a 120 gb hdd, dvd burner and 512mb or 1gb ram and some grphx card and a 450-550w psu (power supply) and a crap case for $1900 and that is supposed 2 b on a special offer as well lol, I can built a core 2 quad (4 cpu's in 1 or 2 core 2 duo's in 1), a geforce 8600gts built for vista, corsair 2gb heatspreaded (good 4 cooling)ddr2 800 ram, a p5b plus vista motherboard built for vista with vista ultimate (the best vista out), a raidmax ninja case (similar 2 alienware cases), a 650w trio psu that supports pci-e power, sata 2 power and a 160gb sata2 hdd for $1800-$2200 and no i will not sell this 2 others unless they live in AUSTRALIA/VIC/ CAIRNLEA (3023) area
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Jason on Mar 14th, 2006 at 10:05 AM:
Yes, about time! The Dell XPS systems have been pathetic. I bet Intel is not too happy about seeing this happen. Glad to see AMD get some exposure.