This article explains what an average Joe can save by ditching Alienware, and building his own computer.
Have you ever pondered the exact kinds of profit Alienware was making on there “High End” PC’s? Well I did the research and crunched the numbers. I built a very specific performance gaming PC on Alienware.com, then went to Newegg.com and recorded the prices of each component. The results are almost sickening.
The “ALX X58″ Built on Alienware.com (Recommended High-Performance Gaming Build):
- Motherboard: Intel X58
- CPU: Intel Core i7-975
- PSU: 1200W
- GFX: Dual GeForce GTX 295 in SLI
- RAM: 6GB DDR3 @ 1600MHz
- OS: Vista x64 Home Premium
- HD: Dual 300GB Velociraptors
- + DVD Burner, Case, Gaming Keyboard & Mouse
Subtotal: $5,399
Built By Oneself via Newegg.com (with the cost of each component)
- msi X58 Pro Intel Motherboard ($190)
- Intel Core i7-975 Extreme ($1000)
- BFG EX-1200 1200W PSU ($250)
- 2 BFG GeForce GTX 295’s in SLI ($510 x 2)
- OCZ 3 x 2GB DDR3 @ 1600MHz ($100)
- Vista x64 Home Premium SP1 ($100)
- 2 WD VelociRaptor 300GB Hard Drives ($230 x 2)
- Any Standard Keyboard, Mouse, DVD Burner Case (~$250)
Subtotal: ~$3370
The Verdict:
You could save a whopping $2029 in this example, and build your own computer for nearly half the price Alienware is charging. You are charged about a 60% premium over normal component costs for Alienware to build your computer and make it look cool.
I am astonished that this company is still in business. I am trying to help everyone open their eyes. Every single computer manufacturer does this to some extent, it’s how they make money, and they pray that people remain ignorant enough to continue buying their computers.
Just think of what you could do with an extra $2029…
10 Responses
Wow, i had heard that they were overpriced, but i had no idea that it was this bad.
yeah alien ware is the worst when it comes to pre builts building your own is the best as you dont even need to buy a high end model cpu like say a i7 965 3.2ghz you get the i7 920 2.6ghz buy a good cpu cooler and oc and get even better performance for a fraction of the cost.
ibuypowerpc.com and cyberpowerpc.com are the best sites for pre-builts and newegg.com is a really good site to buy parts to build your own.
Im glad someone else pointed this out.
I despise the fact that they’re milking people’s fear of building their own PC by offering hugely over-priced pre-built rigs and pimping it up with lights and special effects which they try to draw the consumer with.
If people dont want to risk building their own rig, then there’s simply many places online that offer pre-built rigs for sensible prices, and that does NOT include Alienware.
I hope they go bust.
YES M!!!
More people need to find out about this! I’m so sick of them making loads of cash because they make there rigs “look cool”
It’s overpriced yes. But you did forget to add the case, I’d take a NZXT Guardian or something like that to compare, with some $10 UV lights or so.
You forgot the warranty that alienware gives you. That’s why one would buy it
Most individual components have 5 year warranties and some have lifetime warranties. AND THEY DON’T CHARGE A EXTRA $500 FOR IT
Yes, in the country where I stay, branded PCs are a passe’ as the custom ones(called “assembled” here), cost a fortune less than those branded computers.
yeah, alienware might be one of the worst, but building your own is cheaper than buying from ANY company
People … do not buy from Alienware. We bought one 18 months ago. My son was so excited, he saved up the money himself for this computer. However, it had to be returned twice for repairs. On the 2nd time they did something wrong with the motherboard and and it still didn’t work, so we sent it back to them a THIRD time. After that repair, when they shipped it back to us via Fedex, the computer was LOST by Fedex! Fedex admitted their error and told me to have Alienware generate the claim with them. Alienware somehow thought I was pulling a scam on them and treated me like a thief! They have avoided my calls for 3 months — all this time our computer has been missing. Finally, someone, 4 months later began to work with me only because I threatened to hire a lawyer. Lo and behold, now they are replacing our laptop but it’s not as good as the one that was lost — they say that it’s the same or better, but it’s not. Even the case isn’t as cool as the original case was. Plus, they won’t give us a warranty on the replacement product. Alienware’s customer service is horrible and I will never buy from them again. Who cares if it’s a cool computer? If they treat customers like they stole a computer, even though Fedex was admitting freely that they truly lost the computer, well, that’s a horrible company if you ask me. Don’t buy from them. I even told the guy at Miami headquarters that I was going to be a vocal customer if they didn’t satisfy us, and he didn’t care. So I’m blogging everywhere I can …… Beware, from Houston Texas